JUSTICE REBORN (A Charlie Taylor Novel Book 1) (15 page)

Both Emma and Kate were quiet, concern
growing the longer Joe talked. This was one of the rare times Kate heard Emma
swearing, but now she mumbled, quietly and softly, swearing a steady stream.

“Repetition of an event was obviously not
acceptable.  Max worked with the IT group, working as project leader, writing a
significant part of their code. They designed a program which analyzed each
scan and compared the results to previous scans. They came up with an algorithm
to assess each pixel in a memory stream. The objective was to develop a
numerical value for each display. This depended on the detailed analysis of
each pixel. To simplify: they added up all the pixel values for a numerical
total of the memory pocket or read out. This was called a D Value.

If any scan came up with the same D Value,
it was not shown on the screen. That is, it was deemed a duplicate readout due
to either to the unsteady hand of the operator or limitations of the probe
apparatus. These D values didn’t exactly match. They rarely had exactly the
same numeric value. We had an acceptable range, and if they fell within the
range, this was deemed satisfactory; they were considered duplicates and
filtered out of the feedback.”

 “You developed a software filter which
blocked all duplicates as you worked your way through a brain scan?’

“Yes Kate, and once we had the filter in
place, the results were amazing, and of course, we could complete under the
45-minute limit. And, it’s my understanding numerous versions of this software
have been developed; the research funding has allowed summer students to
develop and modify more rigorous versions to allow for in-depth analysis of
memory streams.”

“Yes, we know about the student software
and will be using it today. But, back to the comparisons. You said the
comparisons were not necessarily perfect. Can I assume just because two events
were within the same D Value range this didn’t automatically prove they were
identical?”

“That was my contention, but Dr. Max
overrode all the opposition. He said it was good enough. He fell back on
FAPP……you know the John Bell abbreviation meaning: for all practical purposes.

Max stated that the differences we were
concerned about were not material to the results. The sequence of actions and
the players in the events were the same; the different hues, black and white
images, the shading, and superimposed images were insignificant. Of course, I
pushed too hard and was forced to take an early retirement.”

“Joe to your knowledge did anyone do a
manual frame by frame review of all the duplicates to ensure Dr. Max was
correct?”

“I’m not sure. Certainly we reviewed a lot
but I left before they finished comparisons on many of the streams. Did anyone
compare every duplicate scan? I don’t know. Dr. Max assured everyone he had
conducted a complete review, and no one was left to challenge him. Besides the
results were so fantastic, and as time went by, I think, this was all
forgotten; as well, any press releases were controlled by Max.

And remember, at that time it wasn’t to be
used to execute people, no one was that prescient. FAPP was not an unreasonable
approach.”

Emma was afraid she would become physically
ill, and she could see Kate’s face was drained of all color.  “Joe, if the
duplicate issue was taken care of years ago, why did start showing up the
minute we worked on death row convicts?”

“I’ve been thinking about this ever since I
listened to your morning message. I called some former colleagues, to
understand what’s changed; they are suspicious, which means you better solve it
fast because too many people know about White Rock. Anyway, this is what I
know.

 A few days before you began the Prison
Reform project a major revision became operational, modified equipment and
software. A new model scanner was used for the first time; here the probe is
housed in the helmet device, out of the direct control by the operator.
Although the operator still controls the direction of the move, the physical
movement is under computer control hence there is no danger of slippage back to
a previous location. The prisoner’s head is shaved and the helmet is fitted for
best transmission.”

“Doesn’t this improve the process?”

“Yes, it does. But the designers made one
assumption. Because no slippage could occur they assumed they would not have to
deal with duplicates and didn’t bother trying to include the filtering program
into the helmet design, basically the software was discarded.

Now, for the first time it’s obvious the
multiple versions are not due to operator error or equipment limits because the
probe is not slipping back to a previous location. Multiple copies of memory
stream do exist. Now confirmed. No doubts. Listen I’m sorry.

This is as far as I go and will not be
available to testify or whatever else may be required; the financial penalties
are too severe. I’ve been through enough with Dr. Max and his crew. No more
phone calls, the rest is up to you. Kate, you have a helluva problem on your
hands; I don’t have any suggestions but do recommend you keep Dr. Max out of
this as long as you can. I just don’t trust him to come up with a solution
which doesn’t first serve his reputation.”

      They continued with some minor
chatter, which was a little ridiculous given what they had just heard, then all
signed off. Two apprehensive women filled their coffee cups and started pacing
the room, neither speaking, the only sound the scuffling of their footwear.
They walked around the entire large sterile room. Up and down the room, round
the tables and chairs, a short pause to look out a window and then back to the
rambling. Emma started.

