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“Hey it’s me,” Sara said. “I guess you’re away from the phone right now… I’ll call back later.” Sara handed the phone back. “Thanks a lot!”

“Sure, no problem.”

Sara turned to Brian with a gleam in her eyes. “Well, I guess we should be going.” Brian leapt out of his chair like it was on fire.

Halfway across the Embarcadero, Bryan asked: “What are you up to, Murphy?”

Sara glanced at him sideways. “I called Scott’s cell phone,” she said.

“I don’t get it. I thought you said his phone wasn’t working?”

“It’s not. Get in the car.” Sara crawled into the driver’s seat.

“Okay… what now?”

“Now, we wait. It won’t be long.”

It wasn’t. When Konrad’s big black suburban pulled up in front of the coffee shop, Brian finally figured out what was going on. Sara pointed it out to him as the vehicle that had tried to run her down. “Clever,” he said. “You knew they’d come here, didn’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Now what? I don’t think you should confront him here. Too many innocent bystanders.”

“Don’t worry. We’re going to follow him. We won’t get too close, though. I’ll stay a block or two behind him.”

They watched as Konrad searched the restaurant. He went inside, checked out the bathrooms, and then came back out and circled the place. He looked upset when he crawled back into his Suburban and drove off. Sara merged into traffic behind him.

Konrad drove up the Embarcadero past the touristy Pier 39 and then pulled off the road west of Fisherman’s Wharf. Sara drove slowly by as Konrad pulled into a narrow parking lot and drove through the door into an old warehouse. She merged off the road and parked next to the docks.

“What now?” Brian said.

Sara glanced up and down the street to make sure there wasn’t anyone around. She reached around and pulled out the gun. It was heavy in her hands, warm to the touch from being pressed against her skin. “You don’t have to come with me,” she said. “You should probably go home now, and forget we ever met.”

“I’m not letting you go in there alone,” Brian said. 

Sara approached the building from the west, walking along the sidewalk. Brian followed a few steps behind her. She risked a peek through the hazy windows but couldn’t see much. As far as she could tell, Konrad was in there alone. She went to the door and gently tested the handle. It was unlocked. She gave Brian an uncertain glance.

“It’s now or never,” he whispered.

Sara glanced around to make sure no one was watching. She drew the pistol out from under her jacket. Then she set her jaw and threw the door open.

The warehouse was a long, mostly empty building with steel walls and concrete floors. There was a row of computer terminals set up against the far wall. The computers were in boxes. Metal shelves filled with electronics equipment rose to either side. There were two small offices to the right, and a restroom in the corner. The Suburban was parked lengthwise, facing west. The rear door was open and Konrad had thrown several boxes in the back.

Konrad was on the phone when they came rushing into the building. He stood halfway between the suburban and the first office. His eyes widened as Sara and Brian plowed through the door.

Sara came in with her gun raised, sights trained on Konrad like a pro. He paused mid-sentence in his phone conversation and glanced back and forth between them. A slight smile played at the corner of his lips.

“I have to go,” Konrad said into his phone. He hung it up. He slowly raised his hands into the air, exposing a semiautomatic weapon in a shoulder holster under his jacket.

“Take his gun,” Sara said to Brian.

Konrad smiled as Brian took the gun and then stepped back behind Sara. “I guess you’ve got me,” he said slyly. “So what’s your plan?”

“I’m going to kill you,” Sara said. “Unless you tell me what’s going on.”

“I thought it was perfectly obvious.”

Sara shook her head. “Don’t be smart. I know you did something to me. What did you do?”

Konrad tilted his head. “I always wondered about that,” he said. He glanced back and forth between Sara and Brian. “They say the subjects don’t remember anything, but I didn’t believe it.” Konrad seemed to be talking
to
Brian, as if they were both studying her. Konrad was toying with her, she decided. He was trying to undermine her confidence.

“What did they do to me?” Sara said. “Who did it?”

“You really don’t remember?” Konrad shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I can’t tell you exactly because I wasn’t there. The way it usually works is they pay someone to seduce you. A hooker, or in your case, a coworker. He slips something into your drink and then they bring you here, to our warehouse. This is where the real work gets done.”

