The Killing Code (20 page)

“I’ve been thinking about that ever since I suspected it wasn’t a suicide.
I checked out Blue Sky and Helen’s research team but I can’t see anything out of the ordinary there. Larry did financial checks on all of them and the only anomalies are the incredible wealth of Eric Rothstein, the computer programmer, and the almost obsessive philanthropy of the team leader, Professor Linus Gelling.”

“So the programmer works
at Blue Sky despite being rich?”

“Yes, he owns a large c
omputer game company and is wildly successful. The only reason I can see for him to work for Blue Sky is to be at the cutting edge of computer science. Or maybe he thinks he can use the technology for his own benefit somehow.”

“And Gelling; what about him?”

“Well, he gets paid a huge salary but lives quite modestly. He gives the vast majority of his money, including that made by his patented discoveries, to a variety of charities.”

“Any particular charities
?”

“I know what you’re getting at but everything Larry could find showed Gelling as squeaky clean – apparently, he just like
s giving to charity.”

“
I’m sure your friend is competent but I think I’ll get my associate to look into the team’s finances as well. If there’s anything to be found, it will be.”

“Well, that’s your call but Larry is very good at his job so you’re probably wasting your associate’s time.”

“That may be but a city employee can’t compare to a world leading hacker - it’s just a statement of fact.”

“I understand.
In the meantime, what about Devlin and the small man that was at both scenes? I ran him through all available facial recognition databases, including the FBI’s and nothing.”

“I’ll give you a secure email address to send a copy of his image.
There are other databases that are not known to most agencies.”

“I
feel like I’m in the middle of a spy movie.”

“I
assure you this is all very real and there are no stuntmen in this movie. We have to be careful now that you’ve been targeted - especially now that Devlin’s teams will think you are more than capable of taking care of yourself.”

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“Of course you didn’t but dead men tell no tales. Who do you think they are going to blame for the loss of three men that were sent after you? And now they’ll strengthen the teams and probably arm them as well.”

Alan tried to maintain comp
osure but his face betrayed his fear.

“Don’t worry
; I have a safe place but you’ll have to hole up for a while. Now, do you have any family they could use to get to you?”

“No, my parents died years ago and since my wife was killed, I’ve been alone.”

“What about the lady you’ve been spending time with?”

“Holly - d
o you think she’s in danger?!”

“I’m afraid she could well be if she’s important to you.”

“She is but nobody knows about her except my lieutenant.”

“Well, I knew about her so maybe they do too.
What about this lieutenant?”

“Thomas Walker and
yes, he is also important to me.”

Jake’s eyes widened in surprise as he asked, “Thomas Walker – is he
a big guy in his late forties with a big jaw, a thick neck, and a gruff personality?”

Alan was once again shocked by his new ally and his face showed it as he spoke
.

“How did you know that?”

Jake’s face contorted into a huge toothy smile, which caused heavy creases to appear in his scar, as he began a low rumbling chuckle that turned into a raging belly laugh. Alan was now in total confusion as he waited impatiently for the laughter to subside.

“That crusty ol’
son of a gun!” Jake said fondly, still chuckling. “I can’t believe your boss is one of my former US Ranger Instructors!”

“What?
Lieutenant Walker was a Ranger?!”

“Not just a Ranger; a Ranger Instructor!
That guy is one of the toughest and craftiest sons a’ bitches I ever met in my life. He could easily have gone into the Special Forces or Delta but his wife wouldn’t let him. She wanted him to become a civilian – I guess police work was the compromise. How is the ol’ crocodile anyway?”

Alan tried to compose himself
before answering, “He’s just like you describe him – and his wife still wears the pants.” he said, cracking a smile.

Jake again burst into laughter and it was a relief for Alan to see such a
n obviously dangerous man show a human side.

“Don’t worry about Walker – he can take care of himself and his family but we’d better warn him.
I told you not to discuss this with anyone - but for Walker, we can make an exception. Give me his number and I’ll call him but don’t bother trying to ask him who I really am because trust me, you couldn’t torture it out of him.”

Alan gave Jake the number
and his face turned serious.

“What about Holly?
What do we do about her?”

“Does she know the Walkers?”

“Not yet; we’re supposed to eat dinner at their house together on Sunday night for the first time.”

“OK, we need them to meet
sooner than expected. If I know Mrs. Walker, she has a spare bedroom and Holly will have to use it until we get this shit storm squared away. You’re going to have to get her to trust you without explaining anything to her. Just tell her you’re investigating some organized crime gang and threats have been made. Walker will cover for you.”

“Are you sure he can protect all of them?”

“If he doesn’t think he can, he knows people who will help without question.”

“OK, I’ll call Holly.”

Jake disappeared into the bathroom to call Walker as Alan dialed Holly’s number and waited for her to answer. The phone rang several times before she finally answered in a tearful voice.

“What’s wrong Holly?” Alan
asked trying to sooth her.

“
Professor Guthrie has committed suicide – I just saw it on a news bulletin.” she sobbed.

Alan felt as though his chest
was sinking into the pit of his stomach. His mouth opened but nothing would come out.

“Alan?
Did you hear me?” Holly sniffled.

The detective
desperately tried to pull himself together as the realization set in that Guthrie was likely silenced because of his investigations into Blue Sky’s potential new discovery on Alan’s behalf. Before he could collect himself to speak, Holly asked through her tears, “Did he seem alright when you met him? How could this have happened?”

