Forced to Kill Read Online Free PDF Page B

attaché—basically, a person whose job it is to promote American businesses in foreign countries. Apparently, he was part of a joint task force involving the U.S. and the Hungarian government to pursue clean coal technology. He had ties with a consulting firm called Energy Solutions, Incorporated. The group’s focus was on a huge reserve of lignite discovered in an open pit mine near the Mantra power plant.”
    “How big a reserve are we talking about?” Nathan asked.
    “Half a billion short tons.”
    “What does that number mean?”
    “I’m not sure, but the case notes say that because of this mine, Hungary could become a major exporter of lignite to other Eastern Bloc countries.”
    Harv asked, “What kind of money’s involved with something like this?”
     “Hundreds of millions of euros, maybe billions,” Holly said. “I’m obviously no expert, so I did a little research before coming to meet you. Most experts believe clean coal technology won’t be commercially viable on a large scale until the year 2025. In a nutshell, it involves two processes. The first is chemically washing the coal to remove undesirable minerals and impurities, and the second is treating the emissions. Steam would be used to remove sulfur dioxide, but that still leaves the problem of capturing and storing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide gas in solid form. Essentially, dry ice. Many environmental experts believe it just trades one evil for another. They’re worried all the carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere someday.”
    “So Montez tortures and kills a clean coal consultant?” Harv asked. “That sure doesn’t sound like his usual MO.”
    “More shocking,” Nathan added, “is the fact that he’s working inside the United States. Think about it. The man’s a murder and torture machine. We could be looking at dozens more victims in the months ahead. Hundreds, maybe. It’s obvious he loves his work too much to stop. And how are we supposed to find him? He’s not the type to leave traces of his whereabouts behind. Or witnesses, for that matter.”
    “Is there anything you can remember from your time with him,” Holly asked, “that might give us a starting point?”
    “I’ve been racking my brain since you showed me the photograph. I can’t think of anything. He didn’t talk about himself much, and truth be told, I was a little distracted at the time.”
    “A bit,” Harv added.
    “Have you considered hypnosis?” she asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Are you sure you want to drag that pond?” Harv asked.
    “Let’s keep it as a fallback plan. I called Thorny. He cleared his calendar to come out here.”
    “That doesn’t give us much shuteye before our flight back.”
    “He also wants us invisible from now on.”
“Not an easy task.” Harv sighed and pushed back in his chair. “I’ve got a meeting with a Ford engineer tomorrow on our armored SUV line.”
    “We don’t need to totally disappear, he just wants us under the radar for a spell.”
    “I guess Lewey can take the meeting.” Harv said. “He’s up to speed.”
    “Good, because we’re flying out to Utah.”
    “So much for staying under the radar,” Harv said.
    “You don’t have to go out there in person. I’m sure I can get you photos.”
    “Holly, I appreciate the offer, but doesn’t it seem strange the body was dumped in Lake Powell? Wouldn’t it have been a whole lot easier just to bury it somewhere? And why Utah? I know Montez. He’s lazy. His henchmen do all the heavy lifting. I’d be willing to bet our security company that Arthur Kramer was interrogated at or near the lake.”
    “Let’s not place that bet,” Harv said.
    Nathan looked at Holly. “You could really help us by figuring out what Kramer’s work involved.”
    “I’ve already got Henning looking into Kramer’s background in depth. I told him to keep everything he does confidential.”
    “How’s Henning doing, by the way?” asked Nathan.
    “He’s doing