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said he would be somewhere, he would be there.
    So now he needed to find out what the people were saying about him at the base. There was one person he absolutely trusted: his colleague, Bill Marsh. Jack punched in the number on his cell phone.
    “Will Marsh,” said a crisp voice.
    “Billy?”
    “Jack?” said Billy lowering his voice to a near whisper. “Is that you?”
    “Yeah, it’s me.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “Listen, where are you right now?”
    “I’m in my cubicle.”
    “Do you think you can find a more private place and call me back?”
    “Sure thing. Give me a minute.”
    Billy and Jack had become friends when they worked together trying to debug the formulas on an engineering project. The results of the study were in a spreadsheet from hell. Formulas based on formulas based on formulas meandered across worksheets and from one worksheet to another.
    Billy had inherited the project from a lieutenant who was long gone and suddenly the powers that be were breathing down Billy’s neck. They needed the numbers, but there was something wrong with the calculations. Since Jack understood the formulas and Billy understood spreadsheets they teamed up and worked almost around the clock one weekend tracing through the calculations.
    Billy was a shy, quiet young man from West Virginia with a face covered by acne scars. He was respectful to his superiors and kept his own council. But Jack had learned that quiet didn’t mean dumb.
    Billy kept up with world events and observed everything that went on around him. He processed what he learned and had very astute observations, if you could gain his confidence enough for him to share his thoughts. Working with Billy on that and subsequent projects, he had opened up to Jack and a bond of friendship had formed.
    Five minutes after Jack had initiated contact, his cell phone vibrated. “It’s me,” Billy said.
    “What do you hear about me around the base?” Jack said.
    “Nothing. It’s very strange. You’ve been gone for over a week now, and no one is saying very much. The story is that you’ve taken leave to take care of some family matter. Is everything okay with your family?”
    “Yeah. Things are fine at home. Listen, Billy, I’ve had to disappear for a while. I can’t go into it. Can I trust you to keep my confidence?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Okay, well I just need you to let me know if my status changes from authorized leave to AWOL. Or if you hear any mention of me.”
    “Will do.”
    When Jack ended the call, he thought for a moment. His commanding officer was covering for him. But was that good or bad? It was good because it gave him some breathing space. But Jack doubted that Parker was doing it out of the kindness of his heart. What was Parker involvement in all of this?

CHAPTER SIX
    While Jack had his beer, Meg showered off the sweat and dirt from their day at the work site. Then Jack took his turn.
    It was a pleasant evening and Meg decided to grill outside. So she popped a couple of potatoes in the oven, gathered up the things she would need for the grill, and headed out to the deck. Just as she turned the grill on, Jack joined her.
    “What can I do to help?” Jack asked.
    “Oh, are you handy with a grill? If you can take care of that, I can make a salad.”
    “Of course,” he said and reaching for the long grilling fork, slapped the steaks on the fire. He stood close to her and she could feel the heat of his sun-burnished skin radiating from him. And she could smell the scent of soap from his shower overlaying a headier scent, male and spicy.
    She raised her eyes from the hands that worked the grill to his face, also burnished from the sun. He caught her look and desire smoldered in his gray eyes for just a second before he turned his attention back to his task.
    Quickly, she turned away and escaped to the kitchen. By the time she returned with the salad and a couple of baked potatoes, she had regained her composure. Soon the steaks