fast. Said he'd never seen anyone move that fast before. Big guy said basically the same thing. Said they got off their ATV to help and the guy went crazy and attacked them. He said it was unprovoked."
"You mentioned that already. Doesnât pass the smell test, though. These clowns donât strike me as the good Samaritan types."
"I didn't think so eitherâ¦and they both have prior misdemeanors. I figured they started something and the guy finished it."
"Does he know which way they went?" Moore asked.
"No idea." The detective pointed to the top of the hillside. "The little guy did say when he came to he thought he heard a motorcycle up on Fort Roots Road heading toward the VA hospital but wasn't sure because of all the sirens. One of our responding patrol cars went in that direction and saw a motorcycle with a passenger on the back. He tried to pursue but got stuck behind a traffic accident. No way of knowing if it was the same men or not."
"Thank you, Detective." Moss motioned for Moore and Hepler to follow as he walked away.
"What do you think, Pete?" Hepler asked. "You think it's our witness?"
"Of course it's our witness. Iâm too old to believe in coincidences like this one. You already briefed me on the reports. Like I said in the car, this tough guy and the old man took 365 and headed toward Mayflower or Conway. It's the only logical explanation."
Hepler's cell phone rang; he raised a finger and walked off. Moss noticed Special Agent Small answer his phone as well. Then the detective's phone rang. The Arkansas State Police officer started talking into the microphone strapped under his chin.
Hepler returned with an anxious look on his face. Several of the other LEOs were heading for their vehicles.
"What the hell is going on?" Moss asked.
"There's been a break-in at a home on the Arkansas River." Hepler replied. "River Road Drive. Just south of Mayflower."
"And?"
"And they found several high-tech RFID tracking devices in the home."
"Come on, JP, getting information from you is like pulling teeth. What else you got?"
"A cell phone and driver's license belonging to our witness's alias, Anthony Napoli."
16
T he dark of night enveloped the back roads of Arkansas.
The Jeep's headlights illuminated only the area directly in front of the vehicle and Kaplan could see nothing on either side but darkness. This time of night the road was practically void of traffic.
It was farm country and farmers had to get up at the crack of dawn to work their fields. Which meant they were probably asleep right now. This was the Mississippi deltaâflat, muddy, and fertile. Most farmers grew beans or cotton or rice. Several variables factored in on crop selection. He had no clue what they were. Nor did he care. He was convinced of one thing though, the mosquito should be considered the state bird. They were enormous and could suck your blood like a vampire.
Lack of traffic made the drive easier. Unfortunately a lone car on a highway in the wee hours of the morning was anything but inconspicuous to an eye in the sky or a LEO out on patrol.
US 64 joined US 67 at a small town called Beebe. Kaplan made the left turn. He planned to stay on 67 until Poplar Bluff, Missouri then he would look at a map. The streets in Beebe were deserted and everything was locked up tight, even the gas stations. It was a good thing Jeff's Jeep had plenty of gas because he wasn't sure when he'd see any signs of life again. A few minutes later, any trace of Beebe had disappeared into an abyss of darkness behind him.
He could see nothing on either side of the four-lane highway from the peripheral shine of his high beams except fields and the occasional tree. In his rearview mirror, a single set of headlights about two miles behind him.
When the pothole appeared in his headlights, it was too late to avoid hitting it. The impact jolted the Jeep to one side. Tony jerked upright in his seat.
"What the hell was that?"
"Just a hole in the
"You mentioned that already. Doesnât pass the smell test, though. These clowns donât strike me as the good Samaritan types."
"I didn't think so eitherâ¦and they both have prior misdemeanors. I figured they started something and the guy finished it."
"Does he know which way they went?" Moore asked.
"No idea." The detective pointed to the top of the hillside. "The little guy did say when he came to he thought he heard a motorcycle up on Fort Roots Road heading toward the VA hospital but wasn't sure because of all the sirens. One of our responding patrol cars went in that direction and saw a motorcycle with a passenger on the back. He tried to pursue but got stuck behind a traffic accident. No way of knowing if it was the same men or not."
"Thank you, Detective." Moss motioned for Moore and Hepler to follow as he walked away.
"What do you think, Pete?" Hepler asked. "You think it's our witness?"
"Of course it's our witness. Iâm too old to believe in coincidences like this one. You already briefed me on the reports. Like I said in the car, this tough guy and the old man took 365 and headed toward Mayflower or Conway. It's the only logical explanation."
Hepler's cell phone rang; he raised a finger and walked off. Moss noticed Special Agent Small answer his phone as well. Then the detective's phone rang. The Arkansas State Police officer started talking into the microphone strapped under his chin.
Hepler returned with an anxious look on his face. Several of the other LEOs were heading for their vehicles.
"What the hell is going on?" Moss asked.
"There's been a break-in at a home on the Arkansas River." Hepler replied. "River Road Drive. Just south of Mayflower."
"And?"
"And they found several high-tech RFID tracking devices in the home."
"Come on, JP, getting information from you is like pulling teeth. What else you got?"
"A cell phone and driver's license belonging to our witness's alias, Anthony Napoli."
16
T he dark of night enveloped the back roads of Arkansas.
The Jeep's headlights illuminated only the area directly in front of the vehicle and Kaplan could see nothing on either side but darkness. This time of night the road was practically void of traffic.
It was farm country and farmers had to get up at the crack of dawn to work their fields. Which meant they were probably asleep right now. This was the Mississippi deltaâflat, muddy, and fertile. Most farmers grew beans or cotton or rice. Several variables factored in on crop selection. He had no clue what they were. Nor did he care. He was convinced of one thing though, the mosquito should be considered the state bird. They were enormous and could suck your blood like a vampire.
Lack of traffic made the drive easier. Unfortunately a lone car on a highway in the wee hours of the morning was anything but inconspicuous to an eye in the sky or a LEO out on patrol.
US 64 joined US 67 at a small town called Beebe. Kaplan made the left turn. He planned to stay on 67 until Poplar Bluff, Missouri then he would look at a map. The streets in Beebe were deserted and everything was locked up tight, even the gas stations. It was a good thing Jeff's Jeep had plenty of gas because he wasn't sure when he'd see any signs of life again. A few minutes later, any trace of Beebe had disappeared into an abyss of darkness behind him.
He could see nothing on either side of the four-lane highway from the peripheral shine of his high beams except fields and the occasional tree. In his rearview mirror, a single set of headlights about two miles behind him.
When the pothole appeared in his headlights, it was too late to avoid hitting it. The impact jolted the Jeep to one side. Tony jerked upright in his seat.
"What the hell was that?"
"Just a hole in the
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