A Shadow Fell (17 page)

             
             
             
             
             
             
             
40

             
When
almost a month
went by and nothing
was
heard from Jack, the FBI finally got serious about trying to find him. Two agents came to Colville to interview
Callie
. Harvey Bla
ckmore
and
Vincent Colletti
were career agents with over twenty years experience
each
.
Both were in their fifties, balding and going to fat.
Neither of them knew Ja
ck
personally although Black
more
had met him briefly a dozen years earlier during a major drug operation that had involved agents from a number of field offices.

             
“Mrs. Parmenter,” Blackmore said, “is there anything you can think of
that might
help us locate Jack?”

             
“I’m sure you’re aware of my condition up until a
couple of
week
s
ago,”
Callie
answered
slowly
. “I have absolutely no idea what Jack might
be
up to.”

             
“Were you acquainted with you
r
neighbor, a Mr. Conrad Edgerton?”
Colletti
asked.

             
“I’ve met him,”
Callie responded
. “Very briefly. Why do you ask?”

             
“We’ve learned that Mr. Edgerton is also missing. As far as we’ve been able to determine,
Edgerton and Jack
disappeared at approximately the same time.”

             
“That’s very strange,”
Callie
said. “Jack didn’t know him at all as far as I
recall.
”

             
“Well, that’s not exactly the case,” Blackmore said. “We do know that Jack and Edgerton were keeping company. It’s entirely possible they left home together for places unknown in search of your
father.
”

             
“I’m totally surprised at this,”
Callie
said.

             
“We’re a little concerned,” Blackmore continued, “ in that Edgerton is a suspect in the disappearance and
possible
murder of his wife. This is not a guy Jack would have been in the habit of befriending.”

             
“
But Jack didn’t know anything about
this,”
Callie
said.

             
“Actually,”
Colletti
said, “he did.
Our agents met with Jack and advised him of our suspicions about Edgerton several weeks before he disappeared.”

             
“What we suspect,”
Colletti
continued, “is that Edgerton convinced Jack he might be able to find your fa---”

             
“Please,”
Callie
interrupted, “don’t refer to that
bastard
as my father.”

             
Colletti
nodded. “Sorry. That he might be able to find Henderson. Edgerton was a highly d
ecorated Vietnam soldier with a great talent
for tracking enemy soldiers through hostile territory.
Does this mean anything to you – give you any thoughts about why Jack would hook up with him?
”

             
Callie
thought about it for a few moments. “The only thing I can think of is that maybe Jack figured
Reuben
had headed back into the mountains and was using Edgerton
to find him
.”

             
“That’s pretty much what we’ve been thinking,” Blackmore said. “But
the question, of course, is
where?”

             
“Has anyone been back to the cabin
Reuben
was raised in?”
Callie
asked. “Maybe Jack had some reason to believe he would go back there.”

             
“We thought of that. But the cabin doesn’t even exist anymore and Jack knew that.”

             
“Yes, that’s right,”
Callie
said, suddenly remembering Jack’s conversation with Tom Kilborn.

             
“Well,” Blackmore said, “I think we’ve accomplished about all we’re going to here today. If anything else comes to mind call us.” He p
laced
a card on the table next to
Callie.

             
When they were gone
Callie sat morosely on the sofa while tears formed a trail down her cheeks.
Miles, who had
remained
silent
throughout the interview,
sat down beside her and placed an arm com
fortingly around her shoulders. Callie had been severely depressed ever since regaining her memory and things were not improving. He was very concerned about her.

             
“What am I going to do, Miles?”
Callie whispered.
“I don’t think I could take it if Jack has been taken from me too.”

             
Miles was ever supportive but, in truth, he was skeptical that things would turn out well after all this time. “Everything’s going to be okay, honey,” he said. “Me and Betty will always be here for you
– you know that.”

             
She gave his hand a squeeze. “What would I have done if I didn’t have you guys.” She wiped her eyes with a Kleenex. “But where could Jack have gone?”

             
“
I dunno know, darlin’. But I was thinkin’, j
ust because that cabin’s gone don’t mean Reuben
didn’t
go back there
.
”

             
“You really think he might have?”

             
They ta
lked
things through
for some time. T
he likelihood of Jack deducing
that
Reuben
might
return to the one location that held such meaning for him throughout his life
was strong in Miles’ opinion
.

