She's an Easy Target, page 22
part #2 of Quinton Target Series
“Do I have a choice?” she said with annoyance.
“I’ll be careful,” he said.
Blaire looked up and to her right at the intersection of two walls and the ceiling. A camera and recorder were mounted there. It would capture Blaire’s eye movements, voice, gestures, and posture and feed them to the polygraph system. Also, the camera was attached to the local area network to provide live streaming to any user who had the proper security access. Blaire expected that Lucas Taylor was either sitting on the other side of the two-way mirror or watching the examination on his laptop from his office.
Cayden put the blood pressure cuff on her left arm. Next, he attached the galvanometer to two of her fingers to measure perspiration. Finally came the tricky part. Blaire had deliberately worn a thin, comfortable top with a sports bra beneath it in order to make sure that the sensor made solid contact to give accurate readings. Two rubber tubes filled with air, were attached to her body to monitor her respiration. The first one was placed around her belly. She cringed when his hand touched her while he wrapped it around her and straightened it. He slid the second tube beneath her breasts. She felt violated when his finger briefly touched the side of her breast. He paused momentarily when he did it, making her aware that he’d known he’d done it. She couldn’t tell for sure whether it was accidentally or on purpose.
When he was done attaching the sensors, he sat in a chair that was placed in front of the computer, facing Blaire but offset to her right to ensure there wouldn’t be eye contact with him while he was questioning her.
“Let’s begin,” he said.
Chapter 46
The first thing Quinton did after arriving at the FBI office was to call Lieutenant Mad.
She answered on the first ring. Poor reception was causing occasional crackling in the background.
“I was hoping you’d call,” she said. “How’s Dr. Bit?”
“I talked with him last night at the hospital and he’s doing well but he’s going to be there for a few days.”
“And, Chloe?”
“She’s still in a coma. The prognosis isn’t good.”
“I bet Dr. Bit’s beside himself with worry. He’s got it bad for her.”
“Did you move out of his house?”
“Yes, I’m back underground until the coast is clear.”
QT interpreted her comment to mean she’d temporarily moved back to the room beneath the Jefferson Theatre where she’d lived prior to moving into Dr. Bit’s room over his garage. “Understood,” he said.
“Did the police get a warrant to search Dr. Bit’s home?”
“Dr. Bit cooperated with the police through me, so there’s no reason for them to get a warrant at present. I’d still lay low for a while, if I were you. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to return to your room over the garage.”
“Did Dr. Bit say who shot him?”
“He said Chloe’s boss at the SSA did it. He has no idea why. The police are going to put out an APB, if they haven’t already.”
“What’s his name?”
“Either Mike or Lawrence Carpenter. Have you ever heard of him?”
“No, but I’ll have L. Ron and Rasputin check to see if they can find out about him.”
“That would be helpful. Stephanie and I are checking our information sources.”
“Before he went to Chloe’s last night, Dr. Bit investigated the offshore bank account you asked me to check out,” the lieutenant said.
“Yes, he told me about it at the hospital. He said L. Ron could do the money trace for me, if the FBI decides to proceed with the ransom transfer.”
“L. Ron is familiarizing himself with the bank software and the account as we speak. I’ll transfer you to him right now if you’d like to talk with him. He’s at Dr. Bit’s.”
“That would be great.”
“I don’t have very good reception where I am, so I’m going to drop off the line after I transfer you.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant.”
The phone crackled and clicked. After a few seconds pause, a voice came on the line. “L. Ron here. Are you there, Agent Target?” he said.
Although they’d never met, Quinton felt like he already knew L. Ron. The lieutenant had told him about L. Ron Chen’s Asian heritage, early childhood roots in the Scientology Church, and his fascination with extraterrestrials.
“Please call me QT. All my friends do.”
“Your nickname reminds me of E.T.,” he said. “What can I do for you, QT?”
“Have you looked at the offshore bank account?” he said.
“Yes, I have it pulled up right now.”
“Oh, good. What do you suggest we do to track down the real owner of the account?”
“I’ve identified some holes in the on-line software used by the particular bank of interest. I believe I can exploit those deficiencies to allow us to locate the kidnapper before he gets away with the money.”
“Explain to me how you’d do that.”
“You deposit the ransom money into the account that’s already registered under the corporation called, Blaire Saunders Enterprises, Inc. I will add the real Blaire Saunders as a signatory for the account with the same authorities as the original signatory, which is a fake name.”
“Why make Blaire the signatory? Why not add your name to the account?”
“Because I prefer to remain anonymous. I’m masking my IP address so my location can’t be traced but that won’t do any good if I list my real name as one of the account holders. Besides, it isn’t likely to raise a red flag with the bank if a person named Blaire Saunders is added to an account that has that name imbedded in the corporation name.”
“Won’t you need Blaire to send you her personal information to add her as a signatory?”
“I’ll get whatever I need from the NSA employee database.”
“I won’t ask how you plan to access a secure government intelligence agency database.”
