Devil's Corner (28 page)

Dan nodded. "I'm not saying they won't follow up on that, but jurisdiction is still a live issue, unfortunately, and Toys ‘R' Us is an emergency. The situation is acute, and we're in triage. The murder of an ATF agent and a druggy girlfriend in a stash house will not get the same attention as kids shot up when they're at a Toys ‘R' Us. They're already pulling uniforms off the street."

No!
"But Morty's life matters and so does hers. And what about her baby?" Vicki felt like the case was slipping away. "If you fix one, you fix the other, don't you see? They can't let Morty go!"

"Wait, there was one thing, hold on, I'll get it." Dan left the kitchen and returned with his briefcase, set it on the chair, and slid some papers out. "Look." He put the papers down on the kitchen table, next to the place setting.

Vicki came over. The papers were charts of first names and numbers in computer printing. The names ran down the left side of the chart, the numbers, ten digits, ran down the middle, and then after that was a second column of numbers.

After a minute, she recognized the ten-digit numbers in the middle as phone numbers because they all began with 215, the area code for Philly. Vicki asked, "A list of phone calls?"

"Yes. It's called a Call Frequency Chart. It's fascinating. ATF developed the software program that generates it, for HIDTAs."

"HIDTAs?"

"High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. It's a task force within the agency, and ATF assigned the investigation of Morty's murder to them. They specialize in drug operations with an especially high level of violence."

Gulp
. "And what does HIDTA do, exactly?"

"Investigate, tap, surveille, you know, get the info for search and arrest warrants, in the most dangerous cases." Dan returned to studying the charts. "HIDTA has developed its own program for investigations of cell phones. You see, dealers have to communicate with each other all the time, and they use Nextel phones or cell phones. It's very mechanical, the drug business."

Vicki had thought the same thing, when she and Reheema were following the dealers the past two days. It was almost primitive.

"HIDTA starts with a normal cell phone, one that's seized, let's say, during a search. They call that the ‘known phone.' They analyze the data in it, like the directory, and figure out the phone numbers associated with each person called. You follow?"

"Yes."

"Then they subpoena the records for the known phone, over a long period of time, and they load all the information about the calls into the computer. The program they wrote generates a Call Frequency Chart. That is, it makes a record of how often the owner of the known phone calls certain numbers." Dan ran a fingernail across the first line of the list. "This first page is a sample, and you can see the first name on this list is Lik, which they tell me is the nickname for Malik."

"Okay."

"Lik's number is this one, and the chart shows that the owner of this phone called Lik's number the most frequently of all other calls, in a month's time. The column on the far right is the number of times the owner of the phone called Lik in a month, which is 354. You can look down the chart at the first three people the owner called the most. Lik, Tay, and Two. See? He called them 354, 322, and 310 times, respectively."

Vicki did.

"Now, they tell me that drug dealers change cell phones all the time. They use ‘burnout phones' or ‘drop phones,' they call them. Let's say the owner of the phone, the bad guy, drops this phone. He throws it away to avoid the cops."

"Okay."

"The problem used to be that when the bad guy discarded a phone, all the investigation of his activity and calls were gone, and HIDTA would have to start over again. No more." Dan went to the next sheet of numbers. "Now they can figure out which cell phone he picks up next, using this software."

"How?"

"Because, as a logical matter, he tends to call the same set of people he called before, at the same frequency. See this second chart? This new caller called Lik's number ten times that day. HIDTA does the same thing for the other people called, Tay and Two, and they do it over a long period of time, to enhance the reliability of their conclusion. The odds are that it's the same person making those calls, regardless of which phone he uses. Correct?"

"Correct."

"So then we can reason backward, and say that therefore, the bad guy is now using
this
cell phone. We can figure out that that's his new cell number and pick up activity on the new phone, losing no time on the investigation. In other words, the fact that they change phones doesn't defeat us."

"Great."

