Blood Line (16 page)

“The bank, the pharmacy and City Hall are active properties. The Playhouse has been vacant for decades. I don’t think they would use the Playhouse, though.”

“Why not?” Ryan asked.

“I agree it sounds perfect. But the Playhouse is located on the side of the downtown square that backs up to a residential area, and all of the buildings on that side of the square are vacant.”

“Still not seeing why that’s a bad location,” Ryan said.

“It’s bad because no one ever goes over there. Any activity would be noticed.”

“I agree the movie house is out,” I said, “and I think the bank is a non-starter. Their basement was converted to storage years ago. Leecy would have felt smooth floors underfoot, plus the security system alone is enough of a deterrent.”

“Agreed,” Valerie said.

“The pharmacy or City Hall?” Wakefield asked.

“Both are excellent choices. The pharmacy’s basement access is in the alley behind the building. There’s a sidewalk that runs down the center of a small grass courtyard, connecting the rear door of the pharmacy to the asphalt of the alley. The basement access is located off the rear courtyard. There is a privacy fence back there to offer cover. It’s a smart choice, and I know Mr. Loather, the pharmacist, doesn’t use his basement,” Valerie said.

“What about City Hall?” Ryan asked.

“It’s a better choice than the pharmacy,” Val said. “The town council turned the old basement jail into a tourist attraction when the state of Georgia declared the site a Historical Landmark. The tours are once a week, usually on a Wednesday. The old jailhouse door is the original cast iron with barred window and all, and can’t be locked, so the jail is accessible to anyone at any time. Access is clearly visible from the dispatcher’s desk at the PCPD across the street, so there’s never been a problem with vandals or anything.”

“Moore or some other member of his group could have scouted the basement jail by taking the tour,” Ryan said.

“City Hall is the most likely candidate,” Wakefield said. “They could’ve scouted the location well in advance, and the entry door issue gives them unfettered access.”

“But what about the PCPD? You just said the access stairs leading to the door of the old jail could be seen from the police station,” Ryan argued.

“True,” Valerie said, “but if a person is flashing FBI credentials like the ones you, Hodges, and Franks have hanging around your necks, I don’t think the local cops would question anything.”

“I see,” Ryan said. “They come to town and scout the place by taking a tour. They learn the tour’s schedule and know they’re safe using the location to hold someone. Furthermore, they learn that even though the door can’t be locked, no one goes down there during off-hours because the local cops can watch the location. Moore and gang flash FBI badges, issue a phony APB, and they have all the reason they need to be there in the PCPD. They kill two birds with one stone. They can watch the old jail, and have a legitimate reason to be in town and in the police station.”

“So, how do we make certain Leecy is in the old jail?” Wakefield asked.

“I think we can verify that theory,” Zach said.

Zach and Julia had been busy over their keyboards this entire time. The sound of his voice reminded me he was still there. He stepped back from the SUV, stretching and shaking his hands back and forth.

“How can you help?” Wakefield asked.

“Julia and I have been trying to trace the IP address linked to the surveillance equipment we discovered at the Anderson home. That search has turned out to be as successful as a dog chasing its tail. But if the new theory is correct, we can focus on the Park City Police Station. If Moore is in the station, he’ll want to listen to all that audio surveillance coming from inside INESCO. If that’s where he is, the bandwidth usage will be off the charts.”

“Will Moore know you are snooping around on the lines or whatever it is he is using? How will that verify where Leecy is?” I asked.

“There’s a chance he is running detection software, but I doubt it,” Zach answered. “Having spent six months working with him,” he began typing on his keyboard again, “I know Moore will think no one will think to look for him at the police station. As far as helping verify Leecy’s location, I figure if he’s listening here at INESCO, he’s watching her wherever he is. It’s worth a shot, I think.”

“Do it.”

While Zach typed, I wandered away from the group to snoop through the bags of tactical gear in the rear of the 4-Runner. I passed Franks seated in the rear of the unused SUV with his headphones on, listening intently, and he gave me a thumbs up sign. I nodded as I continued toward the Toyota, and found Hodges seated in the rear cargo area under the raised cargo door. I looked at the two black bags, and then at Hodges. Hodges didn’t need another hint. He stood and unzipped one of the bags.

