Steven James - The Queen

And Valkyrie? Where did Valkyrie fit in? Was there psychological significance to the code name after all, as Lien-hua had postulated?

I like cases in which facts are solid, verifiable; you lock them into place and move on; you discover a truth that you can’t disprove and it gives you a basis on which to build your investigation. However, this week I felt out of my element, forced to deal with facts that didn’t quite mesh and hypotheses that squirmed out of my grasp as soon as I tried to pin them down.

Maybe I did need to trust my instincts more.

When we hit the lobby, Lien-hua and Julianne waited with Kayla for Natasha to arrive, and I flipped open my laptop to check my gmail account to see if the information from Margaret had come.

It had.

She’d sent a short text message with an attached, password-protected PDF file. In her note she mentioned that the CIA’s analysts hadn’t found any evidence of instances in which Taylor and Chekov’s paths might have crossed. Also, they were sending their interrogators to Terry’s room “to confirm that he has had no access to the internet.”

I unlocked the PDF file, and though only moments earlier I’d been optimistic that the schematics would help us, now that I was finally able to examine them, I found their thoroughness and attention to detail frustratingly disappointing.

There were three levels to the underground base, that much was clear: an entry bay for some kind of freight elevator that led to the surface, a middle level of crew quarters, and a command center and power generation facility below that. Eight tunnels led from the facility, but there was no clear indication of where-if anywhere-they might be accessed.

These can’t be the most detailed or up-to-date files.

Why would Margaret send me these?

As I studied the diagrams, Natasha arrived. Julianne led Kayla to her and Lien-hua strode toward me.

The underground ELF base was located near the coordinates in the center of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest where the aboveground station had been. The forest service roads haven’t been plowed, we’ll never be able to get there by “Well?” Lien-hua stood beside me, and I tilted my laptop so she could see the screen. She studied it. “Is that the only entrance?”

“It’s the only one visible on this set of maps.” I pointed to the tunnels that spread away from the station. “But I find it hard to believe that there would only be one way into the base.”

“Always leave an escape route.”

“Right.”

“Where do the tunnels terminate?”

I shook my head. “There’s no way to tell.”

Unless “Hang on.” I closed my eyes and visualized the topography of the area surrounding the old ELF site, evaluating the terrain and comparing it to the snowmobile trail map I’d studied my first night up here. Carefully, I rotated both maps in my mind, overlaying the features.

Donnie took longer than he needed to when getting to work on Mondays and Fridays…

“They would have to staff the station…” I said, thinking aloud. “That means getting people into and out of the base undetected. But in such a small, close-knit community, how could you do that?”

Opening my eyes I studied the schematics again, scrutinizing the precise geographic orientation of the tunnels. “Where could strangers regularly arrive and leave from without raising any red flags?” I mumbled, but even as I said the words I realized where one of the tunnels, if it were long enough, would lead.

“Oh, Lien-hua, that’s it.”

“What? What are you thinking?”

“Renovations in 2004. It would have been the perfect time to-”

She gave me a sudden look of comprehension. “What? You mean here? The hotel?”

“A National Historic Landmark can’t be torn down. The government was protecting its investment.” I was on my way to the door, laptop in hand.

“Where are you going?” She quickened her pace to catch up with me.

“Weatherford. He knows more than he’s been letting on.”

The fire was slowly growing large enough to warm Tessa and Amber, and they’d pulled a couch close and now sat together, silently watching the flames. Amber had lit some candles, and the room smelled of sweet vanilla and crackling, burning pine. Just a few feet away, the storm churned outside the window.

Amber drew out her cell, called the bait shop. “Sean, the electricity went out.” Tessa could tell she was leaving a message. “Pat and Lien-hua had to leave. I’m here with Tessa.” A long pause. It seemed like Amber might start crying again. “I’m sorry about everything tonight. About things with Patrick back… I love you

… um… if you get this, call me. Okay?”

After she hung up, Tessa tried to reassure her. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon. You guys’ll figure things out, okay?”

“Okay.”

Even in the dim, flickering light Tessa could see a storm of loneliness burdening Amber’s face, but before she could say anything else to try and cheer her up, Amber said, “Did Pat give you some sleeping pills earlier tonight?”

“Yeah, they’re in my room.”

“I think maybe I could use one to calm down.”

“Okay. Sure. They’re on my dresser. On the left.” Tessa scootched forward to retrieve them, but Amber stood first. “That’s all right. I’ve got it.”

From the edge of the couch Tessa watched her stepaunt head toward the hallway, and then disappear into the shadows lingering just beyond the fire’s light.

8:26 p.m.

34 minutes until the transmission

I stared at the door.

Rusted, located at the back of the Schoenberg Inn near the dumpsters beside the food service loading bay. Though the door had a keycard reader and a numbered touch pad, since it was just an unobtrusive exterior door around the back of the building, I imagined it wouldn’t draw much attention from anyone.

That’s how they could transfer staff and supplies into and out of the base without being noticed. The thought gave me hope that there would be a motorized way to get to the base after all.

Julianne, Lien-hua, and Weatherford stood beside me. He’d taken bribes, wasted our time, endangered lives. I was so angry with him, but I kept my mouth shut. I was on the brink of saying something I would seriously regret.

“How much did the Navy pay you?” Lien-hua asked him irritably.

“They don’t pay me, it’s just a condition of my employment.” He sounded rattled but also slightly defiant. “All I know is that the door is here. People come. They leave. I almost never even see ’em.” He gestured toward the flat surface of the door where a doorknob or handle should have been. “I don’t even know how to get in.”

I do.

“Get him to the sheriff’s department,” I said, pulling out the biometric ID card.

Julianne began to escort Weatherford back to her cruiser, but as they reached a strip of ice just past the dumpster, he kicked at her leg and she went down hard.

“Hey!” I yelled. I started for him, but he rabbited toward the woods, and with my ankle slowing me down, Lien-hua was able to pass me and get to him first. She tackled him with authority.

I was moving toward her, but she shook her head. “Get that door open, Pat. We’ll take care of him. I’ll be right back.”

She and Julianne hustled Weatherford out of sight around the edge of the building, and I went back to insert Donnie’s biometric ID card into the scanner.

Tessa heard the water running in the bathroom sink.

“Did you need one?” Amber called.

“Naw, I actually took one earlier. Thanks.” Now that the topic had come up, Tessa realized she was starting to feel a little mellow, the medication-induced drowsiness catching up with her.