"Now this software has other applications for investigations. For example, what they told us at the meeting is that
your
cell phone, with the blue daisies"—Dan smiled—"is currently being used by a known mid-level drug dealer. His name is Ray James."

"What?" Vicki was astonished. "How do they know
that
?"

"Here's his chart, but it's only for a few days, so it's not rock-solid by any means." Dan set two charts side by side. "But see? They had Ray James's known phone from a previous arrest, and they did a Call Frequency Chart for him on the known phone. Then, because they knew your cell number, they began a Call Frequency Chart for your phone after it was stolen."

"So they tapped my cell phone?"

"No, they don't have to tap the phone to get this. They just can get a pen register, a record of calls made by the phone, as opposed to actually listening in to the call."

"Okay."

"So now they load your Call Frequency Report into the computer and ask it for a match, and it comes up with Ray James. In other words, Mr. James, who used to use
this
known phone"—Dan pointed to the chart on the left—"is now using
your
phone, because his old Call Frequency Chart matches the one for your phone, on the right."

"My God." Vicki's eyes widened. "So they know Ray James killed Reheema's mother!"

"Not yet."

"But they go and pick him up and question him about the murder, don't they?" Vicki was so tempted to call Reheema, but she couldn't. "Either he killed her or he knows who did!"

"Slow down. They don't do that yet. Why are you getting so excited?"

"But it was only days ago! It's most likely him! Ray James could be the guy with the gravelly voice, that we both talked to!"

"Vick." Dan smiled and held up a warning hand. "Settle down. You know better than that."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do. Think about it, calmly. All it means is that Ray James has the
phone
from somebody who might know that. Or that Ray James found the phone in a Dumpster or on the street. Or that he bought it from somebody who bought it from somebody else who found it on the street after the killer threw it there." Dan cocked his head, his blue eyes tired. "All we really know for sure is that Ray James has your cell phone."

"We can still ask the man, can't we?"

"Not consistent with that pesky Constitution, we can't. ATF can't, and they won't." Dan laughed. "This is way too soon to be sure, and they don't show their hand until they have the goods. You should know that they would need to show a judge at least a few months of calls to establish probable cause." Dan smiled. "So your phone is hard at work for the common good."

"So what will they do about Ray James?"

"Try to learn more about him, build their case, record his calls. Do it right."

"He has a record?"

"Ag assault, firearms, possession and distribution, the works. His record's in my briefcase; they gave us all copies. They'll follow up, it's just a question of time. You know how they investigate. Morty was the most methodical agent I knew."

Morty
. Vicki tried to simmer down. "Ray James doesn't bring us any closer to Morty's killer."

"Not really, no."

"And he's on the back burner."

"For the time being. Then the heat will die down, but they won't forget about him. I won't let them." Dan began to gather his charts. "But we have been told to deal with Toys ‘R' Us, top priority. I put a press release together for Strauss. There's a conference at eleven tomorrow. Everybody's gonna be there, from the mayor on down." Dan put the charts into his briefcase. "Plus, I forgot, they do have the one other guy, a loose end. This guy who was with Browning. They said they'll track him down when they get the chance."

"What guy? The guy who got shot, that one? I thought he was killed."

"No, not that one, another one. Tall guy, walked out of the store with Browning. The FBI thinks he mighta helped set him up for the kill. They're lookin' for him everywhere."

Huh
? "I didn't see him on TV."

"He's there, walking with Browning. They picked him up on the surveillance cameras at Toys ‘R' Us. He had some kinda cap on and they only got his back."

Oh no.

"Tall guy, black, that's it. He ran when the shooting started."

Reheema.

"And they're looking for a car that was waiting for him. They got a shot of it on the surveillance camera. He was working with another guy and he ran to him and the car when the shooting started."

That would be me
. "Could they ID the other guy?"

"No. Short white guy. The FBI thinks this new gang is multiracial. Gives you hope, doesn't it?"

Eeek
. "Did they get the make of car?"

