Missing (29 page)

They had also asked Maggie about her service with the Indianapolis Metro Homicide Division. They had taken both of her guns to run a ballistics test on them. She admitted she shot Jack. Because of what they had heard on the tape, Palmer said there wouldn’t be any problems. Still, protocol forced them to put her gun through a check.

Maggie now waited to see if they had any more questions. Agent Palmer was going through his notes.

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Okay, well, I think that is all for now. Do you have any questions?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Yes, actually I do. What exactly happened to Captain Murphy’s plane?”

Palmer nodded. “The flight left at nine-thirty Friday morning from London. On-board were six passengers. A large tour group was supposed to be on the flight, but they canceled at the last minute. I suspect this was all Fitzpatrick’s doing. We still have to check on that. All six of the passengers are ex-patriots. Two of them are certified pilots and were the one’s who flew the plane. Once the plane Captain Murphy was flying had taken off, they hijacked it. One of the flight attendants remembered smelling something just before she blacked out. We figure they had put some kind of gas throughout the plane and disabled the crew. Then they took Captain Murphy and his first officer out of the cockpit and the two certified pilots took over. They had turned off the transponder, which is why no one could trace where the plane was. The plane ended up at a very remote airport in eastern Canada and left here. At some point in Canada, everyone got in the tour bus and came into the U.S. They found bogus passports for everyone on the tour bus for when they crossed the border.”

Maggie shook her head. “They really thought this all out, didn’t they? Did they get all of them?”

He nodded. “Yes, they did. They found the Lincoln about a hundred miles from here an hour after we put the word out. They were well on their way to New York. Agents out of Pennsylvania found the tour bus parked in the long-term parking at the Buffalo International airport. They found the two pilots sleeping inside the bus. They subdued them with no problem. The bus is on its way to Washington, where we will have forensics check it out.”

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So, they went to all that trouble just to get the hacker back in the U.S.?

Palmer nodded. “Yes. Whitcomb had caused problems with the power grid in Ohio about a year and a half ago. After he took off, CIA agents finally found him in England. They finally located him when he began hacking into places in England and the U.S. They also found he had now had a group with him. Lisa Morrison, the blonde-haired girl with the earring in her eyebrow, we believe is his girlfriend and he has been teaching her the tricks of the trade. The others were mainly back-up for Whitcomb. Sort of security in numbers. Two CIA agents found them last Thursday. They called in support to raid them, but by the time they got there, the two men were gone.”

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Were those the two men they found on the plane?”

Palmer nodded. “Yes. The other female passenger is an expert shooter. She is a former cop, who shot an unarmed man in Washington, D.C., but she took off before her trial. While she hasn’t admitted it yet, we believe she is the one who shot the two CIA agents. They found a gun on her, but they also found two dismantled guns on the tour bus. The two pilots were guarding them until their friends got back. We confiscated the guns and testing is in process right now to see if one of them killed the two CIA agents. They also found a canister of sleeping gas on the bus too.”

“
Sleeping gas? How did they get that on the plane?”

He shrugged. “That’s a good question. They checked the luggage of the four in the Lincoln and found small empty cosmetic bottles. If the security didn’t pick up the gas, then I would say the visual security check just thought it was a small bottle of perfume or cologne. It doesn’t take much to put someone out. They also found Rohypnol on the bus. They probably put it in the drinks Captain Murphy talked about. The only thing we don’t know is how they got from the plane in Quebec to the bus. We are still working on that.”

Maggie shook her head. “I don’t understand. If Whitcomb is a hacker, he really doesn’t need to be in the U.S. to hack into companies here. So, why did he take the chance to come back here.”

Palmer nodded. “That’s a good question. I do know things were getting hot for Whitcomb and his group. The CIA would find where they were at and they would have to disappear again. From the paperwork they found in Whitcomb’s car, he had practiced getting into the companies. When the CIA began getting too close too fast, they decided they needed to leave England. That is when Fitzpatrick set up the situation that got them on the flight by themselves.”

Maggie shook her head. The whole situation was worse than she thought it would be.

Palmer continued. “They all have outstanding warrants from the U.S., so they will be added to the current charges. My boss notified the Federal prosecuting attorney at midnight. He called in his whole staff. They are already working on a list of charges, which was getting longer every time we notified them of what we had found. No question, they will all be in prison for the rest of their lives. Fitzpatrick lawyered out right away, so that ended that. He is being charged with terrorism, so he will be spending the rest of his life in jail.

“
We made a copy of your tape and made a printed version too. The President and the Administrator of FEMA were notified about what happened, but they will see the transcript later this morning, along with the council of the Homeland Security. Our boss called them after we let him know what was going on here. He said the President wasn’t in a good mood after he was briefed. He is going to be even less thrilled when he hears your tape. You got a lot of good information on it.”

Maggie nodded. “I had hoped the tape would come out all right.”

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It did. The voices were clear. Where were you when you started the tape?”

“
Did you see the loveseat, or what was left of it, near the door to the right in the living room?” Palmer nodded. “Well, the door to the room was partly closed when I got to the living room. I could hear them talking inside. So, I made a quick dash to the loveseat, and then hid behind it. I had no sooner got there, than someone opened the door more, so I could definitely hear the conversations. I just held the tape recorder towards the doorway and hoped I caught everything.”

“
Well, you did. We got a copy of the tape for the Federal prosecutor’s too. They are going to have a heyday with it. That was a good idea.”

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I couldn’t believe what I heard. Once I realized what was going on, I couldn’t believe someone would actually do this to their own countrymen.”

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It’s terrorism. The worst part is that it was Americans against Americans. And Fitzgerald was behind it.”

