Breathtaking.
“Man, I love this town.” The constant and underlying vitality of downtown Chicago never ceased to amaze her.
When she came back inside, she noticed once again that Harper didn’t look like he actually fit here. Granted, it had only been one night since he’d moved, but he made use of only a fraction of the suite, leaving little trace of himself behind. An efficient and practiced lifestyle, if it could be called living at all. She got the sense he could vacate the premises in a heartbeat, needing only scant time to undertake his skillful disappearing act.
For now, she accepted him as is, noticing he didn’t respond well to an overabundance of questions. Neither did she, but since he obviously didn’t need her lame job, why had he reached out to her at all? She had the feeling he didn’t have a huge circle of friends and had grown accustomed to his solitary life, yet the question persisted in her mind: Why had he picked her?
Fixing her windswept hair, Jess joined him in the study and leaned against the open French doors.
“Your view is absolutely stunning.”
Harper barely looked up from his laptop. “Yeah. It’s nice.” Spoken like a man who had grown accustomed to an address on easy street. “Here…come check this out. And I’ve got a confession to make.”
“No…really?” She exaggerated her reaction as she looked over his shoulder behind the desk. “Don’t tell me you’ve been keeping secrets from me, Harper.”
She hadn’t noticed it before, but he had an array of equipment on the desk, alongside his usual assortment of pirated computer software. Batteries, wiring, and what looked like two metal briefcases with control panels inside.
“What’s all this?” she asked.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve done nothing
but
surprise me since we’ve met. What are you talking about?”
“When I installed the tracking software onto Baker’s laptop, I thought of something else to give us an edge. Remember I mentioned I might have time to kick in something extra?”
By the apologetic look on his face, she wasn’t sure she’d like what he had to say, but she kept her mouth shut—nothing short of a miracle.
“Well, I hid a long range transmitter in the computer bag and sewed it into the lining, so we could trace the physical location of it. I figured you for the impatient type, not wanting to wait for Baker to login.” He raised both eyebrows. “I hope that was okay.”
After a moment of stunned silence, Jess laughed aloud, the sound echoing through the suite.
“Okay? Harper, I’d kiss you, but I couldn’t afford a sexual harassment suit. Way to go, genius!” She grinned and waved a hand to prompt him. “Come on. Show me how it works.”
“I will, but I want to explain the keystrokes first.” He breezed through his laptop to bring up the data he’d recorded, taken from Baker’s computer when someone had
logged into it. He explained what had happened and the conclusions he drew from it all. “You see what I mean? Whoever has Baker’s laptop knows what they’re doing. These aren’t the maneuverings of a novice.”
While she pondered the significance of what he’d said, he clarified his point.
“We installed the tracking software figuring Baker wasn’t savvy enough to know it was there. But I can tell by the keystrokes that whoever has the laptop really knows their stuff. They may find what I’ve done.”
“Meaning, if they find the embedded software, they’ll wonder who tampered with it. Eventually, someone in Baker’s old organization will point a finger at us.”
“Yeah. Yet another reason to support my Houdini vanishing routine.” He nodded. “But you…it may not be safe for you to go home. At least, not until we figure this out.”
“And you know, there’s another piece to this puzzle I gotta think through. Sam told me the police don’t have the laptop. They thought it was stolen at the murder scene.” She thought about it for a minute, wanting to make sure she had it right in her head. “You know, if you’re correct, I think Baker’s organization took him out. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Globe Harvest?”
“Who else would know so much about navigating that computer? The theft was no coincidence, Harper.” She furrowed her brow. “I think if we find that stolen property, we’re gonna find Baker’s killer…and get our foot in the door to something much bigger.”
It wasn’t just a case of hunting down a laptop. That computer served as a back door into an online conspiracy linked to missing kids. There had to be big money involved too. A lot at stake. But had Lucas Baker been killed because she’d taken his computer in the first place?
“I hate to say this aloud,” he said, “but if the people behind Globe Harvest are willing to kill one of their own to
keep their secret, they won’t have any trouble taking care of outsiders threatening their business.”
A cold chill shot across her skin, and not just because the AC was too high.
“You better show me how this gear works.”
Suddenly, their preparation took on a more ominous urgency.
“Yeah…guess I better,” Seth said. “Here’s the basic setup for the tracking system.”
He explained how the long range tracking system worked, transmitters with a receiver range of up to twenty-five miles on the ground. And he’d gotten his hands on a law enforcement package that would allow two people to track and cover more territory in the process—receivers, transmitters, directional antennas with RF frequencies, headphones, the works.
“The plan is to drive until we pick up an initial signal that we can track. That signal should lead us to the exact location of the laptop.” He pointed at a map of the Chicago area. “We’ll stick to the freeways to cover the most ground. Don’t veer off until you’ve got a signal to chase. You’ll start here and work your way in, and I’ll do the same coming from this direction. When we get a hit, we’ll contact each other. I know this has been a crash course, but do you think you can handle the equipment on your own?”
“I think so.” She forced a smile.
