A Prayer for the Devil (34 page)

Luke and Vincent climbed another flight, and when they came out of the stairwell, office 3B was directly in front of them. Luke approached and knocked on the half-open door. A voice yelled, “Yeah?” Luke entered and saw an elderly lady on her hands and knees scrubbing the tacky vinyl floor. Looking up, she said, “What can I do for ya?”

Luke explained that Vincent’s family owned Corner Stone Builders. He told her that they had dialed the old office number and were surprised when an answering machine picked up, since the company had been closed for a number of years.

Still scrubbing, she looked up and repeated herself, saying, “What can I do for ya?”

Luke struggled with his words. “Well, the answering machine is located somewhere in this building.”

“How do you know that?”

Luke didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing, prompting Vincent to chime in. “One of our friends works for the phone company.”

When she didn’t respond, Vincent reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty. Grabbing it, she stood and asked, “What did you say the name of the company was?”

“Corner Stone Builders.”

She looked puzzled. “Most of this building is empty. I don’t know any company named Corner Stone who has ever rented here.”

Vincent pulled out another twenty and asked, “What are the names of the companies that are renting here?”

She pulled the bill from his hand. “There’s a tattoo parlor, a check-cashing agency, and some sort of export business.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, there’s another office that’s rented, but I’ve never seen anyone go there.”

Vincent pressed, “Then how do you get the rent?”

“It’s wired directly to the landlord’s bank.”

This time Luke pulled out two twenties, handed them to her, and said, “Can you let us into that office?”

She hesitated and looked at the money in her hand a few times. Before she could answer, Luke added another twenty.

“Right this way.”

THE SUPER OPENED THE
office door for them, saying, “Make sure you lock up before you leave,” and then she left them alone.

Vincent and Luke entered and looked around. There wasn’t anything to see. It was an empty room with dust lining the windowsills and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. “This doesn’t look promising,” Vincent finally admitted. Luke shrugged his shoulders in defeat as he crossed the room. “Maybe it’s the import-export place?”

Disappointed, Vincent said, “Or maybe Arnold doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Luke stopped in front of a narrow door and opened it. “Or maybe he does.”

Vincent hurried over to see what Luke was looking at. Inside the small, dark closet was some sort of sophisticated machine sitting on a stack of boxes. Looking in, Vincent exclaimed, “Holy shit!”

Luke bit his lower lip nervously. “That’s no ordinary answering machine, and I’m not sure what it is, but we probably know someone who does.”

They both said at the same time, “Arnold.”

Hoping he was still awake, Luke quickly dialed his number again.

“Father, I’m going to be able to buy a new car if you keep calling,” Arnold said when he answered.

“I have another question. Just add it to my bill.” Arnold didn’t respond. “Vincent and I are at the address you gave us. There’s some kind of answering machine here that looks like a computer and we have no idea how it works. We thought you might be able to help.”

“I can’t come over there now, but can you take a few pictures of it with your phone? Be sure to get the model numbers and any serial numbers in the pictures. But be careful not to jar the machine. Send me a few text messages with the pictures attached.”

Luke hung up and looked toward the closet. “Vincent, can you open the blinds so we can get some light in here?” With the room illuminated in bright sunlight, Luke took his first picture. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to attach it to a text, but soon he was snapping picture after picture and sending them to Arnold. After his seventh message, the phone buzzed. It was a text from Arnold that said two words: “ENOUGH ALREADY!”

Not wanting to annoy him any more than he already had, Luke paced back and forth until Vincent said, “Why don’t we call the number and see what happens. It would let us know that we are definitely in the right place.” He searched his pockets and said, “Luke, I must have left my phone in the Jeep; let me borrow yours.”

Luke handed him the phone. Vincent quickly entered the number. A few seconds later, two green lights began blinking on the front of the machine. “Yes!” Vincent yelled as he walked over and gave Luke a high five.

As he handed the phone back, Vincent became serious. “Luke, I don’t know how you figured all of this out, but I’m beginning to worry that we’re in over our heads. I don’t want to aggravate you, but do you think we should go to the feds?”

Luke paced, thinking. “I would, but I honestly believe that they would laugh at us. Right now, we have the word of a homeless man who has no credibility and has spent time in jail. The only witness to his death is his schizophrenic girlfriend who would never testify or talk to anyone. And we’ve located an answering machine in an empty office. And to tell you the truth, I don’t trust the FBI guy Dempsey. Let’s see what Jami comes up with. By the time I get back from Riyadh, we’ll know if we can prove our case.”

