She was sure that Adams must especially resent the presence of Col. Larson on his base a female officer over whom he had no authority.
As the group sat down, Riley felt an eerie chill of familiarity as she studied Adamss face. It was broad and long, severely sculpted like the faces of many other military officers shed known during her life including her father.
In fact, Riley found Col. Adamss resemblance to her father to be downright disturbing.
He spoke to Riley and her colleagues in an excessively official tone.
Welcome to Fort Nash Mowat. This base has been in operation since 1942. It extends for seventy-five thousand acres, has fifteen hundred buildings, and three hundred fifty miles of roads. Youll find about sixty thousand people here on any given day. Im proud to call it the finest Army training base in the country.
At that point, Col. Adams seemed to be trying to suppress a sneer. He wasnt quite succeeding.
He added, And for that reason, I ask that you not make nuisances of yourselves as long as youre here. This place runs like a finely tuned machine. Outsiders have an unfortunate tendency to gum up the works. If you do so, I promise that there will be hell to pay. Do I make myself clear?
He was making eye contact with Riley, obviously trying to intimidate her.
She heard Bill and Lucy say, Yes, sir.
But she said nothing.
Hes not my CO, she thought.
She simply held his gaze and nodded.
He then shifted his eyes to the others in the room. He spoke again with cold anger in his voice.
Three good men are dead. The situation at Fort Mowat is unacceptable. Fix it. Immediately. Preferably sooner.
He paused for a moment. Then he said, There will be a funeral for Sergeant Clifford Worthing at eleven hundred hours. I expect all of you to be in attendance.
Without another word, he got up from his chair. The CID agents stood and saluted, and Col. Adams left the room.
Riley was dumbfounded. Hadnt they all come here to discuss the case and what to do next?
Obviously noticing Rileys surprise, Col. Larson grinned at her.
Hes not normally so talkative, she said. Maybe he likes you.
Everybody laughed at her bit of sarcasm.
Riley knew that a little humor was a good thing right now.
Things were going to get plenty grim soon enough.
CHAPTER NINE
The laughter subsided, and Larson was still looking at Riley, Bill, and Lucy. Her expression was penetrating and powerful, as if she were assessing them somehow. Riley wondered if the CID commander was about to make some dire announcement.
Instead, Larson asked, Have any of you had breakfast?
They all said no.
Well, that situation is unacceptable, Larson said with a chuckle. Lets fix it before you waste away. Come with me, and Ill show you some Fort Mowat hospitality.
Larson then left her team behind and proceeded to guide the three FBI agents into the officers club. Riley could see right away that the colonel wasnt kidding about hospitality. The dining facility was like an upscale restaurant, and Larson wouldnt let them pay for their own meals.
Over a delicious breakfast, they discussed the case. Riley realized that she had definitely needed coffee. The meal was welcome too.
Col. Larson gave them her take on the case. The most salient features of these murders are the method of killing and the ranks of the victims. Rolsky, Fraser, and Worthing were all drill sergeants. They were all shot from a long distance with a high-powered rifle. And the victims were all shot at night.
Bill asked, What else did they have in common?
Not much. Two were white and one was black, so it isnt a racial issue. They were in command of separate units, so they had no recruits in common.
Riley added, Youve probably already pulled the files of soldiers reprimanded for disciplinary or psychological issues. AWOLs? Dishonorable discharges?
We have, Larson replied. Its a very long list and we have been through it. But Ill send it to you and you can see what you think.
Id like to talk to the men in each unit.
Larson nodded. Of course. You can catch some of them after the funeral today, and Ill set up any additional meetings that you want.
Riley noticed that Lucy was taking notes. She nodded to the young agent to ask her own questions.
Lucy asked, What caliber were the bullets?
NATO-caliber, Col. Larson said. 7.62 millimeter.
Lucy looked at Col. Larson with interest. She said, It sounds like the weapon might be an M110 sniper rifle. Or possibly a Heckler and Koch G28.
Col. Larson smiled a little, obviously impressed by Lucys knowledge.
Due to the range, were guessing the M110, Larson said. The bullets all seem to have been from the same weapon.