"I think so, but no plate either." Dan slipped the charts into his briefcase, then straightened up with a smile. "No more work for today."

The FBI was looking for Reheema and her, cross-dressing.

"Do you know how nice it is to come home to you?" Dan reached for Vicki and pulled her into his arms, kissing her softly. "You made me very happy today, on what could have been the worst day of my life."

Aw
. "Really?"

"Yes, I'm basically homeless, but you made me feel at home. I love you for that. And I cannot stop thinking about last night, which was epic." Dan looked over at the clock on the oven. "I figure we have half an hour before dinner. That's enough for a nap."

"But I'm not tired."
And I have to go rent another car
.

"What a coincidence." Dan kissed her softly. "Can I interest you?"

"You already have," Vicki answered, kissing him back, and she let him take her hand and lead them both out of the kitchen. She would force herself to have great sex with him, so he wouldn't be suspicious, and her orgasms would only lend realism to her ruse.

But she took one last look backward, filled with lust.

For his briefcase.

PART FOUR

Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.

—WILLIAM PENN

Everybody, if you in the drug business, your object is to reach the top and do business with the connect. Nobody who's in the business stay at the bottom; not unless you's a fool. If you do something, you do it your fullest. So your object was to be like the Monopoly game. You start at Go and you want to go around and pass the board. So, that's what your object would be. To reach the top.

—JAMAL MORRIS,
United States v. Williams
, United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Docket No. 02–172, February 20, 2004, Notes of Testimony at 429

THIRTY-THREE

First thing the next morning, Vicki and Reheema picked out another new-to-you car, a nondescript beige Intrepid, vintage 2000, automatic transmission, 78,000 miles, which rented for a hundred a week. They parked the Sunbird in a garage, at thirty bucks a day, because they couldn't take the risk of turning it in, even though Vicki was worrying about her skyrocketing stakeout costs.

They parked the Intrepid down the street from the diner closest to their new favorite car dealership and settled into a table for breakfast. Only a few tradesmen were in the restaurant, which had wood-paneled walls, harsh fluorescent lights, and red Formica tables that were permanently greasy. They chose the restaurant for the TV, not the decor or the food, and they weren't wrong. The big-screen Panasonic was mounted on a plywood stand high in the corner, and the scrambled eggs arrived in a blue plastic basket.

Vicki sipped her coffee as Reheema read Bill Toner's police record. On TV,
Live at 10
was running a special feature on the Toys "R" Us shooting, and the newspaper headlines this morning had been all about the bloodbath. The city had reacted emotionally, and Vicki knew the pain would only intensify as funerals for the children began. Morty's murder paled in newsworthiness and official attention.

Reheema looked up. Her eyes were bright and alert, her hair hidden by a new Eagles hat, and she wore a plain gray sweatshirt under her pea coat. If it bothered her to know the name of the man who had almost shot her to death, it didn't show. "You got these papers from your boyfriend?"

"Yes."

Reheema frowned. "You told him what we're doin'?"

Not exactly
. "No, I went in his briefcase while he was asleep. I scanned the documents and printed them."

"Damn, girl!" Reheema's eyes lit up with admiration.

"Hey, I'm not proud of it." Vicki couldn't have taken the papers or Dan would have known. She'd also copied the HIDTA charts and record of Ray James, but she hadn't told Reheema about him yet. She wasn't sure when, how, or even if, she would. How do you tell someone that you may/may not have the name and address of her mother's murderer?

Oblivious, Reheema was still smiling. "You stay outta the kitchen last night, you ho?"

Vicki winced. "Stop. I love the man."

"Slow down, girl. He left his wife two days ago."

"She left him."

"All the more, and he's not divorced yet."

"That's only the legal part."

"You're a lawyer."

"I hear you. Enough." Vicki checked the TV, where the T-Mobile commercial was over and a BREAKING NEWS banner was coming on. She edged forward in her seat. "Heads up. It's the press conference."