Henley unlocked the passenger door of his two-door, lime green Dodge Charger, then walked around the front, going to the driver’s side. He slid behind the steering wheel and put the key in the ignition.
Grant got in and closed the door. Taking off his cap, he tossed it on the dash, then rolled down the window a couple of inches. He turned slightly in the white bucket seat and leaned against the door, keeping an eye on Henley. Then, he waited.
Henley’s fingers curled around the steering wheel, with his nerves about to get the best of him. “About three months after I was stationed here, Victoria and I met at Sailor’s. She and Colin and a couple of their friends were at a darts’ tournament. We just started talking, and that was the beginning.”
Grant shifted in the seat, draping his arm over the backrest. “Was Carter at that tournament?”
Henley shook his head. “No. Not that time.” He continued staring out the windshield. “After we were married, she asked if I could get Colin a job on base. He’d just gotten out of the RAF and couldn’t find work. I heard there was an opening for a civilian mechanic for the Nimrods, and as it so happened, that was one of the planes he worked on during his last duty in Kinloss.” (The RAF station is located on the Moray Firth in the north of Scotland.)
“He put in his application. He passed security checks. He got the job. All I did was put in a good word.”
Grant now regretted not having Adler run security on Victoria Henley’s family. His eyes narrowed as he asked, “All you did was put in a good word?”
Henley shot him a look. “That’s what I said! What? Don’t believe me again?”
“Any reason why I shouldn’t, Jack? I mean, you’ve been truthful so far, right?”
Henley turned away, catching sight of Chief Becker jogging toward the car. Henley rolled down the window. “What is it, Chief?”
“Sir, I have a message for the captain.”
Grant leaned toward the driver’s side. “Go ahead, Chief.”
“Sir, a Lieutenant Adler called. He just landed at Mildenhall and is waiting for a chopper to fly him here. He didn’t have a timeframe but said he’d probably see you in time for chow.”
Grant gave an almost imperceptible smile before responding, “Thanks, Chief. If I’m not here, could you see he gets settled in at the barracks?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see it’s taken care of. Anything else, sir?”
“That’ll be all, Chief.”
“Yes, sir.” Becker took off.
Henley rolled up the window, grateful for the brief interruption, until he heard Grant’s voice. “You were saying, Jack?”
“A couple months later I started hearing some scuttlebutt about him asking questions on what kinda munitions were stored on base.”
“And you confronted him?” Grant asked, hoping he got the right answer.
“Sure. Sure I did. He said he saw the marine guards and that made him curious.”
“Marine guards aren’t unusual on any base, Jack.”
“Of course not, but he assumed there’d be Brit guards on an RAF base. I tried keeping my answer simple. I reminded him it’s a NATO base, and since some of the munitions were from the U.S. and the Netherlands, we were put in charge.”
“Do you think that satisfied his curiosity?”
“At first I did, but then he started asking around about flights. Any time a delivery was made, he’d notice that area of the base was cordoned off while the shipment was safely offloaded, away from eyes, and then it was stored.”
Grant was getting more concerned. Henley’s explanation satisfied him so far but this brother-in-law, Colin Webb, was heavily involved in the security breach. He was sure of it now. More of the pieces were slowly fitting together.
Sweat formed across Henley’s brow. He rested his arm against the door, then he continued. “I had him meet me off base one day. I think he knew what was coming. I laid into him good.”
Grant sat quietly. Whatever Henley was about to tell him he had a feeling would send him in the right direction.
Suddenly, Henley swung the door open. “I need to get out!”
Grant quickly got out of the car, slammed the door, then went around to meet up with him. Screwing his cap down, he said, “You need to finish, Jack. I don’t think there’s much time left. Tell me.”
Henley paced back and forth. Finally, he stopped, staring up into Grant’s eyes. “That son of a bitch actually had the balls to threaten me, Grant!”
Grant leaned toward him, carefully studying his face. “You mean he threatened Victoria, don’t you?”
Henley pounded his fist on top of the car hood, over and over. “Goddamn him! How could he do this? Why…?”
Grant grabbed Henley’s fist. “Jack! Enough!”
All the blood drained from Henley’s face. He fell back against his car. “Oh, Christ! What the hell am I gonna do?”
Grant shook Henley’s shoulder. “You’re gonna help me, Jack! Where the fuck is he? Do you know? Is he still on base?”
“I… don’t know. The last I saw him was the night I picked up Victoria at his place.”
“You mean the night the cops showed up at Carter’s apartment?”
Henley nodded. He was ready to puke. “You don’t think he murdered…?”
“Right now, I’d say no. There wasn’t any indication he was meeting Carter that night. Carter even said he didn’t recognize his contact. Remember what was in the letter?”
Henley tried to clear his brain, trying to remember the letter. “Yeah. I do.”
“Do you also remember Carter said he was protecting you and Victoria by mailing that letter?” Henley nodded slowly, then Grant said, “Think about it, Jack. Why would your friend want to protect you two, yet her brother makes threats?”
“I… I don’t know.”
Grant backed away, rubbing his chin. “Well, I’ve got a couple ideas rolling around. I’m sure of one thing… your brother-in-law put that package outside the base for Carter to pick up.”
“Oh, Christ!”
“You have any ideas on what could have been in that package, Jack?” He hoped he got the right answer.
Henley turned away as he answered, “No. No. I just can’t help you. I don’t know.”
Grant nodded but he knew Henley was getting himself into deeper shit. It was obvious he was lying. Right now he didn’t have the time to press further.
He looked at his watch. Time to leave for the harbor. “Listen, Jack. You go back to your office. I know it’s gonna be tough, but try not to worry. What time do you usually leave for home?”
“About seventeen hundred.”
“No matter what time it is, you wait till I get back. And Joe — Lieutenant Adler — should be here by then. In the meantime, try and call Webb’s home, see if he’s there. If you make contact, just carry on a normal but short conversation. I’m counting on you, Jack. Don’t fuck this up. He’s probably the biggest lead we’ve been looking for. We can’t spook him.” Grant pulled his car keys from his pocket and jogged to his car, hoping he didn’t make a mistake having Henley make the call.
Chapter 10
Grant stood at the top of South Quay Hill. The drizzle was more of a mist now but the temperature dropped. He zipped up his windbreaker, then shoved his hands into his pockets while he tried to spot the rental boat. Fishing boats and tour boats were already moored or anchored. The weather changed a lot of plans.
He scanned the entire harbor, but focused on the mooring at the breakwater closest to the small shack where he’d made the inquiry this morning. The boat still wasn’t there.