“What are you looking for? Cause we have it all.”

“I need a six-inch straight knife and sixteen-inch collapsible police baton. I seemed to have misplaced mine back at the Anderson house.”

“No, you didn’t misplace them. Your wife told us the guy that kicked you in the face took them when you went down. Here, we have exactly what you need,” he said.

I spread the mouth of the bag open to reveal guns, ammo, knives, batons, wire tie handcuffs, and concussion grenades. I found the knife I was looking for, and it even came with a scabbard and belt. A baton was also there in a handy little carrying case. I slid it on the knife belt.

“Thanks,” I said, and then asked, “What’s in the other bag?”

Hodges answered. “Night vision gear, directional microphones powered by the same technology as the earpieces and synched with them, a couple of small drones we can fly with our cell phones. You know, the real cool stuff. You want a pair of night vision goggles?”

“No, thanks; my night vision is just fine.”

Just then, I heard Zach’s voice in my ear.

“I’ve got something. You all need to see this.”

Everyone crowded around the rear of the SUV to see a picture of a steel door on the screen.

“What is that?” Ryan asked.

“I was looking for the audio stream that should be here if Moore is listening via the devices planted at INESCO, but it isn’t here; it isn’t anywhere. Julia, you’re sure you found listening devices on our sweep?” Zach asked, “because the only thing being pulled down from the PCPD Internet connection is this video feed I found. Maybe that’s the metal door Leecy talked about?”

I looked at the computer screen Zach was using and saw the image of a steel door, and then I looked at Julia. She was backing away from the group, nervously clutching at her necklace. I turned to walk toward her, but Valerie ran past me and got to Julia first, grabbing her necklace.

“You’ve been fiddling with this thing since the hotel. At first I thought it was just some nervous tic you had, but now I think you’re hiding something. Or lying about something. Or is it both? I’ll give you one chance to tell me what’s going on before I make you tell me. Do you understand me, Julia?”

Valerie was nose-to-nose with the technology advisor. Val wound the necklace tighter and tighter around her fingers, and Julia’s neck. Tears were flowing down Julia’s cheeks. Her mouth was quivering, but no sound was forthcoming. Valerie turned and walked away from her, but didn’t let go of the necklace. Valerie led her by the throat to the rear of the SUV and whipped her around like a rag doll, slamming her into the tailgate and forcing Julia into a sitting position.

“You want to cry?” Valerie said, letting go of the necklace in favor of grabbing Julia’s head with a hand on each side. She turned it to face the computer screen. “My daughter is alone in that room behind that door, why? Is it so your boyfriend can make some money selling something he wants to steal from me? That’s what Moore is to you, isn’t he? Your boyfriend? You better start talking to me, Julia, or I’m going take that little gift from Moore you wear around your neck and make you eat it,” Valerie hissed, inches from Julia’s face.

Valerie had scared her to death, and now I needed to play good cop to Valerie’s crazy cop. I grabbed Valerie by the arm and pulled her away gently, though Valerie made it look rougher than it was. I said in as soothing a voice as I could muster, “No one wants to hurt you, Julia. Just talk to us. Maybe there’s an explanation for why you said there were listening devices and there aren’t any. Help me understand, okay?”

Julia straightened her blouse and rubbed her neck. Then she made mistake number one, glaring at Valerie. Then she lied. Mistake number two.

“Zach is mistaken. I found listening devices. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I knew she was lying because her hand reflexively reached for the pendant. It was her tell.

“Ditch the earpieces,” I said. “Moore’s been listening to us all along. She never recalibrated anything. It’s all one big game.”

I turned away from Julia in mock disgust. I caught Val’s eye, and she drew her weapon as I said, “Valerie, she’s all yours.”

“No!” Julia screamed. “The earpieces were recalibrated, but yes, the listening device thing was a lie. Yes, Moore is my boyfriend, and yes, I was supposed to waste your time and keep an eye on you, and make sure you were all busy till midnight, but that’s it, that’s all I was asked to do.”

Wakefield grabbed Julia’s hands and restrained her. As Valerie patted her down, I noticed Zach had already started working the computer Julia was using.

“Nothing on the computer communicating with Moore,” Zach announced.

