“Well, I hope it’s a successful trip.”
“Thanks Jimmy. See you soon.”
Jake did his preflight check of the plane’s exterior then boarded to complete the process and started t
he engines. He waved to Jimmy, began his taxi to the designated runway and soon took off to begin the brief flight. Cruising at 290 knots, he would arrive at Bolton Field in just over an hour and a half, where a rented car awaited him for the short drive to Columbus city center.
Alan
had driven back to the station after his meeting with Professor Guthrie and walked into the Crime Lab to see Larry.
“
Hi Larry. I wanted to ask you on the phone but I couldn’t talk openly while I was with Professor Guthrie; can you look into the personal finances of Helen Benson’s colleagues please. I haven’t got time or sufficient evidence for a warrant so we need to keep this one between us. Can you get in under the radar and get me overviews and anomalies?”
“Sure thing
Al - give me a couple of hours and I should have what you need.”
“Much appreciated.”
Alan left the lab to see Lieutenant Walker. He poked his head through the door to see Walker studying a crossword puzzle.
“Hi b
oss. I need to find out if there was a mark on the back of the shooter’s neck from the Taylor assassination. Do you have any contacts at the Washington Coroner’s office?”
Walker
picked up the phone without speaking, dialed a number from his rolodex and held the receiver out toward Alan. He took the hand piece and put it to his ear.
“Dr. Alvarez.” announced a voice at the other end.
Surprised, Alan responded, “Dr. Alvarez, this is Detective Beach from Columbus. Are you the Medical Examiner for the Taylor assassination victims?”
“Yes
.”
“Can you tell me if there was a
very small puncture wound on the back of the perpetrator’s neck please?’
“How did you know that?
Wait a minute, what’s going on here? Who is this?” the doctor enquired aggressively.
Alan fell silent.
He wasn’t sure it would be wise to spread the knowledge of this coinciding evidence so he simply hung up the phone.
“That was a bit rude.” Walker
said emotionlessly, his eyes never leaving the crossword.
“Sorry
but I didn’t want to spread the word and the doctor didn’t seem to believe I was who I claimed so I thought that was the best way to handle it.”
“No big
deal; the guy’s a prize jerk anyway. Why do you think I didn’t want to talk to him myself.” he said through a wry grin.
“
Gee thanks. By the way, seven down is ‘carphology’.” Alan said casually.
“How the h
ell do you even know that?” asked Walker in disbelief.
“From an old case in Boston
. A murder witness had the condition – ‘delirious plucking of the bed sheets’.”
Walker looked at him mystified.
“Smartass!” he called out as Alan turned and walked away with a satisfied grin.
It was time to get ready for
dinner at Holly’s restaurant, followed by drinks at a local bar. Alan wished she had more time off that they could spend alone together but he knew she had to support herself while she finished her Ph.D dissertation. The next best thing to being out to dinner together was eating at her restaurant so they could share time as much as possible. Since their first date, they had become very close very quickly and he still found the whole thing a little hard to believe at times. He hadn’t felt so happy in many years and it all happened in such a whirlwind. He drove home to shower and change then caught a taxi to the grill. As he paid the driver, a pair of steel blue eyes watched him from behind the steering wheel of a rented car across the street.
Half an hour earlier,
Jake had entered the police station disguised as a cleaner, with a false beard, baseball cap and coveralls. He went to the crime lab and found a note on the technician’s desk, with bullet points reminding him of the main points of Alan’s case so far.
Larry enjoyed trying to
piece things together and his notes helped him to get things in perspective. He secretly wanted to be a detective but knew he couldn’t pass the physical tests required to become a police officer so working in the crime lab was the next best thing. It allowed him to observe and assist on cases and he particularly enjoyed working with Alan because he valued Larry’s input.
His note was
headed with the name of the victim and several bullet points outlining pertinent developments, including the small man in the overcoat and some details of the Taylor assassination. Jake was unaware of the links between the two cases but all he had to do was access the computer database from the lab’s terminal and enter ‘Helen Benson’ to find the investigating detective’s name and ID photograph then follow him and look for opportunities to glean the desired information.
