Nelson Demille: Wild fire

Schaeffer picked up his radiophone and gave instructions regarding the fallout shelter.

I also advised Schaeffer, “You should disarm and restrain the security guards.”

“They’re disarmed and confined to their barracks under guard.”

“Good.”

“What do we have on them?”

“Accessories or witnesses to Harry’s murder. Tell them the boss is dead, and see if they’ll start talking.”

He nodded, then said to us, “Those three diesel engines and generators were running at full capacity and we shut them down. Do you know anything about that?”

I replied, “Well, as it turned out, Fred was right. Submarines.”

“What…?”

Kate said, “Sorry, Major, this comes under the category of national security.”

“Yeah?”

I changed the subject back to homicide and informed Schaeffer, “Don’t bother looking for Putyov here.”

“Why not?”

“Well, according to the late Mr. Madox, he murdered his houseguest Dr. Putyov, then put the body through the wood chipper.”

“What?”

“If it matters, Putyov got what he deserved. But I can’t get into that.” I suggested, “You may want the CSI guys to pay special attention to the wood chipper. If they don’t find anything there, you might think about collecting some bear shit and see if you can find a little of Dr. Putyov’s DNA there.”

Schaeffer said, “I’m not quite following-”

“Hey,” I asked, “what happened to the guy in the gatehouse?”

“He’s dead.”

“Derek. Right?”

“That’s what his name tag said.” He informed us, “The EMS guys thought it looked like poisoning. Maybe a neurotoxin. The guy was twitching like an epileptic before he died.”

I said to Kate, “Jeez, I hope it wasn’t the pigs-in-the-blanket.”

Schaeffer replied, “We didn’t find any pigs-in-the-blanket, but there was a fresh pot of coffee in the guardhouse, and this guy had a spilled coffee mug on his desk. So, we’re thinking the coffee. We’ll test it and do the toxicology.”

Kate said to me, “Madox does plan ahead.”

“Not anymore.”

Kate asked Schaeffer, “Are the FBI here?”

“Oh, yeah. They set up their own command post.” He jerked his head upward and said, “In Madox’s office. Your buddy Griffith is there, and he’s still looking for you.”

Kate suggested, “Let’s go say hello.”

“Okay.” I said to Schaeffer, “See you later.”

He looked at us and said, “You smell like smoke, and you look like hell. What happened?”

I replied, “It’s like a really long and very weird story. Let me get back to you on that.”

He reminded us, “You must remain on the scene to assist with the investigation.”

“See you later.”

I took Kate’s arm, and we left the great room.

There were about a dozen uniformed state troopers going through the house, obviously without knowing what they were supposed to be doing. I flashed my creds and asked one of them, “Where’s the kitchen?”

“Kitchen? Oh… you just go down this hallway.”

“Thanks.” I headed for the kitchen, and Kate said to me, “We need to see Liam Griffith.”

“Schaeffer said he was in the kitchen.”

“In Madox’s office .”

I tapped my ear. “Come again?”

We found the kitchen, which was unoccupied. I noticed that there was no sign of dinner preparations, and I pointed this out to Kate, who replied, “I think dinner was a ruse, John.”

“Yeah? No steak and potatoes?”

“Why are we here?”

“Because I’m hungry.”

“Can I get you a cup of coffee from the gatehouse?”

“Sure, and get one for yourself.” I opened the big, industrial-size refrigerator and found some cheese and cold cuts.

“How can you eat?” she asked me. “My stomach is churning.”

“I’m hungry.” I threw the cheese and cold cuts on the counter, then went to the kitchen sink and washed up. I think I had some of Madox on me.

As I was doing this, Mr. Liam Griffith entered the kitchen and asked us, “Where the hell have you two been?”

I looked up from the sink. “Could you hand me that dish towel?”

He hesitated, then handed it to me. “What are you doing here?”

I dried my face and replied, “We’ve been saving the planet from nuclear destruction.”

“Really? Then, what did you do for an encore?”

I handed the towel to Kate, who went to the sink to wash up.

I said to Griffith, “Well, then we killed a buddy of yours.” I unwrapped the cheddar cheese and said, “Ted Nash.”

Mr. Griffith did not reply, but I could see from his face that he wasn’t understanding me. Finally, he said, “Ted Nash is dead.”

“That’s what I said. Doesn’t that sound great?”

He still wasn’t comprehending what I was saying, so I was pretty sure that Liam Griffith, prick though he was, had no clue about any of this.

Kate dried her hands and face. “He didn’t die in the North Tower. But he’s dead now.” She added, “I killed him.”

“What?”

I said, “We will not say anything else on that subject at this time. Do you want some cheddar cheese?”

“Huh? No.” Finally, he said to us, “As you know, you’re both in major trouble. I have orders to escort you back to the city as soon as I locate you, which I’ve done. I have the pleasure to inform you that you are both the subject of possible disciplinary action, and hopefully worse.”

And on and on.

I must have eaten a half pound of cheese and cold cuts while he was rambling on, and I looked at my watch a few times as a hint that he should wrap it up.

When he was through, he asked us, “What exactly happened here?”

I replied, “Kate and I found Harry Muller’s killer.”

“Who is it?”

Kate answered, “It was Bain Madox, the owner of this lodge.”

“Where is he now?”

I said, “In the fallout shelter. Dead.” I added, “I killed him.”

No reply.

“And that’s all you need to know, and all we’re saying.”

“All right… then I need you to come with me.”

“Where’re you going, Liam?”

“I told you. Back to the city. There’s a helicopter waiting at the airport.”

I informed him, “We really can’t leave a crime scene. Major Schaeffer-”

“All right. The three of us will spend one hour here with the state police so you can explain what happened. Then, I need to insist that the police release you into my custody.”

I looked at Kate, and she nodded. I said to Griffith, “Kate and I will confine our statements to the subject of Harry Muller’s murder. Everything else that you and the state police see here is a matter of national security, which will not be discussed until we’re back at 26 Fed. Understand?”

“Maybe you can give me a hint about how national security plays into Kate killing a CIA officer.”

Kate responded, “Liam, I don’t think your security clearance is high enough for me to tell you about that.”

He looked a little pissed, but got off a smart remark. “Ted always spoke highly of you, Kate.”

“Not the last time we spoke.”

Liam Griffith is no idiot, and said, “You’re both either in deep trouble or you’re going to get a commendation. So I’ll just shut up until I find out which it’s going to be.”

I commented, “Today must be your annual smart day.”

So we spent an hour with Major Schaeffer, the state detectives, and the crime scene investigators, during which Kate and I danced around the central issue of what the hell was going on in the Führerbunker. Then, after a pissing match between Schaeffer and Griffith, Kate and I got in Liam’s rental car and began our drive from the lodge, which took us past the flagpole where the American flag still flew, illuminated by the spotlight; and below the stars and stripes was Bain Madox’s Seventh Cavalry regiment pennant.