Chapter 64 Section VI

Decker got out of the police car in his driveway and looked out with a heavy heart at the still-moving fire trucks on Lindo Road and the still smoking ruins of Beth's house in the distance.Onlookers crowded the side of the road, and a gang of TV crews were pointing their cameras at the wreckage of the house. "I'm sorry." Esperanza, still sitting in the car, gestured resignedly. Decker frowned, preoccupied, and did not respond to his words. "I'll keep trying to convince him," Esperanza said, "and maybe he'll reveal something." "Okay," Decker said dubiously.He had never felt so alone.Hal and Ben stood by his side.

"I'll continue to check with the Albuquerque Police Department and airport security," Esperanza said. "Maybe Beth and McKittrick drove all the way to Denver or Flagstaff," Decker said. "Well, there's no way of guessing where they're going." "Okay, I'll let you know as soon as there's news. But, you have to promise, we'll help each other. Here's my business card." Esperanza wrote something on it. "I'll give you my home phone number." Decker nodded. The dark blue police car drove away.In order to avoid the crowded fire trucks and onlookers outside Beth's house, the police car turned around and drove away on the same road.

As the setting sun slanted, Decker watched the car kick up dust as it drove farther and farther down Lindo Road. "He's under no obligation to tell us anything," Hal said. "In fact, he must be suspicious of us. He certainly doesn't believe that we have ties to the intelligence agencies." "That's right," Ben added. "Now, he's going to try to check our backgrounds. Of course, he can't find anything." "At least he knows that he can't go to that FBI agent and confirm that you are from the intelligence agency," Decker said. "Since the FBI has turf disputes with other intelligence agencies, Miller will not Tell the truth."

"Not at all? Hey, he didn't tell us anything," Hal said. "No." Decker watched the police car disappear completely, then turned and opened the courtyard door. "Miller is interested in Beth, which means she's the real target, and when I mentioned Brian McKittrick, I noticed a look in his eyes that knew him. Oh, he Knowing the circumstances, yes. Of course, the circumstances are not necessarily in our favor." Hal and Ben looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" Decker asked. "Us," Hal said. "what do you mean?" "We've been sent with the order that if what happened last night has anything to do with any of your previous missions, we must try to get this destructive behavior under control," Ben said.

"So?" "But this has nothing to do with it." Ben put his head down, grinding the gravel driveway with his shoe. "Whatever happened to Beth Dwyer is purely your personal matter and we are not authorized to help you." Decker said nothing. "We'll be called back as soon as we report up," Ben said. Decker still didn't say anything. "Simply put," Hal said, "that's all we can do." "Damn it, then you guys get in the car and go," Decker said. "I'm doing the same thing without you." "How?"

"That's something else to do. Anyway, I'll figure it out. Get out of here, you guys." "You have no grudge against us?" Hal asked. "Do I sound resentful?" Decker said angrily.He went into the courtyard, sat down on a bench under the gatehouse, muttered dejectedly, and thought.If Esperanza doesn't get any news from the Albuquerque airport, if he decides to keep his news secret... the word "desperate" flashes into Decker's mind.Naturally, he applied the literal meaning of the two words to Beth.Is she in danger now?Why was she with McKittrick?Why is she lying? "There are other clues," Decker said, patting the bench impatiently with his right hand. "There are other clues that I have ignored, and there will be another way to find her."

Decker heard footsteps in the yard.He looked up and found Hal standing beside him. "Did she ever mention any particular places she liked to go?" Hal asked. "No, she just wants to forget all about her life in the East. I think you should go." "Not urgent." "No way?" Decker imagined Brian McKittrick driving Beth down the Fort Connor Trail as she heard her house rumbling up the street. The feeling of an explosion blowing to pieces.He was disheartened.If only the old lady who watched the car drive away could remember the license plate number.Number, he mused.Perhaps the records of Beth's phone calls in the hospital ward could provide clues to find her.

