Polar Shift (NUMA Files 6)

"Acme?" Schroeder said with a smile.

"They're a big outfit down in Virginia."

"You knew who I was, you must have known why they wanted me."

The man shook his head.

"What were you going to do with me?"

"We were going to deliver you to people at the bottom of the mountain. There was supposed to be a car waiting."

"You've been watching me for days. You know more than you're saying. Tell me what they said," he said soothingly. "I give you my word I won't kill you. See?" He flung the Uzi into the woods.

A suspicious expression came to the man's face, but he decided to take his chances. "There was something about a girl's picture we found in your house. They think you know where she is."

"Why do they want her?"

"I don't know."

Schroeder nodded. "One more thing. Who killed Schatsky?"

"Who?" The man looked at Schroeder as if he were insane.

"My little dachshund. The noisy wiener dog."

"My partner killed him."

"But you didn't stop him."

"I like dogs."

"I believe you." Schroeder backed off and began to herringbone up the slope.

"You can't leave me here," the man shouted with panic in his voice.

Schroeder stopped. "I only said I wouldn't kill you. I never said I would pull you out. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll find you when the snow melts."

The temperature would drop down to zero that night. The human body's vital organs were not meant to function upside down, and the man would probably die soon from suffocation.

Schroeder skied to the base of the mountain to a spot that offered a view of the parking lot. He picked out the black Yukon SUV with the tinted windows. Three men stood beside it, looking up the mountain. He wondered who they were, but decided it didn't matter. For now.

He removed his skis, left them on a rack and went to the locker room. He grabbed his fanny pack, stuck the boots in the locker, quickly changed into his walking shoes and headed to the lot where he had parked his truck.

Schroeder checked out the lot and saw nothing suspicious. He walked quickly to the truck and got in. As he drove out of the parking lot, he reached under the seat for a pistol and placed it in his lap.

He contemplated his next move. It would be dangerous to go back to his house. He headed out of town toward Glacier National Park. Twenty minutes later, he pulled up in front of a small, ramshackle building. The sign outside said: glacier park wilderness TOURING COMPANY AND CAMPS. It was one of a number of businesses and real estate holdings Schroeder had invested in using straw companies. Behind the building were several camps he rented out in the warm season.

He parked behind the building, went inside a cabin he reserved for his own use and removed a moth-eaten moose head from over the fireplace to reveal a wall safe. He opened the safe with a few twists of the combination lock. Inside was a strongbox stuffed with cash, which he jammed into his parka pockets along with fake driver's licenses, passports and credit cards.

Schroeder went into the bathroom and shaved off his mustache. He tinted his hair brown to match the picture in his ID, and from a closet he pulled a prepacked suitcase. The change of identity took less than thirty minutes. Haste was of the essence. Anyone who could find a way through the web of fake identities that he had woven had to have considerable resources. It was only a matter of time before they tracked down the wilderness camps.

Someone might be watching the small airport in Kalispell. He decided to drive to Missoula and rent a car. Halfway to his destination, he stopped at a pay phone. Using a phone card, he called a longdistance number. As the phone rang, he held his breath, wondering if she would even remember him. It had been a long time. A man answered. They exchanged a few words and hung up. There was disappointment in his eyes.

Montana has no speed limit. As Schroeder pushed the tru

ck to its limits, he wondered how the genie had once again escaped from the bottle. He was much younger the first time it had been contained, and he wondered if, at his age, he was still up to it.

He thought about the girl. Her portrait in his bedroom was taken by a commercial studio. They could trace it back. He thought his computer files were clean, but one could never tell. Then there were the phone records. He had grown careless in his old age. It was only a matter of time before they found her. He wondered what she looked like. The last time he had seen her was at her grandfather's funeral. He let his mind drift back, recalling the events that linked him to the young woman.