Fatal Transaction (Thriller & Suspense, Cyber Crime) (11 page)

Chapter 24

“W
ho are you?” Sara’s voice was frail, weak.

“Natalie. I’m a physician’s assistant and Derry’s friend.” She placed the washcloth back into a small bowl of warm water. “But what you really need is a doctor.”

“No, no doctors, no hospitals.” Sara tried to sit up.

Natalie placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “It’s okay. I’m not going to call a doctor or anyone else. I’ll do the best I can to help you, and pray it’s enough. Here, can you sit up a little?”

With Natalie’s assistance, Sara made it to a sitting position.

“Okay, hold it right there.” Natalie gently let go.

Sara wobbled a little but stayed upright.

Grabbing an ace-bandage, Natalie wrapped it tightly around Sara’s ribs. “I think you have a fractured rib, maybe two.”

“No kidding.” Sara’s voice was thin, sarcastic.

Natalie carefully lowered Sara back down. “Derry told me a little of what happened. Why’d those men beat you?”

“Who’s Derry?”

“The man who brought you here. This is his house.” Pulling the sheet back, Natalie examined Sara’s legs.

“I think you may also have a fracture or two down here. Did they beat you with a bat?” Taking out a tuning fork, Natalie tapped it on the nightstand then placed the handle end on Sara’s tibia. Sara jerked a little. “Is it painful along the bone anywhere?”

“No, it just felt weird.” Sara watched Natalie closely.

Doing the same thing to the other leg, Natalie got the same results. “No breaks, that’s good, but your legs are a mess.”

Using the washcloth, Natalie cleaned each leg, removing blood and dirt. Sara twitched several times.

“I’m sorry, but it hurts where you’re rubbing.”

Natalie rinsed the cloth. “I’ll be more careful. Want to tell me who beat you?”

Sara’s eyes shifted to the door. “Why are you helping me?”

Natalie gave a weak smile. “Because you need help.” She was experienced with this type of response. Women or children who had been beaten by family members or close friends avoided questions about who did it. They changed the subject, looked away, or acted like they didn’t hear the question—anything to avoid answering it.

As Natalie rubbed the warm cloth gently over Sara’s legs, Sara’s eyes closed.

“Sara, you still with us?”

She opened her eyes part way. “Uh-huh.”

“I think you may also have a mild concussion. Can you turn your head this way?”

“Where’s that guy? Derry?” Her eyes were only half open.

“He’s in the other room.” Natalie placed the washcloth in the bowl again. The water was dirty and needed to be changed. “Would you like to see him?”

“Sure, I guess—”

***

Checking the time on her computer, Kai figured Levy would be there any minute. Every noise caused her to glance into the hall. The battery of tests he’d ordered were running on Sara’s computer, coming up with the results she expected. Everything passed.

Why all the testing? And where was Sara? Why was Levy looking for her? What could have happened to her? A car accident? Why not search for her by name?

Sara
ran
.

The thought brought a thrill of joy that quickly passed. That must be the reason for the search. Sara ran and was now hurt. The pursuit for her evoked a mixture of emotions. Kai wanted to learn if she was okay, but didn’t really want Levy to find her.

Kai heard Mike’s voice in the hall. The moment she dreaded was here. She had worked for hours, and had nothing to show for it.

“Where is she?” Levy demanded as he entered the room.

“I don’t know yet. Searching the hospitals takes time. Each one has its own form of security, with several firewalls set up to stop anyone from hacking into their systems. It would be much faster to make phone calls.”

“Absolutely not. If the police get involved with this, I can’t have calls traced back to me. I want you into those systems tonight. No excuses.”

“Yes, sir.” She needed to give him something positive. “I also started those tests you asked for.” Kai rotated part way around, and nodded toward Sara’s computer.

“What tests?”

“On the credit card program. Checking to see—”

Levy raised his hand, striking Kai across the mouth. “You’ve wasted my time on that.” Leaning in, he grabbed her long black
hair, and yanked her head close to his face. “The only thing you work on is finding Sara. Is that clear?”

Gripping the arms of the chair, Kai clenched her teeth and nodded.

Levy released her with a shove, then turned toward Mike. “Get in touch with our contacts on the Denver Police Force. Find out if they’ve got anything. Check with Boulder and Longmont, too. If that comes up empty, hit the smaller towns in the area. I need her found tonight.”

“Right away.” Mike gave Kai a sympathetic glance as he turned to leave.

Levy’s wrath returned to Kai. “You stay here until you’ve hacked into every hospital from Denver to Boulder.”

***

Derry stepped into the room as Natalie stepped out, carrying the dirty water. Sara’s face appeared worse than it had two hours ago, but she was awake. That was a plus.

He moved closer to the bed.

“Thank you, restaurant boy.” Her speech was slightly muffled, her face covered with cuts, her lips swollen.

“You remember me?”

“Sure. You sat across from me every night for almost two weeks. How could I not notice?”