As Jake completed his search and was turning to leave the lab, he saw Larry staring at him, wide-eyed and with a mouthful of the sandwich he was holding in his hand.
In the split second from when Jake turned around to when Larry tried to speak, Jake leapt forward and behind him, looping his right arm around Larry’s neck to clamp his carotid arteries until the hapless technician fell unconscious. While ensuring his face was not visible to the security cameras, Jake leaned down to check Larry’s pulse, and satisfied he was not seriously hurt, turned quickly to the door and disappeared from the building before Larry could regain consciousness. He then took up a position outside the station, waited for Alan to leave the building, and followed him to Holly’s restaurant.
O
bserving Alan through the restaurant window, Jake noted the obvious relationship between the new lovers and snapped some pictures through his telephoto lens. He then pulled out his laptop, accessed the local wifi hotspot and began to do some research on Detective Alan Beach. He looked through public domains then hacked into the Boston Police website to retrieve more detailed information. He found that Alan was a decorated detective with a particularly high success rate in closing cases and wondered why such a man would relocate to a significantly smaller city. As he dug deeper, he found reference to an Internal Affairs investigation into Alan’s partner, Shane Adams. The file was sealed and while Jake’s hacking skills were reasonable, they weren’t good enough to open the file without a significant time investment. He decided not to contact Equilibrium for assistance with the task in order to save time and instead, found court transcripts in the archives of a Boston newspaper, describing the trial and conviction of Adams.
It seemed
that Adams had financial difficulties arising from his divorce and began to skim cash and drugs from crime scenes to supplement his income. Alan had caught his partner in the act, made him replace the loot and tried to counsel him. He even gave his partner money from his own savings to try to help him out of the hole. Adams promised Alan that it was the first time and he would never do it again but it wasn’t long before his financial situation drove him to repeat the crime and this time, when Alan caught him, he reported him to Internal Affairs. Adams lost his job and his pension, and spent two years in prison under protective custody. Alan, himself was taken to task by Internal Affairs for not reporting the original crime but eventually decided he had acted in the best interest of the Boston Police Department and let the charges drop.
Jake thought how difficult it must have been for Alan to make such a decision and admired his ethics and courage.
He knew now why Beach had transferred to Columbus, as he could imagine the blowback and retribution the detective would have experienced at the hands of his fellow officers. Even though the man had committed a crime - twice - Alan had broken a sacred bond and betrayed his partner. In the eyes of most police officers, there is no justification for such betrayal and they would have been merciless toward Beach in the aftermath. Jake himself had mixed feelings on the matter because of his own experiences in the grey, no man’s land of covert and clandestine activities with the CIA. He had realized years ago that things are never truly black and white but his sense of justice demanded he respect Alan’s principles and convictions.
Jake continued his s
urveillance until the couple left the restaurant and went together to Holly’s apartment. He followed and watched as the lights went out and there was no point staying any longer. He reached for his encrypted cell phone to send a message to Equilibrium, asking for a secure communication session. One minute later, he received the reply, “2215 black” and signed into the secure web page to read the security protocol for ‘black’ and at precisely 2215, he clicked on the designated icon. The strange fluttering encryption digits popped up at the top of his screen and he typed.
“Source of trace located.
Legitimate police enquiry involving a different case with unknown link to assassination. Staying the night to investigate possible connections tomorrow. Can you get me into Blue Sky Biotech main frame?”
“Affirmative.” came the reply.
“Send link and password to my laptop.”
“Acknowledged.”
Jake drove to a small, unremarkable motel where he paid in cash, checked in and opened his laptop to find a trace link with user name and password for Blue Sky’s main frame waiting for him. He wasn’t sure exactly what to look for but he had seen the name, Professor Gelling on Larry’s note so he started digging into all related files. It was a mammoth task but Jake was a very patient man with a great deal of experience in spotting relevant information. A few hours later, he found a highly encrypted folder called, “Project Hallucineers”. The folder’s security was too complex for the password attack software he used so he contacted Equilibrium again and passed the folder on. A moment later, the enigmatic hacker replied.