“Kate, I think I can solve the problem of
the duplicates appearing during the scanning. I need some time to test my
solution with our current equipment and a little help from IT.

 The more critical question is: what is in
those multiple memory streams? Are they true duplicates? Can you work with IT
team and get that question answered today? Did Dr. Max review ever incident of
the duplicates they encountered? Did he go beyond FAPP?  Joe certainly is
doubtful.”

Kate was shaken by the aggressive nature of
Emma’s outburst. “Yes, I am prepared to work with IT, for as long it takes. 
And we will have answers by the end of the day, but tell me how are you going
to keep the new scanner from delivering the duplicates?”

When Emma told her, Kate laughed for the
first time in a couple of days. “Sure it might work. No, I’ll go further. It
will work. It normally is the most obvious solution which is the answer.

And Emma, for a change of pace. I have one
for you. Are you ready for this?

 Charlie Taylor is on the list to be the
one and only Watcher for one of the convicts, the last one in the queue on
death row at Fort Green. What do you think about this appointment? To me, it’s
almost as mysterious as the Chief Duncan promoting him to head up Homicide.”

Emma thought about Charlie as a Watcher: it
didn’t make sense. Was he ordered to attend? She struggled to forget him but
reluctantly admitted there were times when she smiled about the incident at the
dance, funny in a weird sort of way.

 Charlie was tall, an olive complexion,
average looking guy, almost handsome with a rugged appearance and an athletic
build. She heard he worked both sides of the street, hard drinking played off
with intense workouts. She knew his family history and his reputation, fast
mouth, hard-nosed, excellent detective, fearless. He upset her.  She grudgingly
acknowledged, to herself, when she saw him, there was a visceral reaction but
knew she would always keep her distance. She was not getting close to a man
many in the Sector labeled a reckless maverick.

 “This doesn’t make sense. If this convict
thinks Charlie is going to help, he must be desperate.  I’ll keep a close eye
on that scan. I don’t know what’s going on, but my guess is: Charlie will try
to pull something.”

The Historian’s original conclusion
triggered the argument.

Terry refused to believe that one or both
of the Five Star Couple was a cop. Charlie allowed the loud debate to continue,
hoping the emotion would eventually drain and logic return. Could John convince
the group? John Wojecki developed a reputation for being calm under pressure,
his role as Historian for the S3 memory scan demanded that temperament. As one
of the smartest people in the Sector, the Historian often searched for atypical
activity to keep himself amused. When Terry stopped his rant, John started in a
soft voice, very confident.

 “Let’s go over some of the clues: first,
one of these individuals or both has extensive practical knowledge about
forensics, high-class call girls, and police procedures. It is extremely
unlikely even a gifted academic could acquire this information and the
associated practical knowledge by merely researching the subject areas.

Second, some of the forensic tools are so
new only a restricted number of technicians are trained and able to use the
innovations; then I say it had to be someone who saw these tools and sprays
being used and knew how to apply them and the business…”

Terry interrupted. “OK…OK…..I’ve changed my
mind; someone definitely had street experience. The way they dealt with the
call girl agencies means either a frequent user or someone who knew the
business, but for an active cop or a recent resignation, the risk of exposure
is too great. Vice cops are known around most hotels. Shit, even the escort
staff might recognize them. The street people certainly know most vice- cops,
and we have to assume it is not a rookie.”

Manuel stood up and looked at Charlie.
“It’s a fucking Hybrid……….a fucking Hybrid.”

“And John before you ask: for a few years
Investigative Divisions created and experimented with a unique deployment of
staff. A specialized unit worked with Forensics in gathering evidence at a
crime scene; Forensic still supervised and managed the scene, but the assigned
police personnel did a lot of the grunt work.

Because these guys work both the street and
Forensics, they acquired the Hybrid tag. The experiment didn’t pan out, and
people were absorbed back onto the force. But with this type of exposure an
intelligent individual could absorb the science and the technique.”

The room fell silent again as everyone
absorbed and accepted the conclusion. Even Charlie’s tablet remained silent,
and the electronic board only carried his list of words from the initial
session. Wes walked to the window and stared at the river; Charlie took the
time to grab a donut and coffee, and Karen kept on doodling, then broke the
silence.

“There were two west coast cities who
experimented with those forensic tools….......numerous months before our city,
in fact well ahead of any city. If someone from one of those cities is a member
of the Five Star Couple, it would explain why they were not worried about being
identified by street people or hotel staff.”

Charlie interrupted. He wanted to move.
From experience, he found fresh ideas often came when a new direction was
started. “Let’s go with that …..assume we are on the right track. What the hell
is motivating the pair of them?”

