That night a Mill Valley police officer knocked on the door and explained to Katherine that the mother of a teenager who lived down the street had found the stolen photo of Maria in her boy’s room. It was not the kid’s first break-in. He had psychological issues and his mother was suspicious enough after she heard about the burglary that she searched his room. That news came as a great relief to Katherine.
Then Maria returned Marquez’s calls. The bounce was back in her voice, but the phone reception wasn’t good so it was hard to follow her, and she was in a little bit of a rush. She and her friends were in the Yosemite Valley. Though they were camping they were also splurging on a good dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel.
‘That’s where I am, right now,’ she said. ‘I just wanted to tell you that we hiked up to Olmstead Point from the valley today. I didn’t even know about that trail. It was really steep with a lot of switchbacks, but we went early in the morning and it was beautiful climbing up as the sun was first on Half Dome. I wanted to tell you also that I’m over everything else. I don’t blame the FBI, but why were you calling me, Dad?’
‘Jack Gant bought food at a convenience store in South Lake Tahoe this morning. The FBI has all kinds of people looking for him and they’d like to know where you are to protect you.’
She was quiet so long he thought the connection broke.
‘I’m not going to call them. We’re camping. Jack doesn’t know where I am. Tell them I’m not going to call and I’m turning my phone off. I’m going to leave it in the car. I’ll call you when we’re on our way home.’
She hung up and less than an hour later Desault called.
‘John, it’s getting complicated with Gant. He checked in under a false name at the Tioga Lodge which is near the eastern Yosemite entrance.’
‘I know where it is.’
‘The pickup he had in Tahoe was parked there and it looks like he used the shower. Some grocery bags were found inside, but we haven’t found him. There are agents there waiting for him to come back, but at the same time the search has extended to Yosemite. An employee in the cafe at the Tioga Lodge believes Gant may have gotten a ride into the park. Where is Maria in Yosemite? We need to get to her.’
‘She called an hour ago from the Ahwahnee Hotel where she and her friends were having dinner, but I don’t know what campsite they’re at and she told me she was turning her phone off and would leave it in the car. Are there agents on the valley floor?’
‘There are and they can be at the Ahwahnee in minutes. How about the names of the friends she’s with and the make and model of the car?’
‘Hold on, Katherine knows more than I do about them.’
He handed Katherine the phone and she gave Desault the names of two friends of Maria’s and another who wasn’t with them that would have phone numbers or be on Facebook. Desault said it wouldn’t take long to get phone numbers. It didn’t and they got to Maria through a friend she was with. Two agents met with her at the Ahwahnee and Maria told them she had walked from the campsite. She wouldn’t tell them where that was or what vehicle she and her friends had driven to Yosemite in. They told her that what Gant had pulled off so far suggested he wasn’t working alone. They worried that Gant perceived her as a threat and was in communication with someone who’d tailed her to Yosemite, and Maria dismissed that idea. She refused protection and was evasive.
‘She told them she wanted to be left alone,’ Desault said.
‘But they know where she’s camped.’
‘John, your daughter left the hotel on foot and walked away on a trail. She may have been picked up by one of her friends, but that’s not confirmed yet. It seems they’ve got two cars but only one make and license plate was written down on the camping permit. The other car was parked outside the park gate and we haven’t located that car yet. We believe Maria is in it, but we’re not sure.’
There was more, but it all added up to Maria with the help of her friends leaving Yosemite and avoiding FBI protection.
‘If you hear from her, you need to call immediately.’
She didn’t call or answer her phone. But that didn’t really worry him or Katherine. It was pretty clear Maria and friends created a ruse to get her out of the valley. Or that’s how it seemed that night. The next morning was a nightmare.