Chapter 19

Another flight but this time I insisted that I travelled first class. 10 hours and forty minutes and I didn't feel tired enough to sleep. Then there was also the whole 7 hour time difference. Instead, I was thinking through everything that we'd come across so far. The warehouse where Steph had been seen with the girl calling herself Lainey, Markovic who was the estranged father of Lainey but who also had a hidden secret from when he worked in Serbia. A secret that had been revealed by a former colleague and was now missing. A group who had been kidnapping people for organs and selling them to the highest bidder and a rogue FBI agent.

As I sat looking out of the window, I watched the white of the cloud below me, the swirls and shapes as we passed overhead, but it was the vivid blue of the sky above me that held my attention. I was lost in the color, that vivid blue that so reminded me of Steph's eyes. How I wanted to be able to lose myself in those eyes again. How I wanted to be able to sort through all of the shit and find her, that was if everything that we knew had anything to do with where she was. The last person to see her had been Morelli and he was dead. Had the person who killed him taken Steph? The question that was plaguing me was why.

Gregson had said that the FBI had taken her to a safe house to get any information that she knew from her. I knew Steph, she hated the FBI so would she trust them, would she reveal anything to them if she thought that maybe it was her only lead to finding Lainey? No, she wouldn't, but why had she gone with Morelli, or did she think that he might help her? Again, my answer was no, there were too many times in the past when he'd betrayed her trust. So, what was it that Steph knew that would have someone killing Morelli and making her disappear?

I needed to find that girl, Lainey, maybe she was the key to what was going on.

I'd had Ethan book me on a flight into Washington whilst the other men returned to the cabin. I wanted to talk to the Colonel about what we had found out and how I wanted to move forward. If he didn't want that to happen then I would just carry on and finish it myself and I would know that my contract was terminated. I just wasn't too sure how Raynor would play it this time.

Once I'd passed through passport control, I took a taxi to travel to the Pentagon, 30 minutes to cover the 26 miles. The Colonel was an astute man, and we were meeting down by the lagoon where no one would be able to eavesdrop into our conversation. I arrived early and surveilled the area, being confident that we would be able to have a quiet conversation and was sure that the man sweeping the path was probably one of the Colonel's men.

I watched as Raynor approached, seeing the nod of the head from the sweeper before he sat down on the bench. Walking from behind him I took a seat next to him, watching him and seeing that he knew that I was there.

"I might be getting old Manoso, but I still have my wits about me"

I leant forward with my forearms on my knees, looking out across the water at the boats beyond.

"I hope you have them for what I'm about to tell you"

"That bad?"

I wasn't sure just how bad Raynor would see it, but I'd find out soon enough.

"The detonator wasn't there. Someone had already taken it. We found the body of a man that used to work with Markovic instead"

"So he led someone else to it?"

I knew it looked that way but that card that had been left, there was something about it being there that was worrying me.

"Maybe. We followed the money and the man had already been paid a large amount, possibly for the warhead. It led us to Istanbul and a man called Igor Pavkov, wannabe arms dealer. His warehouse had been destroyed and the night he was holding a bidding party on his yacht, it sank"

"So where are the detonator and warhead?"

"I don't know. I don't think Pavkov ever had the detonator. The warhead, well it could well be at the bottom of the ocean"

"Why are you here then Manoso?"

"I think finding Markovic's daughter will unlock some answers. I need three weeks"

"You've got two"

Raynor was quickly getting to his feet with no more questions for me, making me wonder if he actually suspected or knew more. I had expected him to ask me why I was contacting him and not Gregson but maybe if he was aware that there was a leak within that agency then he would understand. I waited until he'd left the small grassy area until I stood up as well. The sweeper had disappeared, so I took that as my cue to leave the area as well. It was another taxi drive to catch another plane before I would arrive back in New York City.

It was Hector who I'd contacted to meet me at the airport because I wanted an update on anything that he'd come across in Trenton. I'd also asked him to provide some extra electronic equipment requested by Ethan. I moved through the airport quickly and coming out of the exit walked across to where cars were parked in the short term parking area. If I hadn't seen Hector, then I wouldn't have known which car to head for but tried not to show my surprise at the van he was stood next to. It wasn't that it was a van it was what was painted across the side that had me raising an eyebrow at him. There was a large round logo with a bird and a wave inside the name of the company circling it. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Water.

