Caleb stared out the windshield. “Pretty isolated place.”

“What, did you expect Oliver to take up residence in the suburbs?”

“Sometimes the best place to hide is with a lot of people.”

“Yeah, and sometimes it’s not. For all we know he could be up in those mountains somewhere. It worked for that abortion clinic bomber in North Carolina.”

“But they finally caught him,” Caleb pointed out.

“Okay, but—”

“Oh, damn!”

“What?”

Caleb was staring at the tiny screen that registered the movements of Knox’s truck.

“He’s turned around. He’s coming right at us.”

Annabelle glanced at the screen and, sure enough, the red blob of light representing Knox was flying right at them.

“Quick, pull off,” Caleb cried out.

“Where? Into the side of the mountain or over the edge and two thousand feet down?”

“There!” Caleb stabbed his finger in the direction of a tiny sliver of dirt that ran between a stand of trees on the left where the mountain slab receded a bit.

Annabelle zipped into that crevice. They both turned around and watched the road. A minute later an Exxon tanker truck flashed by.

Caleb stared down at the screen. “We’re in trouble.”

Annabelle followed his gaze. “He found the tracker and put it on the fuel truck. Shit!”

Caleb nodded absently before tossing the useless contraption down on the seat. “Now what do we do?”

Annabelle put the van in gear and backed out onto the road and floored it. “We drive and we watch. And with any luck we’ll pick up his trail again.”

“I don’t think I’m that lucky.”

“Well, I am.”

“Why?”

“I’m Irish. We always keep some reserve in the tank.”

Chapter 49

CHAPTER 49

JOE KNOX WAS FEELING GOOD for the first time in a long time. He’d ditched the tail and could now move on. He looked at the map on the seat next to him. The guy at the bus company had given him fairly precise directions to where the bus had dropped Carr and his friend off. Knox did a rough estimate in his head. He was probably an hour or so away.