The Delta Chain (44 page)

‘I know how you must be
feeling, but Kate, you really need time-
’

‘No, James,
I
’
m sorry, you don
’
t have any idea how I
’
m
feeling-
’

‘Okay, but-
’

‘No buts. And if you think
I
’
m not acting myself, then
you
’
re right…because
it
’
s not like me to come in here, on
impulse, to log onto your PC and retrace the steps you
would
’
ve taken tracking the PING for that
virus hacker.
’

He started forward.
‘
Why…?
’
His voice
trailed off, his eyes levelling on hers.

‘Like you said, not acting
myself. Something about this whole Melanie Cail thing
didn
’
t …gel. Maybe I thought
I
’
d come across something new, something
you missed, I don
’
t know. It was an
impulse, and as you know, I
do
impulse,
don
’
t I?
’

Reardon leaned back,
relaxed. If he
’
d been startled it was
only momentary.
‘
You sure do.
’

‘It was a different IP to
the one you said. Not Melanie Cail
’
s at
all. You see, while it made sense for her journalistic ambition to
leak those documents, the computer hacking just
didn
’
t fit…when I followed the electronic
trail back through the “hole” it bounced right back to A.B.C.S.
itself. Your IP. Your laptop.
’

‘Kate - I know lying about
that IP number wasn
’
t ethical. But
it
’
s also not as sinister as you might be
thinking.
’

‘It
’
s not?
’

‘No.
’

‘Do you actually
understand what ethical means, James?
’

‘Let me explain
–
from the beginning.
’
He leaned back in his chair. Kate had never seen her boss
look so serious.
‘
Before Rhonda died
she
’
d mentioned feeling uneasy. Something
not right about the terminals brought to her for repair, and not
linked to the network as we
’
d set it up.
And there was activity she believed was sometimes going on at
night, at the building
’
s rear, in an area
supposed to be dormant. She mentioned these things in passing, she
wasn
’
t certain about it. We were going to
discuss it further if her feelings continued. After her death my
own suspicions were aroused. I went into Rhonda
’
s files and read her diary for further info.
’

Realisation dawned on
Kate.
‘
You were the one who deleted her
diary from her Institute PC.
’

‘I didn
’
t want anyone out there stumbling on those entries. If they
did, and they thought others at A.B.C.S. had seen them, then any of
us could have been in danger. By now I was sure something was
wrong, that Rhonda
’
s death
hadn
’
t been an accident. But I had
nothing substantial to go on, nothing to go to the police with. I
needed another link to the Institute, so I
’
d know what was going on here.

‘With Rhonda dead and her
set-up work nearly as good as complete, there was no further reason
for Westmeyer to have an A.B.C.S. consultant on site. His admin
people had the necessary basic IT knowledge. But I needed someone
here, someone to be our eyes and ears.
’

‘Me.
’

‘Yes. To create an
opportunity I hacked into the network and created the “hole”
through which the virus could be sent and re-sent.
’

‘And of course you knew
exactly how to manoeuvre around the very “firewalls” that you
originally built.
’

‘It gave me a legitimate
reason to deploy another consultant for an indefinite
period.
’

‘And you
didn
’
t even let Betty in on any of
this?
’

‘No one else knew. It
ensured everyone and everything played out naturally.
’

‘So you sent me in to
troubleshoot. I was part of your devious little plan.
’

‘You
’
re the savviest person I
’
ve got,
Kate. I knew you
’
d smell a rat and make
enquiries of your own, which in turn would help me. And ultimately
avenge Rhonda. And I know you
’
re
cautious. And you
’
ve got that sunny
disposition. No one was going to suspect you of snooping
around…
’

‘I suppose you monitored
all my calls to Betty.
’

‘I know
you
’
re offended, Kate, but
I
’
m going to ask you to be bigger than
that. It may sound totally immoral right now but I did this, all of
this, to get to the bottom of Rhonda
’
s
death, so that I
’
d have something to take
to the police.
’

‘And Melanie
Cail?
’

‘Institute security, and
the police, knew Melanie leaked that lab document and were close to
proving it. Like everyone else, I was shocked by her murder.
I
’
ve no idea what happened. But she was
gone, Kate. I had to come up with a solution to the virus,
I
’
d kept it going as long as was
feasible. As you know, Westmeyer was about to call in someone else
to deal with it. I saw an opportunity to “solve” the
problem,
‘
fix
’
it and lay the blame on Melanie. She was no longer around
to be harmed by it, and she
’
d be accepted
as a likely offender, given that she
’
d
already played saboteur.
’

‘Okay. But even so, you
still don
’
t have any leads about the real
cause of Rhonda
’
s accident.
’

‘Not yet. But
there
’
s far more going on here than any
of us suspected. Once one of these dominoes falls, Kate,
they
all
will, including Rhonda's murderer.
’

Yes, Reardon was right.
There was far more going on than he knew, but she
couldn
’
t reveal to him the full extent of
what she knew. The Task Force investigation had to be kept under
wraps.

