Blood Money (10 page)

John sensed that Phoebes was starting to get annoyed by his line of questioning, but he had no choice but to continue. “No, Roland, that won't be necessary. I'm sure that all your records are in order. But, that still leaves me with an unanswered question. How did a computer run that originated in your Service Bureau get contaminated with software used by a hacker? Because I can tell you with absolute certainty that's exactly what happened this morning. Someone, using your data input, hacked into our computer system and managed to steal a small section of our records.” He hesitated for a minute. “Now, can you to tell me how they could have possibly pulled that off with all the controls you say you have in place?” John's voice was accusative.

“Now you just wait a minute, Portman. Are you accusing us of hacking your records? Because if you are, this conversation ends right now and I'm calling my lawyer.” The annoyance was very evident now. “I can vouch for what goes through my Service Bureau. I think you need to check your processing again. You obviously missed something. If this is some kind of a ruse to cancel our contract, that's fine with me. I would just as soon not deal with a company that doesn't trust me.”

John realized too late that he had gone too far. If he expected any further cooperation from Phoebes, he would have to back off. “Now, hold on, Roland, I apologize if it sounded as if I was accusing you. That was certainly not my intent. As far as I am concerned, the jury is still out on this. But I need answers fast. I'm sure you can understand the pressure my management has put on me. I am simply trying to get at the truth.”

In interrogations such as this, John liked to slip in the word “jury” as a subliminal hint that legal action might be resorted to at some point. People reacted in different ways to this ploy. He usually just watched their faces and waited for a reaction. None was evident with Roland Phoebes.

John continued, “There must be a plausible answer as to how this happened. For instance, have you changed any programmers, data entry people or computer operators in the last few months?”

Roland was noticeably calmer now. “No, I have a very stable crew. Everyone on my payroll has been with me for at least two years. With the economy as bad as it's been, people just don't job-hop much.”

“How about outside help? Do you farm out any work?”

“I use a software firm in Hudson occasionally for overflow projects. They came highly recommended. We have worked with them for at least three years now. I've never had a problem with any of their work. In fact, they were the company that did the original programming for the blood bank project. The project came in at a time when I was simply overloaded with new business. They stepped right in and completed the work ahead of schedule. We still have a maintenance warranty with them for that software.”

The wheels started turning in John's brain. This was the first real lead he had. He tried not to show any excitement as he asked, “What's the name of this contractor?”

“Cybernetic Solutions. Susan Harrigan is the lady that runs the company. She's a real sweet gal. She's a genius when it comes to computers and computer theory.”

John recalled that Paul referred to the originator of the code as a “genius.” This was too much of coincidence.

“She's does work for the state and a lot of corporations. Even so, I've always found her to be down to earth. Like I said, they are up in Hudson. That's about an hour and a half from here. They're nice people to work with. I've never had a problem with any of their work. All told, they have probably done a half dozen or so major jobs for me over the years.”

“I think it might be useful for me to talk with them. Maybe they can clue me in on ways someone could get around their software. Who else but the designers of the source code would know best? Right? I've certainly got nothing to lose by meeting with them. In the interim, I would be grateful if you would monitor future transactions from the Mansfield blood bank for a while to make sure everything is on the up-and-up. Who knows, what the hackers did may have been just a trial run. They may try it again. We'll be watching all processing at our end, too. You can call me on my cell phone if something occurs to you, or if you spot anything unusual. I would also appreciate it if you would keep our discussion tonight confidential until we get this situation resolved.”

“That's not a problem. I just hope I've been of some help.”

John went to shake hands and added, “Again, I appreciate your meeting with me at this late hour. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Roland. I hope that there are no hard feelings about what I said before.”

“There are none on my part, John. I know you're under a lot of pressure. I'll keep my eyes open, and if I detect anything out of the ordinary, I will call you right away. He wrote the address, phone number and directions to Cybernetic Solutions on a slip of paper and handed it to Portman. “Please say hello to Susan for me.”

“I certainly will, Roland. Thanks again for your time.”

Phoebes escorted him to the front door and waved goodbye. He returned to his office and immediately reached for the phone.