   “Christ Charlie, you don’t have to go
that deep on these two. There is no logic; both are fucking crazy. In the old
world a defense lawyer’s dream for instant notoriety, temporary insanity, just
a couple of mixed up kids, take your choice,”

John didn’t miss a beat. “Let’s assume one
or both are crazy or borderline wouldn’t something show up on their records?
Like the excessive use of force? Or the unjustified use of a weapon? These are
people who enjoy violence. If they were on a police force, I don’t see how they
could have resisted using violence on some of their arrests or on an encounter
in the street. There had to be cases where a criminal would be an easy victim.”

Charlie intervened. “I agree these
tendencies would be hard to hide. Let me try this on you: suppose an incident
happened which forced a resignation. Now our aggressors are really pissed and
ready to step it up. The small taste of violence they’ve had up to this point
just became a start, the appetizer.”

Karen jumped in. “We can search records.
But if an incident or a blow up occurred, there’s a good chance it may have
been hidden or worded with so much double talk you would never recognize it as
a forced resignation. Otherwise, that department is announcing they are
responsible for turning them loose, and the incident would have received prompt
media attention. Hence, the official record could show up as a mere resignation
to pursue avenues of greater interest and not a firing for cause or a forced
resignation.”

Charlie’s instincts convinced him they’d
broken through and he summarized.

“This is good. Next step, each of you has
to think about any contacts you have in those two cities, of course, a Human
Resources connection would be ideal. It may appear to be a strange way to
start, but I share Karen’s concerns that an official reply to a formal request
may be sanitized.

I’d like to try the back door
first........unofficial……station gossip which tells the tale about someone who
enjoyed the heavy hitting too much…..was frustrated by rules and was gently
pushed out the door. We look for off the record sentiment that points to
someone who was too much, even for the hard-nosed types.

 I suggest we keep the search parameters
broad and loose.  We focus on a man or woman who was employed as a Hybrid. The
individual was fired or resigned in the last 12 to 24 months..... hands-on
experience with the new forensic tools...... has moved out of that city, and
possibly, had some street time with Vice. And if all this doesn’t work, I’ll
approach the Chief and we’ll proceed with an official request and get pressure
from the top.

Any questions? No. Good. Please get on the
phones but be careful; if our target department wants to cover its ass, staff
may have been threatened to keep quiet and will be wary of any requests. If
word reaches the top, they may freeze us out.

Wes, I want you to coordinate this search.
In the meantime, I’ll bring the Chief up to speed. When we catch this couple,
we’ll see how good our logic was.

On your way out, help yourself to any of
the left-over donuts or muffins…..and…John… Karen…thanks for the help.”

A successful end to a difficult
brainstorming pleased the entire group, a sense of fulfillment, satisfied with
a tough session. Although they were close, in the end, there would be another
surprise waiting for them. As with science, logic was not always foolproof.

                                             
# # #

It was late Saturday night.

 Stella asleep, Stephen in his study. The
house was silent, all dark except for the small lamp which shone onto his
monitor.  Before he settled into his study, he’d taken the time to mix an
extra-large Irish coffee, one of his favorite drinks.

For the last time, he read the query from
Regional:  two questions demanded an official response: first, since White Rock
had completed death row clearance, why wasn’t he fully staffed at Fort Green?
Second, was he aware of the rumors circulating about flaws with the S3
interrogation?

Stephen knew his delay option had run its
course. His original plan assumed Kate would have resolved all the issues.
Should he be open about the dilemma and try to explain why he had not been
frank at the beginning?

He felt the Irish whiskey warm his empty
stomach, soothing and relaxing, maybe too relaxing. Stephen pushed the ‘send’
button and Regional headquarters received their reply. Years later he still
could not understand why he did it, a brash move for a conservative man.

His response, although rather academic and
ponderous, matched the style Regional preferred.  But his summary was short and
to the point: the delay existed because Forensic, after the observations at
White Rock, wished to develop some procedural adjustments to S3 interrogations
which should enhance the efficacy of the process. Last, the underlying science
for S3 remained sound; rumors were to be expected with all the changes which
were taking place.

His position now official and hard wired.
If S3 proved defective, he would probably be asked to submit his resignation.

 His original rationale had been to buy
time, and he decided not to change course. If he allowed the doubts about S3 to
surface, Dr. Kate would be swamped with questions, other experts and
specialists contending for attention. Dr. Max would demand control, something
which would only multiply the complications. His confidence in Dr. Kate
remained high; if she had time and no media circus, she could solve the
problem. He had to buy her time.

If the S3 Interrogation proved to be
fundamentally flawed, at least she would not have to pay the penalty. But, he
couldn’t give her more than a few more days, and then he would travel to
Regional and make his explanations in person.