She must think I some sort of weirdo
. “I didn’t—”

“—like the food. Who could?”

“I never had Greek food before. It was a new experience.”

“You still haven’t had Greek food.” Her gaze shifted past his face, searching for something. For what? Safety? Trust? Derry
peered back into her brown eyes, hoping to convey whatever she was looking for.

“Well, I was only there for a few meals. I was working on an account in the same building, and the food was convenient and cheap.”

“But not good.” She tried to smile. “Ouch.”

“How are you feeling?” Dumb question, but he needed to change the subject.

“Dead.” Her voice weakened. Her eyes closed. “Thanks for saving me. Sorry I can’t—”

The conversation was over.

Chapter 25

T
apping on the door, Derry waited for a response. He’d gone to work today, but took the afternoon off to check on Sara.

“Yes?” Her voice sounded much stronger today.

He gave the door a slight nudge as he moved into the master bedroom. “How are you feeling today?”

He carried a bowl of soup in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. It was past noon on Monday, and Sara hadn’t eaten since Saturday afternoon.

“Sore all over.” Sara worked to sit up. After a moan and a few “ouches,” she stopped trying.

“Here, let me help.” Derry set the food on his nightstand then leaned down to assist. Sliding both hands behind her, he gently lifted her back and shoulders to a more vertical position. She whined a little. Holding her in place with one hand, he grabbed some extra pillows and placed them behind her. His heart raced at her closeness.

“There. That should work.” He stood up and smiled down at her.

“I take it—you think you’re my knight—in shining armor?” She was out of breath. “How long have I been out of it?”

“A couple of days. It’s Monday.”

“Monday? I need to get out of here.” Somewhere she found the energy to throw off the sheets. She quickly pulled the sheets back up. “Where are my clothes?”

“In the laundry. But you’re in no condition to leave.” He leaned in, ready to help her if she needed it.

“What are you going to do? Hold me here against my will?” Sara looked desperate. “I need my clothes.”

“Sure.” Derry left the room. Minutes later, he returned with her clothes in hand. “I ran them through the washer twice, but some of the blood won’t come out.”

Sara’s head was against the pillows. “Just set them on the bed, and give me some privacy.”

He placed the clothes next to her, and stepped out of the room. Standing just outside the door, he wanted to be ready in case she needed help.

“Ouch, that hurts!”

Derry wanted to rush in, but elected to wait.

“Ouch. Oh.” Her complaints were getting weaker.

He continued to wait. No more sounds came from the room. After a couple more minutes, he tapped on the door. “You okay in there?”

“No.”

“Need some help?”

“Only if you can fix me. I think I’m broken.”

“Can I come in?”

“Why not? I’m not going anywhere.” She sounded defeated.

Derry stepped back into the room. Seeing one leg hanging out of bed and her clothes lying on the floor, he went for the clothes. Picking them up, he set them the other side of the bed.

“Need some help?” He nodded to the dangling leg.

“It hurts when I move it.”

Her eyes were moist. Derry bent over and carefully placed her leg under the sheets. Her skin was soft.

“I guess you’ll be holding me hostage a while longer.” She was breathing hard.

“I’m only trying to help.”

She eyed him. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Hungry?”

“Yeah, some.”

She looked helpless, fragile.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

Sara nodded toward the nightstand. “Can you hand it to me?”

Derry didn’t realize he was gawking at her.

“Sorry.” He reached for the bowl. “Need some more painkillers, too?”

“Absolutely. Got anything to numb the whole body?” She received the bowl and looked at its contents. “What
is
this?”

“Canned vegetable soup. Natalie said to start you off on something easy. It’s all I had.”

“
Canned?
I see you’re going all out.”

Her comment hurt. “I can get you something else, if you don’t want that.”

She shifted her attention to him and smiled. “It’ll be fine, thanks.”

Derry walked over to the dresser on the other side of the bed. Retrieving a bottle, he dumped out two pills. Returning, he handed them to Sara.

“Just two? Can’t I have more?” She gave him the smile again.

“Don’t want to turn you into a druggie.”

“How do you know I’m not already?”

He didn’t.

“Don’t worry, I’m not.” She carefully placed the two pills into her mouth.

He handed her the glass of water.

After setting the water back down, Derry took a seat in the chair while Sara ate.

Her conversation was very guarded. Every time it started to get personal, she changed the subject. She didn’t trust him. Why should she?

***

Sara handed the half finished bowl of soup to Derry. “You wouldn’t happen to have a laptop I could use, would you?” She was very tired but needed to check her email. Two full days wasted.

“Yes, but are you sure you feel up to it?” He got up and headed for the door. “Need the Internet?”

“Of course.” Sara slid down a little in bed. Her head was pounding. The painkillers were beginning to make her drowsy.

Derry returned in a few minutes, setting the computer on the bed next to her. She opened it, and pressed the power button. “Password?”

“Don’t have one. I’m the only one who ever uses it.”

