When Cash and Colcord arrived back at the lodge, McFaul intercepted her at the elevator from the rooftop heliport. “We need to talk,” he said. “In the conference room.” He looked at Colcord. “In private.”
She followed him across the main lodge floor, wondering what shit McFaul was going to dump on her now. There were still a fair number of guests, taking selfies and watching the evening gathering of beasts at the lake. She had the suspicion that some of them were hanging around not despite the killings but because of them. What an Instagram moment.
They wouldn’t be there long, if she had her way. After all this, after Johnson’s death, they simply had to shut down the resort.
McFaul held open the door for her. “Take a seat,” he said.
She was dead tired, but tried to keep up an alert and energetic appearance.
McFaul took a seat opposite her. “First, I just want to make sure you’re all right.”
“Absolutely all right, sir,” she said. She was determined to keep this as formal as possible.
“Good. Fill me in on what happened up at the mine—everything.”
Cash went through it—the attack, the killing of Johnson, finding his body, the search of the mine. She mentioned the steel door, only because he would hear about it anyway, but said nothing about the warrant. After she was finished, there was a long silence from McFaul as he stared at the tabletop, tapping a finger. Then he looked up.
“Agent Cash,” he said, “you made a serious error in going into the mine under-armed and underprepared.”
This was not altogether a surprise. “Sir, we had two armed guards with us, plus the sheriff and myself were also armed. Going into the mine didn’t seem imprudent under the circumstances, and time was of the essence. You yourself have emphasized how badly we need to make progress on the case.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
Cash said nothing. The awful thing was that in a way McFaul was right: they got their asses kicked, and a man died.
“I see your point, sir.”
“Good.”
“It should be noted we made some crucial discoveries and pushed the case forward.”
There was a long, thoughtful pause, and then McFaul said, “Under the circumstances, Agent Cash, I feel it is only prudent if I take over the case.”
She felt the blood rush to her face.
“We needn’t make a big deal out of it. You’ll become my lieutenant, so to speak. We’ll let Erebus know, quietly, and that’s it. No need to make an announcement.” He paused. “May I have your agreement to that?”
What could she do?
“Yes, sir.”
“And now, I think it’s past time to shut down the resort. I’ve spoken to the governor, and he agrees. We’ll make the announcement at the press conference tomorrow morning.”
“Press conference?”
“That’s right. I’m leading a press conference tomorrow, to present our findings to date. This is a huge story in the press—an international story, in fact—and the public is hungry for information.”
Cash felt hot. It was so unfair, and she realized that, now that a major breakthrough had been made on the case, McFaul was stepping in not just to take over the investigation but to make sure he got the glory.
“So the resort is being closed?”
“Of course. And high time it was. I’ll expect you at the press conference too. We need a show of force.”
What a waste of her time. “When and where?”
“One. At the lodge, main hall.”
“Wait. We’re gonna let reporters in here?” Cash asked.
“Not everyone. We’re organizing a pool situation, selected reporters from each sector of the media, that sort of thing.”
“But if we let them in, we’ll never get them out. And they’ll be at risk.”
“Not at all. The lodge is like a fortress, and they’ll only be here for a few hours. One of your problems, Agent Cash, is that you aren’t thinking about the media impact of this case. It was on the front page of The New York Times this morning and also on all the morning shows. Cannibalism—that’s really drawn people’s attention.” His voice surged with enthusiasm. “We have a responsibility to provide information to the public in a timely manner.”
“How are you going to stop the press from wandering away from the lodge?”
“I’m tired of arguing with you, Agent Cash. I’m in charge now, and you are verging on insubordination. Now tomorrow morning, I want you to be in charge of the evacuation of the resort, making sure there’s no panic, that everyone leaves in an orderly and safe manner.”
Crowd control. What a bunch of bullshit. They should have closed the resort days ago, but it would be useless to remind him she had recommended it multiple times. “Does Barrow know about shutting the resort?”
“Oh yes. We warned him about it ahead of time. He complained, but there’s little he could do, now that the governor finally heeded my plea to order it closed. A small number of staff will have to remain to keep things running, including a contingent of security guards.”
“How about calling in the National Guard?”
“No. That’s a step too far. We’ve got a top-notch SWAT team up here from Denver PD—that’s plenty.”
“Have the guests been told?”
“They will be informed tonight. Everyone’s getting a notice under the door. They’ll have to be gone by eleven tomorrow morning.” He placed his hands on his knees and looked at her. “Now, are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” she said.
“You need to get some sleep, Agent Cash.”
It was true, she felt exhausted. She rose and he extended his hand, and she had no choice but to take it.
The main lodge room still had a number of guests hanging around and drinking, despite the late hour. She texted to see if Colcord was still around, and he quickly appeared, looking as haggard as she did.
“What was that all about?” he asked.
“McFaul took over the investigation.”
Colcord said, “I’m sorry. So unfair.”
She shook her head. “We’ve got a warrant to obtain. Are you going to help me serve it?”
“Hell yes, but … are you going to get fired for doing this?”
She thought about that. It all depended on what they found. If nothing, she would almost certainly be cashiered. But if they uncovered significant evidence or a cover-up … and especially if she let McFaul take credit … She reminded herself that her first loyalty was to apprehending the killers. Everything else, even her career, was secondary.
She glanced at the clock. Eleven p.m. “We need to get it to a judge tonight, damn it, and look at the time. I know a couple of judges in Denver, but I don’t have their home phone numbers. To reach them this late, I’d have to go through channels—meaning McFaul.”
Colcord hesitated. “I know the Eagle County Fifth Judicial chief judge. Would that help?”
“Are you kidding me? You have his home number?”
“Sure.”
“Will he be pissed?”
“Probably. But this is a big case, and he’ll understand.” He held up his phone. “Last chance to back out. Gonna make the call.”
“Do it. And … thanks.”