Chapter 7: Monday Morning, Houston
Daisy and Luke were already at the office, drinking coffee at their desks, when Marco arrived and explained that Annie and Jimmy wouldn't be in because of illness.
"What are you talking about?" said Luke slowly, "That doesn't make sense. Jimmy was staying here wasn't he? He hadn't said anything, and I bet he thought I didn't know, but I was pretty sure Natalie'd kicked him out again." He turned and headed for the bunks, was back again in only a minute. "Some of his clothes and things are here, and I'm sure he slept here, but his badge and gun, and his duffel bag, are gone. Why would he lie?"
Marco smirked. "Maybe they finally stopped being so friggin' repressed, and they're together someplace. Should've happened years ago."
Daisy rolled her eyes. "It's complicated, no doubt. But I don't believe Annie would let that happen. Besides, even if you were right, they'd be back here this morning, pretending like nothin' had happened." - Luke looked at her obliquely - "I'm calling Annie", Daisy finished, and pulled out her phone.
Annie's phone went to voicemail, and when Marco, now doubting Jimmy's story, tried his number it went to voicemail too. Convinced something was wrong, the three junior Marshals did for Jimmy and Annie what they did every day for fugitives. With the cell phones off there was no location trace available. Luke pulled up the call histories: the last two calls Annie had received were from the Amarillo USMS office in the afternoon - the call they'd seen Jimmy take - and, later in the evening, from Jimmy himself. On Jimmy's phone were a number of calls to Reigert in Amarillo, and the call to Marco. Marco called Reigert.
In spite of having withheld information from the Houston team, Jimmy had made no effort to keep secrets from Reigert, and so within an hour they had pieced together most of the story, knew Annie'd gone to find her father and Jimmy had gone to find Annie. The conversation with Reigert had been helpful, but disturbing. He'd confided to Marco Jimmy's fears about Annie being outside the law, and his own concerns about Jimmy's state of mind. Reigert was surprised to hear that Jimmy's cell phone was off and that his team could not get in touch with him; he offered to swing by Jimmy's hotel to check on him.
While they waited for Reigert to call back, they sat in the meeting room while Marco related what Reigert had told him about William Frost, Annie and Jimmy. He ended by saying "Even if Reigert finds Jimmy, Annie will still be missing. And if Jimmy can't find her, how can we?"
Normally, at an impasse in a search, Jimmy and Annie talked through what they knew, getting into the fugitive's head, sometimes role-playing. They were used to Jimmy and Annie leading that process, and fell quiet. Finally Luke spoke up.
"Okay. I can't see what Annie's thinking, but I can see… I'm Jimmy. I believe Annie's gone to Amarillo to look for her father. Her cell phone is off. She's left no trail; I know she doesn't want me to find her. No way will I let her head into something dangerous without me. I go to Amarillo without knowing for sure that that's where she's gone. I look everywhere for her, for two days, and don't get a lead. If she's been looking for her father she hasn't been doing it in Amarillo; she hasn't been to a hotel there, hasn't been to the place where her father was seen, hasn't been to a restaurant or bar where she might reasonably have asked about him. I've got to conclude she didn't come to Amarillo."
Daisy joined in. "But where did she go instead? She must have information you don't have, know something you don't know, maybe something from the past."
Marco jumped into the conversation. "Jimmy knows her better than anyone, and had talked to her the night she left Houston. I doubt we can guess anything he wouldn't have. But he's dropped out of touch; could he be on the plane back here? His phone would be off. Would he decide to come back to Houston?"
Luke , looking inward: "No. I'm completely focussed on Annie now. If I move, it's because I believe I'm moving towards her." He looked up at Marco and Daisy. "We don't have to find Annie. No matter what, Jimmy will find Annie. We only have to find Jimmy."
Marco's phone rang. It was Reigert. He said that Jimmy had checked out of the hotel very early in the morning, and was gone. Marco relayed Reigert's news to the team and added, "Jimmy must think he knows where she's gone."
Daisy hesitated. "Ask Reigert what he's driving. If it's one of their vehicles, they can track it." Marco turned back to the phone, asked Reigert the question, listened and shook his head at Luke and Daisy. "Rental."
"Damn," said Daisy, "we should have run his credit card to start with, we'd have been following that angle already." Luke and Daisy turned to the computer while Marco thanked Reigert and put his phone away. Within minutes they knew that Jimmy had rented a truck at the Amarillo airport. "Got low-jack on it?" Luke asked Daisy. With a phone call they confirmed that Jimmy's rental was parked at the trailhead of the Lighthouse Trail, and that a man matching his description and a slim blonde had ridden down the trail before 8:00 that morning.
With what they knew, Marco was left with no choice but to go to Annie's boss with their findings. If they were to continue their search in the Palo Duro Canyon it was going to take serious resources - people, choppers - and he needed permission to continue. He was back in a half hour with the senior man's orders: "Find them, and bring them back."