Read Under Suspicion - The Legend of D.B. Cooper Page 43

A few seconds later, headlights came around the bend from the south. “Slow down, there it is,” Alan said as he pointed a small flashlight at a map on his lap.

  “Mineral lake,” Chet confirmed, pulling onto the muddy road. He reached down and pulled the lever on the floor putting the Chief in four-wheel drive.

  “According to the directions we got from the hotel manager, it should be coming up in about a mile,” Alan said. “When we get half way there, we can pull off the road and walk the rest of the way.” Chet drove down the road then pulled off, into a stand of trees. With flashlights on, they stepped out of the Chief and moved around to the back.

  “Damn it, Alan! Look at this mud! You’d better be right about this place, the cleaning bill will cost me a fortune,” Chet complained as his dress shoes slipped around in the mud.

  “Yeah, I know. I didn’t think about mud, I was in too big of a hurry.”

  Chet opened the back of the Chief, grabbed a large case, and opened it. He reached in and pulled out a video camera.

  While he fiddled with it, Alan opened a duffel bag and pulled out his binoculars. Shining the flash light on his watch, he saw that it was just past five in the morning. “We’d better hurry. It’ll be light soon, and I want to be at a good observation point by then.”

  “I’m ready,” Chet replied as he closed up the back of the vehicle. They both walked onto the road and moved quickly down it, using their flashlights to guide them towards the lake. Although dark, the sky was just starting to get a hint of dawn. Light from the sun, still below the horizon, filtered dully through the low laying clouds. A few minutes later, they could see their destination.

  “Shut off your light, there it is,” Alan said in a low tone.

  “What do we do now?” whispered Chet.

  “Follow me.” Alan stepped off the road and worked his way through the brush above and behind the barn. “Now we wait and watch.” There was just enough light now so that Alan could see the whole place.

  “What’s down there?” Chet asked from his crouched position.

  “Lets see now.” Alan carefully pushed the vine maple and sticker bushes apart so that he could see through. “We’re directly above and behind an empty corral which is attached to a barn. Just beyond that is the lake with a dock reaching into it. Attached to the dock is a small boat. To the right of the barn about fifty feet away is a small cabin. There are lights on in the cabin and one on the porch. Smoke is coming out of the chimney. The whole area is surrounded by pine trees and bushes.”

  “Early risers,” Chet noted as he looked into the sky. “The clouds are slowly starting to break up, so it’ll get light quickly.”

  “Hold it,” Alan ordered. “I’ve got one man. He just came out of the house and is moving around. Now he’s walking towards the barn.”

  After a long pause Chet asked. “What’s he doing?”

  “I don’t know. He disappeared in front of the barn. He probably went inside.”

  Buck opened the two big double doors at the front of the barn letting some light in. Maybe I’ll light up a lantern, he thought then looked across the lake at the sun slowly creeping above the horizon, but still obscured by clouds. No, those clouds will break shortly and fill this place with sunshine, he decided. Buck stepped inside, grabbed a pitchfork, and started throwing straw onto some of the wet spots on the ground. He would have to fix this roof this summer, he knew. The holes in the roof were getting bigger.