“Semtex doesn’t leave much of itself behind,” she continued, “even when it’s exposed. It’s not like gunpowder or ANFO, we can test for those compounds easily. If it was still sealed in its crates, all bets are off.”

“We should’ve spent a few minutes poking around out there.”

“I was the one who wanted to get up to that cabin.”

“There’s a bigger question here,” he said. “A huge question. If the missing Semtex was there, why did they want it?”

Holly stared. “I don’t like that question.”

“I think it’s fair to assume they weren’t trying to complete a sale in progress, and I seriously doubt they were selling individual crates. That’d be too risky. They’d have a single buyer for all it.”

“Who do you think they were selling it to? Foreign terrorists? An Al Qaeda cell operating within the United States?”

Nathan shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. It was more likely being sold to radical militia groups. They love the stuff. It’s way easier to use than ANFO or TNT. The Bridgestones are coldblooded, but they aren’t terrorists. Something tells me they wouldn’t sell to radical Islamic types. I just can’t see them doing that. It’s all about money, not hatred of their country. I don’t have anything to base that on but my gut instinct. If the Bridgestones could somehow be caught and interrogated, I think we’ll find they’ve been doing business with militia groups, not terrorists.”

“By strict interpretation, the Bridgestones already are terrorists,” Holly said. “Look at what they’ve done so far.”

“I can’t deny they’ve committed some horrible crimes, but at the risk of sounding callous, not on a grand scale. Like I said on the drive up to the cabin, if they try something, it won’t be a random target. They’ll go after whoever hurt them. The FBI and now me.”

“Why do you think the Bridgestones showed their cousins where the money was hidden? I mean, they could’ve told them to get lost for a couple hours while they buried it.”

“I wondered the same thing myself. I think they had this routine planned from the beginning. It’s a believable bone to throw. That much cash gets serious attention. You remember Henning’s reaction to seeing it? If the cousins were ever questioned by the authorities, they could hold out for awhile, then give up the cash and the cabin, making it seem like they caved.”

“So you think the Bridgestones used the money as a distraction, a decoy? They sacrificed it?”

“It worked, didn’t it? Once we had the cash and the info about the cabin, we were out of there in a hurry.”

“I can’t deny that.”

“Listen, Holly, there’s something you need to know, and I don’t want to do it behind your back.”

“Okay…”