Ignoring QT’s comment, he said, “With Blaire as a signatory, I can use her login at any time to transfer the money to a new account which I’ve set up.”
“Dr. Bit said that we’d have to wait until the kidnapper attempts to access the account before we can locate him through the GPS on whatever device he uses to sign on.”
“That’s correct.”
“What if there’s more than one person involved and one of them shows up at the bank in the Caribbean?”
“I’ve added a feature to the on-line banking software to alert me if anyone attempts to access the account, including a teller at the bank.”
“Could you transfer the money using Blaire’s access before the teller released the money to the person who shows up at the bank?”
“It would be a race between the teller and me. Whoever got their transaction processed first would win.”
“How long after money is deposited is it available to the account holder?”
“For a couple of million to clear will take at least 24 hours. But it will show up in the account as pending almost immediately after you transfer it.”
“I suspect the kidnapper will access the account as soon as we inform him the transfer is made. Even if it isn’t immediately available to him, he’ll want to see that the deposit is pending,” QT said.
“If I were getting a couple of mil, I’d be checking the balance every few minutes.”
“How long will it take you to track his GPS location once he signs on?”
“If it goes well, a matter of seconds. But if they’re tech savvy, they might have cloaking that will make it more difficult for me to find their location.”
“What are our options if that happens?”
“They get away if I can’t bypass the cloaking and locate them.”
“After the deposit clears, as long as we access the account first, we can still transfer the money out before they get it, right?”
“That’s right.”
“The FBI has until 5 p.m. tonight to decide whether to transfer the money. Are you available all day in case we need you?”
“I can’t think of anything more important that I have to do today. Unless an unexpected alien invasion occurs. That would take priority.”
“An alien invasion?” QT said with consternation in his voice.
L. Ron laughed. “Relax, QT. It’s a joke. I figured the lieutenant told you about my interest in extraterrestrials.”
“You got me,” he said with relief.
“Of course, you never know when a UFO is going to show up unannounced,” he said and paused before laughing again.
“I can understand that a total planetary invasion would take precedent,” QT said, playing along. “But, can we agree that a stray cadre of aliens could be ignored to focus on tracking down a kidnapper and murderer.”
“I can agree with that,” L. Ron said, half-serious.
“Great. I’ll contact you when the FBI is ready.”
“I’ll be waiting for your instructions,” he said and hung up.
Chapter 47
Although he wasn’t a big fan of using investigation boards for small uncomplex cases with a single investigator, Quinton felt the need to view a snapshot of the victims and suspects to see if any previously unidentified connections would pop out. He went into the small room configured for this purpose and turned on the light.
He picked up the marker, wrote on pieces of paper that had sticky backs, and posted them on the whiteboard. On the left side of the board, he posted the victims and the crimes perpetrated against them, such as, kidnapping, murder, extortion, assault, or breaking and entering. The list included: Blaire Saunders, Benjamin Saunders, Thomas Thomson, Nurse Louise, Dr. Bit, and Chloe Ripen. On the right side, he posted suspects and persons of interest, which included: Lucas Taylor, Mike or Lawrence Carpenter, John Warren, and Anne Upshaw. He put an asterisk next to the names of those who were both victims and suspects. First and foremost, of those with an asterisk was Chloe Ripen. Beneath each name, he posted a photo and pertinent facts about the person. QT deliberately omitted Lieutenant Madeline Frances Casey to protect her anonymity since she was officially identified as a deceased intelligence officer in the government databases. However, he kept in the back of his mind that she was a victim of the NSA breaking into her room over the garage and planting surveillance equipment. Also, there was a connection between her and Anne Upshaw going back to the FBI Agent Jeremy Glover murder case the previous year.
After he finished posting information, Quinton sat in a chair, leaned back, and stared up at the investigation board. A loud knock on the door snapped him out of his concentration trance.
“Who is it?” he said, slightly annoyed.
“It’s McCoy.”
QT got out of his chair and opened the door. “I was just about to call you, boss. Are you available now? We need to talk about a few things.”
“Yes, I was hoping to get an update on the case.” McCoy sat down and scanned the investigation board. “You’ve been busy. What should I glean from this masterpiece?”
“I know from an FBI standpoint our responsibility is limited to Blaire’s kidnapping and by extension the attempted extortion of two million dollars from her father, but I’m convinced there’s a connection to at least one murder and three attempted murders.”
“At this point in your investigation, who is your prime suspect and what’s the motive.”
“I don’t have any direct evidence pointing to anyone. All I have is conjecture.”
“What’s your best theory?”
“I think this began as an authorized NSA surveillance operation intended to thwart Upshaw Corporation’s illegal sale of the latest mindreading technology to China. Lucas Taylor, Blaire’s manager, may have used the operation for his own purposes.”
“Does he have an alibi for Blaire’s kidnapping?”
“He does. I talked to him on his phone at the same time Blaire was being tortured. I confirmed that his phone’s GPS placed him at his home. However, just because he didn’t do the hands-on, dirty work doesn’t mean he didn’t order it. I believe one of his coconspirators captured Blaire and tortured her. And, the same man committed the two subsequent attacks against her.”
