The Missing Page 0,81
she had seen at the lab.
‘This must be where he kept her,’ Banville said.
Darby thought of the Gator with its shovel and bed full of dirt and felt the last dangling thread of hope slide away.
Chapter 64
Darby pulled Banville aside so they could talk privately.
‘Hostage Rescue might have access to a chopper,’ Darby said. ‘If they do, and if it’s equipped with infrared heat sensors, we can use it to search the woods, see if it can lock on to what’s left of Carol’s heat signature, depending on how deep she’s buried and how long ago Boyle killed her.’
‘Holloway’s already put out the call to the state police for assistance. By morning, the dogs will be here. We’re going to cover every inch of these woods.’
‘A chopper can do a sweep of these woods in about a couple of hours.’
Banville let out a long sigh.
‘I don’t like asking the feds for help any more than you do, believe me,’ Darby said. ‘But I’m thinking about Dianne Cranmore. You and I both know what happened here is going to be all over the news first thing tomorrow morning. I think we should tell the mother before she finds out on the news.’
Banville handed over his cell phone. ‘You can make the call to Manning.’
Darby stood alone on a dark trail, dialing Evan’s number, Holloway’s men busy behind her.
‘It’s Darby.’
‘I’ve been trying to reach you for over an hour,’ Evan said. ‘What’s going on? The call was dropped. I kept calling and you didn’t pick up.’
‘Did you find Carol?’
‘No, not yet. What I did find, though, was more evidence – a pair of men’s boots, size eleven, manufactured by Ryzer Gear. There’s also a navy blue carpet in the bedroom. I think it will match the fibers you found.’
‘Did you find a prison cell? Like the one we saw in the pictures?’
‘No.’
‘Carol’s not there.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘First, I want to ask you a question about Hostage Rescue. Do they have access to a chopper?’
‘A Black Hawk,’ Evan said. ‘Why?’
‘Is it equipped with infrared heat sensors?’
‘What’s going on, Darby?’
‘Find out and call me back on Banville’s cell phone. Do you need the number?’
‘I already have it. Now tell me what’s –’
Darby hung up. Holloway’s men were getting ready to search the woods for recently dug graves.
Half an hour later, Evan called back.
The Black Hawk is equipped with infrared heat sensors.’
‘I’m going to need it to do a search of some woods,’ Darby said. ‘I’m looking for a buried body. Maybe several of them.’
‘Where are you?’
‘First, you’re going to tell me why your wonderful organization took over my case.’
‘I told you, it’s classified –’
Darby hung up.
Evan immediately called back. ‘Booting you off the case wasn’t my decision.’
‘I know. You looked real upset when it happened.’
‘You’re putting me in an awkward position. I can’t tell you what –’
You’re going to tell me what happened, right now, or I’m hanging up again.’
Evan didn’t answer.
‘Good-bye, Special Agent Manning.’
‘What I’m about to say is completely off the record. If it ever gets back to me, I’ll deny it.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m well acquainted with how you federal guys operate.’
‘The man we took down was Earl Slavick, a former informant we had working inside a white supremacist group with suspected ties to the Oklahoma City bombing. While Slavick was feeding us information about his group, he had started his own racial cleansing agenda and abducted women from the area. I was called in to help out local authorities. By the time I figured out what was going on, Slavick had packed up and disappeared. We’ve been looking for him ever since.’
‘So you knew right away Slavick was involved in Carol Cranmore’s abduction because of the boot prints I found.’
‘Yes, I told you that.’
‘But you didn’t tell me Slavick’s DNA profile was loaded into CODIS. You didn’t tell me it was classified. That way, when a match was found, the FBI would know, and then you guys could come in and clean up your mess quietly. You didn’t want anyone to know that the man making all these women disappear was a former FBI informant. The remains we found in the woods, she was one of Slavick’s victims, wasn’t she?’
‘Congratulations,’ Evan said in a cold tone. You’ve connected all the dots.’
‘One last question,’ Darby said. ‘How did you find out where Traveler – excuse me, Earl Slavick – was hiding?’
Evan didn’t answer.
‘Let me guess,’ Darby said. ‘It was the map I found. The URL was printed on the bottom. You