Six Seconds by Rick Mofina Read Free Book Online Page B

happened?”
“At this stage, we believe their canoe capsized in the
Faust River.”
“And they weren’t wearing life jackets?”
“No.”
“I just don’t understand. Ray was so careful. When things were good, he’d taken Anita and the kids to Yel lowstone. He was no stranger to the outdoors. For
goodness’ sake, he’s an Eagle Scout.”
“You said, ‘when things were good.’” Graham was
taking notes.
“Ray used to be a reporter with the Washington,
D.C., bureau of World Press Alliance, the wire service.” “What sorts of stories did he do?”
“He covered everything before moving to investiga
tive features.”
Graham nodded.
“Then he began clashing with his editors. About a
year ago he’d had enough and decided to try making a
living freelancing.”
“How did that go?”
“It was rough. Anita was worried. He’d quit a wellpaying job with benefits.”
“So there was stress in the home?”
“Some. Sure, over the money and for Ray quitting
World Press.”
“So why not try to find another news job?” “I think Ray always felt he was close to a big story,
or a book deal. Until then, he was always borrowing
money from us to pay the bills, always struggling,
worrying about Anita and the kids. About six months
ago, he took out extra life insurance so Anita and the
kids would be okay, if anything happened to him.” “Really? How much?”
“I think he said it was two hundred and fifty
thousand.”
“Means more premiums. How did he pay for this trip?” “I loaned him the money for this trip. He told me they really needed to get away. He found a cheap package deal. I figured he was going to pay me back with the money he’d get for some travel features, which usually
happened. It just took time.”
Graham didn’t voice his view that Ray came across
as something of a contradiction. Here was a guy who
was not a risk taker but had taken a gamble leaving his
job. Ray’s father must’ve picked up on what Graham
was thinking.
“Is there something you’re not telling me, Cor
poral?”
“I’m just trying to figure things out.”
“You said it appears to be an accident, at this stage.
Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“I’ve told you all we know. We just need to locate
Ray.”
“Corporal, it’s hard to explain a life here. My son
loved his family. For him, reporting was a quasireligious cause. He worked hard on his articles, they
were very good. In fact, I’d like his laptop returned
to me as soon as possible. It would mean a great deal
to me to read what he’d been working on.”
“Laptop? I don’t think we found a laptop.” Graham flipped through the inventory sheets from
the crime scene guys.
“He never went anywhere without it.”
“It’s possible we have it in an evidence locker, or the
lab is processing it.”
“He had it with him when I took them to the airport
for this trip.”
“I’ll look into it.”
Graham was certain no laptop was found anywhere with the Tarvers and spent the rest of the night on the phone to the lab and the guys in Banff getting them to
search for it.
In the morning, Graham rose early and drove Jack
son Tarver two hours west to Banff, then deep into the
Faust region to the site. Jackson Tarver tossed roses
into the river where his grandchildren, daughter-in-law
and, most likely, his son had died.
That afternoon, Graham accompanied him to the
airport and badged his way through to the gate where they
watched three casket-shaped containers roll along the
luggage conveyor and into the cargo hold of Tarver’s
plane.
Before he boarded, Tarver took Graham’s hand and
shook it.
“I heard what you did, how you risked your life
trying to save Emily. Thank you.”
“No thanks necessary.”
“I hope you’ll find my son, so that he can come
home with his family.” Tarver’s grip was like that of a
man fighting to keep from breaking into pieces.
“Please.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Graham stayed at the window watching Tarver’s jet
roll slowly from