Riley was pleased to see that Lucy was so fully engaged. Riley liked to think of Lucy as her protégé, and she knew that Lucy thought of her as a mentor.
Shes learning fast, Riley thought proudly.
Riley glanced at Bill. She could tell by his expression that he was pleased with Lucy as well.
Riley had questions of her own, but she decided not to interrupt.
Lucy said to Larson, Youre guessing someone with military training, I assume. A soldier on the base?
Possibly, Larson said. Or an ex-soldier. Someone with excellent training, at any rate. Not just an average shooter.
Lucy drummed her pencil eraser against the table.
She suggested, Someone who has it in for authority figures? Drill sergeants especially?
Larson scratched her chin thoughtfully.
Ive been considering it, she said.
Lucy said, Im sure youre also considering Islamic terrorism.
Larson nodded.
These days, that simply has to be our default theory.
A lone wolf? Lucy asked.
Maybe, Larson said. But it could be that hes acting on behalf of some group either a small cell near here, or something international, like ISIS or Al-Qaeda.
Lucy thought for a moment.
How many Muslim recruits have you currently got at Fort Mowat? Lucy asked.
Right now, three hundred forty-three. Thats obviously a very small percentage of our recruits. But weve got to be careful about profiling. In general, our Muslim recruits have been exceptionally dedicated. Weve never had any problems with extremism if thats what this is.
Larson looked at Riley and Bill and smiled.
But you two are being very quiet. How would you like to proceed?
Riley glanced at Bill. As usual, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing as she was.
Lets go have a look at the murder scenes, Bill said.
*A few minutes later, Col. Larson was driving Riley, Bill, and Lucy through Fort Mowat.
Which of the locations do you want to see first? Larson asked.
Lets see them in the order they happened, Riley said.
As Larson drove, Riley noticed soldiers drilling, running obstacle courses, and practicing marksmanship with various weapons. She could see that it was rigorous, demanding work.
Riley asked Larson, How far along in their training is this round of recruits?
The second phase the White Phase, Larson said. Weve got three phases red, white, and blue. The first two, red and white, are three weeks each, and these recruits are in their fifth week overall. Their last four weeks will be the Blue Phase. Thats about as tough as tough can get. Thats when the recruits find out if theyve got what it takes to be an Army soldier.
Riley heard a note of pride in Larsons voice the same pride shed often heard in her fathers voice when he talked about his military service.
She loves what she does, Riley thought.
She also had no doubt that Col. Larson was excellent at what she did.
Larson parked near a footpath that led through the camp. They got out of the car, and Larson led them to a spot on the path. It was in an open area, free of trees that might block a view.
Sergeant Rolsky was killed right here, Larson said. Nobody saw or heard it happen. We couldnt tell from the wound or the position of his body where the shot came from except that it must have been a considerable distance.
Riley looked all around her, studying the scene.
What time was Rolsky killed? she asked.
At about twenty-two hundred hours, Larson said.
Riley mentally converted that to civilian time 10:00 p.m.
She imagined what this place would look like at that time of night. There were a couple of lamps standing within thirty feet of the spot. Even so, the light here would have been pretty dim. The shooter must have used a night scope.
She turned slowly around, trying to guess where the shot came from.
There were buildings to the south and north. It was unlikely a sniper would have the opportunity to fire from within any of those places.
To the west, she could see across camp to the Pacific Ocean, faint in a hazy distance.
There were rough hills to the east.
Riley pointed to the hills and said, My guess is that the shooter positioned himself somewhere up there.
Thats a good guess, Larson said, pointing to another spot on the ground. We found the bullet right here, so that indicates the shot must have come from somewhere up in those hills. Judging from the wound, the shot was fired from between two hundred fifty and three hundred feet. Weve scoured the area, but he didnt leave any evidence behind.
Riley thought for a moment.
Then she asked Larson, Is hunting allowed on Fort Mowat grounds?
In season, with permits, Larson replied. Right now its wild turkey season. Shooting crows by day is also allowed.