“Project Hallucineer
s folder protected by sophisticated multilayer encryption and rotating passwords. Will take several hours to crack.”
“
Acknowledged.” Jake replied.
His years of specialized military experience had trained him to survive on very
little rest but had also taught him to take full advantage of any opportunity to sleep. There was nothing else he could do toward the case so he showered and retired for the night.
Holly
had been lying on her bed watching Alan quizzically as he looked intently through the curtains covering her bedroom window.
“Why are you sitting in the dark, looking out the window?”
“I’ve had a strange feeling that someone was following me tonight. I’m not sure if this case has got me on edge or if it’s just my imagination but I could swear I’m being watched - call it instinct if you like.”
“Your detective’s brain is working overtime
honey. Come to bed - I can take your mind off that.” she said cheekily.
“I
’m sure you can!”
Kurt
Rygaard watched as Beach closed the curtains. It was obvious that his quarry was settled in for the night and since he’d already discovered everything he needed, the highly trained surveillance expert pulled the small binoculars away from his eyes and turned to leave his well hidden position.
Chapter
10
Jake awoke to a knock on his door at six o’clock. He had placed his breakfast order the previous night and it was now laid out neatly on a tray held by a teenage girl at his doorstep. She looked up at Jake’s face and was perceptibly startled by his deep, ugly scar. Jake deftly reached out to catch the tray before she could drop it then he retreated into his room without a word as she stood gawking. He had grown quite familiar with the effect his appearance could have on some people and while somewhere deep inside, it pricked at his self esteem, his outer armor was far too thick to be pierced by the reaction of some pimply teeny-bopper at a motel.
Jake’s
many years of military service had ingrained the habit of eating a hearty breakfast whenever possible and despite the non-descript nature of the small motel, the bacon, eggs, sausage, and hash browns were quite delicious and he quickly cleaned his plate. He showered and dressed then checked his laptop to find an encrypted message from Equilibrium. It contained the Project Hallucineers folder that the hacker had decrypted and compressed to send to Jake via a secure server. He opened the main folder and found several subfolders containing various files.
As Jake read
one file then another, and another, his normally dispassionate expression transformed to one of incredulity. The science described seemed unimaginable and if the file hadn’t been so carefully secured, he would not have believed such technology possible. Through furrowed brow, Jake continued to scan various test results, scientific reviews, minutes of secret meetings, and other details of the complex technology and its development. Eventually he looked up from the screen, his astute mind processing the potential of such a discovery and he realized grimly, the modus operandi utilized for Matt Lewis’ murder and the assassination of Congressman Taylor.
He
also knew immediately the value of Project Hallucineers not only to Blue Sky Biotech and Devlin Industries but to the military and intelligence communities. Then and there, Jake understood it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to prosecute Alex Devlin or his associates and resolved that if legal convictions were unachievable, he would have no choice but to employ his own formidable skills to exact justice upon the perpetrators. He didn’t savor the idea of homicide, however justified it may be but when it came to the crunch, he would do what was necessary. The words of one of his Special Forces instructors echoed in his mind, “When faced with killing an enemy; rationalize, compartmentalize but do not empathize or sympathize.” It may have sounded callous but for moral men, the reality and dilemma faced by front line military personnel had to be dealt with somehow and that was as good a motto as any.
Having read enough of the file to
fully appreciate the ramifications, Jake put his laptop away and went to continue surveillance of Beach. He had mounted a small tracking device on the detective’s car the previous night and found it was still parked at the restaurant where Holly worked so he assumed Alan was still at his girlfriend’s apartment. The former soldier repacked his small bag, checked out of the hotel and drove back to the restaurant to wait. At eight o’clock, Alan rounded the corner to approach the car park, dressed in the same clothes he wore the previous night. Jake followed the detective to his own apartment and noted the address. Beach disappeared into his building just long enough to shower and change before reemerging to drive to the police station. Jake followed undetected, parked his car fifty yards down the road and turned off the engine.