Konrad pointed the far corner. “May I?”

Sara nodded, and followed Konrad to the back of the room. They stopped in front of a large chair that had been hidden in the shadows until they approached it. It looked like an electric chair, or some sort of torture device. It consisted of a large wooden frame with leather bindings at the legs and wrists. She also saw straps that were used to hold the victim’s head and torso immobile.

Sara stumbled when she saw the chair. It felt like the earth rolled beneath her. Strange, hallucinogenic memories washed over her. She knew that chair. She remembered it, remembered being tied down to it. “Movies,” she muttered. “They showed me movies.”

“Yeah,” Konrad said. “They do that. They shoot you up with a cocktail of designer drugs. They brainwash you with movies and sound. They deprive you of sleep. They push you until you break, until your psyche is damaged. Then the real fun begins.”

Sara was dizzy. She had to force herself to keep standing, to keep the gun level. “Sit down,” she said. She motioned Konrad towards the chair.

“I don’t think so,” said Konrad.

Sara froze as she felt the cold steel of a gun barrel pressed to the back of her head.

“Sorry,” Brian said from behind her. “Drop the gun.”

Sara turned around slowly so that she could see Brian. She was dizzy, confused. Her mind reeled with images and voices. This turn of events was almost more than she could manage. Konrad was grinning from ear to ear.

“Drop it,” Brian repeated.

Sara dropped the gun. “I don’t understand… you’re one of them? I thought you were helping me.”

“
Handling
is the appropriate term,” Brian said. He turned to Konrad and grinned. “Took some work, too. You wouldn’t believe what I went through to get her here.” Konrad laughed.

Understanding washed over her as Sara thought back through the day. “You were playing along the whole time. You tried to stop me from going to see Steve because you knew the cops might get involved. And then you wanted me to call Scott back at your apartment… you knew they’d be tracing the call, and you wanted me to give up my position. You were just trying to get me to give myself up.”

“Didn’t do much good,” Brian said. “It was all I could do to keep this whole thing from blowing up in our faces. I was terrified you were going to pull that gun and do something real stupid.”

“Too late for that,” Konrad said angrily. “The whole thing blew up in our faces yesterday, thanks to Stryker. I can’t believe how this whole damned thing fell apart.”

“Well it’s all good now,” said Brian. “You want me to sedate her ‘till Stryker gets here?”

Konrad was silent for a moment. “Stryker’s not coming. He retired.”

Brian glanced at the boxes in the back of Konrad’s suburban. His eyes widened as he realized what was going on. Konrad was shutting the operation down. “You killed him?” he said weakly.

Konrad gave him a black stare. “He
retired
. This operation is over. You got here just in time.”

Brian looked uncomfortable. “What now, then? What are we going to do with her?” He nodded at Sara.

Konrad mulled it over. “I don’t think we want the police to find her body,” he said. “With all the madness surrounding this case, I’d say she just needs to disappear.”

Sara glanced back and forth between them in a rising panic. They were discussing killing her just as casually as the weather. She had to do something. She knew that she didn’t have much of a chance, but it was better to die fighting than to die at their mercy. She dropped to her knees and went for the gun. Her hand closed around the handle just as Konrad kicked her in the face.

Sara moaned as stars filled her vision. She rolled onto her back, still clutching the pistol. Konrad knelt down and punched her in the face again for good measure. The world went black.

When she woke, Sara was lying on her side. The gun was gone. Brian and Konrad were loading boxes into the back of the Suburban. Sara tried to move but something was wrong. Her senses were dull, her body weak. She could hardly move. Her lips and mouth were numb and her arms and legs tingled like they were asleep.

Sara knew she was lying on the hard concrete floor, but she couldn’t feel it. She felt warm, relaxed. Brian had drugged her.

Sara’s heartbeat hammered in her ears. She watched through half-lidded eyes as Konrad and Brian loaded the last of the boxes into the back of the Suburban. “What about Chaz and Lisa?” Brian said.

“Already gone,” Konrad said. He glanced at his watch. “They should be getting on a plane right about now.”

