The Alberta Connection Read online

  “Both of the accounts had the same street address in Grand Forks, ND, but different suite numbers. I checked the address. It is a mailbox farm.

  “The account in the name of Marcel Renault has had over $250,000.00 deposited into it from several accounts I have not been able to verify. The account numbers are listed as part of the deposit transaction, but I have no access.”

  Doug frowned. “I cannot track any of the money before it got to Marcel’s account.

  “Diane’s account is linked to a Louis Renault, but I can’t find anything about him, either.”

  Doug looked down at his laptop, chuckled, and then looked back at Ryce.

  “I don’t think that Marcel and Louis Renault are the real names of the account owners, unless they are almost one hundred and fifty years old. I will send you updates on Diane’s debit card whenever I get them. I have a couple of my people over at the Holdings building keeping an eye on the account.”

  One of Doug’s laptops began to play the Rocky theme. Doug glanced at Ryce and then turned his attention to the laptop. Ryce turned his attention to his lunch.

  When Tanya returned from lunch, she checked on the agents assigned to check the security feeds. No one actually knew what to look for on the security videos. They had the GPS location for the motel in Lexington and even the room number. They also had a GPS location for a motel in St Louis, and Doug had included a Waffle House in St Louis. They did not know how to correlate a GPS location with a video source.

  Tanya walked to Ryce’s office to report the issue. Ryce returned to Suite 424, found a laptop that was not being used, and loaded Google Maps. He pulled up the GPS location of the Lexington motel. Eventually, he discovered the street address. After he wrote down the address, he accessed the security program. Seven cameras covered the motel in Lexington. Ryce smiled at Tanya and then turned the program over to one of the agents.

  As he walked out of the room, he heard Tanya mumble, “It works better with the instructions. Hell, I even work better with the instructions.”

  Ryce turned to look at Tanya. She and the two agents scouring the security feeds were huddled around two widescreen monitors. Ryce knew the team was in capable hands.

  Ryce did not know how much pull he had with the FBI or Homeland Security. John, however, seemed to be exchanging Christmas cards with all the bosses. Perhaps John could help Ryce with his next project.

  With all the interruptions from his agents, composing the email to John took the next hour. When he completed reading the two pages for the fifth time, Ryce pressed the send button.

  Tanya was working on one of the laptops when Ryce returned to Suite 424. In the hour he had been gone, Tanya and her two agents had found nothing out of the ordinary. Ryce suggested they expand the footprint around the motel. It was located on the end of a strip mall. If he were a thief, would he park directly in front of where he was sleeping? Probably not.

  After a thirty-minute search, two men and a woman were discovered looking at a laptop positioned on the trunk deck of a blue Lexus. The GPS placed the Lexus directly in front of a Waffle House, which was only one half mile from the motel. Working the video back in time, they observed one of the men open the trunk and remove a laptop from a diamond-plate case. He opened the laptop and pressed the power button. They watched the display spring to life.

  Tanya compared the time on the video recording with the GPS time recorded by the LoJack. It matched. With a little manipulation of the video, they had a clear view of the license plate. Ryce took the number back to his office and plugged it into the program he had gotten from Doug.

  As he waited for Doug’s program to finish loading, Ryce ran through a mental checklist. Diane Renault rented the Lexus from Hertz in Alexandria, VA. The security video had just verified Diane was traveling with two other people.

  Ryce walked to Suite 423, where his team was busy with something. He wasn’t sure what. After a few seconds of eenie, meenie, miney, moe, Ryce selected three agents and gave them the assignment to find Diane Renault using all available social media. Perhaps she is someone’s friend on Facebook. Doesn’t everyone use Facebook or Twitter?

  Ryce frowned. Maybe not everyone. The three at the cabin certainly didn’t use social media. Ryce had not seen any electrical or telephone lines running to the cabin. Nor were they using cell phones. The nearest cell tower was more than thirty miles away, and there were some tall mountains to block the signal. A good military-grade radio would penetrate the mountains, but Ryce had not seen an antenna, either.