Alan entered the crime lab, where Larry was sitting at his desk in the corner.
“Hi Larry. How are you?”
The technician looked up with an uncharacteristically impatient glare.
“I’m fine – I wish everyone would stop asking me how I am! I’m fine!”
Alan was mystified by his normally mild mannered and friendly colleague’s response.
“Have I done something wrong?”
Larry shook his head and looked down at his desk then spoke in a conciliatory tone.
“I’m sorry Alan; I thought you must have heard what happened last evening. I guess I was wrong.”
Alan face contorted with concern.
“Last evening? What happened last evening?”
He
sitantly, Larry related the event and by the time he finished, his anger and embarrassment were obvious.
“Damn; I’m sorry to hear that Larry!
Do they know who it was or the motivation behind the attack?”
“It happened so fast and he was obviously aware of the security cameras so there’s really nothing to go on.
I’ve gone over and over the incident in my mind and as angry as it makes me, I can see that it had nothing to do with me personally. The guy was after information and I just happened to interrupt him.”
“OK but you’re definitely unharmed?”
“Like I said, I’m fine. I’m just angry that I did absolutely nothing to stop him.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself Larry.
From what you’ve described, it sounds like he was a pro and it was probably best that you didn’t resist.”
“I thought the same
thing but it doesn’t seem to make me feel any better.”
“I understand.
You need to give it some time. Maybe you should talk to the police psychologist. It helped me in Boston.”
“I already did.
He said much the same as you and gave me some mental exercises to take my mind off it. I was a lot worse than this before I saw him.”
“Well, it’s a start anyway.
Can I see the security footage?”
“The Divisional Commander has restricted access to it during the investigation but I have a copy on disc.”
Larry loaded the DVD and the image came up on the monitor. The two watched in silence as the well disguised intruder moved through the room, carefully concealing his face from the cameras. The man’s movements and intelligent approach to his search made Alan think that he was indeed a professional. They continued watching the scene until Larry’s assailant checked the technician’s pulse and left the room. Alan pondered the strange situation he’d just witnessed.
“Well, he obviously wasn’t interested in hurting you.
It seems pretty apparent that he was only interested in getting information and leaving undetected but your arrival made that impossible so he chose the simplest way out.”
“That was my thinking.” Larry said, slightly less tense.
“Have you been able to find out what he was looking for in the main frame?”
“That’s the weird part – he was looking at Helen
Benson’s incident report.”
Alan
felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he realized it was now much more likely his instinct about being followed was correct. He looked intently at the screen, gathering his thoughts then turned to Larry.
“This case just keeps getting stranger and stranger.”
“You think?!” Larry retorted with uncharacteristic sarcasm.
“Sorry, I guess I’m preaching to the choir.
Did you manage to look into the finances of Helen’s colleagues?”
“I was just finishing when this happened.
There’s nothing out of the ordinary except how much these people get paid - I’m definitely in the wrong line of work! They are all on particularly munificent packages, including salary, performance bonuses, and stock options. The weird thing is that despite his huge salary, Professor Gelling has very little money in his bank accounts, his home is adequate but modest, and he drives a moderately priced car. Based on everything I can find, he seems to give all his money to obscure charities.”
“It seems strange but that fits with what I’ve heard about the professor.
Apparently he’s quite a philanthropist but it would also seem that he likes to keep his generosity anonymous. Professor Guthrie told me that Gelling has no interest in money; I guess he was right. Nothing else out of the ordinary?”
“I suppose that depends on your definition of ‘ordinary’.
There is certainly nothing normal about Eric Rothstein’s financial situation. The guy is worth millions from his computer game empire and yet he chooses to work for Blue Sky as well. I know I said they are very well paid but compared to what this guy makes from his own companies; it’s a drop in the ocean.”
“Maybe he’s interested in the challenge and prestige of working with such a team.
He has no real qualifications but he was hand-picked by Gelling so I can only assume it’s a matter of pride.”
