A Change of Plans
Dempsey heard the sharp knock and peered out through the hotel door peephole. When he saw Buck’s distorted grin looking back at him, he relaxed his grip on the Glock 19 and let it settle back into its holster. He snapped open the locks and let Buck in.
“Hey, Boss.” Buck’s grin did not disappear as he pushed his way into the room.
“What’s with the outfit?” Dempsey asked.
Buck looked down at himself in mock surprise. He was dressed in a light-tan, corduroy sport suit with a skinny brown tie. “You like it? I picked it up at a thrift store last night. Cost me twenty-five bucks for the whole get-up.”
“Why would you need a suit? And why are you wearing it now?” Buck was supposed to be watching Matthew Knight’s house, gathering intelligence.
“It’s Sunday. You wouldn’t want me goin’ to church dressed like a heathen, now would you?”
Dempsey picked up a glass with ice in it and held it against his forehead. “Tell me you didn’t show up at their church building this morning.”
“I could tell you that, Boss, but I don’t like to lie to you.”
“Buck, if you’ve blown your cover, this whole job could be ruined.”
Buck hopped up onto Dempsey’s hotel bed, fluffed the pillows against the headboard, and leaned back, the toes of his cowboy boots pointing toward the ceiling.
“Take it easy,” he said. “I was at their church building but not at the same time they were there. Did you know three different Mormon congregations meet in that same building, and each one of them stays for a full three hours? I can barely sit still for fifteen minutes. No sign of plural wives either. I guess you can cross Mormonism off my list of potential religions. Good thing that fifteen minutes was all I needed in this case.”
“All you needed for what?”
“For me to confirm that our current plan of attack is not going to work. We need to scrap the blueprint and start over.” Buck leaned back on the pillow and closed his eyes. “This is one fine pillow and comfortable bed. I think I’m going to join the church of Saint Mattress.”
Dempsey walked over and shoved Buck’s boots hard enough that his legs spun off the bed and he sat up. “No more games, Buck. Stop messing around and tell me what you found.”
Buck met Dempsey’s stare with a mischievous look. “Boss, did you actually just say ‘No more games’? If there’s one thing I’ve learned from you over the years, it’s that life is a game. And you can’t stand the thought of losing. It’s a good thing you’ve got me here to keep you from screwing up.”
Dempsey sighed. “Just tell me what you’ve got.”
“You’re going to thank me for this one.” Buck reached into his pocket and unfolded a piece of paper. “I checked out the classroom where the target teaches the boys. Don’t worry, I waited until after they were gone. I found this on one of the chairs.”
He handed the paper over to Dempsey. On one side was a checklist of backpacking gear. The other side was an itinerary outlining a trip to the Uinta Mountains.
“So they’re planning a campout. What’s that got to do with our job?”
“Look at the dates,” Buck said. “There’s a detailed description of each night’s camping site. There’s also a list of adults and boys who are going on the trip.”
Dempsey looked more carefully at the paper. Buck was right. This was important. Knight’s name was on the list, as was that of his adopted son, Peng. There was one other adult listed and three additional boys. They were leaving on a Tuesday and planning to be back on a Friday. The dates coincided with the days Dempsey had been planning to make his move.
“Looks like grabbing the whole family that week isn’t going to work,” Buck said. “At least not all of them together at the same time. Half of them are going to be somewhere else. It’s a good thing I decided to snoop around at the church and found that paper. I guess things haven’t changed since I was a kid. I never seemed to manage to get notes home to my grandma.”
“You never stopped being a kid either.”
“I take that as a compliment.” Buck stood, walked across the room, and looked at himself in the mirror. “So do we take them all early or bring in Carney and his crew for two separate grabs?”
Dempsey studied the sheet. “This might actually be better,” he finally said. “That house is like a fortress, and they rarely emerge at the same time. I know Knight. He’s not going down without a fight. If we can take him and the boy in the woods—away from prying eyes—so much the better. This itinerary tells us exactly where they will be each night. We can be waiting for them. I’m not sure what inspired you to go into that church to look around, but it paid off.”
“Church always inspires me. And when you say we will be waiting for them in the woods, do you mean you and me, or are we talking Carney here? He and his crew seem to love dressing up in camo and playing soldiers in the woods. What’s his pet boy’s name? Jackson? He claims to have made it through Delta, and he doesn’t frighten me nearly as bad as Jillian. She’s a looker, but she scares the daylights out of me. I say we give them the mountain duty. They’re the subcontractors; they should get the grunt work. Besides, I hate sleeping bags. They wrinkle my clothes.” Buck looked down and brushed a speck of dust off his jacket. “And someone’s got to be here to take the woman.”
Dempsey considered Buck’s words. He was right about Carney’s crew being more equipped for mountain duty. But Carney’s team in the woods would mean that he and Buck would be here. And Buck was just a little too eager when it came to Knight’s wife.
“What’re you thinking, Boss? You want me to call Carney?”
“I’m thinking that the thought of you being close to that woman makes me want to change my mind.”
“C’mon, you’ll be right there with me. You’ll be supervising. How much trouble could I get into?”
Dempsey didn’t answer. He stared at Buck, with his corduroy suit and pointed boots, and thought that man might be a lot more trouble than he was worth. “Call Carney,” he said. “We need to be ready in a week.”