Alex forced his gaze to the ceiling. No new messages. He let his lungs slowly deflate.

“So where is Besand hiding out?”

Alex shrugged. “I’ve searched the area pretty good. I don’t know where he’s hiding out during the day. He may have rigged some sort of shelter. We think he might have found one of the packs, which means he’d have a tent and food. He’s probably somewhere he can watch the other part of the plane. My gut tells me he’s not far away.”

Matt’s head jerked as he spotted the writing. “Is that blood?”

Alex explained the message.

“God, he’s a sick fuck. You think he’ll target the woman?”

“I think he’s trying to push my buttons.”

Matt studied Alex’s face, his eyes probing. Matt had a dark brown gaze that could stop a charging bull. “Is it working?”

“Yeah. He’s got me wandering around in a blizzard wanting to wrap my hands around his neck. I’d say it’s working.”

“You said you knew why Whittenhall wants you taken out.”

Alex compressed his lips, his eyes on the message. He had a hunch. That was all.

“I think Whittenhall was trying to get Besand out of prison.”

Matt stopped short, his jaw dropping for a split second. “Why the fuck would he do that?’

“That’s the part I don’t know. Besand must have something on him.”

“Blackmail? You think he’s blackmailing Whittenhall?”

“Possibly. Each time Besand was transported, Whittenhall assigned him a detail made for a kindergartner. Like he was trying to make it easy for the guy to get away.”

“Besand’s a big dude.”

“I know. That’s what makes it more suspicious. Besand is a big, physical guy who is willing to kill. Do you remember when he assaulted Berry during the trip to Salt Lake?”

Alex watched comprehension enter Matt’s eyes, then anger. “That’s right. Berry had a black eye for a week. They didn’t beef up the details after that?”

“No, they got worse. Green guys, smaller guys.”

“So why would Whittenhall order you shot because you might meet up with Besand out in the woods? What could Besand say to you out here that he hasn’t said during all those damned social visits?”

Alex frowned and dropped his gaze, a trickle of guilt running down his spine. “You heard about that?” He silently swore. He’d thought the prison visits to Besand had been kept from the other marshals. The district attorney’s office knew, the detectives on the cases knew, but he’d believed that’d been all.

“Everybody knew. They thought you were nuts for seeing that guy. Until the information about his missing vics started trickling in. Besand was telling you, wasn’t he? You were the only one he’d talk to, right?”

Matt gets it. Alex’s shoulders straightened a little. It was good to have his old friend beside him. He’d missed Matt’s straightforward, no bullshit attitude. But that loss was his own fault.

“What did you trade him for that kind of information?” Matt said evenly.

Alex rubbed a glove over his face as every sore muscle in his body begged for rest. He glanced at Matt. “It felt like I gave him a part of my soul every visit. You don’t know how filthy I’d feel after listening to that bastard talk for an hour. Inside and out. I wanted to soak in a hot tub of bleach after every episode.”

Matt was quiet for a few seconds. “But what’s different now? What’s got Whittenhall in a panic over you meeting up with Besand? The blackmail?”

“If Besand’s got a free ticket out of the country waiting for him somewhere, then he wouldn’t have much motivation to keep Whittenhall’s secret to himself anymore.”

Matt took that in before saying in a stunned voice, “That’s a pretty good theory.”

“It’s all I can think about. I managed to get a call through to the sheriff at the base camp and told him the same thing. I asked him to look into a few things on Whittenhall’s background and Besand.”

“You got a call through? My cell hasn’t worked out here since the first hour we left.” Matt slid his phone out of his pocket, looking hopefully at it.

“There’re pockets of reception here and there. Not very consistent though.”

“What made you stab Whittenhall?”

Alex snorted at the abrupt subject change. “I didn’t stab him. That was an accident. He and Linus messed things up and we all scuffled. I was pissed that day, not thinking straight. All those wretched victims of Besand’s. And Whittenhall wasn’t taking the threat of him seriously.”

“You still stabbed him.” Alex heard the admiring note in Matt’s words. “Had a lot of guys doing high fives behind Whittenhall’s back. I think we’ve all wanted to take a swing at him one time or another.”

Alex couldn’t stop his tired smile. It had felt good to take Whittenhall down a notch. Too bad it’d cost him his job. He mentally shook his head. That move didn’t cost him his job; he’d been on the way out for six months. His head hadn’t been in the game. He’d been obsessed with his brother’s killer to the point nothing else in his life mattered. Not his friends, not his marriage, not his health.

“There were rumors floating around. That Whittenhall could make a convict’s life easier for a price,” Matt said in a thoughtful voice.