Crown's Law (20 page)

“I was so focused on that fact and the
corpse, I let something else slip by. Didn’t you get a ‘no access’
hit on her prints?” asked Sam.

“I know what you were focused on,” laughed
Pearl. “Let me go check, but I think you’re right.”

Five minutes later, Pearl confirmed it. “Yes,
only three hits, counting the ‘no access’ hit. Even I should have
caught that. There should have been more hits, too. Looks like a
poorly-planned legend.”

Sam thought for a moment, then said,
“Well, she owes me some answers! I’ll track her down—she should
have known that. In the meantime, I have to solve this murder to
get Mickey out of the loop. I need to look into this
Dynology
link in detail. You can see
if you can find out where that Lear went. Check their flight
plan.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

***

On Friday the 25th, the day before the
scheduled test, Becky looked at her watch: 10:15 A.M. She wondered
where Sam was today. She had to move quickly if she were to go
ahead with her plan. She called Sam’s cell phone.

After she came clean with Sam and related
what she had done, Sam exhaled, “Shit, Becky! I told you no!”

“Language, Sam! Nana wouldn’t like it if she
knew you were corrupting me with swear words,” chided Becky, trying
to diffuse his anger long enough to make her last ditch pitch to
him. “What could it hurt if I just went and took the test? You
know, just get a feel for the place? They’ll have to tell me what
kind of job it is.”

Sam listened to her, then said, “I don’t
know, Beck. Even that could be dangerous. Besides, they’ll probably
be looking for someone older. Can you pass for 21 or 22?”

“Sure I can. You know, my hair in a bun, wear
my funky glasses instead of my contacts, nice suit, clunky shoes.
It’s advertised as an entry-level job. Besides, I wouldn’t really
take the job in any case. I’m just trying to get inside and look
around. What could it hurt?” she pled.

Silence. Sam was thinking of how badly
he needed information about
Dynology
; how he wanted to solve the murder. The
homicide cop in him wouldn’t keep quiet. “OK, I’ll call Pearl and
have her gin up a dummy driver’s license for you. I’m in Hollywood
now talking to a client about security, but I can be at the Santa
Ana office by four o’clock. Meet me there so we can discuss this
some more. OK?”

“Shit, yes!” exclaimed Becky. “Thanks,
Sam!”

“Becky!”

“Sorry!”

***

Sam arrived at the Mickey office at 4:05 P.M.
and joined Becky and Pearl in the computer and technology office.
Pearl was checking a California Driver’s License she had made for
Becky showing her age as 22. The picture she had added showed Becky
with her hair in a bun, and she was wearing black-rimmed
glasses.

“Hey, Sam!” exclaimed Becky. “Take a look!
What do you think of this? Pearl did a great job, don’t you
think?”

Sam checked it out. It was perfect, but Pearl
always did great work. He told Pearl it was great.

“When this test is over, we can burn this. I
don’t want you getting any ideas!” said Sam as he handed it to
Becky.

“What? You don’t trust me?” laughed Becky.
“You think I’ll start buyin’ booze and cigarettes—and going
nightclubbin’?”

“Oh, I trust you all right. This is a forgery
though, and I don’t want the evidence hangin’ around,” replied
Sam.

“Makes sense,” agreed Becky. “Now, why don’t
you show me the bugs—tell me what to do.”

“Whoa, missy! I thought you were just going
to take the test and check things out. Planting bugs can be a
dangerous thing.”

Pearl spoke up. “Yes, Becky. This conference
room—or wherever the test will be—has probably got audio and video
surveillance. If they spot you planting a bug, there’ll be dire
consequences for you. If they’re legit, they’ll just have you
arrested. If they’re not . . .”

Becky became quiet, pondering what Pearl had
said. Then she asked Sam, “Have you ever planted bugs while being
watched?”

“Of course, but I’ve had a lot of practice.
It’s always dicey. Pearl, open the tech room and get 2 or 3 X-16
bugs. I want to show Becky how difficult it is to plant one.”