I suppose as a cover vehicle it was a good idea, no one would question seeing the van anywhere on the road and especially near to where Markovic lived with Round Valley Reservoir behind it. I got into the van without saying a word allowing Hector to drive, I had a feeling that he knew exactly where we needed to be, where that was, I had no idea. Hector navigated the rush hour traffic with ease and from the way that he was driving at a slow speed for him, I knew from watching around us that we didn't have anyone following us. That Hector had nothing to say to me as we drove meant that there were no new clues since I'd talked to him, something that I had anticipated. It was just before we reached Bridgewater Township that Hector took a turn to the right, following a narrow road past a wooded area. As he pulled off the road it was then that I knew what he was planning. Parked amongst the trees was a Rangeman SUV.

"Turn right at the end of the road then right again. Everything that you need is in the back"

As Hector got out of the van I moved over to the driver's seat, driving the van along the road as Hector had directed. As I came back onto the main road I knew where I was and knew how to return to the cabin.

It was dusk as I pulled up at the side of the cabin, making sure that the van was out of sight. Opening the door, I was surprised to see Ethan stood waiting for me.

"Did you get the gear?"

I nodded my head to the sliding door at the side of the van and then watched as Ethan was suddenly inside. He was like a kid at a candy store when he emerged carrying a large box making me wonder exactly what it was that I had brought. All I did was pass on the referencing of the equipment to Hector, so I had no idea what was contained inside the boxes. I carried some more boxes from the van into the cabin and then locked the van not sure when we would need it or for what. Back inside Ethan was pulling out what looked like a telescope, a controller and a laptop.

"What does that do Ethan?"

"Long range thermal imaging camera that can be remotely controlled through that controller. The laptop has a 3D plan of Markovic's house"

I was beginning to understand what the equipment would be able to do and that it had been Hector who had uploaded the plans of the house. We'd be able to see anyone in the house in any of the rooms, but there was just one problem that I could see.

"How do you set it up so that it isn't seen?"

"The van, it has a hole in the side somewhere, I'll check it out in the morning. That man of yours knew what I needed so I'm sure that everything will be here"

Okay, that accounted for the van because it wouldn't look out of place parked by the reservoir. It did make me wonder what other toys Ethan had asked for.

It seemed that Santos and CJ were due back from surveillance soon which meant that I was just in time to take my turn. I took the opportunity to change into black cargos and a black sweater and was just grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge when they came in.

"Anything Santos?"

I watched as Santos passed over a camera to Ethan and as Ethan connected it to a laptop, seeing photos come up on the screen.

"Post van early this morning and then two men turned up dressed in suits after lunch"

I looked at the photos as Santos said that and then watched as Ethan started up a face recognition program to determine who they were.

"This one seemed a strange one. She arrived about an hour ago and is still there"

Looking at the woman I was seeing a middle aged woman wearing a long raincoat and flat black shoes. She must have been wearing a skirt as her legs were visible, but the coat was fastened up to her collar and she had a scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Girlfriend?"

Suggested CJ.

"She could be there for anything. Cook, cleaner or even a secretary"

"Has she been here before?"

I asked wondering if she was a regular visitor.

"I'll have to check through the camera footage"

Ethan and I were due to do our turn of surveillance, but I thought that his time would be better going through the camera footage while we were away.

"Ethan, you stay and do that. I'll cover the surveillance"

I wanted the time alone to think things through and I was interested in who that woman was. I did a couple of circuits of the property before finding a place that had a good view of the front entrance and settled down to wait. I was feeling on edge as I stood there, even though being still and silent was what I was good at. I wanted to be more proactive with this investigation. We'd already lost time being away in Serbia and Turkey and to me it was time that we could have been doing something else. I wanted to follow up with that man Ryan Correll. Him following Gregson could have been totally innocent but it was someone that we needed to follow up on. I'd give being here another day and then I would find that man and do some tailing of my own.

As I decided that, I saw a light escape from the front door of the house and watched as the woman came out accompanied by a man who looked as though he was one of the guards. As the man opened the car door for the woman it gave me a moment to see her face from the interior light. My immediate thought was that she didn't look like a woman who'd had wild passionate sex. That had visions of Steph coming to my mind, her flushed cheeks, swollen lips and hair wild around her face. No, that definitely wasn't the look that the woman had so maybe I'd been right, and she was there as a housekeeper. The car belonged to Markovic so there was no point in recording the plate, though maybe one of the guys could follow and discover exactly who she was and what her job was.

