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She beamed at him. “For a minute there, I thought they knew I was watching them and I nearly peed myself. But now I don’t think they were paying any attention to us. They were focused on getting into the forest.”
Cam pulled out her cell, found a photo of Manta Ray and handed it to Kim. “This is the man you and Pam saw?”
“Oh yes, that’s him.” She sighed. “He’s so hot, plus the poster said he’s from Ireland, even has an Irish accent. What a bummer he’s a criminal.”
Jack said. “You said they were going into the forest. Did they have any kind of gear with them?”
“Nope, they didn’t have any camping gear or backpacks. The two guys with Manta Ray were carrying small blue gym bags that looked brand-new. That was it, not even water bottles.”
Jack knew there wasn’t underwear in those gym bags, there were weapons.
Cam said, “I don’t suppose Manta Ray was still wearing prison orange?”
“No orange. He had on jeans that looked so stiff they had to be right off the rack. His plaid shirt and hiking boots, too, everything looked brand-new. I guess he didn’t kno
w you never start on a long hike in brand-new boots.”
“And the two men with him?”
“Nothing special. Long-sleeve shirts, jeans, and those wool caps. Their clothes weren’t new, but not ratty, either.”
Cam wondered if they were experienced hikers, if they could handle the wilderness, or if they were city raised, like Manta Ray.
Cam said, “We assumed they’d be picking up gear and supplies once they were inside the forest, at some predesignated drop. That’s got to be what they did, then. They had Manta Ray’s escape well planned.”
Chief said, “Kim, give Jack the folder.”
Kim was sitting on it. She pulled it out, opened it. “Dad had me meet with Leo Pruitt, our local artist, to get these sketches done. Mr. Pruitt doesn’t spend much time on the planet, usually all he paints are rocks and bears, but he tried. They’re not bad, pretty right on, really, even though I only saw them for a few seconds.” She handed Jack a pencil drawing. “He didn’t draw Manta Ray; no need to.” Cam turned in her seat to look at the drawing in Jack’s hands. It showed a heavyset man with dark beard scruff and a buzz cut.
“This man was taller than Manta Ray, and he looked hard and tough, you know? Like a thug.”
“Manta Ray is a bit over six foot,” Cam said, “so this man was maybe six foot three?”
Kim nodded. “Yes, he was big. He looked like he worked out in a gym, maybe used steroids. He had big, thick legs that stretched out his jeans, and I remember there was a small tear over his left knee.”
Jack looked down at the drawing. “Too bad he was wearing sunglasses.”
“Yes, but Mr. Pruitt nailed them, though. The lenses were square, perfectly square, with black frames, and they looked weird. He’s the one who handed Manta Ray the cap before he put on his own, so I saw his hair. It was dark brown.”
Chief called out, “Did you see him walk, Kim? Did he seem old? Young?”
Kim twirled her ponytail around her busy fingers while she thought about it. “I only had a fast look at the three of them, but he didn’t seem as old as you, Dad.”
“Thanks, kid. So late thirties?”
She nodded. “I guess so. And he was tanned, at least his face was.”
“Show us the second man,” Jack said.
She pulled out a second drawing. This sketch looked pretty rough. It showed a slender face covered with aviator sunglasses and a dark wool cap pulled low, hiding all the hair.
Kim said, “This guy was lots shorter than the big guy and Manta Ray. Maybe five foot eight, same as me. He looked like he might be in charge, though; well, that was the impression I got. He kind of swaggered, took the lead, expected the other two to follow him. But there was something different about him, the shape of his face, his really sliced-thin cheekbones.” She shrugged. “I thought first he might be foreign, Hispanic maybe, but I’ve been thinking about him a lot, and here’s the thing.” Kim leaned in close. “I’m not so sure it was a he. It might have been a she.”
That was a kicker. Jack said, “A woman?” He looked down at the drawing. Impossible to tell. “Why do you think that?”
“Well, I’m not a hundred percent sure, but what happened is I turned to sneak a look at them as we were driving away. They were moving out fast, with her in front of the two guys. Even though her jeans were loose I got a good look at her butt. It wasn’t a guy’s butt, it was a girl’s.”
Chief looked at her in his rearview. “Nice timing, Kim, you couldn’t have done that better.” He grinned at her as he turned the SUV onto a short paved driveway toward a low redbrick building nestled among maples, oaks, and larches. “This is the London Ranger Station, where we’re meeting Duke.” Chief checked his watch. “And Harry should be here any minute with the camping gear. Grab your stuff and I’ll give you an overview while we’re waiting.” He pulled out a map of the forest, spread it out on the hood of the SUV. “You see the forest runs along the Cumberland Plateau in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Kentucky. You can see the roads for vehicles, trails for bikes, hikers, and horseback riding, and the stretches of private property. We’re going to avoid all the visitor areas because we hope Manta Ray and his group will do the same. One of Duke’s rangers will drive us to where Kim saw them last—on East Branch Road. It’s about five miles from here. Duke will go over all this in more detail when he gets here.”