“Two cellphones on her person. Could one of these be used to contact Moore?” Valerie asked as she handed them to Zach for inspection.

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll let you know,” he said.

“Where is she?” Valerie asked. “Where’s my daughter?”

Julia’s hand shot up from her side to grasp her pendant, but Valerie caught her by the wrist and said, “No, not this time,” and jerked the chain from around Julia’s neck. She handed it to Zach, saying, “She plays with this too much. Check it for me, will you?”

Zach stopped what he was doing with the phone and took the necklace from Valerie. I watched as Valerie kept a close eye on Julia. Julia attempted to level her stare back at Valerie. She was about to make mistake number three; she was about to challenge my wife. Julia’s blonde locks hooded her eyes, but I was sure she was staring at Val. Wakefield wire-tied Julia’s wrists together behind her back. There would be no more freedom for Julia now, and Zach didn’t have the necklace long before he made a discovery.

“Bingo,” he said. “Micro recorder and transmitter inside the pendant. Touching it activates the device. The transmitter is just a basic cell phone connection. Looks like it sent bursts of recorded data to a cellphone number every time she touched it. It’s safe to assume he knows everything we know.”

“So we’re blown?” Ryan asked.

A new voice entered my ear now, “Franks, here. If the listening devices aren’t present, can I shut this down? Catherine and Reuben have been arguing for the past fifteen minutes, and it’s getting worse. Franks out.”

Wakefield said, “Yeah; shut it down, Franks, but tell them to remain inside for their safety.”

“Well, are we blown?” Ryan repeated.

“Maybe, I don’t know yet,” Wakefield said. “Zach, is there any way for us to know what information Moore’s been sent?”

“No, but I may be able to find out what’s stored on the device awaiting transmission. That might help us. Give me a minute, here. I need to disable the device’s transmission capability. There…got it. Now I can read the file. Let me plug this in here, and that should dump the file onto the memory stick.”

Wakefield interrupted by saying, “Zach, we don’t need a play-by-play.”

I could see the kid laughing to himself as he worked the keyboard. Valerie was locked in a stare-down with Julia. That situation was going to end badly for Julia; she just didn’t know it yet. Zach turned away from his computer and smiled.

“Okay, we are in the clear. The pendant has Ryan’s conversation with Leecy queued up and ready to send. Looks like we caught it just in time, or Moore would’ve known we were on to him. This thing is really cool. The transmissions from the pendant are very small. Each transmission is about a hundred and twenty characters of dialogue. The transmissions are about the size of a text message, but plays back on Moore’s end as audio. The mechanism takes the recorded audio and breaks it into bite-sized, manageable pieces before sending. Every time she touched the pendant she activated the transmission. No wonder Julia was constantly messing with this thing. But lucky for us, Moore hasn’t heard anything that can compromise us. No, we are good to go,” Zach said with complete confidence before asking, “What do you want me to do with the thing?”

“That’s a good question. I think we should use it to our advantage, but that all depends on Julia,” Wakefield said.

As if hearing her name for the first time, Julia snapped her head toward Wakefield and said, “What are you talking about? I’m not helping you, and I’ve got nothing to say.”

“Zach, I want that device from Julia’s necklace up and running and ready to be used ASAP. I want to know the origin of that camera view and where it’s sending its video. I want to know how we can use that video to our advantage. I want to know where Moore and his crew are, and I want you to be as certain as if your life depends on it, and I want to know all of that…” she paused and looked at her watch. “It’s ten o’clock now. I want to know all of that in ten minutes.”

Wakefield waved the rest of the group toward the doors of INESCO, and we followed. Valerie walked with one hand firmly grasping Julia’s arm and the other on the butt of her gun. I brought up the rear behind Franks, Ryan, and Hodges. Zach was left standing at the rear of the SUV, working on Wakefield’s to do list. I didn’t know what Wakefield had planned, and I was reaching the end of my patience with all the high tech stuff, but I didn’t really have a choice; I had to be patient. We moved through the offices of INESCO until we found the kitchen and Franks. He was telling the family the hoax was over.

Wakefield said, “Not so fast. I think we might be able to use them and this equipment to help us after all. Simons, take a break, but don’t leave the building. I’m going to need you, so don’t go too far.”