Of course, Riley knew that these deaths were anything but hunting accidents. As the daughter of a man who had been both a Marine and a hunter, she knew that no one would use a sniper rifle to kill crows and turkeys and such. A shotgun was the more likely hunting weapon of choice around Fort Mowat at this time of year.
She asked Larson to take them to the next location. The colonel drove them up into some low hills at the edge of a hiking trail. When they all got out of their vehicle again, Larson pointed to the spot on a trail that wound its way uphill.
Sergeant Fraser was killed right here, she said. He was taking an after-hours hike. The shot seems to have been about the same distance as before. Again, no one heard or saw it happen. But our best guess is that he was killed at about twenty-three hundred hours.
Eleven oclock at night, Riley thought.
Pointing to another spot, Larson added, We found the bullet over here.
Riley then looked in the opposite direction, toward where the shooter must have been. She saw more scrubby hills and countless places where a shooter might have hidden. She was sure that Larson and her team had combed the area thoroughly.
Finally they drove down to the area where the recruits living quarters were. Larson took them behind one of the barracks. The first thing Riley saw was an enormous dark splotch on the wall near the back door.
Larson said, This is where Sergeant Worthing was killed. He seems to have come out here for a cigarette before his platoons morning formation. The shot was so clean that the cigarette never fell from his lips.
Rileys interest quickened. This scene was different from the others and much more informative. She examined the blotch and the smear that spread down below it.
She said, It looks like he was leaning against the wall when the bullet hit him. You must have been able to get a much better idea of the bullets trajectory than you could for the others.
Much better, Larson agreed. But not the precise location.
Larson pointed across the field behind the barracks to where hills began to rise.
The shooter must have positioned himself somewhere between those two valley oaks, she said. But he cleaned up very carefully afterward. We couldnt find a trace of him in any likely location.
Riley saw that the distance between the small trees was about twenty feet. Larson and her team had done good work narrowing the area down that much.
What kind of weather was it? Riley asked.
Very clear, Larson said. There was a three-quarter moon out almost until dawn.
Riley felt a tingle down her back. It was a familiar feeling that she got when she was about to really connect with a crime scene.
Id like to go out and have a look for myself, she said.
Certainly, Larson said. Ill take you there.
Riley didnt know how to tell her that she wanted to go by herself.
Fortunately, Bill spoke up for her.
Lets let Agent Paige go alone. Its kind of her thing.
Larson nodded appreciatively
Riley strode out across the field. With every step, that tingling grew stronger.
Finally, she found herself between the two trees. She could see why Larsons team hadnt been able to find the exact spot. The ground was highly irregular with lots of smaller bushes. Just in that area, there were at least a half dozen excellent places to squat or lie and fire a clean shot toward the barracks.
Riley began to walk back and forth between the trees. She knew that she wasnt looking for anything that the shooter might have left behind not even footprints. Larson and her team wouldnt have missed anything like that.
She took some slow breaths and imagined herself here in the very early hours in the morning. The stars were just starting to disappear, and the moon still cast shadows all around.
The feeling grew stronger by the second a sense of the killers presence.
Riley took a few more deep breaths and prepared to enter the killers mind.
CHAPTER TEN
Riley began to imagine the killer. What had he felt, thought, and observed when he came here looking for the perfect spot to shoot from? She wanted to become the killer, as nearly as she could, in order to track him down. And she could do that. It was her gift.
First, she knew, he had to find that spot.
She searched about, just as he must have searched.
As she moved around, she felt a mysterious, almost magnetic pull.
She was drawn to a red willow bush. To one side of the bush, there was a space between its branches and the ground. There was a slightly hollow place in the ground at that very spot.
Riley stooped down and looked carefully at the ground.
The soil in that hollow place was neat and smooth.
Too neat, Riley thought. Too smooth.
The rest of the soil in this area was rougher, more irregular.
Riley smiled.
The killer had gone to such lengths to tidy up after himself that hed betrayed his exact position.
Imagining the scene by moonlight, Riley gazed down the slope and across the field toward the back of the barracks.
She pictured what the killer saw from this place the distant figure of Sergeant Worthing stepping out of the back door.
Riley felt a smile form on the killers face.