Murder in Foggy Bottom - Margaret Truman [110]
“It’s… southeast of here.”
She prepared the forms; Pauling provided his driver’s license and credit card and signed. She pulled a map from beneath the counter and studied it. “Here it is,” she said, drawing a small circle around Gauley Bridge. “Never heard of it,” she added uselessly.
“Yeah, thanks,” Pauling said, grabbing the keys she’d given him and running to where the rental cars were parked. It was a maroon Chevy Caprice, big and boat-like. Pauling got behind the wheel, started the engine, turned on the interior lights, and studied the Hertz map until confident he knew the directions to Gauley Bridge.
It was raining harder now and the wipers, even at full speed, had trouble keeping up with the water. He navigated the airport roads to the exit, saw a sign for Route 77 that would lead southeast, and took it. There was little traffic, most of it coming from the other direction, the lights temporarily blinding him each time they assailed the windshield. He checked his watch and calculated how long it would take Traxler and Jessica to reach the cabin from Washington, assuming they were driving. He figured they were at least an hour away, probably longer considering the lousy weather. That pleased him. He wanted to reach the cabin before they did, know the terrain and layout, be there when they arrived. He was confident that Traxler wouldn’t know that Jessica had left a note. That gave him the advantage of surprise.
He turned on the radio and tuned to an all-news station. After a series of commercials, and a report on a controversy over logging in West Virginia, the anchor broke in: “We go now to Washington, where FBI Director Russell Templeton is beginning a news conference.”
“As you know, the FBI today took decisive action against a terrorist group in Blaine, Washington, known as the Jasper Project. Months of intensive investigation, including the infiltration of the group by members of the Bureau, provided irrefutable evidence of the Jasper Project’s involvement in the missile downing of three civilian commuter planes almost a month ago.
“I stand here today to report another development in this tragic episode in our fight against those who would subvert our American way of life, and who have so little regard for human life. As part of our ongoing investigation of hate groups, we’ve worked closely with law enforcement agencies in other countries.
“Today, in the wake of the successful siege on the Jasper compound in Blaine, our agents, working in concert with Canadian investigators, have linked another group to the downing of those aircraft, one closely allied with the Jasper Project, the Freedom Alliance. This organization, headquartered in Plattsburgh, New York, on the Canadian border, has used the cover of that border for years, moving back and forth across it in order to avoid law enforcement on both sides. Acting as an extension of the Jasper Project, the Freedom Alliance played a vital role in smuggling the missiles used to bring down the civilian aircraft into this country.
“As we speak, the FBI, acting in close concert with our Canadian counterparts, have surrounded the Freedom Alliance’s facility in Plattsburgh and are prepared to take action similar to that taken today against the Jasper Project. Sorry, but my statement will have to stand. No questions.”
“Son of a bitch,” Pauling growled, snapping off the radio with enough force to pull the knob from it. “That’s how they’re going to cover up the screwup—take credit for uncovering the Plattsburgh connection.”
As he fumed, he missed the marked turnoff to Gauley Bridge, doubled back, took it, and drove slowly along a narrow macadam road until reaching a wooden covered bridge that gave the town its name. Pauling stopped a few feet from the bridge, flicked on the inside lights, and consulted the photocopy of the deed he’d taken from Jessica’s desk. The bridge was noted on the property map; the cabin was on the other side, 640 feet to the north. The Kanawha River ran behind it. He turned off the interior lights, crept across the bridge, emerged