“I suppose that makes sense.
Anyway, his earnings are legitimate from what I can see but I’m no forensic accountant. One thing about Rothstein though, I’ve heard he’s a high roller and a pretty successful gambler so a lot of his financial transactions would be untraceable.”
“I don’t think it matters that much; the guy obviously has no financial problems so there’s no reason to think he’s up to no good.
Looks like another dead end.”
“Sorry Al, I wish I could be of more help
but nothing really stands out with any of them.”
“Thanks for trying Larry – and I’m sorry for what happened to you.”
“I’ll get over it. I guess it was just bad timing.”
Alan put his hand on Larry’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile then left the room to see Lieutenant Walker in his office.
“I don’t like that look on your face Beach. What do you need this time?”
“Sorry b
oss but I’ve got to go to Jersey City to investigate Matt Lewis’ office. I need you to put the paperwork in.”
“You really think his murder is connected to the
Benson case?”
“There’s no doubt in my mind.
This case is probably the strangest I’ve ever seen and the more I look into it, the more it looks like a well funded and cleverly executed conspiracy. Matt Lewis is the only real lead I have but I’d also like to speak with Alex Devlin.”
“
Devlin?! That doesn’t sound like a good idea - you know how much juice that guy’s got?”
“His power and influence co
uld pose serious problems but his company owns Blue Sky Biotech and their technology seems to be somehow connected to not only Helen’s death but the assassination of a United States congressman, the murder of a well known consumer rights advocate, and the death of a US Capitol Police officer. Since I can find no motive within Helen’s team, and her death now seems to be just one part of a bigger picture, I can only assume the string-pullers are higher up the food chain and are operating to an unknown agenda.”
“
OK I’ll do the paperwork. Don’t go kicking any hornets’ nests though. If Devlin gets angry, there’s no telling how hard his squadron of high priced lawyers and lobbyists could slap us. Besides, you’ll be out of your jurisdiction so your badge won’t mean much there. I guess you’re going to eat into my budget and request a return flight too.”
“Unless you want me to drive?”
“No way! If you drive, you won’t be back for Sunday dinner and my wife would kill both of us!”
Alan
smiled broadly. “Don’t worry boss; we’ll be there Sunday night to protect you from the missus.”
“Always a
smartass. Now get outta here – your plane ticket will be waiting at the airport. Stay out of trouble!”
Alan went to his car and drove home to pack a bag.
Jake followed and watched as Alan reemerged from his building with an overnight bag, and quickly typed a text message on his encrypted cell phone. A few minutes later, he received a reply from Equilibrium.
“Detective
Beach is booked on the 1330 flight to Newark. What is he up to?”
Jake
contemplated the possibilities. Perhaps the Columbus Police crime lab technician had been able to discover the location of Matt Lewis’ office before Equilibrium’s computer worm did its job or maybe the detective was going to investigate Blue Sky Biotech’s parent company, Devlin Industries just outside Princeton. Either way, he needed to get back to New Jersey so he started the car and calmly drove toward Bolton Field, calling ahead to have his King Air prepared for the trip and submit his flight plan. Knowing that police department budget constraints would demand Alan’s flight have at least one stop before arrival at Newark, he was confident that at normal cruising speed, his turboprop Beechcraft would have him back at Teterboro Airport in plenty of time to get a taxi home then drive to Newark Airport to intercept Detective Beach and continue surveillance.
The short flight was uneventful and Jake landed at Teterboro ahead of schedule due to a decent tailwind.
He checked his watch to see that Alan’s plane had taken off from Columbus only half an hour earlier so he would easily make it to Newark Airport in time to park and await the detective’s arrival. Jimmy’s smiling face greeted him as he taxied into the private hangar and exited the craft.
“Make another mi
llion boss?”
“Slow and steady wins the race
Jimmy. How’s that new tool set I sent you?”
“Unbelievable!
How did you know my old set needed replacing?”
“
Just thought you were due for a bonus. I’m glad they could deliver it before I got back.”