Brian threw his gaze around the room. “It’s hard to believe we’re shutting this down,” he said. “I was starting to think I’d be here forever.”

“You will,” Konrad said.

Before Brian could even react, Konrad drew his pistol and shot him in the chest. Brian toppled to the floor. Blood hemorrhaged from the wound in his chest and dribbled across his lips.

“Sorry,” Konrad said. “Like I said before, this operation’s closing down. Permanently.” He smiled and took a deep, satisfied breath. No more Stryker, no more Brian. No more games. Konrad had just had one more thing to finish off, and then he’d be free… then he’d be on his boat with Lisa, skinny-dipping and drinking and screwing.

Chapter 39

Brandy had left her car parked back on Van Ness, so Lee dropped her off. On the way there, he got a call. “Good news,” he said after he hung up. “The autopsy’s done.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense! What did they find out?”

“They found the bullet. The weapon that killed Fortress was a .308 rifle, just like the one that Sara Murphy had.”

“But it wasn’t Murphy’s rifle,” Brandy said. “We already know that.”

“Well, if we’re right, then we’ll have ballistics to prove it shortly.”

“That would be good,” said Brandy. She wasn’t sure how much it would help, since the guns were probably matched. Still, it was worth a try. “There was another shooter out there somewhere, probably on the roof of one of those other buildings. We need to get a ballistics expert out there.”

“I’ll send Jacques back down to Union Square. He should be able to crunch the numbers and give us an idea where the shooter was.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

“You know, I’m starting to wonder if Sara Murphy had anything to do with this thing or not.”

Brandy shot him a twisted smile. “Oh? Why is that?”

Lee turned his head nonchalantly. “No reason. Gut instinct I guess. Cops get that.”

“Uh-huh.” Brandy snorted. “So what’s the plan now?”

“Scott Murphy. After you get your car, meet me at my office. It might take a while to track him down, so we might as well be comfortable.”

Half an hour later, they were back in Lee’s crowded little office making phone calls. They started by running a background check on Scott Murphy. His record was clean and his last known address was still listed as the house in Mill Valley. They tried his cell phone but it was disconnected. Lee called Scott’s work phone number and got the manager’s desk of a local shopping center. They had a brief conversation and then Lee hung up with a mystified look on his face.

“Scott Murphy quit his job three months ago,” Lee said. “He said he was moving.”

“Interesting. It seems like there was an awful lot going on with this family back in August. Scott didn’t just leave Sara, he left his job and his house, too. I wonder if he’s still in the area. Did he leave a forwarding address or phone number with his employer?”

“Nope. In fact, he cashed out of their stock plan when he left but he never came back for the check. They’re still holding it for him.”

“Creepy,” Brandy said. “Why would someone cash out like that and then not come back for the check?”

“Maybe he’s been too busy working at a new job,” Lee said. “Or maybe he wasn’t able to come back because something happened to him.”

“You think he might be involved in this whole mess?” Brandy said.

Lee leaned back in his chair and scratched the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t place any bets on anything right now. Christ, it’s going to take months to unravel this thing.”

Lee’s phone rang, and he picked it up. He smiled at Brandy as he listened. He grabbed a notepad and jotted a few things down. He said “thanks” and hung up. “That was the rental agency. The car that blew up this morning was rented by a Mr. Jack Reeves. Does that name ring any bells?”

“No, but I’ll run it through the database. What else do you have, address or social?”

“Yep, I’ve got both.”

Brandy input the information into her smartphone and sent it off. “All right, where were we?”

“Murphy’s in-laws.”

“Right. I’ll call, it’s my turn.”

Lee handed her the phone and Brandy dialed the number they had taken from Sara’s work file at
Pritchard & Stark
. A woman answered. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Veronica Montano?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“I’m Special Agent Brandy Jackson with the Northern California branch of the FBI. I’m trying to reach Scott Murphy.”

“Of course, hold on a moment.”

The line went quiet for a few seconds and then Brandy heard Scott pick up the phone. “This is Scott. Did you find Sara?”

“I’m sorry,” Brandy said, “but this is an ongoing investigation. I can’t answer any questions right now. Can I ask you a few questions about your wife?”