“No password? What about on your router?”

“It came with one.”

Was this guy for real? No
passwords
. No
security
. She knew people like this were out there, but Derry seemed like a smart guy. Not the type to leave his system wide open for anyone to hack into.

“Sure hope you don’t have anything important on here?”

“I just use it for emails and banking stuff. You know, to pay bills.”

Sara dropped her hand on the keyboard. She slowly turned her head toward him. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Something wrong with the way I do things?”

“
Absolutely.
Okay, before I do anything else, I’m putting a password on your computer. And a new one on your router.”

“What if I forget them?”

“I’ll write them down. Just don’t keep them on your computer. Okay?”

“Sure.”

Sara gave Derry’s computer one level of security. Not much, but more than he had before. Within minutes, he left the room. Good.

First things first, my email.

She logged in.

Something’s wrong. It’s empty. Two days ago, I had hundreds of messages.

Levy!

My passport email was in here. Was my PO box with it?

***

Over the last two days, Kai learned to hate her job, and her feelings for Mike weren’t far behind.

Levy paced behind her, just as he’d done every few hours for the past two days.

“Have you tapped into her bank account?”

“I’m close. I’ll be in within the next few minutes.” The sweat and grime clung to her face and body. She couldn’t decide which was worse: the lack of sleep and no showers for the last two days, or the work Levy had thrust upon her. The project worked, so why was he so upset about Sara leaving?

“Hurry it up. We need to get there before she has time to move it.”

“I’m going as fast as I can.” Her tone reflected more hatred than she meant to show. She waited for another hit from Levy. A regular occurrence during the past forty-eight hours.

None came.

Mike entered the room.

“What have you got for me?” Levy’s irritation was now directed toward Mike.

Kai had forwarded all of Sara’s emails to him for review.

“She ordered a passport. It came in last week.”

“What name did she use?”

“It wasn’t in the emails.”

“Anything else?” Levy’s rage increased.

“A couple of weeks ago, she was sending very strongly worded emails to a Betty. No last name, but I have her email address.”

“And what were the emails about?” The rage increased.

“The ones left in her inbox didn’t say anything usable other than setting up a meeting at a restaurant. But I could tell there were other emails that had been deleted.”

Levy turned to Kai. “Where are her deleted emails?”

“There were none. She kept her trash directories empty.”

Back to Mike. “See what you can learn about this Betty. What about Sara’s apartment?”

“Jarred found her phone on the counter, and a destroyed hard drive behind her refrigerator.”

Kai looked over her shoulder. Mike was holding a cardboard box.

Levy glared down at Kai. “Find out what’s on the disk.”

Great. More work
.

Mike set the box next to her monitor.

Levy resumed pacing around the room.

Kai glanced up. “I’m in.”

“What?”

“I’m in her bank account.”

“It’s about time. How much does she have?”

“A little over two thousand.”

“Move it all into one of my accounts.” Levy stopped pacing. The tension in the room dropped a notch. “Let’s see how far she can run without any money? Next put a trace on her credit cards.”

The transfer only took a few moments.

“Now, add a program to her bank account that will notify us when she checks it.”

“Can’t be done. Bank security is way too high. If I try, it will make a path straight to us. I already put a trace on her email account. We’ll know when she checks her email.”

Levy slowed his pacing. “Hospitals—what’s the status?”

“I’ve tapped into all the major ones, and have two hits that could match Sara. I’m running cross-checks on them against addresses and DMV records to see if they match the given names.”

Levy moved toward the door. Was he about to leave?

“Our contacts in the various police departments—anything popping up?”

Mike shuffled his feet. “Nothing yet. No word on Sara or anyone matching her description. Also no reports about credit card scams, and nothing about Jasper’s.”

“That’s at least some good news. Add in the rest of the credit cards. Let’s go to full production in Denver.”

“Consider it done.”

“What about New York?”

“I need to get Ben and Jarred back out there. Once they’re in place, with Kai’s help, it should only take a few days to get everything up and running.”

“Find someone else. I need Kai here. What are Jarred and Ben doing now?” Levy’s irritation was showing its ugly head again.

“Ben’s taking Jarred to pick up your car.”

“As soon as they get back, send them to New York. Until we have something on Sara, they’re just costing me money. They need to start making up for my loss.”

“Sure thing.” Mike headed toward the steps. Levy didn’t follow.

Disappointment
.

“Can you tap into the Denver Police Department computer system and put out a warrant on Sara? Just for questioning?”

His requests were too risky. They were all going to end up in jail if this obsession continued.

“I could try, but if I don’t pull it off just right, it could backfire. They could trace the tap back to us.”

“You mean to you.” Levy glared down at her.

“No, I mean, your offices, this location, here.”

“Hmm.” More of his obsessive pacing. Kai was extremely tired, and he was doing everything he could to bug her.

“If I don’t have Sara within seventy-two hours, you’ll have to find a way around that problem.”