The three of them walked to the door on the
north end of Pearl’s reception area and Pearl selected a key on her
key ring and unlocked the door. She went to a heavy metal cabinet
and unlocked it, then retrieved the bugs from one of the drawers.
The bugs were the size of a U.S. quarter and were dull silver in
color. One side of each bug was covered with a clear plastic
membrane with a small tab on it. Sam handed one to Becky.

Sam said, “See, Beck, that plastic covers the
sticky side. You peel it off, using the little tab, and then you
can stick it on nearly any surface, preferably a dry one. The trick
is to do it with one hand without letting the bug be seen. Let me
show you. It’s kind of like being a magician.”

Sam took one of the bugs and palmed it into
his right hand. He worked the coin-like object to a spot between
two fingers, then used his thumb to catch the tab and started
peeling off the plastic. He went to a chair, and as he sat down,
his right hand disappeared under the table for a split-second. When
his hand reappeared, the bug was gone and the clear plastic cover
was stuck to his palm, but was invisible to the eye.

“Wow!” exclaimed Becky. “Where’d it go?”

“Stuck under the table.”

He reached under the table and pried it
loose, showed it to Becky.

“Now you practice with yours. Remember, the
scenario is to assume that you’re being watched at all times, even
if you’re not. Also, once you’re in that room, if you feel any
apprehension, just don’t do it. Understand? In fact, the more I
think of this, the more inclined I am to call it off all
together!”

He was letting his desire to solve the murder
cloud his judgment.

“Wait, Sam!” Becky chimed in. “Let me
practice for a bit! I think I can do this. Give me a chance!”

Shit! I must be out of my
mind! I shouldn’t let her do this!
thought
Sam
, but I’m at a dead end on finding
Winston’s killer. I need to do something!

***

An hour later, Becky was beaming as she
demonstrated her skill to Sam and Pearl. She could retrieve a bug
from her pocket with her left hand, pass it unseen to her right
hand, and plant the bug flawlessly. Sam had Pearl videotape the
demonstration so they could review the tape and make sure that
things not caught by the naked eye were also not caught on tape.
After reviewing several plants by Becky, Sam had to admit that she
did well.

“OK, Beck, we’ll give it a try. You can plant
one bug in the room where they give the test—hopefully the
conference room. But only—and, I repeat, only—if it’s very, very
safe. If it doesn’t feel good, forget it! If it looks clear, put it
under the table like you’ve been practicing. The bug is
voice-activated, so I’ll be able to listen in even before you plant
it. I’ll be in the surveillance van outside their building
somewhere. If you get in any trouble, just let me know somehow, and
I’ll figure out a way to get you out of it. Just play dumb. Take
your cell phone so I can call you if I have to. Now let’s go home
and have some dinner and get some rest. Tomorrow’s a busy day.”

Sam hesitated, looked at Pearl, then added,
“Want to come to the beach for some dinner, Pearl?”

Pearl grinned and answered, “No thanks, Sam.
I have a date tonight. A very nice man, I might add.”

“I didn’t think priests dated,” Sam said,
deadpan.

She punched him on the shoulder.

***

Saturday morning, the test was scheduled for
10 A.M., and the applicants were expected to be there by 9:30 to
get signed in and issued visitor badges. The building was in the
business/industrial area of Irvine, and was four stories of
concrete, steel and black glass. Sam had parked his van across the
street so he had a good view of the front entrance and the
visitors’ parking lot. He had put magnetic signs on the sides of
the van that read “INTERNET CABLE COMPANY,” and wore a set of blue
coveralls with the same name on his back. He was strapping a black
box onto a lamppost when he saw Becky’s white VW bug whip into the
parking lot.

The black box was able to receive signals
from the three bugs Becky had with her and transmit the signals to
the dish on Sam’s van, as well as sending them to a satellite,
which bounced them ultimately to the high-tech system in the Mickey
Malone office’s tech room. Sam was wearing an earplug receiver so
he could hear whatever Becky said.

Becky stepped out of her VW and smoothed her
skirt. She was wearing a pale blue suit with a scoop neck ecru
blouse. Her shoes had large, square heels. Sam thought they were
ugly as hell. The overall effect though—with the hair pulled into a
bun and the tortoise-shelled glasses—was that Becky looked much
older.

