Murder in the Forest, Chapter 35
As it turned out, they did use the same restaurant, Jareau assuring the other two that she could handle the bear rugs and elk heads on the walls. "I think I got over some of my bear phobia when I shot that one this morning," she explained. "I'm probably not going to become a hunter, but I dealt with this man-eater and I feel pretty good about it. And the restaurant does have really good food and a nice rustic touch. And it's where you two met, so maybe you're sentimental about it."
After eating, they drove over to the sheriff's office to let the women reunite with their team. They caught Hotchner, Reid, Morgan, and Rossi leaving for the day. Hotchner explained that they had gotten a list of the calls from all of Bamka's telephones and saw that he frequently called Terry Mason, a realtor. The calls had increased just before each girl had disappeared. The phone company was trying to recover the actual calls, so that the agents could employ their warrant to listen to them. These calls, if found, would probably establish whether these two men were the kidnappers. If so, the case was on the verge of being solved. But they'd still have to discover the whereabouts of the young women and rescue them. And of course, the agents who had been in town for the call records search had to hear all about the bear incident and about Blacklaws and Seaver seeing a real Bigfoot. So they stood in a casual group, listening to the bear adventure.
As they talked, Mike Bamka left a pharmacy on the corner of the street across from the sheriff's station. Unobserved by the agents, he went to his white van and got in. Before starting the engine, he glanced across the street and saw the figures on the courthouse lawn. He started a bit as he recognized one man and a blonde woman. Pretty sure that he knew them, he got in the back of the van and produced a Nikon Monarch 10X42 binocular and focused it on the tall bearded man and the attractive blonde standing by him.
Sure enough, they were the couple with whom he had talked in his store! And moreover, he saw a badge clipped to Rossi's belt. When the woman turned, gesturing as she told some story, he saw the same sort of badge on her belt. She wasn't wearing a jacket and her pistol showed on her right hip. Steadying his elbows on the car dash, Bamka was able to make out the shape of the badge enough to see that it was a wider shield, not the star of the local sheriff's force. He strongly suspected that these people were FBI, and confirmed that by swinging the binocular toward their vehicles and seeing that the license plates read: US Government. And two of them had been in his store and lied about who they were. They were probably investigating him!
He started to warn Mason that they needed to leave town, and then decided to just leave a message to meet at the lodge where the girls were being held. If the FBI was looking into him, they were probably tapping his calls. They wouldn't have been in his store with that cockamamie tale about Rossi being a vacationing architect unless they suspected him of something. He needed to be careful what he told his partner on the phone, to avoid letting listeners know that he was calling a meeting where two kidnap victims were being held. But he could do that. They had code phrases for such things.
His heart pounding in his chest, Bamka put away the binocular and resumed his seat behind the steering wheel. Where had he gone wrong? Why the hell was the FBI looking at him?!
Still trying to calm himself, he left the parking lot, turning his head so that the gaggle of FBI agents wouldn't see his face. Maybe he and Mason should kill the girls tonight instead of in a few months, he rationalized. But he liked screwing them and feeling them up and seeing the horror and terrified submission in their faces.
And with that thought, he realized that he was having an erection, despite worrying about the FBI and what they might be doing in Elk Pass. He decided to whip Courtney with a stiff leather strap whether she was satisfactory or not. It'd let him vent his anger at the agents, and feel more in charge and like having the initiative for whatever came next. He'd kill her if he had to, but maybe he was overreacting. The girls were worth keeping unless the future looked really dire. Maybe his pal Mason would have a good idea and a better assessment of the situation. But Mason was growing really fond of that little blonde bitch, Melissa. That needed watching. Bamka knew that he had to prevent either girl from coming between him and his partner and their original intent. That would cause total ruin. Surely, Mason would see that...