Lost Cargo Read Free Page A

it had technology that’s beyond us,” Travis said.
    Monroe didn’t seem to hear him. “And even if it did get past the military, just for the sake of argument, somebody somewhere would’ve seen it. People are up twenty-four hours a day. Cops. Cab drivers. People in cars. Somebody would’ve reported it. There has to be an explanation.”
    “Like what?”
    “I have no idea.” Monroe shook his head, copied the pictures to a flash drive, printed one shot of the black triangle and the giant, and gave everything to Travis. “Annie’s waiting for me. I’ve got to go.”
    Travis made coffee, went upstairs, turned on his laptop, and rang his mother.
    “It’s me,” he said. “Didn’t Burke Collins used to work for the Associated Press?”
    “No ‘hello Mom’?” she said. “How about a ‘how are you’ for your poor old ancient mother?”
    “Hello, Mom,” he said in a slow, theatrical tone. “And how are you this evening?”
    “Oh, I’m fine,” she said. He pictured her just in from her advertising agency, wearing jewelry and a suit. “I’ve never been better. I feel like a queen. Burke worked for the AP years and years ago.”
    “What’s he do now? He’s in politics, right?”
    “He’s a consultant, and he’s doing very well. He has his own firm on Capitol Hill. What’s this about, Travis? You’re not looking for a job, are you? You know you have to finish college and get your Master’s.”
    “I just need his cell phone. I want to ask him something. It’s not that big a deal.”
    “I’ll have to look it up.” She sounded annoyed. “I talked to Lisa a few minutes ago. They’re going to look at a condo tomorrow after they land. She’s so excited. She says they’ve been looking online for a month. Remember that we’re eating at six, so be sure you’re here at five, Travis. I’m going to need your help with this dinner and I don’t want to hear any half-assed excuses. And speaking of asses, your father called. He wants to fly you up to Halifax for Christmas.”
    “Happy holidays in Halifax. I’ll talk about you the whole time.”
    “Not funny,” she said.
    “I’ll wait while you get the number.”
    “I’ll send it to you, sweetie.” Click.
    Sweetie. She really knew how to get on his nerves. Travis shook his head and went out on the upstairs screened porch. He’d lived on the porch all summer, reading novels into the night, but it was too chilly now to stay out there for long.
    So Lisa and Ian were coming back to D.C. after two years in London. Ian planned to work on a textbook and teach philosophy at a Washington university next fall. Lisa had left her British magazine and lined up something in Washington, too, although he wasn’t sure what. He missed his sister. She’d flown to D.C. for a week every summer, but it would be good to have her around all the time.
    Faint sounds came up the hill from Connecticut Avenue, horns and rumbles amplified by the clear night air. His thoughts turned to Rock Creek Park. Beyond the avenue the skyline gave way to the city’s great swath of wilderness.
    The black triangle might be lying in there now.
    He stared down the hill at the dark trees and then up at the sky, looking for stars, but the glare from the city drowned them all out.
    When he went in, his mother had emailed Burke’s cell phone number with a rambling reminder about the dinner tomorrow. He propped the print of the black triangle on his desk, took out his phone, and tried to find the right words. Foley came up and jumped on the bed.
    He knew that Burke used to work for the AP, he texted, careful not to say too much. He wanted his professional opinion about some digital photos, the most incredible pictures he’d ever seen.
    While he waited for an answer, he went through the photos again. The photographer shot everything over a four hour period, but other than a park sign and a few scenes of the creek, there were no landmarks, just hundreds of trees that all looked the