The three bugs Sam had given Becky all
transmitted on different frequencies, and Sam’s earplug was tuned
to listen to only one of them—the one she had placed in her bra.
She had the other two in her suit pockets, one in each pocket.

As Becky smoothed her skirt, she mumbled,
“Testing. Hear me OK?”

She glanced at Sam and he nodded.

“OK, here goes nothing. Don’t worry, I can do
this!”

She walked up the three wide, marble steps
and entered the building.

Sam thought,
My God, what have I done? Letting my little girl go in there
is the
stupidest
thing I’ve ever done! Shit! I should call her right now and
tell her to get the hell out of there!”

He went to the van and retrieved his cell
phone from the driver’s seat. Then he heard Becky in his
earpiece.

“Hi, I’m Rebecca Rogers. I’m here for the
applicant’s test. Here’s the authorization you sent me.”

“Ah, yes, Miss Rogers. We have your visitor’s
badge right here. Sign in here please, and then you can join the
others over there. We’ll escort you to the testing room as a group
in a few moments.”

“And where would the testing room be?” asked
Becky, wanting to transmit as much information to Sam as
possible.

“In the executive conference room on the 4th
floor,” replied the woman’s voice. “It’s large and quite
comfortable.”

Hmm
, thought
Sam.
Good girl, Beck! The executive
conference room would be a great place for a bug! Lot’s of secrets
are probably discussed in there. I guess I can wait a few minutes
and see how things go.

Sam heard Becky introduce herself to the
other testees, and she kept a steady patter going, describing the
lobby, the number of security guards, where doors were located, and
the fact that there were two elevators. Sam thought that the other
applicants must have considered Becky as having a screw loose when
she talked incessantly about the shape of the room and its
architecture. Of course, it was all being recorded back at the tech
room.

“You nervous or something?” asked one of the
male applicants. “You’re babbling on about doors, halls, and
security guards.”

“I guess I am a little nervous,” Sam heard
Becky say.

***

A woman security guard escorted the six
applicants into the executive conference room. There were three
females and three males in the testing group, all in their early
twenties (if you counted Becky as a 22-year-old).

“Hey, what a neat conference room,” babbled
Becky, and she went on to describe it, along with its furniture and
wall decor.

The test booklets were passed out at exactly
10 A.M., and the female security guard said, “You may begin. You
have two hours to complete the examination.”

The woman then sat down and started reading a
romance novel.

Becky scanned the test rapidly. There were
only ten problems on the test. The first eight she solved in her
head as she perused the 10-page booklet. Number 9 would take about
5 minutes to solve. Number 10 confused her. She looked at the
large, round clock on the wall in front of her. She had 2 hours to
kill. She didn’t want to complete the test too quickly and raise
any suspicions, so she had to pace herself. She picked up one of
the Number 2 pencils they had provided and began writing the
solution of Problem 1. She wasn’t allowed to speak, so she couldn’t
transmit any more information to Sam.

After she finished the first problem, she
skipped to Number 10 again and pondered over it. It was a set of
very complex polynomials, but there wasn’t enough information
available to solve the 3 simultaneous equations. She wondered if it
was a trick question. The obvious answer—at least to a genius like
Becky—was “insufficient data to arrive at a solution.” Plus, it
didn’t fit with the tone of the other questions. She scanned the
equations again, making sure they were firmly planted in her
eidetic memory. She would deal with the enigma later.

She filled in answers to three more problems,
then checked the clock again. She had used up only 20 minutes. The
female guard was still reading her book, glancing up only
occasionally. Becky was tempted to look around for cameras, but Sam
had warned her not to. Maybe she should try and plant the bug
now—under the conference table. Her heart started pounding, and her
palms got sweaty. This was harder than she thought. She wiped her
hands on her skirt, then reached into her right jacket pocket and
palmed a bug.

***

In the security control booth on the 3rd
floor, two men sat viewing a bank of 24 monitors imbedded in one
wall. One man was a security guard named Bobby D’Orr, and the other
was Phillip Chance, manager of the company’s testing group. Chance
was the one who had two openings to fill, and he was hoping to find
two candidates from the six he was watching on Screen 22.