Chapter 3

In the morning Carol went into town and John started working around the ranch. Carol went to a local RV dealer and inquired about rentals. The dealer had a small camper that was more of a conversion van than a camper and arraigned to rent it for two weeks. She felt that if they had to do any surveillance that they could use the windows in the back of the van, as the windows had Venetian blinds over them and they were dark tinted. She had the dealer give her the keys so that she could pick it up early Friday morning. The dealer agreed to allow her to leave her pickup on his lot for the two weeks. Carol bought a baseball cap for John and a pair of sunglasses with the darkest tint she could find. She almost got a mirrored pair but was afraid that it would call attention to him. She wanted him to be anonymous as possible while they were in Denver. She stopped in the camera store and bought a 35mm SLR camera with a telephoto lens and got high-speed film. Carol took care of the animals for the rancher and the farmer, gave them the required inoculations and started for her ranch. She stopped off at the ranch next to hers and talked to the boy who had agreed to care for her animals and she gave him last minute instructions and paid him what they had agreed on.

When Carol pulled up to the cabin she saw John walked around inside the barn. She took her medical bag out of the car and made sure there was nothing in the pickup that could invite a thief while the pickup was on the dealer's lot. Carol walked to the barn. "I found some tools and nails so I started fixing some of the things that I saw needed repair," he said. Carol saw that the repairs were done in a professional manner and realized that she had been letting the place slide for quite a while. "You're getting to be quite a rancher," she smiled. "I feel at home here," he said. Carol felt a tug at her heart and went to him and hugged him. They walked into the cabin and Carol told John about the van and camera and disguise. They fixed dinner and washed dishes together. They agreed that they should go to bed early so that they could pick up the van before anyone was at the RV dealer. They made love again as passionately as they had the night before.

Carol and John fed the animals and left the ranch at 5 o'clock in the morning. They drove to town and Carol insisted that John wear his hat and that he put on his sunglasses as soon as it got light. The van was where she and the RV dealer had agreed and they loaded the clothes, camera and other items that they thought that they would need for their investigation. John parked the pickup as Carol pulled to the entrance of the RV lot. The trip to Denver was uneventful and Carol did all of the driving as John had no identification or driver's license. They reached Denver in the early afternoon and searched for a motel. They located a small independent motel on the outskirts of town and they unpacked the van. Carol got the camera ready and John took the phone books and copied the phone numbers that he thought that they might need on a piece of the motel stationary. Carol went to a fast food place and brought the food to the motel, as they did not want to take a chance on John being seen and recognized.

After they had eaten, Carol and John drove to the home of the secretary that John felt he could trust. They parked the van in front of the house. "Her car is not here, so I guess she isn't home from work yet," he told Carol. At about 5:45 in the afternoon a car pulled into the driveway and into the carport. John and Carol got out of the van and walked toward the woman getting out of the car. As John approached the car he said, "Greta?" The woman looked at John as he took off the dark glasses and said, "Oh my God," and started to faint. John rushed to her and caught her just before she hit the concrete floor of the carport. Carol grabbed her pocketbook and found the keys for Greta's house. Carol unlocked the door and John carried Greta into the house and laid her on the sofa. Carol got a glass of water from the kitchen and walked back to the living room. Greta started to open her eyes. She reached up and touched John's face, "You're dead, You're not dead?" "No, I'm not dead," John told her as he held her hand. It was several minutes before Greta could say anything accept, "You're not dead?" John sat her up in the sofa and he and Carol sat next to her.

"Everybody thinks your dead," she said with wonderment. "I want everybody to think that for a while," John told her. Greta looked at Carol, "Who are you?" she asked. John explained how Carol had found him and had nursed him back to health. He went into detail what condition he was in when Carol found him. "Thank you for bringing him back to me," she told Carol with tears running down her cheeks. Carol could tell that there was more between them than an employer/secretary relationship. "I always considered him the son that I never had," she added. "What happened to you?" she asked John. "Why did you disappear from the restaurant?" she asked. John looked at her quizzically. "Greta, I have had amnesia from the severe beating that I received and there are some things that I don't remember," he told her. "I don't recall anything about the days before Carol found me." "We were hoping you could provide the answers."

They moved to the kitchen so that Greta could get another glass of water. "You had asked me to get the records for the PUD division that Susan was running and you told her that you wanted to meet her and Ted Ransom at the restaurant and go over your plans for the division," Greta told them. John explained to Carol that PUD was an acronym for "Planned Urban Development". "Ted Ransom saw the folders on my desk and got upset that you were into the files." "I knew that you were going to step in because the division was hemorrhaging money." "You arrived at the restaurant for the meeting, you had booked a private room for the meeting because you expected fireworks from Susan and Ted Ransom." Carol noticed that every time Greta said Ted Ransom's name she spit it out. Greta continued, "Someone came into the restaurant and told you that they saw smoke coming out from under the hood of your car." "You went out to see for your self that everything was alright and that is the last anyone heard from you." " About six weeks later they found your plane in Utah and they said that you had died in the crash." Greta looked at John, "When did you schedule the airplane?" she asked, "Why didn't you ask me to schedule it?" John did not answer her as he was staring at the far wall. Carol saw John's face and asked, "What wrong John, are you remembering some thing else?" "Yes, I remember now that there was a van parked next to my car and when I was looking at my car two men jumped out and put a sheet over my head and hit me with something hard and I was dazed," he said still staring at the wall. "I remember the two men now, I had fired them for failing the random drug test we give all employees." "Greta, tell me anything else about the meeting that you can remember," John asked her. "Susan and Ted Ransom were late for the meeting," she said. "They arrived about 25 minutes after you left the restaurant and waited for about an hour and then left." "Your car was found at the airport." When Susan had me check about our company plane, the mechanic said that you had called and asked him to get the plane ready because you had an emergency meeting in Dallas." "The mechanic said that he never saw you get into the plane and he just thought that you were at the controls." "Someone had filed a flight plane for Denver to Dallas and the FAA could not remember any particulars about the man who filed them." "Why didn't you tell the FAA that I usually booked my flights through you," John asked. "Susan transferred me to the warehouse as secretary to the warehouse supervisor the day after you disappeared," she said. "Why?" John asked. "She said the company was moving in new directions and that I would be happier in that position." Greta slumped in her chair, "John the shock of seeing you and having to relive what happened that day has done me in."