“
His problem was that he had a vendetta against his boss. Maybe he really was doing a lot of good when the disasters hit. Maybe his boss is a jerk who takes credit for what someone else has done. But, this wasn’t the way to deal with the problem.”

Palmer nodded. “That’s true. It’s too bad his good reputation can never be redeemed.” He leaned forward across the table. “Oh, and you didn’t hear this from me. But, the word is that the President isn’t all that thrilled with the Administrator, so a change in the Administrator is in the near future.”

Maggie nodded. “Guess another reorganization of FEMA will be coming soon. Again.”

Palmer laughed. So did McWilliams. “Yeah, that’s a guarantee.” He paused a moment. “I do have one more question. Who is Jack Westin? We couldn’t find him in Fitzpatrick’s group.”

She took a deep breath. “Well, you do know he is the local police chief.” Palmer nodded. “Okay, he is also my ex-husband. After we divorced six years ago, I took my maiden name back.”

“
Well, that explains part of it. We heard what he said on the tape.”

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Jack always wanted more than he had. Our marriage included. He worked for years to be the police chief. I can’t believe he blew it. And, all for greed. His intentions were good. He has lived in this area his whole life. I am sure he did want to see the town have more than what they have. He just went about it the wrong way. Because he was from here, he knew my house was a rental. What he didn’t know was that my renter left a month ago.”

He nodded. “Do you think he would have shot you?”

Maggie thought about this for a moment. Would Jack have shot her? “No, I don’t think so. Jack may have been desperate to get what he wanted, but I got the idea he hadn’t expected it to end this way. Shooting me wasn’t part of his agreement with Fitzpatrick. Then again, I wasn’t supposed to show up at the house. After Fitzpatrick and Walter left, I could tell he wasn’t sure what to do. Part of our marriage was happy. I think guilt began setting in.”

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Then you went back in after him when the house caught on fire.”

Maggie nodded. She wasn’t about to tell them about the other reason she had decided to make the run into the burning house. “Yes. I couldn’t in all conscience leave him in there.”

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But, you don’t feel anything for him?”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t. But, I just couldn’t leave him in there. He will have to pay for his part in all this. I told him he was being a fool, but he was in a rut and wanted more than the town was willing to give him. Actually, I feel sorry for him. He just dug himself into a hole.”

“
He will be charged as an accessory. He will probably serve some jail time, but not as long as the others will. And he will be out of a job.”

Maggie nodded. She did feel sorry for Jack. He lost everything he had worked for. And all for what? Then she thought of something.

“
What happened with the codes? Did your computer techs find the codes and fix them?”

Palmer nodded. “Yes. I must admit, it was close. My boss was sweating it out for a while, but they got them fixed. After the Ohio power grid problem, our techs knew where to look. He really did bury the codes. The worst ones were the power grids. They contacted the companies and worked with all of them to help find the codes and get them deleted off. The companies were shocked when we called them. Most had put safeguards on their systems. They couldn’t believe their systems had been hacked. I am sure more safeguards are coming. They were fixed, some just a few minutes until the deadline. It was close. One other thing. You were right. The codes Whitcomb left for Fitzpatrick weren’t legitimate codes. Whitcomb made them up. And Whitcomb did put Glen Harper’s e-mail in as the source. Nobody has a clue how he did that, but they found it in each one of the sites and got it taken off. Harper wasn’t happy about it when he heard what Fitzpatrick had done to him. But, all is now safe again in America.”

Palmer paused a moment. “Oh, one more thing. I heard on the tape that you suggested that Whitcomb might have hacked into Fitzpatrick’s bank account?” Maggie nodded. “Well, he may not have gotten into his bank account, but he did set up a series of derogatory e-mail’s, all coming from Fitzpatrick’s e-mail, to the whole FEMA department and several other agencies as well. It was set to begin Tuesday morning. Our techs got that stopped too.”

Maggie’s mouth dropped open. Then she shook her head. “That guy really is a danger.”

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Yeah, no kidding. But, his computer days are over. Neither he or his girlfriend will ever come near a computer again.”

“
I’m glad everything got taken care of. I have been watching the television, waiting to hear. But then when I didn’t, I hoped they had fixed them.” Then she thought of something else. “Oh, did Captain Murphy and his crew get home?”

Palmer nodded. “Yes, we flew them back to New York city and they were taken to our office for debriefing. Seven agents were waiting to take their depositions. Only took about an hour. None of them remembered much of anything until they got to the house. Most of them barely remembered walking out of the tour bus. They were given everything they needed. They were fed, given books and magazines to read and whatever personal supplies they needed. No television or newspapers though. They were just in a locked room. Afterwards, the agents gave them a personal ride home. They called Captain Murphy and Peter Collins’ wives and gave them the news. I heard Captain Murphy’s wife had all six of their kids at the house, along with half the neighborhood as well, when he got home. And this was at one o’clock in the morning.”

Maggie laughed. “Bet he’s glad he’s retired now.” While she had been watching CNN for any updates, they had covered the lives of each of the flight crew. They had mentioned that Captain Murphy had been on his last flight.

“
Yeah, no kidding.” He paused a moment, looking down at his notes. “Well, I think that does it.” He stood up, and so did Maggie. “Thanks again for giving us the heads up about Fitzpatrick, and Captain Murphy and his crew. We just didn’t know what was going on with the missing plane, and the crew and passengers. After we found the plane and found there had been two hackers on-board, we had no idea where they had gone or what they were doing. With Whitcomb on the plane, we had a good idea what he was doing, just not exactly where or what he was hitting. Then, when you called, that pointed us to the right area. Our computer guys are still going through Fitzpatrick’s computer. The police confiscated Whitcomb’s computer when they found the car. His is going to take even longer. He used his computer to hack into U.S. companies while he was in England. So they will be able to see who else he was hacking into and hopefully fix what he has done.”