“Now, before we get into this, how comfortable are you about disclosing your identity?” Wheldon said.

“Extremely uncomfortable,” Gannon said.

“Okay, so I’ll hold off taping,” he said. “Now, where did you see Dunning?”

“I saw him on a Gulfstream 550 corporate jet that went down fifteen miles north of Little Abaco in the Bahamas,” Gannon said. “They said it was a turboprop plane on the news, but that was completely made up.”

“How did you see it?”

“I was out marlin fishing on my boat by myself, and I saw it go down and rip in two.”

“Was it on fire or something? What was wrong with it?”

“No, it came in almost gliding very low to the water. I’m not an expert, but I think it had run out of gas.”

“Go on,” Wheldon said.

“I was right on top of it when it ripped into the water, and I rushed over and saw that the front of it had snapped off and sunk down on a coral shelf. I run a diving business, so I suited up and went down to see if there were any survivors.

“I saw Dunning there inside the plane. He was with two other white guys, one older, one younger. They looked like agents maybe. There was also a fortysomething-looking black guy in a hoodie and jeans as well as two uniformed pilots. They were all dead. As in already dead. Their faces were blue like they had suffocated or something.”

“Did you report this?”

“No,” Gannon said, shaking his head. “I didn’t know it was Dunning until I saw his picture in the paper yesterday morning.”

“No, I mean the crash itself. You didn’t call anyone when you saw the plane go down?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Gannon looked at him.

“Well, I tried to radio it in at first, but my boat radio antenna was busted. Then I…found the money.”

“Money?” Wheldon said, squinting.

“Yes. Diamonds and money. In a suitcase. There were several million dollars in one-hundred-dollar bills and a mother lode of uncut diamonds.”

The reporter’s calm composure evaporated. His mouth gaped open as he sat up.

“Listen, I know it was wrong,” Gannon said. “And I’m regretting it now, believe me. I should have immediately turned it in. And I would have. But no one came. I was out there for an hour, and there wasn’t a soul. I had no idea the damn US government was involved. I thought they were all a bunch of dead dopers or something, so I thought why not exit stage left? No harm no foul.”

“This money and diamonds,” Wheldon said, staring at him with his intense blue eyes. “You still have them?”

“Yes.”

“Both?”

“Both,” Gannon said. “It was stupid of me. Say the word, and I’ll go get them and give them back. I’ll do whatever to get this crazy bullshit to stop. That’s why I’m here. I want to make this right. Lying about the death of the FBI director is bananas. Just bananas. They can’t get away with it. I won’t let them. That’s unacceptable. People need to know the truth.”