There was no need to go to the front desk to see if one of the hotel staff could drive them to Fort Jefferson: Sheriff Powers had lent Noel a car from the motor pool, an SUV with a faulty heater, the sheriff’s logos painted in forest-green on both sides of the doors. The heater, Noel told her as he slid behind the wheel, would shut off for no apparent reason.
Within minutes of pulling away from the lodge, they were driving on the same lonely roads she’d seen earlier on her way here, no streetlights, everything flat. Lonely.
‘Bradley,’ Darby said. ‘How much does he know?’
‘About Karen and the Red Ryder? Nothing. Like I said, we made the decision to keep that information contained, until I come across hard evidence that proves the Red Ryder is alive.’
‘Then what’s Bradley’s role in this?’
‘When we were in Bozeman and found out about the car crash, he was ordered to come up here and do the investigation and paperwork.’
‘Why him and not you?’
‘Because Vivian wants –’
‘Your sister’s former handler.’
Noel nodded. ‘She wants Bradley to handle Cooper’s accident.’
‘I thought you said you’re a Fed.’
‘I am. I’m a liaison between the Bureau and WITSEC. The marshals don’t have access to the same forensic talent the Bureau does, so my job is to wrangle the appropriate forensic resources for marshal-related cases. Vivian is my boss for as long as I’m the liaison with the marshals’ service. My job – my role here in Montana – is to see if I can find any potential information or evidence that shows the Red Ryder could still be alive and in Fort Jefferson.’
‘You have evidence – the handwriting on that bit of scrap paper,’ Darby said. ‘You told me the head of “Questioned Documents” said –’
‘Vivian thinks it’s junk science. I disagree, but she wants something more definite, like a fingerprint, before she allocates additional resources.’
Handwriting wouldn’t be enough to secure a warrant, sure, but it certainly wasn’t junk science. Take, for example, the handwriting on the luggage tag: there was no question that was Coop’s handwriting. It was difficult – not impossible but extremely difficult – to duplicate someone’s handwriting.
‘I also think she believes nothing is going to come of this,’ Noel said. ‘Like I told you earlier, Karen has done this sort of thing before – packed up and moved on. Vivian’s pretty much washed her hands of her. Given what Karen has put her through – put us through – I can’t say I blame her.’
Darby nodded and stared out the window, the hum of the tyres soothing against her ears. The exhaustion of the day had set in, and when she closed her eyes, wanting to rest for a moment, she was thinking again of Coop’s dented suitcase sitting in the snow. Why was it still nagging at her? Because she had been hoping to find something inside it instead of Coop’s clothes and toiletries?
And why hadn’t Coop been wearing his seatbelt? He had buckled up every time they’d gotten into a car.
‘I need you to level with me,’ Noel said.
‘About what?’
‘Cooper. If he didn’t tell you anything specific, what are you doing here?’
‘I came because he asked.’
‘I’ve been straight with you. Now it’s your turn.’
Darby sucked in air through her nose and held it for a moment before opening her eyes and exhaling.
‘He didn’t get into specifics,’ she said. ‘Just told me he would feel better if I were here.’
‘Why?’
‘He didn’t tell me. I think he wanted me to come here because something spooked him about either Karen or the Red Ryder or both – and, like I said, he knew I’d written my dissertation on him. I think he wanted me here because if something went wrong, he knew I’d have his back.’
‘I told him he could trust me.’
‘How well do you know him?’
‘Not as well as you, obviously.’
‘But mainly in a professional context, right?’
‘Mainly, yes.’
‘That makes you an untested quantity. I’m not. He knows if something happened to him, I wouldn’t stop digging until I found the truth, because that’s what I do. I create my own agenda. You can’t because you have to report to people.’
‘That doesn’t mean he couldn’t –’
‘You’re not autonomous,’ Darby said. ‘At some point, you’re going to have to leave. I’ll leave when I want and not before then. If Vivian or that shithead Bradley gets in my way, I will bury them. That’s not an idle threat.’
‘I’m very well aware of your reputation.’ Noel cocked his head at her and smiled. ‘Everyone in the Bureau is.’