Returning to the cabin I wasn't sure if Ethan had slept or not because he was sat exactly where he had been when I'd left. Looking around I couldn't see any of the equipment that we'd brought in from the van, so maybe he had moved from the chair.

"That woman, she was here three days ago. Same time and for four hours"

It made me wonder if that was her schedule we probably weren't here for the time before that.

"Next time she comes would be a good use of the infrared system, then maybe we can see what she does when she's here. Anything else?"

I asked almost knowing what the answer would be.

"No. The two guys were other engineers that work for him. Otherwise, he rarely has visitors and hasn't been away from the house"

"Phone calls?"

Because surely the man was communicating with someone.

"Doesn't use the land line and any numbers for him aren't showing anything. I'm still trying to get through the encryption to piggyback his Wi-Fi then I'll be able to access any emails or other social media sites that he might use"

"How long?"

Because we needed a break, something that told us what was happening with Markovic. Gregson hadn't been in touch with me so I had no idea if another ransom demand had been received or even if Raynor had told Gregson and Markovic that the detonator wasn't where he said it would be. That made finding his daughter even more important because I was worried how long the kidnappers would keep her alive.

Leaving Ethan, I walked back through to the main room and started to go through the information that we had so far. I doubted that the search on Elain Cummings would reveal much and certainly the one on Joseph Thomson held nothing new. The searches of the two business colleagues showed no irregularities which left me holding the one on Ryan Correll. The summary written out by Santos certainly didn't imply anything so why was I so sure that he was involved? Gut reaction maybe?

50 years old, worked for the FBI since university. Genius with data. Never married, lived alone, no unusual incomings from bank records. I started at the beginning of his history. He'd been born in Kansas City to parents who were both teachers. He'd worked at a local garage to make money and then attended Harvard University, Boston. Throughout his time at school, he'd excelled at everything, though didn't have an aptitude for sports. No scrapes with the law anywhere which I would have expected if he'd been headhunted by the FBI. He'd spent the first years at Quantico and then a year ago had moved to the office in New York.

I spent hours looking through his financials, places that he travelled to, though his trips to Kansas were few and far between. Hell, I even knew the style of clothes that he wore. The apartments where he had lived in the past and where he lived now, realizing that it was very close to where he worked. I even looked for people that he might know, though to be honest he didn't seem to have much of a social life. No girlfriends that I could find or hobbies. The man really led a boring life. Though it seemed not as boring as mine had become.

I spent the next day doing my rota with the other men, to be honest I wanted to see how well that infrared camera worked. The end result was worth the wait as I sat inside the van with Ethan watching. We'd parked the van by the reservoir and even though we had the protection of tress so wouldn't be seen that piece of equipment had the power to see inside the house. With the 3D plan we could watch as people moved from room to room. It gave us the opportunity to know how many guards there were and after working out which image was Markovic exactly what his routines were.

Tomorrow I planned to follow Correll and really get a handle on the man himself because I was going to be with him every minute of the day.

I made sure that I was well rested, though I didn't sleep deeply with all sorts of notions whizzing around my head. After a quick meeting with the men, I was taking the truck into New York City. I found all day parking and was waiting as Correll came out of his apartment block. Walking on the opposite side of the street I kept him in sight, surprised that he was so unaware that he was being followed. Not once did he check behind him. Once Correll was inside the building that was home to the FBI here in New York, I decided that a little B & E was needed so returned to his apartment. Getting through the main door was easy, with so many people leaving for work it was simple enough to walk through.

Entering the lobby, I decided to use the elevator, I was fit enough to climb the stairs but didn't want to waste the time of climbing to the 17th floor. It was a nice place, carpeted throughout with prints of landscapes on the wall, hell, the elevator had music playing as I rose to the floor that I needed. It was one of those anonymous buildings, with no one on the corridors making me wonder if anyone knew who their neighbors were.

The lock to his apartment was simple to get past and there was no security inside, as I'd expected, so standing at the end of a short hallway I looked around first. The kitchen area was modern with a choice of electrical appliances on the counter. The place was immaculate, nothing left out and as I walked through to the lounge area that became even more apparent. A bookcase full of theoretical mathematic books but there was nothing personal. A TV but no music system, ornaments but no photographs. The bedroom had the same feel to it, as though Correll slept here but didn't live here. His closet held clothes that I recognized from his shopping but nothing else. Jacket pockets were empty with several suits still in the plastic bags from having been cleaned.