  Ryce was halfway to his office when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Someone had driven from the cabin three or four times a week at 1:00 PM, and returned after 3:00 PM. The campground used by Ryce’s retrieval team was about thirty to forty-five minutes away from the cabin and had a payphone. In fact, the campground had Wi-Fi. Were the occupants of the cabin calling someone from the payphone on the wall outside the campground office? They could just be sitting in their vehicle with a laptop plugged into the cigarette lighter to access the Internet.

  Ryce sat in his office until the end of the day and worked on the details of his plan. First, he wanted to get an audio device into the vehicle Diane was driving. Second, he wanted to attach a GPS device on the vehicle. Yes, the vehicle had the laptop LoJack, but Ryce wanted his own GPS system on the car. The rental company was not aware that the authorities were looking for their vehicle, and Ryce wanted to keep it that way. The laptop LoJack had provided only one report since Diane ordered pizza. If Diane never ordered pizza on the Internet again, there was no way to track her actions except for her debit card.

  Ryce hoped to establish a pattern for Diane. What motels did she like to sleep in? Where did she eat breakfast or dinner? If Ryce could predict where she would stop for the day, at least within a few miles, the FBI could install the devices on the car.

  As soon as Diane paid for her motel room or meal, Doug would have an exact location, which he could forward on to the FBI. Or, at least the location where she had last used the card. Ryce needed to narrow down where.

  Ryce checked the time on his laptop. It was time for dinner.

  Chapter 14

  Ryce wondered why his cell phone was playing Pink Floyd as a wake-up tone. As he fumbled to turn off the cell phone, he remembered that Tanya had suggested she could fix the angry chicken alarm sounds. Was the cure more painful than the illness?

  Doug was waiting in Ryce’s office when Ryce and Tanya arrived. He was closely studying his laptop. He looked up as Ryce walked in.

  “It appears that Diane just switched her rental car. She is still in St. Louis. One of my techs was checking her card and saw a large debit charge from Hertz pop up. John made a call to the FBI. They have an office near the Hertz rental location. Someone at the Hertz counter was able to delay turning the vehicle over to Diane until the FBI got their hands on it. She is now driving a Mercedes.

  “John says you don’t have to worry about getting a GPS into Diane’s new ride. The FBI was able to install a GPS and an audio device. And, the FBI will email a copy of the rental agreement to John later today. We still do not have any idea what Diane is using for a driver’s license.

  “The FBI also said that Diane is riding with three men. One of them is in a wheelchair.”

  Doug tapped on the keyboard for several minutes.

  “John told me he hopes you are not offended because he is interfacing with the FBI. He knows several key FBI agents from the banking crisis. He can make one call and get things done in a hurry. However, he said he would not be disturbed if you want to take over liaison duties. I woke John up at 3:30 AM to tell him about the vehicle switch. I don’t think he will mind if the next time something happens, I call you first.”

  Doug laughed and shut down his laptop.

  Ryce looked over at Tanya and smiled. A passenger in a wheelchair would account for a reduced daily mileage. Now, where were they going?

  Doug closed his laptop, looked over at Ryce, stood, turned
to leave the office, and then turned back to Ryce.

  “John says sticking a GPS on the vehicle was a great idea. Let’s leave Hertz out of it.”

  When Ryce held out his arms, Tanya walked around the desk and sat in his lap. Ryce smiled.

  “Now that we can track Diane and the three musketeers, we can focus on the remaining unknown at the cabin.”

  Tanya planted a kiss on Ryce’s lips and walked out of the office.

  When Ryce walked into her work center to take Tanya to lunch, Tanya’s group had still found nothing on the third killer at the cabin. He was not showing up in the Navy service record database, nor did it appear he even possessed a driver’s license.

  As they walked to the elevator, Tanya could sense that Ryce was irritated. During the ride down to the cafeteria, Ryce explained that he was still waiting for access to four out of five military databases. The Army, Coast Guard, Marine, and Air Force service heads were dragging their feet.

