Fallout

CHAPTER 29

Feeling as if he had been run over by a truck, Craig climbed stiffly out of the FBI helicopter as it bumped to a landing at the pad two miles from the DAF. After barely surviving an avalanche, even looking at piles of Nevsky’s papers sounded enjoyable.

Pushing his scratched sunglasses back into place, more out of habit than because they did any good, Craig carried his jacket over his arm. His shoulder holster slapped against his side as he jogged painfully away from the helicopter. Though he’d cleaned himself off, he hadn’t the luxury of a shower, or a change of clothes, or a decent lunch. Three aspirins and a cup of lukewarm tapwater had been all he could manage, and now it was time to get back to work.

He spotted Paige standing by her white pickup, waving to him. He called out, but the FBI helicopter took off behind him, slowly rotated, and tipped its nose as the pilot streaked back for Las Vegas.

Paige had already contacted him about the coroner’s report on Jorgenson, and he had told her about the bridge explosion. He wondered if all potential couples had such charming conversations.… Now Craig had another murder to investigate, one day left to wrap up the Nevsky case before the Russian delegation went critical, and a ticking clock on the Eagle’s Claw threat for the following day.

However, the scenario had changed dramatically because of one little detail — since Jorgenson had been murdered with the same obscure drug that had killed Bill Maguire, Craig knew for certain Nevsky’s death was connected with the Eagle’s Claw. Somehow.

Without a moment to recuperate or gather their thoughts, Goldfarb and Jackson had obtained their search warrant after the pilot dropped them off at the Las Vegas airport. They raced out to Jorgenson’s house trailer, hoping to find other evidence (without burning the place down this time), while Craig came to concentrate on the paperwork at the DAF.

He trotted toward Paige’s truck, feeling his adrenaline running low. But he didn’t have time to rest. He had already lost half a day of his own investigation because of the Amtrak explosion, as had Goldfarb and Jackson. Could that be what the Eagle’s Claw had intended? He had to be in five places at once, with a dozen leads — every one of which seemed to go in opposite directions… and if none of them could make sense of the mess within twenty-four hours, a lot of people could die.

Craig touched the stinging cut on his cheek as he approached Paige. “Thanks for the ride. I was afraid Waterloo was going to send his moat dragon to pick me up.”

Paige laughed, arching her eyebrows. “Between Sally and Maggie the Mind Reader, I thought you were getting the hots for older women.”

Craig groaned and put his head back on the headrest, closing his eyes as she shifted into gear. “If Sally helps me figure out all that paperwork, I’ll give her a big kiss. We’ve got to make sense of what Nevsky could have been looking for, and why the militia wanted to kill him.”

With the tires humming beneath the truck, Paige gave him a few moments of blessed quiet, which worked wonders. He hadn’t realized it, but when he and Trish were together he’d always felt drained afterwards. She needed constant conversation, emotional contact, sharing every thought. At least he and Paige could sit in comfortable silence.

Craig sat up straighter. “Maybe we’d better go over a few things. We already knew the Eagle’s Claw was connected with NTS, and now we can be sure the militia even had connections inside the DAF itself. But somebody wanted to make sure we never got a chance to talk to Jorgenson.”

“PK Dirks?” asked Paige while looking straight ahead at the road.

“I’ve always thought the timing of that fling he had with Sally was a little too convenient,” Craig said. “He might have used it to obtain an alibi. Maybe he set Nevsky up, left him alone to tempt him into snooping around.” He thought for a moment. “But you’ve already gone through his file?”

“Nothing suspicious. Average performance, some commendations, some complaints. Not a star player, but not a nuisance either.”

“Of course, I’d be more suspicious if the guy seemed too clean,” said Craig. He tried to fidget, but his body hurt too much. “Let’s see what Goldfarb and Jackson turn up when they comb through Jorgenson’s place.”

Paige drove to the DAF security post. “Meanwhile, you and I have the easy task — a couple tons of paperwork to wade through in one afternoon.”