“Any guesses about who this partner is?”
“There were two men who did the actual kidnapping. One of them was most likely somebody who Lucas recruited from within the NSA. The other one was Thomas Thomson.”
“Thomson was murdered. Why would Taylor kill one of the men he hired?”
“That probably wasn’t part of the plan. The two kidnappers had a falling out and one of them shot the other. Blaire heard them arguing while she was locked in the storage unit.”
“Wasn’t this Thomson guy a drug addict? Why would Lucas Taylor hire somebody like that?”
“One of the things I noticed while building the investigation board was that Lucas Taylor and Thomas Thomson attended UVA at the same time. Thomson dropped out after the first year due to a football injury and Taylor transferred to the University of Maryland. After graduation Lucas joined the NSA while Thomson stayed in Charlottesville and became a drug addict, lamenting his career-ending football injury. I suspect we’ll find that the other kidnapper was also at UVA at the same time as the other two.”
“What’s the motive?”
“There are at least two motives and possibly three.”
“I’m listening.”
“Lucas Taylor is obsessed with Blaire and has been since they were stationed together at NSA headquarters in Maryland. She shunned his sexual advances and he’s using these attacks to force her into a sexual relationship with him.”
“Lust is a strong motivator. Go on.”
“The second motive is money. Two million dollars is a lot of incentive.”
“And the third motive?”
“Have you ever heard of a shadow intelligence agency called the GIA?”
“There have been rumors for years about an organization called the Global Intelligence Agency or GIA. Supposedly its members include high ranking officials from the regular US intelligence agencies along with influential businessmen who are billionaires. Most of us in the intelligence game don’t put much credence in it.”
“According to the rumors, what’s their mission?”
“Like all shadow agencies alleged by conspiracy theorists, their intent is to secretly control the political and socioeconomic environment in the world.”
“I know it seems farfetched, but the kidnapper was asking Blaire about the GIA and former special agent John Warren. It’s possible the GIA, if it really exists, has an interest in controlling the mindreading device that Upshaw has developed. They might have planned to coopt the NSA operation to obtain the mindreading technology for themselves. Taylor along with his conspirators with their ransom scheme might have accidentally gotten in the GIA’s way. I’m not necessarily saying the GIA did the hit on Dr. Bit and Chloe, but they could have. Perhaps Mike Carpenter, the man who did the actual shooting, is a hitman hired by the GIA.”
“This is all very interesting; however, there isn’t any evidence to support your conjecture. Where do we go from here to prove your theories one way or the other?”
“For starters, Blaire is meeting with Lucas Taylor today to be reinstated for active duty. Hopefully, she can manipulate Taylor to get some clues to the identity of the person who attacked her.”
“And, if she can’t, do you have any other leads?”
“Apparently, Lucas’ coconspirator isn’t very loyal to him. He’s trying to coerce Blaire into obtaining something from Lucas’ home safe.”
“Does she know what’s in the safe?”
“Only that it’s a list of names, possibly a list of GIA members. I don’t want to put Blaire unnecessarily in danger, but we may need to proceed with this if our other efforts don’t yield the evidence we need to identify and prosecute those responsible.”
“So, what do you recommend we do next?”
“I propose we proceed with paying the two-million-dollar ransom demand. Blaire’s father has agreed to fund it. I have someone who can trace back to whoever attempts to access the money.”
“Is this an FBI resource who would track the money?”
“I’m concerned about the reach of the GIA if I use an FBI resource. I don’t believe they’re involved in the ransom, but they could have some reason to trace the money themselves.”
“You realize it’s illegal to do that type of tracking without a warrant, don’t you?”
“I know we couldn’t use anything in court that we gained through accessing the account this way but if we’re able to identify and capture the perpetrator I believe we can obtain the necessary evidence from him through interrogation.”
“Who do you have in mind for the tracking job?”
“Before he was shot, Dr. Bit agreed to do it for me. Since he’s unavailable, I’ve recruited L. Ron Chen. He’s a genius IQ, UVA professor.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” McCoy took some deep breaths and thought for a moment before he finally spoke. “You have my approval to proceed with the ransom payment.”
“Thanks, boss.”
“I know you said you don’t want an insider doing the money trace. Do you need FBI resources for any other purpose?”
“I may need assistance arresting the account holder, depending on where the GPS leads us. I’m hoping the person will be located somewhere in the Charlottesville area.”
“I’ll put Agent Parker on alert that we may need him. If the perp isn’t anywhere near Charlottesville, I’ll have to reach out to other FBI offices as required.”
“Also, if I get the evidence against Lucas Taylor, I’ll need your support to fight any interagency bullshit to bring him to justice.”
“I can handle the NSA conflict but if the GIA really exists and you stir up trouble with them, I’m not sure how much help to you anyone can be.”
“My primary objective is to remove the threat against Blaire, which means snaring Lucas Taylor and whoever is working with him. I plan to avoid the GIA — unless they come between me and my targets.”
