An Evil Mind--A Suspense Novel (25 page)

He’d thought he’d found Sam and Jeff, and it turned out he’d been wrong.

He might have lost these bastards forever.

“What’s wrong?” Cowley asked, looking at him worriedly.

“Nothing.”

1

Andrew Broder had a tanned, plain-featured face and a receding hairline. He was fifty-three but looked younger. He was a highly educated man: his biography on Prism Capital’s website said that he’d earned his BA from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mark had headed to Prism Capital’s headquarters right after he dropped Taylor Cowley off at the Metropolis condominium complex.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions about your son, Logan,” Mark said.

“All right,” Broder replied.

Did Broder suspect that Taylor Cowley had been forced to swap bodies with his son?

“Do you know where I can find Logan?”

“Why are you looking for him?”

“He’s a person of interest in a robbery case.”

“When did this robbery take place?”

“Two days ago.”

“I don’t know where he is.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“January first.”

“When was the last time you spoke to him?”

“January first.”

“Do you know where he could be?”

Broder shook his head. “No.”

“So you haven’t heard from Logan since January first?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you worried?”

“About what?”

“About Logan. It’s been nine days since you last heard from him. He has leukemia, doesn’t he?”

Broder leaned forward and said, “Detective, I don’t know where Logan is. Do you have any other questions?”

“Yes, I do. Do you know a man named Taylor Cowley?”

“Logan has a friend by that name.”

Mark took out Taylor Cowley’s photo and laid it on the desk. “Is it him?”

Broder looked at the photo and nodded. “Yes.”

“He bought a car from your son for seventy thousand dollars a few days ago. Do you know where he got the money?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I think he stole it.”

Broder said nothing.

“Mister Broder, I know that your son’s consciousness was transferred to Taylor Cowley’s body.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I talked to your son. He told me about New Horizons. He said you paid them twenty million dollars to transfer his consciousness to Taylor Cowley’s body.”

Broder frowned. “When did you talk to him?”

“This morning.”

Broder picked up his cellphone and dialed a number.

Was he calling his lawyer?

Holding the phone to his ear, Broder said, “Can you leave me alone for a minute, Detective?”

Mark stepped out of the room and took a seat in the reception area. About two minutes later, Broder opened the door and asked him to come in.

“Yes, it’s true,” Broder said. “Logan’s consciousness was transferred to Taylor Cowley’s body. What do you want from me?”

“I want you to help me find Jake and Peter.”

“I don’t know where they are.”

“When was the last time you spoke to Jake or Peter?”

“January first.”

“What are their last names?”

“Jake’s last name is Ford, and I don’t remember Peter’s last name.”

“Did Jake give you his business card?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see it?”

“I left it at home.”

“Do you have his phone number?”

“Why do you want to find them?”

“They’re criminals.”

“What did they do?”

“They kidnapped Taylor Cowley.”

“Do you have any proof that they kidnapped him?”

“Do you think Taylor switched bodies with your son voluntarily?”

“He did it for money. Jake told me they paid him a million dollars.”

“He lied. They forced Taylor to switch bodies with your son.”

“I was not aware of that.”

Would Andrew Broder have let Logan take Taylor Cowley’s body if he had known that Cowley was being forced to trade bodies with his son?

Being a loving father, he probably would.

“Did you talk to Taylor before or after the switch?”

“No.”

“I need you to give me Jake’s and Peter’s phone numbers and their company’s address.”

Broder picked up his phone, tapped the screen several times, and then told Mark “Jake’s” number and New Horizons’ address. “Peter didn’t give me his number,” he said.

“Later I might need you to call Jake and ask him to meet with you,” Mark said. “Can you do that?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Do you have Jake’s email address?”

“Yes.”

Broder told him the email address.

“How did you pay them the twenty million?”

“I wired the money to their bank account.”

“I need the name of the bank and the account number.”

“What do you need this information for?”

“I need it to track down Jake and Peter.”

Broder leaned back in his chair and said, “You haven’t given me any proof that Jake and Peter kidnapped Taylor Cowley.”

“Do you still think that Taylor switched bodies with Logan voluntarily?”

“I think it’s possible. A million dollars is a lot of money.”

“Mister Broder, I need you to tell me the name of New Horizons’ bank and their account number.”

“Let me get back to you on this.”

“I need this information now.”

“I don’t have it at hand.”

“How long is it going to take you to find it?”

“I don’t know for sure.”

It was obvious to Mark that Broder had no intention of giving him the details of New Horizons’ bank account.

Broder looked at his watch. “I’m sorry, Detective. I have to go. Can we talk some other time?”

“Look, Mister Broder, Jake and Peter murdered Taylor Cowley after the switch. They’ve killed at least four people, and they will keep killing. We have to stop them as soon as possible. Every day, every hour counts.”

“I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“I’m not after you, Mister Broder. I’m after New Horizons. Give me their bank account number.”

“I said I’ll get back to you on this.”

“Do you realize you could be charged with obstruction of justice?”

“Let’s meet next week.”

Mark pulled out his card and gave it to Broder. “Here’s my number. Call me when you change your mind.”