It occurred to her,
however, that Reardon knew more than he was letting on. She was
certain now that he knew about the croc hunters being traced to the
Institute.
‘
You enabled remote access,
for yourself, to the Landscan 111, didn
’
t
you? So you could keep tabs on what I was up to?
’

‘Guilty.
’

‘So you know the croc
poachers were tracked as coming here, to the Institute.
’

‘Yes, Kate. As I said, far
more going on here than we could have imagined.
’

‘So why
’
d you make it possible for me to get that prototype and go
charging off to the Territory when you wanted me here, in Northern
Rocks? You didn
’
t know about the link at
that stage. None of us did?
’

‘Surely you
don
’
t think I
’
m
a total monster, Kate. I care about you. I knew how much it meant
to you to assist the police in finding your
brother
’
s killers. I
didn
’
t know you were going to take it all
in your own hands and go off into the swamps like that. You scared
the shit out of all of us, me included. And you
’
re right, I had no idea the croc gang would be tracked back
here. That was pure ass, believe me. Some of this outcome I
might
’
ve planned for, Kate, but most of
it I didn
’
t. The connection with this
place is as much a surprise to me as to anyone.
’

For a moment Kate felt
compelled to tell him the full extent of the police
investigation
–
the task force mobilising
in the town, the connection with the drownings and
Westmeyer
’
s boat and the “suspected”
religious cult, but O
’
Malley had sworn
them all to secrecy. And now she had more pressing matters. She was
worried about Adam and she needed to inform O
’
Malley about the conversation she
’
d overheard.

‘At least that explains a
few things,
’
Kate said.
‘
Look, James, I
’
ve got
to rush, I have to get together with Adam and Brian Markham. But
would you do something for me, a favour, without asking any
questions?
’

‘You
’
ve got it.
’

‘Leave here now.
Don
’
t ask why…
’

‘Leave?
’

‘Go back to your motel
room or go to the police station and I
’
ll
meet you there later. Just don
’
t stay
around here.
’

‘You know something.
What…?
’

‘No questions, you
promised. Please, will you do it?
’

‘Okay.
’

‘I
’
ll catch up with you later.
’
She
was on her way out of his office.
‘
I
’
ll call you on your
cell.
’

‘Kate…
’
He was on his feet, concern turning to alarm. But Kate was
already gone.

Kate found Markham where
she
’
d left him, in the second floor entry
area. He was pacing in front of the visitor chairs, talking quietly
on his cell phone. He ended the call as Kate approached.

‘Adam…?
’

‘He
hasn
’
t been back,
’
Markham said.
‘
I
’
ve just been on the line to
O
’
Malley.
’

‘It
’
s longer than planned. I
’
m going
down there-
’

‘No, Kate. Leave it to
O
’
Malley
’
s men.
They
’
re moving in, without delay.
Apparently they
’
ve had a report from
Kirby about a seemingly unrelated matter, a kidnapped boy that Adam
knows something about…
’

‘What
’
s that got to do with this?
’

‘Your friend Jean Farrow
phoned it in to the police. The kidnap victim has been brought
here.
’

‘Here? Now?
’

‘To the rear dock, just
minutes ago.
’

‘Brian,
there
’
s more. These visiting investors
aren
’
t investors. I
’
ve just overheard them with Stephen and Westmeyer.
They
’
re setting up now to demolish the
building. They seem to know they
’
re about
to be raided.
’

Before Kate had finished
the sentence Markham had pressed redial on his phone. On the other
end of the line O
’
Malley
answered.

Once the order has been signed
by a Federal judge, a “seize and arrest” can be undertaken by a
police team. They are empowered to move on to the premises of the
stated organisation, arrest management, detain staff for
questioning, freeze all activities and finances and occupy the
building and grounds with guards, restricting movement, arrivals,
and departures.

‘Okay, people,
’
O
’
Malley said,
slamming down the phone,
‘
our seize and
arrest just escalated. We have an officer out of contact and a
bombing with imminent flashpoint.
’
The
team was a blur of activity as he gave his orders.
‘
Megan, have every available patrol in the
region head for the Institute, get Arthur Kirby to help you
co-ordinate them. Mike, alert the SES people who are on standby for
immediate mobilisation. Wal, get on to Regional HQ for extra
backup, including the bomb squad and as many disaster recovery
units as they can muster.

‘I
’
ll be damned if I
’
m going to be
beaten off now from occupying that Institute and collecting the
evidence we need. And I
’
ll be
damned
if
I
’
m going to lose Adam Bennett or anyone
else in there.
’
He knew, even as he
roared, that the clock was ticking out of control and they had no
way of knowing exactly how much time they had left to
them.

Who in
God
’
s name were these “investors”
who
’
d arrived, ready and armed to do such
damage? It had to be the breakaway U.S military men responsible for
funding Westmeyer. How had they known the task force had gathered
enough evidence to move in?

But of course he knew.

‘Seems the guys that back
Westmeyer have been on to us, Ron,
’
Wal
Hester commented.
‘
If
they
’
re in town primed for action they
must
’
ve had surveillance that alerted
them to our progress.
’