The place gave no clue to who this man Correll was. No computer or laptop or even keys to a car or even somewhere else, because to me it seemed that this place was like his work. Orderly, efficient and empty. I quickly left the apartment and made my way back to the building where Correll was working. I found a small diner where I could see the front entrance and waited and watched.

After 2 hours I had to move, the waitress was being obvious with how she was watching me, so throwing notes onto the table, with a large tip, I left. The alley next to the café was my next location, hidden behind the skip that to be honest stank of rotting food. I'd expected Correll to leave for lunch and was getting worried that he'd used a different exit when I spied him talking to one of the guards. It was only 1500hrs but being a Friday maybe he was finishing early for the weekend, which made me wonder if he had something planned. As I followed him back down the street I was surprised when he went down into the garage area. There was no record of him owning a car. Keeping to the shadows I followed his footsteps as he walked into the cavernous area. The lighting was poor but as I used parked cars for cover, I was aware as the indicators of a car flashed, indicating that it had been unlocked.

If Correll drove out of the garage I knew that I had no way of getting back to the truck in time to follow him. I quickly thought of what to do, I didn't have any trackers on me that I could plant on his car or anyway to follow them. I did have my watch though and that had a tracker inside that Hector could follow. Getting my watch inside was the next problem. Ducking down and laying on the ground I shimmied under a car, with three more between me and Correll's car. He was one of those men who unlocked his car well before he got to it, stupid really, because anyone could hijack it before he got there. I was about to open the passenger door when I decided to open the trunk and get inside, why I did that I had no idea. I was just pulling it down to close when I heard the front door open.

Holding the trunk almost closed I waited, hoping there wasn't a warning light indicating that the trunk was open. With the engine started I felt the car move forward and as it drove over the grills just before moving up the ramp, I pulled it shut. Was it a stupid move, possibly, but at least I'd find out what his secret was, hoping that he wasn't just going to his favorite restaurant.

The drive was slow, but driving in New York always was. Being in the trunk I had no idea where we were going and to be honest it wasn't the most comfortable position to be in. I didn't know the streets well enough to work out the route he was taking so took a risk. I pulled out my phone and opened the app for Google maps and then watched as the small blue dot appeared on the map. Zooming out gave me an idea of the direction that he was taking, surprising me when we looked to be driving south along route 95. As he turned onto route 9 then the 195, I knew he was heading for the beach. Nothing in any of the searches tied into anywhere near to the beach.

It was a long drive taking over an hour and a half before I felt the car slowing down. I felt cramped being inside the trunk and was relieved that we had arrived somewhere and that I could get out and stretch. According to the map there were no roads that he could be turning into, but after a few minutes I felt the car move again. Ten minutes later it came to a stop and the engine was turned off. The silence was daunting as I lay there, not wanting to move in case I made a sound. I was relieved when I heard the door open, and the car move as Correll got out. Footsteps on gravel faded as he walked away

I'd checked through family and any friends that he had and found no one who owned property here and there had been no payments for renting out a property. I was at a total loss as to where we were. Okay, I knew where we were but had no idea what place we were at. Was he one of those people that came to the beach to relax and to walk? Was he just here to get some fresh air or was he meeting up with someone? I knew how much Steph loved the beach, the smell of the salt air, the feel of the breeze on her face but mostly the sound of the waves pounding against the sand.

Finding the lever to open the trunk I waited a few moments, listening for any signs that I wasn't alone. Through the gap came the sound of waves in the distance and the tang of salt was carried on the breeze but as I'd expected to the side of the car was a building. Undoing the bulb in the trunk to stop any light attracting attention I unrolled myself over the edge of the trunk and rolled underneath the car. Maneuvering, I had a better view of the building, now seeing it as a cottage. The front windows and door were dark, so my next move was going to be to push myself up against the building. I slowly worked my way around the side of the cottage to determine whether or not Correll was inside. Bright light shone through the back window, and I could hear the sound of water swirling down a waste pipe. Looking up were large full length windows with a light in one of the rooms. I held my breath as a figure appeared in front of that window, because stood there with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders was my Babe. That she was actually here had my heart hammering inside my chest. All I could think about was getting to her and then bringing her out.