Vixen 03 (Dirk Pitt 5)

At last she came up for air and pushed him away, wrinkling her nose. "Whew, you stink."

"Sorry about that, but sitting behind the plastic bubble of a helicopter all day is like dehydrating in a greenhouse."

"You don't have to make excuses. There's something about a masculine musk smell that turns women on. Of course, the fact that you also reek of gas and oil doesn't help any."

"Then I shall immediately pass Go and proceed to the shower."

She glanced at her watch. "Later. If we hurry, you might still catch him."

"Catch who?"

"Harvey Dolan. He called."

"How? You have no telephone."

"All I know is a forest ranger came by and said you were supposed to call Dolan at his office. It was important."

"Where do we find a phone?"

"Where else? The Rafertys'."

Lee was in town, but Maxine was only too happy to show Pitt to the telephone. She sat him down at an old-fashioned rolltop desk and handed him the receiver. The operator was efficient, and in less than ten seconds Dolan was on the other end of the line.

"Where in hell do you get off calling me collect?" he grumbled. "The government can afford it," Pitt said. "How did you get word to me?"

"The citizen-band radio in my car. I bounced a signal from the public-communications satellite to a ranger station in the White River National Forest and asked them to relay the message."

"What have you got?"

11

"Some good news and some not-so-good news."

"Lay it on me in that order."

"The good news is, I heard from Boeing. The nose gear was installed as original equipment on air-frame number 75403. The not-so-good news is, that particular aircraft went to the military."

"Then the Air Force got her."

"It looks that way. At any rate, the National Transportation Safety Board has no record of a missing commercial Stratocruiser.

I'm afraid that's as far as I can take it. From here on in, if you wish to pursue your investigation as a private citizen, you'll have to go through the military. Their air safety is out of our jurisdiction."

"I'll do that," Pitt replied. "If nothing else, to settle any fantasies I have about ghostly aircraft."

"I hoped you'd say something like that," said Dolan. "So I took the liberty of sending a request-in your name, of course-for the current status of Boeing 75403 to the Inspector General for Safety at Norton Air Force Base, in California. A Colonel Abe Steiger will contact you as soon as he finds something."

"This Steiger, what's his function?"

"Basically he's my military counterpart. He conducts investigations into the causes of Air Force flying accidents in the Western region."

"Then we'll soon have the answer to the riddle."

"It would seem so."

"What's your opinion, Dolan?" Pitt asked. "Your honest opinion."

"Well. . ." Dolan began cautiously. "I won't lie to you, Pitt. Personally, I think your missing aircraft will turn up in the records of some wheeler-dealer who trades in government-surplus salvage."