The Escape (US Marshals #1) - Lisa Harris Page 0,56

of passengers strolled through the busy station, hurrying along the crowded walkways.

“I was wrong,” Madison said, pointing to a man with a visible scar on his chin. “That’s definitely him.”

Barrick had managed to change his appearance somewhat with glasses, a baseball cap, and some baggy clothes that made him look ten pounds heavier, but there was no hiding that scar.

“Can you tell where he’s heading?” Jonas asked the marshal on the phone.

“It’s a cross-country Amtrak train, the California Zephyr, that runs from San Francisco Bay to Chicago and back.”

“Which direction was he going?”

“East. There’s a train that left at three in the morning in the direction of Denver.”

“He had to have stolen an ID. Can you track what name he’s using?”

“We believe he used the ID of a man named Eugene Cahill,” said Peters. “We’ve got a local address on him. I’m sending officers now to check on him.”

Madison took a step back. “You have to be right. He’s heading to Denver.”

“I thought he was smarter, but they always head for the familiar.” Jonas stared at the video then turned back to the phone. “Do we have any way to verify that he’s on the train and not just throwing us off again?”

“I’m trying to get ahold of a passenger list,” Peters said. “I’ll also see if any other tickets were bought under that name.”

“Keep us updated,” Jonas said, then ended the call.

“So how do we want this to play out?” she asked. “Do we want to have local LEOs pick him up at one of the stops?”

“I think we need to be there to coordinate. We can’t let this go south. He’s an armed fugitive, so we’ll have to handle things carefully.”

Madison nodded. “I agree.”

He pulled the information Peters had sent about the train along with the video. There were seven stops between Salt Lake City and Denver. Provo, Helper, and Green River in Utah, then Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Granby, and Fraser-Winter Park in Colorado.

He took a long drink of the coffee the deputy had brought him. “Once he gets to Denver he’ll disappear. What are our options?”

Madison drummed her fingers on the desk. “We could evacuate the train. Stop at one of the stations and have everyone get off. Arrest him as he exits.”

“Too risky,” Jonas said. “He’d know something was up. We have to avoid turning this into a hostage situation. If we start marching people off the train, he’ll get spooked.”

Deputy Nelson walked back over to their station.

Madison took a sip of her drink. “It’s normal to have officers walk through the trains, and delays are inevitable, which could play to our advantage.”

“Agreed, but boarding the train will be just as risky. We’ll have to search every compartment with passengers on board. If he sees a bunch of officers—”

“We go in undercover,” she said. “No uniforms. Just as passengers. We identify him, then we just keep our eye on him until he gets off the train.”

“It might work,” Deputy Nelson said. “But I thought the two of you were in the transport plane with him. He’ll recognize you both.”

“We could do something to change our appearances,” Madison said. “He’ll try to blend in. We have to as well. And I think it’s worth the risk. We can recognize him faster than someone who only saw a photograph.”

“You’re right. Our best bet may be to get to one of the stops before the train arrives with a few undercover officers. Then we can keep our eye on him until he gets off.”

Madison glanced at the map. “The train goes through Glenwood Springs just after twelve. That would give us time to plan and get everything in place.”

Jonas nodded. “We’ll coordinate with the Amtrak police as well as local police. We need to make sure that we don’t spook him. Nelson, we’re going to need detailed schematics of the entire train. Sleeping cars, restrooms, showers, luggage compartments, café—everything. Could you get that for us?”

“I’m on it.”

Jonas glanced at his watch. “I’ll get us a flight out, and in the meantime, we’ll work out the details.”

Because one wrong move and he’d disappear for good.

Twenty-One

Madison studied the timetable they’d come up with, wanting to ensure they hadn’t missed anything. The frustration that Barrick had managed to evade them this long had yet to dissipate, but even more frustrating was the fact that her family had been threatened. Putting her life in danger was one thing, but her family? No, that wasn’t acceptable. And even though she trusted Michaels with