             
“The more I think about it,”
Callie
said, “the more I’m inclined to agree with you. But what do we do?”

             
“I wish I was a little younger,” Miles said. “I’d go up there myself. But I don’t think I’m up to it, darlin’.”

             
“Of course you’re not,”
Callie
said.

             
“Why don’t you call Tom Kilborn and tell him how you feel? Maybe he’ll see it the same way we do and send some people up there to have a look around.”

             
Callie
tried to find reasons why this
was not a good idea
but, to
her
, it seemed sensible. “It can’t hurt to try,”
she
said.

             
Miles
dialed Tom’s number and handed
Callie
the phone. Being Jack’s wife got
her
through with a minimum of delay.

             
“Tom,”
Callie
said. “I need your help.”

             
“Anything I can do, Callie. You only need to ask.”

             
“I want you to check out the site of Reuben’s cabin in Virginia. I think that may be where Jack went.”

             
There was a pause for several seconds during which
Callie
could almost hear the wheels turning in Tom’s mind. Finally he spoke. “I really don’t think it’s going to prove out, Callie. But I’m damned if I’ve got a better idea either. I’ll have agents up there by helicopter within twenty-four hours.”

             
Callie
breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Thank you, Tom. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

             
“I
just hope we get something meaningful from it
,” he said.

             
             
             
             
             
             
             
41

             
Agents
Harvey
Blackmore and
Vincent Colletti
peered
keenly
out the Bell Jet Ranger as it zeroed in on the site of Reuben Henderson’s childhood home.
From the air the
burnt timbers of the cabin could just barely be seen; the open field behind the
site
now
appeared
perfectly
benign
.
Neither
agent
had been to the location before so hadn’t experienced the
potent atmosphere of
evil that so many others before them had reported.

             
The pilot put the chopper down in the center of the field and cut the engine, the rotors slowly dying while the three men unclasped their seatbelts. Blackmore leaned forward and put his hand on the pilot’s shoulder. “Sit tight for a few minutes
, Mike
– give us a chance to have a quick look around first.”
The pilot nodded his understanding.

             
Once on the ground Blackmore and
Colletti
walked the field. Their cursory inspection revealed nothing out of the ordinary, prompting them to move their inspection to the cabin site. As they stood looking over the charred timbers Blackmore removed his sunglasses and used the back of his hand to wipe perspiration from his forehead. “Anything here that looks unusual to you,
Vince?
”

             
Colletti
sucked his teeth and looked at his partner who resembled him enough to be his brother. “Did you really think we were going to find anything up here besides mosquitoes and
pine needles?”

             
Blackmore shook his head in a world weary way. “No
t really, no
. But as long as we’re here
let’s
have a good look around. Kilborn expect
s
nothing short of
a
microscopic examination.”

             
They went in different directions, studying the ground. After a few minutes
Colletti
called out, “Harv. Over here.”

             
Blackmore joined his partner. “What
have you
got?”

             
Colletti
pointed at a crude fire pit, then knelt beside it. “I’m no boy scout but I’d say this has been used fairly recently. Look at the ash residue. It’s obviously not that old.”

             
Blackmore
crouched
down and took some of the ash in his fingers, lightly rubbing it. “You’re right
.
I also saw what looks like it’s probably dog doo over there.
So… somebody’s been up here. But who?”

             
“I think we have to assume there’s at least a possibility it was Jack,”
Colletti
mused.

             
Blackmore looked deep in thought.
“We flew up the same route we would have taken if we were hiking, right?”

             
“Yeah, pretty close I think.
”

             
“Okay. And we didn’t see any sign of anybody on the way. So if Jack and this wacko neighbor of his have picked up a trail and are actually tracking Henderson they’ve taken a different direction
away from
here.”

             
Colletti
nodded in agreement. “Stands to reason.”

             
Blackmore stood, slapping his hands together to rid them of the ash.
“
We’ll
do a wide area search from the air and see if we can spot any sign of them.”

             
“
They’ve been gone for a month
,”
Colletti pointed out
.
“
You really think we’re going to find them alive?
”

             
Blackmore pursed his lips. “I’d like to think so,
Vince.
But I do
ubt
it’s very likely.”