Hauck could see she did have a possible resemblance to Thibault. She had the same dark features, the heavy jaw; her hair still was thick and probably once black. But a lot of people bore those features here.
Clutching her packages, the woman headed back up the block toward her building. A wave of disappointment traveled through Hauck. She seemed to be going back in. In itself, that didn’t mean much, other than now they’d have to wait all day, maybe into the night, maybe even until tomorrow, to see if Thibault happened to show up.
But to his excitement, she continued past the front gate.
The woman glanced around once, then turned into a narrow alley behind the building with her supplies.
Hauck said, “Stay here.” He waited for a car to pass. “I’ll go see.”
He crossed after her, following her down the narrow alleyway. Around the back of the building, the small road opened up.
A car parking lot.
Maria Radisovic was depositing her parcels into the rear of a small blue Opel. Then, taking a last look around, as if she felt Hauck watching, she got in.
The instincts that had guided Hauck all these years suddenly kicked in. Blood pumping, he ran back out of the alley and signaled Naomi over to their Ford, parked on the side of the street.
“Get in!” he shouted, throwing the driver’s door open.
Naomi hopped in beside him as he turned on the engine. “What?”
“We’re in business!”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Maria Radisovic’s blue Opel pulled out of the small alleyway and turned left on Zinak Street, heading out of town.
Hauck waited until the car disappeared around a bend, then pulled out after her. He felt confident that the woman, supplies in tow, was leading them somewhere promising.
About a mile ahead, tracking the river, the road widened and the commercial shops and apartment dwellings gave way to warehouses, gas stations, even a local power facility. Hauck followed, keeping a couple of hundred yards behind.
A road sign read SEBECEVO, 8 KM.
A couple of miles beyond town, the road they were on started to wind and climb. It narrowed, cutting through the dark hills surrounding the valley Novi Pazar was situated in. Traffic was sparse. Radisovic chugged along at a modest pace. Hauck had to work at it to remain so far behind. Every once in a while a commercial truck zoomed past them.
Neither he nor Naomi had much to say. They both seemed to feel the same anticipation that Maria was going to lead them to something. As the road climbed, the little Opel slowed and Hauck had to keep his diesel in second gear to remain an appropriate distance behind.
SEBECEVO, 3 KM.
As the road crested and started to descend into a wide valley, the Opel’s turn signal began to flash. It was remote terrain. Hauck glanced at Naomi.
They had arrived somewhere.
An unpaved road came into view, marked only by a telephone pole with a sign, SISTENA R, the river. The car ahead made a right turn. It slowed and chugged along the dirt road, and coming upon it, Hauck drove by, glancing at Maria Radisovic bouncing along the rutted terrain. “I don’t want her to spot us turning.”
About a quarter of a mile down the main road he turned onto the shoulder. He spun back around and stopped before the turnoff. They could no longer see Maria Radisovic’s car.
“This is it.” He eyed Naomi expectantly. “Last chance to pull out.”
She shook her head. Anticipation shone in her eyes. “Let’s see what she’s up to.”
They turned down the gravelly road. It cut through a fallow field and wound through a dense thatch of woods, steadily rising. Hauck’s pulse seemed to bump along in the same rhythm as the car.
They passed a tree-shaded cottage, barely more than a hut, with a few farm animals in pens. A dog ran out at them, barking.
No sign of Maria’s Opel.
Around a bend, the road cleared the woods and led them into a wide valley. Hills rose up in front of them. Hauck could see a couple of houses dotting the hillside ahead.
“I’m pulling off for a second,” he said. “I can’t take the chance she’ll spot us following her.”
He slowed onto the side of the dirt road and threw the car into park. Hauck reached into the back and took out a pair of binoculars from his canvas bag. Focusing, he made a wide sweep of the hills. About a mile ahead, he spotted the Opel climbing a steep ridge and, following its path and the valley beyond, came upon the outline of a dwelling, the brightness of a red tiled roof.
Naomi asked, “What do you see?”
The Opel drove down the road and came to a stop in front of the white, red-roofed farmhouse.
“I think I see pay dirt,” Hauck replied.
They drove past the ridge and left the car hidden behind a cluster of trees where it wouldn’t be spotted. Hauck grabbed the bag and took the binocs, some bottled water, a Nikon camera, and his Sig 9 mm, just in case.
“You’re sure you’re up for this?” he asked Naomi one last time, a little playfulness behind it. “Desk detail is over.”
She tied her hair in a ponytail and zipped her Windbreaker. “Let me know if I go too fast for you,” she answered.
They decided to climb the adjoining ridge and look over the house Maria Radisovic had driven up to. Naomi strapped on her government-issue Colt.
“You even recall how to use that thing?” Hauck asked with a teasing grin.
“I think I can still conjure up the image,” Naomi said, locking in the magazine and brushing past him.
The terrain up the hill was steep, with tall grasses that led to a drier brush as they climbed above the trees. The sun had come out and made the climb hot. And steep. Hauck felt a little out of breath. His leg throbbed a bit, still stiff from the bullet in the thigh he’d taken eighteen months ago.
Naomi, leading the way, never even slowed.
They finally made it to the top. They kneeled down on a rock and looked over the ridge Maria Radisovic had driven up to.
“Look!” Hauck pointed to a stucco farmhouse. Some animal pens built along a sloping hillside, maybe for sheep or oxen, but no sign of any livestock around. An earthen well dug along the side of the house.
White smoke rose from the chimney.
“Someone’s there.”
A black Audi was parked along the side of the house in back, almost hidden from view.
The cargo hatch open, Maria Radisovic’s Opel was pulled up in front.
Hauck peered through the binoculars. She had unpacked the car and gone inside. He guessed he was gazing at an abandoned farm. Maybe in the family or something they had rented. He muttered to Naomi, “What would you be thinking about why an elderly women needs to bring stuff way out in the sticks like this? Food. Booze. Tobacco.”
“I’d be thinking maybe it’s for someone she wants to hide,” Naomi said, watching over the ridge.
They had to wait a few minutes. Fifteen or twenty. The sun made it hot up there, and they opened up some water.
Finally, the front door of the farmhouse opened back up.
Maria came out first. She was followed by a figure Hauck recognized instantly. He zoomed in with the binoculars. The man was dressed in a blue plaid shirt, rumpled pants, and leather work boots. He was heavyset and broad shouldered. He looked like any anonymous worker from the town.
Except that Hauck saw his face.
“And I’d be thinking you’re right,” he said, rolling over and passing the binoculars to Naomi. “Agent Blum, say hi to Dani Thibault.” He grinned triumphantly.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Inside the farmhouse, Dani Thibault was going crazy.
He’d been cooped up at the old family farm for a week, unable to communicate with anyone, nervous to even show his face in town, even though he’d hadn’t been there for fifteen years. He was virtually in prison, yet he knew he had to remain there, at least for a while, until things calmed down.