John returned to his car. He sat there for a minute and contemplated the stroke of good fortune that had just occurred. Under normal conditions, he would have grilled Roland a little longer. He would have taken him up on his offer to check the run logs and the data inputs/outputs, but now he had a strong feeling that the answers he was looking for were not in Mansfield, but at Cybernetic Solutions in Hudson. He had a gut feeling that Phoebes was an innocent pawn, and that the answer to his problem would be found at Cybernetic Solutions, and in the person of one Susan Harrigan. His gut feelings had never failed him before.

He pulled out of the parking lot and headed north towards Hudson, Ohio. It was around eleven o'clock by now. Getting a motel room so late at night would be his next challenge. He needed to get some sleep before he met with Susan Harrigan. The excitement began to rise in his chest. He lived for the hunt. His instincts were at their best when his eyes were on a quarry.

CHAPTER 13

Susan was upset by the call she had just received from Roland Phoebes with the details of John Portman's visit. It sounded like a fishing expedition on Portman's part. They couldn't possibly know about her “emulation” run. But she was not about to take any chances. First, she put in a hurried call, waking Mark out of a sound sleep.

“Mark, I just got a disturbing call from the owner of the Service Bureau that we tapped in on for our job yesterday. John Portman, the Director of Security for the NRBA, flew in from Denver this evening to visit him. They know, of course, that they have been hacked. He claims that they think it originated at his Service Bureau, but that had to be just speculation on their part. Roland couldn't tell for sure how much they really know, but he assured Portman that there was no way anything other than his normal input could have been sent from his center.”

“They can't know it was us, can they? I thought you told me that because the file went halfway around the world, it would be impossible to figure out where the input originated, or where the file eventually landed up.”

“That‘s true, that's the way it should have worked. It could be that they are just going around checking all the blood banks that were a part of the run. If I recall, there were six in all. Now, here's the unfortunate part. Roland let it slip that Cybernetic Solutions did the programming for the NRBA donor program, and that we are responsible for the program maintenance. I'm sure that's what heightened the interest in us. Portman told Roland that he was just looking for clues as to how Mansfield's system could be compromised, and just wanted to speak with me about it, since I wrote the software. I hope that's all it is.”

“Can you trust this Roland?”

“Absolutely! He didn't have to warn me, but he did. He took an instant dislike to the man. There is nothing Roland could have told him, anyway. I don't think that it would have occurred to him that we piggybacked his input. I am beginning to feel a bit guilty about doing it.”

“What do you think we should we do now, Sue?”

“I don't think
we
should to do anything. I really think that this is just a routine part of his investigation. I'll meet with him if he shows up tomorrow and try to find out what his agenda is. Trust me, if they knew anything for certain, he would have taken some action by now. One thing is for sure, they can't possibly trace anything back to your computer.” She hesitated for a moment, “Mark, I think at this point it would be helpful for me if you told me who your client is. I would feel a lot better if I could understand what's really going on here, and who all the players are. Do you understand where I'm coming from?”

Susan, of course, knew exactly who his client was. It was she, through her boss Dennis Peterson, who made the original recommendation for him to get involved. She just wanted to change the conversation and lessen his concerns.

“Yes, I do understand. Under the circumstances, I guess you should know. It's Peter Thurston, CEO of Thurston Electronics. They are a large defense contractor headquartered here in Dayton. He is the NRBA director behind all this.

“Thanks for sharing that with me. You know that I'll be discreet.”

“I know you will. Well, you be very careful, Irish. These people have a lot at stake, and they apparently have bottomless pockets. They're going to keep digging until they get some answers. If it's possible, try to send them off in another direction. That'll take some of the heat off us at least temporarily. I'm sure you know exactly how to do that.”

“That's a very good idea. I'll see what I can come up with; anything that will buy us additional time.”

“Do you want me to come up there? I can be there in just a couple of hours. Have gun, will travel!”

“Don't be silly, Mark. It is very sweet of you to offer, but there is no sense in exposing you unnecessarily. I'll be just fine. I know how to handle these corporate types. Portman will probably be in here sometime before noon tomorrow. I'll call you tomorrow night and let you know how it went. In the meantime, I don't want you to be concerned about anything. Get a good night's sleep, Mark.”

“I'll try, but I'm still a little uptight, especially in the light of something I read the other day about a PI being sued over his checking into the internal call records of a large corporation. The guy was just doing what his client asked him to do, and he did it on the company's premises. I hope Thurston hasn't gotten us into something like that. I don‘t need that kind of problem, that's for sure, and I'm sure you don't either. You be careful, now, Sue.”