Or her phone records at home, Decker thought.I have to remind Esperanza to check.But doubts about Esperanza made him feel uneasy.What if Esperanza withholds information? "There's another way," Decker repeated. "Is there any other way to find her whereabouts? Relying on her paintings is not enough. She never told me which gallery she paints for in New York. There are thousands of galleries there. Time is so tight, how can I follow her?" Every gallery got in touch. Besides, maybe that gallery was a scam, and Beth never sold any paintings. The only witness was Dale Hawkins, an art dealer I met, who Beth said was an art dealer. Agent, maybe he wasn't at all. If only I'd thought of getting his license plate number down, his car was parked in front of Beth's house. But I didn't suspect it at the time."

When Decker looked up, Hal and Ben looked at him strangely. "Are you OK?" "What do you mean by that?" "You're gesticulating and muttering to yourself." "The car," Decker said. "What did you say?" "That car that Hawkins drives, that's it!" "what are you talking about?" "Dale Hawkins drives a rental car." Decker stood up excitedly. "As I walked by the front window of the car, I peeked in and saw the rental agreement cover on the front seat. I'm pretty sure it was Avis Car Rentals, and I'm even more sure it was September 1 day, because Beth signed on to buy the house that day. It was a blue Chevrolet Cavalier. If Dale Hawkins got off the plane in Albuquerque, as he said, he must have been in Rental car at the airport. He has to show his driver's license and credit card. Then I can find his home address." Decker's excitement plummeted suddenly. "Of course it depends on whether Esperanza will tell me what he heard from the car rental company."

Decker stared at Hal and Ben for a long time. "I might regret the decision I made," Hal said. "what are you talking about?" "I thought that although what happened last night had nothing to do with our business, I could wait a while before reporting to headquarters." "Are you going to help me?" "Do you remember the three of us working together in Beirut?" Hal asked unexpectedly. "How could I forget?" On March 16, 1984, the Shiite terrorist group Shizbula kidnapped CIA chief of intelligence William Buckley.Decker, Hal, and Ben were part of a task force sent there to find where Buckley was being held.Decker searched there until September, when he was transferred to Germany to work on counterterrorism.Those months of intense summer heat and the determination of the members of the task force remained deep in his memory.Barkley's whereabouts have never been found.A year later, on October 11, 1985, Hizbulla announced Barkley's death.

"It's a little zoo down the street from Task Force headquarters," Hal said. "You remember?" "Of course I do. I don't know how many animals there were in that zoo before the Civil War, but when we got there, there was only a leopard, a giraffe, and a bear. The bear wasn't used to the climate, poor thing." .” "Then a sniper from one of the factions decided to play a game and shoot at anyone who went to feed the animals. He killed the animal keeper and over the next two days he killed four more People who volunteered to feed the animals. So the animals were starving to death." "I remember that too." Decker felt a lump in his throat. "One night, you disappeared. When you came back in the morning, you said you were going to feed the animals with food and water. I advise you not to go, remind you that the sniper likes nothing more than shooting Americans. You tell Me, you've taken care of the sniper and he's never going to cause trouble again. Of course, there might be another sniper shooting at you in his place, but you don't seem to care about that. You're determined to make sure the animals don't Go hungry again." The yard was silent. "Why are you bringing this up?" Decker asked. "Because I was going to ambush the sniper too," Hal said, "but I couldn't muster up the courage. I'm jealous that you did what I should have done. Hey, isn't it funny? Beirut is a The abyss of human suffering, but we were worried about the three animals. Of course, it didn't help, and the next day, a mortar shell killed them all." "But they didn't starve," Decker said. "That's right. You're a talker. Show me where the closest payphone is," Hal said. Check on the computer network who rented a blue Chevrolet Cavalier from Avis Car Rental at the Albuquerque airport on September 1. There may be more than one Cavalier there, but this airport does not Big." "Hal?" "what?" "……Thank you."