The male agent unzipped his own rucksack and pulled out birdwatching binoculars that looked as innocuous as a child’s telescope. The female agent stood behind him for cover and pulled out a much more powerful pair of binoculars. She held them to her eyes and focused the lenses on the A-frame cabin across the lake. Perched at the top of a small hill, the high-range binoculars gave her the ability to see into the windows of the cabin from four hundred yards away.

The cabin’s nearest neighbor was ten acres to the north. The terrain on this side of the home consisted of a wooden deck and a long row of stairs that ran down to the water. A sycamore stood at the water’s edge, where a rope swing hung from a limb and teetered over the surface of the lake. The agent put the binoculars down and picked up the Nikon.

“Clear?” she asked.

Her partner took a moment to confirm that there were no eyes on them.

“Clear,” he said.

The female agent began snapping photos of the A-frame cabin, the lake, and the forested area on either side of the structure. The images would be used to organize the tactical raid the feds were planning on the isolated cabin. But they’d need a warrant before they could crash through the front door. To secure one, they would have to confirm that their subject was present inside, and prove to a judge that it was Garth Montgomery.

“Okay,” the female agent said, dropping the camera and binoculars back into the rucksack. “Let’s see how close we can get.”

CHAPTER 58 - Manhattan, NY Thursday, July 8, 2021

CHAPTER 58

Manhattan, NY Thursday, July 8, 2021

AKNOTTED TOWEL WAS TWISTED ON THE TOP OF HER HEAD AND HELD her wet hair. Just out of the shower Thursday morning, Avery stood in front of the bathroom mirror in jeans and a bra, applying makeup while her mind worked to solve her many problems. Since her confrontation with Natalie Ratcliff the day before, the constant weight of worry sat in her stomach like an indigestible knot of fat and gristle that was sure to do serious harm to her insides. She and Natalie had gone over everything carefully, and spent the entire evening planning and discussing the possibilities. But no matter how they arranged things, there was one missing piece to the very complicated puzzle Avery was attempting to assemble. She was stuck until she figured it out, and she had very little time to do it.

She heard a knock on the door, and paused with the mascara brush an inch from her lashes. When a second knock came she screwed the applicator brush back into the container, walked to the door, and placed her eye to the peephole. Walt stood in the hallway and, despite her attire, she didn’t hesitate to pull the door open.