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“Except for now, Sandy, there is one. You are working against the clock. And that’snotsomething you’re used to.”
She opened her mouth, snapped it shut. He was right. Every time she turned up at an incident scene, she set her own internal clock. Time had run out for her brother, Sam. “I’ve asked you repeatedly not to call me Sandy.”
“It won’t happen again.”
It would, and they both knew it. She checked the time on her phone. “Ten minutes out from that deadline you referred to. At least I’ll have the location when Jennings calls.”
“True, but we’re here now, so let’s find that gold,” Nolan said.
He was beating a dead horse. They were still moving as they debated, getting closer to that cabin. She would be lying to say she didn’t hate they weren’t diversifying more, but where else could they concentrate their efforts? When she had her chat with Elwood, he’d informed her the warehouse search came back empty.
They crossed through a thick copse of trees and followed a worn path through some long grass. “We’re almost there now,” she said. “If I remember right, the cabin isn’t much farther ahead.”
They kept walking, but there was no sign of the cabin.
“Maybe you remembered wrong,” Nolan said.
She shook her head. “It should be right around here. Not just from my memory of seeing it before but from Patton’s description. Let’s spread out and see if we can spot it.”
“It’s a cabin, Sandra,” Nolan said. “If it was here, we should see it already.”
“I’m telling you that Patton didn’t lie to us,” she said.
“He hid it thirty-three years ago. His memory could be a bit rusty,” Brice put in.
Both Sandra and Nolan turned to him. Neither spoke. Sandra because she was afraid to admit there might be truth in that. There was also the changing landscape which she’d mentioned when she and Brice had discussed Patton hiding the gold somewhere in nature.
Her phone rang, and all the agents in the area stopped moving and looked at her.
She took out her phone and saw the blocked number. “It’s him,” she said. “Answering now.” She wanted everyone to remain quiet while she spoke with Jennings.
“I have what you need.” She pulled from her experience and exuded a confidence she wasn’t feeling. There was no sign of the gold, but she’d have to sell the location anyhow.
“Well, I’ve been giving the matter more thought, and I’ve changed my mind. I don’t just want the location. I want the gold.”
Nowthat she couldn’t find it, he wanted her to hand it over? “But?—”
“Now, now, Special Agent Vos. Remember who holds the power.”
“I got you the location. That’s what you asked for.” Her body was trembling, but thankfully she was doing well at keeping her nerves from hitting her voice.
“Good, then it shouldn’t be too hard for you to get the gold and bring it to me.”
“You tell me where and when, I’ll be there.” She squeezed out the cautionary advice in crisis negotiation. Talks in person statistically resulted in fatalities. Even more probable when she turned up empty-handed.
Nolan stepped beside her and touched her shoulder. She looked over at him, and he nodded. She shrugged him off. She didn’t need his approval for the calls she was making.
“Georgetown Waterfront Park near the labyrinth. I assume you know the way.”
A sick jab to remind her of Eaton’s murder, that he was a killer. “What time?”
“One hour.”
“One hour?” An arranged meet could be orchestrated with agents put in place but that took time. As did coming up with nine gold bars.
“What’s the problem, Vos? You know where the gold is. It’s just a matter of collecting it and meeting me.”
It didn’t take long to scramble for a reason he should be able to understand. “I need to get to the spot and then to the park. Traffic alone?—”