  When Ryce and Tanya finished filling their trays, John waved them over. Ryce selected a place directly across from John, who looked across the table.

  “I hear we made some progress this morning, and the FBI got a GPS tracker on Diane’s new rental. That should free up some time for other things. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get the rest of the service heads to sign off on us playing with their service records. The Navy was the only one who has agreed to our requests, and I think it was because they know O2 works here. They do not want to irritate him or his minions. Did you get the passwords, and did they give you anything?”

  Ryce frowned.

  “I got two names from the Navy database, but according to the service records, they both died in Vietnam in 1975. So how could they be at the cabin? From what I could see when I was at the cabin, the three knew how to use a weapon. But, there is still one face we don’t have a name for.”

  Ryce focused on his lunch for a few moments.

  “The two names I got were twin brothers. They died in Bien Hoa, near Saigon, in March 1975. 1975 was a long time ago. Where have they been since 1975?”

  John smiled. “I am sure you will find the answers.”

  The remainder of lunch was eaten in silence. How easy would it be to fall off the grid in 1975? And, in a war-ravaged country that had just fallen to one of the most repressive regimes in the world? Ryce frowned. Jane Fonda seemed to enjoy what was to become the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

  Was there any way to find out where the three killers had been since Vietnam? They had obviously been successful in keeping secrets. Ryce chuckled. Doug could hack anything, but even Doug could not hack into the records of the new Vietnam.

  As Ryce slowly finished his lunch, he contemplated the group of people he was working with. He continued to be amazed by the things that were being accomplished. And, as he had mentioned to Tanya one evening, he was very, very glad this group was not on the other side of the conflict.

  The afternoon passed quickly. The Mercedes was easily tracked with the GPS installed by the FBI. Diane had stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast and then the group had taken I-70 West. If they continued on this interstate, their next stop might be in Kansas City, MO.

  Ryce looked around his office. The big problem now was how to wait patiently.

  Ryce checked his laptop time at 3:00 PM. He still had lots of time to contemplate how to find the Lyste brothers. He began to dose off. When he checked the time again, he discovered it was after 7:00 PM. He walked to the conference room. It was deserted. Where was everyone?

  Ryce walked into the first office suite, Suite 424. It was empty. He walked to the second office suite, Suite 423. Also empty. He was getting a little concerned about his wife and the members of the JBTF. Only one office suite remained to be investigated. He walked into Suite 422.

  At least nine people were huddled around one of the 42-inch monitors. Ryce was extremely happy to see Tanya was one of them. He could not see what they were watching and walked closer. Tanya turned around.

  “Did you know they have a feed here for Monday Night Football on Thursday night? My Broncos are playing.”

  Chapter 15

  When Ryce’s alarm started ringing at 5:00 AM, he noticed that Tanya was already in the shower. He got out of bed and joined her.

  “You must have the same idea I have, to be in the research center before 6:00 AM.”

  Tanya laughed. “That was a brilliant idea you had, to set up a betting pool on where Diane will stop for the night. It gives everyone something to do besides work on what they were assigned to do. There is over $60.00 on the board for the person who guesses where Diane stops next. I’d like that $60.00.”

  Tanya wasn’t the only one who wanted the money. When they arrived at the research center at 5:47 AM, at least half of the group was already working on their assigned projects.

  After checking on all the members of his team, Ryce walked to his office to check his email. He had one from Matt Yearly. It had been sent at 5:01 AM. It was now 8:05 AM according to the system clock on his laptop.

  Ryce opened and read the email.

  “Ryce,

  “I hope things are going good for you and Tanya in Idaho. It will be really good to get you back.

  “I am sorry to have to report that we lost two agents, Brian Dodge and Wes Webb. They were sent to the cabin last week to observe. Three days ago, they didn’t make their scheduled report.