Vincent stepped closer. “What do you think you’re going to find over there?”

“I’m not really sure, but I’m hoping to get the proof that will solve Aaron’s murder.”

After several minutes of silence, Luke’s cell buzzed, and he put it on speaker so Vincent could hear. “Thanks for calling back so quickly. What did you find out?”

Arnold replied, “OK, that machine is what’s called an intelligent remote caller ID system. It’s a fairly complex unit. I’m assuming that it’s been configured so that the office you are in is most likely set up as the service control point. This machine could be networked to several others at any location.”

Trying to simplify his explanation, Arnold slowed his pace, softened his tone, and took a deep breath.

“To make a long story short, here’s what it does in layman’s terms. Once a call is received, it’s programmed to send that message or phone number to as many as a dozen other devices. So if someone wanted to make it seem like they had an office in Boston, but he really lived in, well, let’s just say Saudi Arabia, they could route messages through this machine. So a call or voice message sent to the machine could trigger an alert on a phone, computer, or networked system anywhere in the
world. And if the recipient responded, you would see a phone number that looked like they were located in Boston.”

Thinking quickly, Luke asked, “Is there any way to figure out what number or device this machine is linked to?”

“Good question, but there’s no easy way. I’ve scanned through the owner’s manual, and that particular machine requires that you create a unique PIN and password. It also has a triggering device that alerts everyone linked to the system if it’s logged into or any type of change is made to the unit. These systems are often used by outsourced customer-service firms to mask the fact that they are located in India. The security is built into the systems so they can’t be tampered with.”

Luke and Vincent suddenly came to the same realization as Luke deliberately asked, “So, if I called this number from my cell phone, there’s a chance that my phone number was transmitted to somewhere else in the world, like Riyadh?”

“Definitely yes.”

BACK AT THE HOUSE
, Luke logged on to the computer to check flights to Riyadh. Scanning the British Airways site, he reviewed his options. The next flight that still had availability took off from Boston’s Logan airport at 8:15 a.m. and landed in Riyadh at 6:00 a.m. the following day, a total flight time of almost fifteen hours, including a stopover in London. Before confirming his reservation, Luke called Jami’s number to see if she had located an investigator who could help find Fatih once he landed. Hearing the extra-long ring, he realized that she was still on the phone.

While anxiously waiting for Jami to return his call, Luke continued reading the British Airways website. He was surprised to see that the airline’s food was Sharia compliant. Not understanding what that meant, he started surfing the net and discovered that a halal certification for a Muslim was similar to a kosher accreditation for a Jew. As he read further he learned that there were specific guidelines regarding the type of food served and the way it was prepared. Understandably, it meant no pork, no animals that were dead prior to slaughtering, and no alcohol. But what really surprised Luke was the last requirement: The animals that were eaten had to be slaughtered in the name
of Allah. Who would have thought that British Airways was worried about Sharia compliance?

Disturbed at Sharia’s encroachment into everyday life, Luke continued searching. He was surprised that there were mutual funds that were specified as Sharia compliant, including the Dow Jones Islamic Index that targeted Muslim investors. He also discovered a court case from New Jersey where a trial judge found a Muslim man innocent of raping and beating his wife over a period of several months because his actions were based on his “religious belief” in Sharia law. The article quoted the man as saying that in his religion, it was his “right” to rape her.

Hearing something buzzing, he looked over and noticed his cell phone vibrating on the desk. He glanced at the display before answering and saw that it was Jami.

“Have you been on the phone since this morning?” Luke asked.

“Yes,” she softly replied.

“Is everything all right?”

She sighed. “Yes, just extremely complicated.”

Confused, Luke asked, “Why?”

Jami ignored his question and said, “I found a private investigator who’s willing to help us. Are you still considering going to Riyadh?”

“Yes, I’m about to book the flight. Will the investigator meet with me?”

“He said he would. He wants to know your flight number so he can pick you up at the airport.”

“That’s great,” Luke said. “Just give me a second.” He pressed Enter on the keyboard and confirmed his reservation. After giving her his itinerary, he asked, “Are you sure you’re OK?”