Guilt and confusion
pervading his mind, one thought cut through the collecting muddle – these people would let nothing stand in their way. They had found a way to kill with impunity and he had to make sure Holly was safe from these monsters. He spoke clearly and deliberately, “Holly, I need you to pack a bag right now. A large man with a thick neck called Lieutenant Thomas Walker will pick you up from your home soon. Do not open the door to anyone else – do you understand?”

“No, I don’t understand Alan.
What’s going on? What do you know about Scott Guthrie’s death? What aren’t you telling me?” she said, panicked.

“I’m sorry Holly but I can’t explain right now.
Please just do as I say! Lieutenant Walker will be able to shed some light on it and I will fill you in as soon as I can. Just don’t open your door to anyone other than Walker and do exactly as he says – please!”

Holly reluctantly agreed and when Alan hung up the phone, he could hear
some laughter coming from the bathroom as Jake spoke with Walker. He jumped up from the bed and rushed to open the door. Jake immediately saw the panic on his face and told Walker to hold. Alan quickly explained what had happened as Jake listened intently.

“If they got to Guthrie, they must know about Holly too!
Please Jake; we have to keep her safe!” Alan blurted anxiously.

Without hesitation, Jake began speaking in
rapid military terminology to Walker. He asked Alan for Holly’s home address and relayed it to Alan’s boss and his former Ranger Instructor in phonetic alphabet to be certain the message was clear and hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

“Are you sure Walker can keep her safe?” Alan asked
insistently.

Jake came back in a reassuring tone, “If anyone can, it’s Walker.
How far is it from the station to Holly’s apartment?”

“About ten minutes
, I guess.”

“Then we’ll know in ten minutes.”

“Should I call her back and stay on the line with her?”

“How do you think that would help?
It would only make her more frightened and even if someone came for her, there’s nothing we can do from here anyway. No, let her pack as you instructed and we wait to hear from Walker.”

Alan paced briskly back and forth past the
end of the bed as Jake sat in eerie calm watching him. A couple of minutes passed and Alan’s cell phone broke the silence. Jake stood, knowing that this could only be bad news. If Walker had managed to get to Holly first, he would have called Jake’s phone, not Alan’s, so he now expected the worst. Alan fumbled briefly with his phone before he answered. His face contorted into an anguished grimace as he heard Holly’s panicked voice down the line until Jake snatched the phone from Alan’s hand.

“Listen to me very carefully Holly.”
Jake said in a calm, detached voice. “Is the door bolted? OK, in a moment or two they will gain access to your apartment – there’s nothing you can do to stop that. Do you understand? I need you to breathe Holly – try to be calm so I can help you. Is there any other way out of the apartment? OK…are you calling from a land line? Good; do you have a cell phone? I want you to turn your cell phone off and conceal it in your underwear to minimize the possibility of detection – do you understand? Now, leave this handset off the hook but as close to the base as possible so I can hear everything that happens then go to the other side of the room and lie on the floor face down as though you have fallen. Do not move; do not tense your body even when they touch you or lift you – you must act as though you have fainted and are completely unconscious so that they’re forced to carry you. Is that clear? OK, do it now.”

Alan’s fac
e was a study in sheer panic as tears rolled involuntarily down his cheeks. The blood had drained from his face and every fiber of his being was screaming out at his own futility but his instincts told him there was nothing he could do so he remained silent. He felt as though he’d left his own body and all he could do was watch on in a stupor as the scene unfolded.

Jake held a finger in his free ear so he
could focus solely on the sounds at the other end of the line. His eyes flicked this way and that as he strained to discern every noise in Holly’s apartment. His gaze snapped to Alan then he suddenly took his finger from his ear and slapped Alan hard on the cheek then grabbed his own cell phone and held it out to the stunned detective. The slap brought Alan out of his stupor and he grabbed the phone as Jake covered the microphone on Alan’s phone and said tersely, “Call Walker – now!”

Alan dialed the number and waited.

“Miss me already Riley?” came the jovial response.

“Lieutenant; it’s
Beach. They’re at Holly’s door now!”

Walker’s demeanor changed immediately and he barked at Alan, “
What is her cell number?”

Alan relayed the number to him and waited for a reply.

“I’m less than three minutes out and I’ll have a GPS tracker on her cell phone in less than a minute. How many assailants?”

“I don’t know.” Alan said keeping himself together as well as he could
. He looked at Jake and whispered, “How many?”

Jake held up three fingers.

“Three assailants.” Alan relayed.

Walker came back solemnly,
“Alan; I know this is hard but they are going to take her. I’ve got some serious badass brothers in arms on their way to me now. These guys are the best - we’ll get her back. Do you understand? I can’t risk going in alone so I have to let them take her but we will get her back! They won’t hurt her because they want to use her as leverage to get to you. Trust me Beach.”

Just then Jake hung up Alan’s phone and
looked into his eyes. “You have to trust us Alan. This is the only way.”

The
n he reached out to take his phone from the detective and began to speak to Walker. The language he used might as well have been Swahili as far as Alan was concerned. English words were scattered throughout but they were mixed in with all sorts of numbers and military jargon. He could only guess that this was the most efficient way for two former Rangers to communicate details of the situation.

The conversation continued for a m
oment then Jake hung up and said, “Alan, we have to leave now. There is nothing else we can do from here. I know it’s hard to let go but you have to trust Walker.”