“I will, please don‘t worry about anything.” She hung up.

Mark pressed “end” on his phone and went back to sleep.

Sue's second call was to Dennis Peterson. She updated him on Portman's visit. “I'll be working on those files as soon as I get to the center. I spent over six hours massaging the data earlier tonight, and I still don't have it in the format I need for you, yet. Their files are such a mess. The style of formatting they use was passé over ten years ago. I guess they never had the need to update them. I was going to wait for my office shift to change before I went back to the center, but I think that I better do it now. It shouldn't take but a few hours more. As a safeguard, I left “SLITHER” in their computer just in case I need to go back for any additional information. Wish me luck!”

“I'll watch for your report. Please be careful,

“I will, Dennis. You can bet on that.”

Sue was already in her car when she called Dennis. She was very upset that Portman had found out about the Mansfield Blood Bank. He would probably visit Cybernetic Solutions around nine or ten in the morning. That gave her close to nine hours. Hopefully she would not need anywhere near that much time to finish what she had to do. When she arrived at the block where her office was, she turned down a narrow alley and stopped in front of a private garage. This was where she parked when she used her secret computer room. It was her way of assuring that she had complete privacy. She pressed the remote to open the garage door and drove the Toyota into the space. After closing the garage, she made her way to the private entrance of her computer room. She pressed her thumb against the fingerprint scanner and quickly keyed in the ten-digit alarm code. The door clicked open, she stepped inside, turned on the lights and closed the door behind her. Sue always felt safe inside her inner sanctum. She booted up the mainframe and disc input/output devices and entered the software she would need to process the disbursement records on the two discs. Her intent was to compare the disbursement records with a combined list of FBI and CIA suspected terrorist fronts. This list resulted from a Presidential directive mandating improved communications between the two groups. It was another tool in the “War on Terrorism.” She needed a breakthrough, and after an hour she had it. She formatted the output and set up a comparison run using a program she had written the night before. Forty minutes later she had a list of sixty-seven matches ranging from half a million dollars to an even one million dollars. The NRBA had sent over fifty million dollars in grants and gifts to twelve suspected terrorist organizations over the past two years. Her excitement increased as each payment printed out. This was exactly the evidence the Justice Department was searching for. Mission accomplished!

* * *

The Pentagon had suspected for several years that some members of the Governing Board of the NRBA were involved in money laundering, specifically to terrorist fronts overseas, but they could not find the proper link. Like many NGO's, it was not unusual for the NRBA to have large financial business dealings with companies overseas. Some of the payments were in the form of grants, others were disguised as purchases for laboratory equipment.

When Dr. Cartwright aired his suspicions, the Pentagon started digging deeper and enough questions were raised that they added the NRBA to their suspect list. When this finally came to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the job was assigned to Dennis Peterson at the Cleveland, Ohio field office. Peterson, in turn, assigned it to his top analyst, Susan Harrigan. The ruse of involving Peter Thurston had been Susan's idea based on the location of Thurston Electronics, the proximity to Mark Matthews in Centerville and the fact that Mark's name was on Peterson's short list for a backup for her.

The White House chose Thurston Electronics to build an Operations Team ready to take over after the closure of Associations distribution facilities. They were now ready to take over on a moment's notice so that there would be no interruption in the supply of rare blood types. The patience exhibited by the Pentagon was finally paying off. Susan attached the file to a message, sent it to Dennis Peterson at the Cleveland FBI Office of and closed down the machines. She locked the discs in her safe and sat back for a minute to contemplate what she had just accomplished. This was a huge victory for the “good guys.” She deeply regretted that Mark, Roland Phoebes and her employees at Cybernetic Solutions had to be involved in the process. She knew that she would have to be especially careful with John Portman later, so as not to give him any reason to expand his investigation. Of course, if Dennis and the Justice Department moved swiftly enough, the risk for everyone would be short lived. For now, she needed to get home, get a few hours sleep and get back to her normal routine. As she exited, she updated the digital pad code, turned off the lights and left the building.

Within twenty minutes, Sue was home and in bed; the alarm set as usual for six. It would be important to maintain her usual regimen. There was no way to know how the situation with the NRBA would play out. She needed to throw John Portman off track just long enough for Justice to validate her information and obtain the proper subpoenas to shut the Association down. It was coming down to a race against time.