Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

the bomb.”
    Jonas met Aleksandr’s eyes and reached out to take Fredrickson’s arm, walking him to the car where he could sit comfortably and wait for the deputies.
    When he returned, Aleksandr cleared his throat. “I was afraid they might be trying to bring in a dirty bomb. It wouldn’t have to be much larger than the size of a suitcase.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “We have all sorts of rotten waste material scattered everywhere left over from the nuclear age. I could tell you stories of dumps you wouldn’t even believe. Nikitin is probably heavily involved in the smuggling. It isn’t my jurisdiction, but I’ve heard the rumors. He’s very violent and it is a known fact that the uranium smugglers are very nasty.”
    He looked at Jonas. “It wasn’t very long ago that the deputy minister issued a warning stating that dirty bombs and biological substances made of fissile material and radioactive isotopes would be the most likely weapons terrorists would try to obtain. He knew what he was talking about. We’ve had information for some time that terrorists were trying to acquire the materials. Our power stations and the nuclear and biological institutes are vulnerable in Russia, just as they are here in the United States. The deputy minister has been working to improve the security.”
    Jonas swore under his breath. “Why would they bring it here? Why not Florida or southern California?”
    “Because no one would suspect this area and they had a viable route. It was just their bad luck that a fisherman noticed and sent the word to Interpol and we stepped up our investigation.” Aleksandr let out his breath slowly. “They have to be rendezvousing with the freighter tonight. Cherynshev and Kingman are sacrificial pawns. Most likely, Prakenskii thought they’d be killed.“
    Jonas glanced at his watch. “The other deputies are here to transport the prisoners and we’ll let them take Fredrickson as well. We’ll want Jackson with us.”
    “Your coast guard is going to want to handle it. You’ll have to notify them and give them a list of the Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    names of the freighters we’ve been tracking,” Aleksandr said. “If any of the freighters are in the area, that’s your ship. The freighter will either drop to the fishing boat, or directly to the men using the speedboat.” The moment the words escaped, his head jerked up.
    Jonas flashed him a look of inquiry, but Aleksandr glanced toward the deputies and prisoners and shook his head.
    Aleksandr waited impatiently while the sheriff and his deputy made the transfer of prisoners to another vehicle and notified the coast guard of their suspicions. He provided the names of several freighters known to Interpol as ones used by smugglers or terrorists that might be in the area. A second sheriff’s car took Mason Fredrickson from them. Jonas told the driver to take Fredrickson to the Drakes. The man seemed more concerned to see his ex-wife than a doctor.
    The moment they were alone in the car, Jonas turned to Aleksandr. “Why do you want the coast guard to intercept the drop without us? They’ll never stop them.”
    “That’s why. I think it’s too late. There are too many names, too many places they can be out on the sea. Even with all the technology, how are they going to find them in time? When Abigail and I were checking caves, she told me about one that could be used to hide a speedboat. She specifically mentioned it was facing south and the coast guard wouldn’t be able to see into it as they passed by. She said that the small beach could be reached by land, but a caretaker was vigorous in stopping people from using it. Apparently he recently met with an accident.”
    Jonas and Jackson shrugged, puzzled. “There are hundreds of little coves along this coastline.”
    “Somewhere near Elk?”
    “She isn’t talking about Cuffey’s Cove, is she?” Jackson asked. “Quite a few campers use that. There wouldn’t be any privacy.”
    “She mentioned Cuffey’s Cove, but it wasn’t that. It’s a cove north of Elk and has no public access.”
    Jonas drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Wait a minute. I know what she’s talking about.” He glanced back at Jackson. “Do you remember a few years back when that gray whale washed up onshore?”
    Jackson nodded. “People came out of the woodwork, hiking across private property, tearing up fences to get a