The Bone Tree (Penn Cage #5) - Greg Iles Page 0,201

I’d better make sure this little deal went through as planned. And it obviously didn’t.”

Jordan offered her hand to Carl, who shook it with a smile.

“This is Jordan Glass,” Caitlin said. “She’s a big-time photographer.”

Carl’s smile spread into a grin. “Oh, I know the name. Proud to meet you,” he said, shaking her hand again. “You were in Fallujah for a week when I was there.”

“Army?” Jordan asked.

“Marine sniper.”

Jordan smiled and stood easy. “How about we take a look at this alleged map? I’m starting to feel like I’m stuck in Treasure Island.”

Carl held out his hand, and Dontae Edwards finally pulled a folded piece of paper from his inside jacket pocket. He handed it to Carl, who unfolded it. The map looked as if it had been drawn on a paper towel taken from a dispenser in a public restroom.

“Looks real to me,” Carl said, studying curving lines that made Caitlin think of a child drawing with a crayon. “This area here looks like the Valhalla hunting camp, and over here is the federal wildlife refuge. Toby’s got one of the game fences marked here, about in the middle. And where this X is, is a deep stand of cypress. It’s one of the thickest parts of the swamp and covered with water most all year round.”

Caitlin nodded excitedly. “That sounds like what we’re looking for.”

Carl gave her a penetrating look. “I did what we talked about last night, but I didn’t learn much. Nothing that would confirm a location.”

On the phone last night, Carl had offered to have his father, a local pastor, discreetly question some members of his Athens Point congregation about the Bone Tree. Since the church was 100 percent African-American, Caitlin had felt it was worth the risk to gain good information. But apparently Reverend Sims had learned little.

Jordan poked her thumb at Dontae Edwards, who was paying close attention to their conversation.

“Scoot!” Carl ordered. “And forget you ever saw this map, or you’ll be hauling ass out of town like Toby did. Only you haven’t got the money to do it.”

The boy jumped back on the motorcycle and kick-started it, but Caitlin yelled “Wait!” before he pulled on his helmet. As he watched impatiently, she took five one-hundred-dollar bills from the envelope and handed them over. A grin spread across the boy’s face. He waited a half second, then snatched the bills, stuffed them into his jacket, and tore out of the clearing with a scream of his engine.

“So what now?” Jordan asked. “We don’t have a boat.”

Carl smiled, his white teeth gleaming in his coffee-colored face. “I think I can probably do something about that.”

“Such as?”

“My man Danny McDavitt is doing a check-ride in the LCSO chopper this morning. He could pick us up and have a look for Toby’s X for you.”

Caitlin blinked in disbelief. Danny McDavitt was a retired air force pilot who flew the helicopter for the Lusahatcha County Sheriff’s Department. She’d met him two months ago, when the pilot had assisted Penn in fighting against the criminals operating the Magnolia Queen casino. McDavitt had gone far beyond the call of duty to try to locate Caitlin after she’d been kidnapped by those men. “Carl, are you serious?” she asked. “Would he help us today?”

“Sure. Just let me call him.”

“You wouldn’t have to tell Major McDavitt anything about what we’re looking for, would you? I trust him, but this is a special case of secrecy. Not even Penn knows I’m here.”

Carl nodded thoughtfully. “I can play it off like I don’t know myself.”

“Can you trust the major to keep quiet about the search? At least for a few hours?”

The deputy smiled. “Danny’s good people. You know that. He can keep a secret.”

Caitlin was sorely tempted, but the prospect of complications worried her. “But what if we find the Bone Tree?”

“Well . . . at that point it’s going to become a law enforcement matter one way or another, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But I’d like at least an hour there before we call anyone else in. And we’ll have to call the FBI, even if we call your sheriff as well. Would that put your job at risk?”

“That I don’t know. For now, we’ll chalk this flight up to hunting for marijuana fields. If we find that tree . . . maybe Danny and I will scoot and leave you two to report it.”

Caitlin’s pulse raced in anticipation of the hunt, but she also felt conflicted. If Tom’s life was at risk,