Dave put his glasses on, keyed in the names, and began to read the information. “Oh, I remember now that I see it. The agent’s name was Robert Miller. The irony is that Miller went to Harvard the same time Lyons was there. May have been classmates, and he had to bust him. Had to testify against him. Lyons is lucky he wasn’t executed.”
“Did you say Robert Miller?” asked O’Brien.
“Yes, why?”
O’Brien stepped over to the computer and read the name. “Because Glenda Lawson told me that Robert Miller was the young FBI agent who investigated the killing of Billy Lawson. The one who said Lawson died as the result of a mugging … said he died from one bullet. I’m betting an autopsy will prove it didn’t happen that way.”
“Is this FBI guy still alive?” Nick asked.
“Let’s find out,” O’Brien said.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
O’Brien spent a few minutes searching online for information about FBI agent Robert Miller. “There’s a brief mention in relation to something called the Venona Project,” O’Brien said. “In 1950 it was a project designed to catch Soviet spies in the U.S.”
“If he’s still alive, wouldn’t take much to find him,” Dave said. “We have two dozen FBI agents here now. I’m sure one of them could locate him or his grave.”
“Let’s not mention to the FBI, yet, what we’ve discovered so far. After what Glenda Lawson told me, we may need access to FBI records, information we might want to corroborate all this. Let’s see what Billy Lawson’s autopsy reveals.”
“Could prove nothing, Sean. FBI files from 1945 should be declassified by now.”
“What does that really mean? Regardless, let’s see what we can find on Ethan Lyons.” O’Brien keyed in Ethan Lyons’ name with dates and data. His eyes scanned the information. “Lyons was released from federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut … 1964 after serving eighteen years on four counts of espionage. After his release, he moved to England, taught physics at Cambridge. It says he never publicly apologized for compromising America’s nuclear weapons program. When asked why he provided the Russians with details of our Manhattan Project, Lyons was quoted as saying he didn’t believe America, or any nation, should ever be in a position to dominate the rest of the world by imposing the monopolistic threat of nuclear annihilation. He believed the prospect of mutual destruction would be the safety mechanism the world needed to contain atomic weapons. It says he and his wife, Sarah, moved back to the U.S. in 1996, due to her failing health and the couple’s desire to be with grandchildren. Last known address, Jacksonville, Florida.”
O’Brien stood and looked out Gibraltar’s port window. He watched a shrimp boat leave the marina, the boat’s running lights bleeding white and red over the dark surface.
Dave asked, “What are you thinking, Sean?”
“I’m thinking that if one of J. Edgar Hoover’s agents, Robert Miller, was undercover acting as a courier transferring information to the Soviets … how could he be undercover when he went to the same university, same time, as Ethan Lyons?”
“Doesn’t mean that Miller knew Lyons.”
“No, but there is irony there. Why would Miller say that Billy Lawson was shot in a mugging … shot once, and shot with a.38 caliber bullet?”
“Maybe he was,” Nick said.
“The autopsy will speak for the dead,” O’Brien said.
“If he was shot more than once, and it wasn’t a.38 that killed him, how will you approach that?” Dave asked.
“We find three old men: Ethan Lyons, Robert Miller, and Brad Ford.”
Dave heard the bong of an in-coming e-mail. He said, “Anna’s sent us something.” Dave put on his glasses and read aloud the e-mail. “Gentlemen, this is the best I could get … don’t know if it helps much. I’m seeing the fort and a small embankment. I’ve attached my drawing. It’s rather simple, but the image is, too. I’m not sure if the embankment might be where the stuff is buried, or the spot where Billy Lawson stood to view the things being buried someplace else. Or it could be near the big tree near my stick people.”
“What tree?” O’Brien asked.
Dave continued, “She says … ‘good luck, please let me know what happens, Anna.’ Well, let’s see what she sent us.” Dave opened the attachment. “I wish it was as easy as X marks the spot.”
“Looks like a little kid’s drawing,” Nick said.
Dave chuckled. “They never look polished. Images without a lot of form. With remote viewing there is no coloring between the lines. It’s creating the lines as quickly as you can before the part of the human conscious that’s seeing them is blocked.”
“Gives etch-and-sketch a new meaning,” O’Brien said. “Anna’s drawing looks like stick figures, maybe a big tree … and a shape that could be Fort Matanzas at the top of the island. The tree is gone. I will ask Glenda Lawson if she remembers one on the island.”
Dave said, “Anna’s sketch comes from what the place looked like at the time Billy Lawson viewed it. The island could have changed some in six decades.”
Nick said, “Might be the magic dust is sittin’ under somebody’s house near there. They coulda built right on top of it. And people with mold think they got problems.”
O’Brien said, “Looks like the Germans buried it on the island. Anna’s sketch indicates seven stick figures. Six, I assume, are German and Japanese sailors, the seventh-a mystery man … this is something that could have been a life raft. If we dig in the general area where the figures are on the drawing, we might find something”
Dave hit the print button. O’Brien said, “Here’s our treasure map. Nick, that tool you use to spear flounder may do the trick in the soft sand.”
Dave said, “We should call the federal task force, let them know what we found.”
“We haven’t found anything yet.” O’Brien punched numbers quickly on his cell. Abby Lawson answered. “Abby, sorry to call so late, but can you wake your grandmother?”
“She’s been asleep for several hours, Sean. You okay? Are you still at Matanzas?”
“No. But, it’s important-I need to ask her something.”
“Hold a sec … I’ll get the phone to her.”
O’Brien looked at his watch: 2:07 a.m. Thirty-eight hours remaining.
“Hello,” Glenda’s voice was like words coming through water.
“Glenda, I know it’s late. But, can you think back to the time you and Billy spent on the beaches of Matanzas Inlet and Rattlesnake Island. Do you remember a large tree on the island?”
“I do, and I remember it because it was the only live oak on that island. Rattlesnake Island had palms, but the live oak, it was big and really old back then, probably saw the massacre of the French. As it was the only oak tree there, I always wondered if it was lonely. The tree was about five blocks from the south end of the island, about half-way to the fort. I believe it was knocked out by a fierce storm”
“Thank you, Glenda.” O’Brien disconnected. “Let’s go.”
“Whoa, where we goin’?” Nick asked.
“Rattlesnake Island.”
Dave said, “Sean, we have to let the task force know. They need to be there.”
“Okay, tell whoever is coming, someone you really trust, to bring a van or truck in case we find this stuff. Nick, let’s tie a zodiac to the Jeep. If we find the canisters, we’ll need to float them to the road. I know this is a stupid question, but anyone got a shovel on his boat?”
Dave shook his head. Nick said, “There’s at least one in that tool shed the dock master has behind the Tiki Bar. He keeps one of those metal detectors locked in there, too. I’ll get the prod and meet you at the tool shed.” Nick left.
“You coming, Dave?” O’Brien asked.
“My service might be more helpful with the task force. I’ll start briefing them on the phone en route to the federal building. Between the old woman’s memory and the images Anna sketched … let’s hope there is something under that sand.”
“We’re about to find out. Max, I’ll see you later.” Max jumped from the couch and stood behind the sliding glass door, watching until she could no longer see O’Brien as he ran down the dock.