  “We contacted the Park Service. They sent rangers in to check things out, and found the two agents wedged in a culvert about a mile inside the park boundary. Both had been shot.

  “In my humble opinion, the jackass running this show has no damned idea what she is doing. And if she keeps running things, we will have no one left.

  “And, I have another slightly sticky problem that our local law enforcement brethren have asked me to assist with. The Browning Police Department is missing three laptops and two officers. The last radio transmission from the officers was from north of Babb, many miles out of their jurisdiction. Browning PD contacted someone at Homeland Security, who said that I could help.

  “I got an email from Browning PD last night. The crew cleaning the campgrounds near your favorite mountain lake found two burned vehicles. When the VINs were run, one of the vehicles belonged to the missing Browning officer. The other vehicle had been stolen in Atlanta, Georgia, three weeks ago.

  “If you did all of the Ranger things needed to scout the area, you know it better than anyone I know. Plus, you have assets I don’t have, and the Browning PD has a lot of questions. Do you think you could put a team together and find some answers?

  “Matt”

  Ryce sat and stared at the laptop screen for several minutes. He had two pressing questions. First, who is the “jackass” that Matt had referred to? And, why is “she” getting JBTF agents killed? This news was not going to make a happy day for Tanya. Brian Dodge had been an important person in Tanya’s life.

  Second, was there anything he could do about the Browning PD request? He had several people he could call to check out the burned vehicle, but Browning PD probably had the same forensic assets.

  Ryce stared at the laptop screen for a few minutes, and then began scanning his inbox to see if he had misplaced an email. Matt surely would have used the proper name of the “she” at some point in an email.

  Ryce flipped through several pages of emails in his inbox, looking for another email from Matt. Nothing. Had Matt sent anything? Ryce wasn’t sure either way. He clicked on the Deleted folder and found one sent three days earlier. Somehow, he had accidentally deleted it. He was now glad he had set his Delete folder to be manually cleaned. However, he needed to clean the folder soon --- he had 734 emails in it. He quickly opened the email from Matt.

  “Dear Ryce,

  “Congratulations on eventually becoming the head of the Joint Border Task Force. We really need you. Now. Not later.

  “Samantha Tanner has come over from some government department and has taken over
as head of the JBTF. I think she said it was the FBI. So far, she hasn’t done anything stupid, but she talks about doing things that are stupid.

  “First, she wants permanent eyes on the cabin, up where you had your observation post. She says we can rotate two people in there every two weeks.

  “Second, she wants to do an assault on the cabin. I have no idea where the assault idea came from. I hope I changed her mind. I have people watching the roads going into the cabin, and nothing is happening. But, now she says maybe they are coming in by helicopter. Is she out of her mind? Anyone within ten miles of the cabin can hear a helicopter. They are just not that quiet.

  “Please get through the training and take over the reins.

  “Matt”

  Ryce read both emails from Matt several times. He had never heard about anyone named Samantha Tanner at the FBI. He made a mental note to see what John knew. John had many friends in the FBI. But, Ryce had a more important project. He needed to talk to Tanya.

  Ryce frowned. He wasn’t sure how he was going to tell Tanya about Brian. Tanya and Brian had spent too many years together. He slowly got up, walked into Tanya’s office, took her hand, led her to his office, and shut the door. After he asked her to sit, Ryce sat beside her, and told her about Brian.

  Tanya’s first reaction was to squeeze Ryce’s hand so hard he thought he might lose feeling in it. After a few moments, she threw her arms around his neck and began sobbing.

  The sobbing gradually diminished. Tanya reached over to Ryce’s desk and pulled several tissues out of the box. She slowly removed all her makeup, which, to Ryce’s astonishment, was not a lot.

  Tanya walked over to the apartment-sized refrigerator, pulled out two cans of Dr. Pepper, handed Ryce one, and popped the tab on the other.

  “Brian and I met in the first grade. He gave me my first kiss. We were high school homecoming royalty two years in a row. I wanted five children, each one named with a letter of his first name.