“Sure.”

“One last thing. Don’t tell anyone about this conversation.”

1 

He should check Sam’s personal bank account first: they might have used one of them to receive payment from Broder. The wire must have been sent on January second or shortly thereafter.

He should obtain a search warrant for Andrew Broder’s bank records. The warrant would have to cover Broder’s business bank accounts, too, because the money might have been wired from one of them.

If Broder had wired the money from an offshore account, it might be weeks if not months before he found New Horizons’ bank account.

On the way to New Horizons’ office, Mark realized that none of the cases he was investigating could be used to obtain a search warrant for Andrew Broder’s bank records.

Emily Phillips might know New Horizons’ bank account number. He should try to get her to tell it to him.

New Horizons’ office was located in a nondescript four-story office building in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas. It was closed when Mark arrived. He went to the building manager’s office, showed his badge, and asked for the name of the person who had signed New Horizons’ lease.

“Just a minute,” the clerk said, and disappeared into the manager’s office. She came out less than half a minute later, accompanied by her boss, a middle-aged woman with red hair.

The manager looked at Mark’s badge and said to the clerk, “It’s all right, Alicia, you can give him the name.”

Alicia opened New Horizons’ file and told Mark that the lease had been signed by Jonathan Medlock. It must be an alias of either Sam or Jeff.

“Do they pay rent by check?” Mark asked.

“No. Money order.”

Were Sam and Jeff going to use this office the next time they performed the ritual for money?

It was possible.

The next full moon was on the night of January 30, twenty days from today.

Mark went to Dallas PD headquarters and requested geolocation information for the number Broder had used to contact Sam Curtis. The number was the disposable kind. The cellphone company said that the phone had been off since January 4. Its last recorded location was the city of Downey, California.

Had Sam and Jeff moved to California? If so, it was unlikely they would use their office in Dallas again.

Sam’s bank account had received no wire transfers in the last nine days. Mark called Emily Phillips and asked if Jeff had any business bank accounts. She said she didn’t know.

2

At two p.m. on Thursday, January 11, as Mark wrote a report on the interview he had conducted earlier, his phone rang.

It was Andrew Broder

“I’ve given the matter some thought and decided to tell you New Horizons’ account number,” Broder said.

“Thank you, Mister Broder.”

Mark opened a new Word document. “Go ahead.”

“You said they murdered Taylor. Did you find his body?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then how do you know they killed him?”

“They couldn’t have let him live because he saw their faces.”

“You said they killed four people. Who are the other three?”

“Jake and Peter kidnapped and forced them to trade bodies with other people. I can’t tell you their names.”

Mark couldn’t tell Broder about the ritual (he was sure Broder would laugh at him if he did), so he had to lie.

“Will my son have to testify in court?”

“No, he won’t.”

“I want you to give me your word that the government won’t call him to testify.”

“All right. I give you my word your son won’t have to testify.”

“I also want you to promise that you won’t make public why I paid New Horizons the twenty million.”

“Okay. We’ll keep this information secret.”

“When you find Jake and Peter, don’t tell them I helped you.”

“I won’t.”

“The name of the bank is Alliance Bank. It’s in the Caymans. The account number is six-two-three-oh-five-six-seven-one-nine-oh-four-two. The Swift Code is ALLBKYKY.”

Mark wrote down the information and said, “Can you email me a copy of the wire transfer?”

Broder hesitated, then said, “Okay.”

“Thanks for your help, Andrew. Goodbye.” 

3

Broder had paid the entire twenty million in one transfer, which had been made on January second. The recipient’s name was Summit Consulting; its address was 52 North Church Street, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

Because anonymous offshore bank accounts were not allowed anymore, Sam and Jeff had been required to put their names on the application when they opened their account at Cayman Commercial Bank.

Had Sam and Jeff added their new bodies’ names to the list of account signatories, individuals authorized to withdraw money from the account and sign checks?

They probably had, but they didn’t need to do it because offshore banks allowed their clients to withdraw money via online wire transfers.

Some if not most of the transfers would go to the accounts opened in Sam’s and Jeff’s new names.

He needed to place the Phillipses’ offshore account under surveillance. The Cayman Islands were a foreign country, so he would have to ask the FBI to do it.

Mark faxed a letter to the Dallas FBI office requesting that they place the Phillipses’ offshore account under surveillance. In the letter, he wrote that the account belonged to one of the perpetrators of the home invasion that had taken place on November 30 of this year (the robbers had made off with four hundred thousand dollars in cash and jewelry). At seven o’clock, Mark called Broder and told him that the FBI might question him about the money he had paid to New Horizons.

“Don’t tell them we talked about New Horizons,” Mark said. “Don’t mention my name at all.”

“All right.”

“Don’t tell them that your son’s consciousness was transferred to Taylor Cowley’s body.” He paused. “I’m the only cop who knows that.”

“What can I tell them?”

“Tell them that New Horizons promised to cure your son and that the treatment didn’t work.”

“Does anyone else besides us know that we talked about New Horizons?”

“No.”