Of course, without Meghan Cobb, the vanishing of Aaron Holland would be impossible. The staff and crew, as well as the housekeeping team assigned to every cabin onboard the ship, were well trained. If Mr. Holland simply disappeared and his cabin went empty, it would raise red flags. The housekeeping crew would know to follow strict protocols if a cabin went dormant. A vacant room was to be reported. Fear of passengers, especially overserved vacationers, falling overboard was always a concern. There had been enough negative publicity over the years about cruise lines and passengers disappearing for strict, industry-wide procedures to have been put in place to identify such peculiarities.
But Meghan Cobb solved that problem. Her presence would prevent any red flags from rising. She would be visible on every day of the ten-day cruise. That her recluse travel companion rarely left the cabin would go unnoticed. That she would eventually depart the ship without him at the conclusion of the cruise would be immaterial, because by that time she would be listed as a solo passenger. If Claire was able to pull off what she promised, sometime during the cruise’s ten days at sea, Mr. Aaron Holland’s name would disappear from the formal register of passengers.
CHAPTER 69
Lake Placid, NY Sunday, July 11, 2021
WITH THEIR GLOCK .40-CALIBER SIDEARMS TRAINED IN FRONT OF them, the SWAT team cleared each room of the A-frame cabin. Front room, clear. Kitchen, clear. Bedroom, clear. With each empty room, the possibility dawned on Jim Oliver that perhaps, somehow, his intel was bad. Either they had the wrong cabin or his agents had missed their subject escaping the property. On the run for so long, it was not unbelievable that Garth Montgomery would have in place precautions for this exact moment. And as much as Oliver believed he’d run a flawless operation, he knew it was rushed. If more time were available, he’d have put surveillance in place for longer than just three days. He’d have insisted on more definitive confirmation of the subject’s presence instead of relying on the half-assed and blurry photos they had managed to obtain through dirty and curtain-clad windows.
All at once Jim Oliver felt his career slipping away. He’d hung everything on his promise of pulling Walt Jenkins out of retirement and delivering Garth Montgomery. The operation had gone better than predicted, and was a greater triumph than what he’d sold to his superiors. Claire Montgomery had, in the end, provided the critical information needed on her father’s whereabouts, and was the reason a warrant had been secured so quickly. But now, here he stood in an empty cabin in the mountains—either completely incorrect about what he thought was inside, or just a moment too late. He tried not to allow the other possibility into his thoughts—that he’d been played. He didn’t dwell on it, because whichever situation was unfolding, it spelled the end to his career.
“Bathroom!” one of the agents yelled.
Jim Oliver blinked his eyes and came back to the present. He raised his Glock and moved through the front room, past his agents who were poised and ready for action, muzzles pointed at the closed bathroom door. Audible now in the hushed interior of the cabin was the sound of pressurized water whining through the pipes. Jim Oliver took his position outside the bathroom, his back flat against the wall. He nodded and the battering ram agents appeared. In the silence just prior to the sound of splintering wood, a showerhead could be heard spitting water.
CHAPTER 70
New Orleans, LA Sunday, July 11, 2021
THE MAJESTY OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE SHIPS WAS the draw, and the brochures laid out magnificent photos of the spacious deck, massive swimming pool, and grand ballrooms. The tiny living quarters, where passengers slept after a full day out and about, didn’t get much attention in the RICL brochure. Cabin 3318 was small and cramped. After an hour of bumping into each other, Meghan Cobb laid down some ground rules. A line of pillows separated the bed into two halves. Their suitcases were stored underneath. He sat in a chair crammed in the corner. Meghan took a spot on her side of the bed.
“Thanks for doing this,” he said. “However it is you got roped into it.”
“I owed someone a favor,” Meghan said.
They ran through the plan and what they hoped to accomplish during the next couple of days.
“So, you’re not allowed to leave this cabin?” Meghan asked.
“It would be best for me not to. I’ll walk the halls each day when housekeeping comes to clean, but I’ll stay out of sight as much as possible. You, on the other hand, should get out and about. Make yourself seen.”
Meghan nodded. “I plan to at least get a hell of a tan out of this deal.”
“I’ll be out of your hair in two days. Then, you’ll have the cabin to yourself.”
“Do you think this will work?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m trusting the person who set it up.”
“Your name’s not really Aaron, is it?”
“No.”
“What should I call you then?”
There was a short pause before he answered.
“Aaron,” he said. “It’s probably best for you to just call me Aaron.”
CHAPTER 71
Lake Placid, NY Sunday, July 11, 2021
THE BATHROOM DOOR DISINTEGRATED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE battering ram, and agents poured into the room. Steam wafted from the door frame and fogged their face shields, which they quickly lifted out of the way.
“Federal agents!” they shouted. “Put your hands in the air. Hands in the air!”
Oliver caught glimpses through the bodies and the steam as he stepped into the room. A man stood naked in the shower. He did not put up a fight, or any resistance at all. He simply raised his hands in a frightened and defeated manner. Two agents manhandled the naked figure out of the shower and forced him to the ground, where they cuffed his hands behind his back.
“Clear,” another agent yelled before shutting off the shower.
The agents took the man by the elbows and lifted him to his feet. Naked and dripping wet, he looked pathetic. It would have been appropriate, since he put up no resistance, to offer the man a towel to cover himself. But Jim Oliver had no intention of lessening this man’s humiliation.
Oliver walked up to the fugitive he had been hunting for years. Even with sopping wet hair clinging to his ears, Oliver recognized the Thief of Manhattan.
“Garth Montgomery,” Oliver said, “I want you to know two things. First, you’re under arrest. And second, your daughter is the reason we found you.”
CHAPTER 72