“But when we find the computer, you’re gonna contact the police, right?” he asked. “I mean, it’s evidence in a murder now. All we’re gonna do is track it, right?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ve already talked to Sam.” She nodded and grimaced a little. “Speaking of the police, I may need you to do me a favor. Detective Garza doesn’t think very highly of…my behavior with Baker.”
“You mean, when you stalked and hunted the asshole down with a gun?” Harper raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah…that.” She shrugged. “He might want to question
me about where I was the night Baker was killed. Would you be willing to come forward and be my alibi if all this goes down? I don’t expect you to lie. Just tell the truth about what happened that night.”
“All of it?”
“Yes, all of it.” She tried not to act insulted that he’d suggested lying would be a better option. “I’ll take the heat for what happened, but personally, I think being wrapped in duct tape makes a pretty good argument for extenuating circumstances in your case. And Sam can attest to what happened.”
Seth narrowed his eyes and slouched back in the desk chair. “If you need me…yeah, I’ll do it. But Jess, it wouldn’t be my first choice for…entertainment. Believe me, it’s not that I object to helping out, but…I’ve got my reasons.”
“Yeah, kind of figured as much.” She nibbled her lower lip. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Besides, if we get lucky locating Baker’s computer, the heat will be off me, and Sam can finish the rest. Finding stolen evidence in a murder investigation should make her look pretty good in front of CPD brass too.”
She thought of something else. A precaution.
“Listen…in case we get split up…when we find the location of the laptop, we’ll contact Sam and let her know. I promised her no more secrets. And we don’t want to take possession of stolen property. It’ll screw with CPD’s chain of evidence.” She found a pen and used a pad of hotel stationery to write down Sam’s number. “So it might be a good idea if you had her cell number too. Just in case.”
“Yeah…sure.” When Seth tried to smile, he winced and reached for his cut lip. “Don’t mistake me for a lightweight, but—
Ow!
”
With humor, he’d taken everything in stride, but his grimace gave her an opening.
“Listen, Seth. I’m sorry for getting you into all this. I
don’t know why you’re still…helping me, but I really appreciate having you as a friend, you know?”
“Yeah…I know.”
“But I gotta ask. Why are you doing this? I know it’s not for the big bucks I’m paying you.”
He stared at her a long time and finally answered, “Not everything is about…money.”
She wanted to laugh aloud when she heard nearly the same words that she’d said to Sam the other day. Seth Harper was more than a kindred spirit. He was a damned mind reader.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” She grinned and patted his shoulder. “Let’s do this.”
She helped him pack the equipment, and it took time to carry it down to their vehicles and make sure the gear was operational. This time of day, they would hit the early outbound commuter traffic. And by the drops of rain on her windshield, the drive would be ugly and slow moving. But as she drove out of downtown Chicago, following Harper, she had more on her mind than the weather.
She wondered what they’d find when the search narrowed to a single location. If Lucas Baker wasn’t the tip of a very nasty iceberg, then why did she feel like the captain of the
Titanic
?
Nothing. She hadn’t found a damned thing. And from their last call, neither had Seth.
Although the tracking system kept interference to a minimum, it didn’t block out frequency noise completely. Every time the gear would register a blip of sound, it made her heart race until it cleared, getting her hopes up for nothing. And the system didn’t operate real-time. It had a slight delay. That meant she had to learn how the equipment worked the hard way—trial and error coupled with emotional highs and lows.
And to compound her stress, when she turned on her car headlights at dusk due to overcast skies and steady rain, she fell victim to a dismal funk that left her exhausted. The darkness exacerbated her sullen mood, and thumping wipers competed with noise coming off the receiver, making matters worse. Long hours and sleepless nights had caught up with her and she was nearly on empty, in more ways than one. She hadn’t eaten since morning and would soon have to find a gas station. None were in sight.
A road sign ahead gave her the miles to the Indiana border, reminding her she’d slipped farther southeast than she
had planned. They hadn’t discussed crossing state lines into northwest Indiana or heading north into Wisconsin, but that made more sense than driving through rural Illinois or driving into states to the west. Instinct had played a part in her thinking, considering Baker had been murdered in South Chicago and that Globe Harvest might want close proximity to Chicago airports.
Jess glanced at her gas gauge when she saw a road sign for a station ahead. Time for caffeine and a call to Harper. After taking a pit stop and buying a large cup of black coffee, she leaned against the outside of her vehicle to stretch her legs, sipping java and talking to him.
“I’ve got nothing. With a twenty-five-mile radius, I’m not sure how far to take this.”
She gave him her location on I-57 south and they talked about her state line theory. Seth had used his instincts too. He’d driven west until his gut told him to try north, with the same result. Nothing.
“We may have to call it a night, try again tomorrow…early,” he suggested.
“No. What if they move, take it farther away or destroy the transmitter? I don’t think we can risk it. Thanks to you, this is our best shot, Harper.” She knew how she sounded. Desperation had leached into her voice and she couldn’t control it. Seth must have picked up on it.
“You’ve got to be tired, Jess,” he said. “You’ve had a rough couple of days.”
“I’m okay…really.” She sighed and took a sip of coffee, ignoring her dull throbbing headache. “I’ll call you in a half hour. If I get a signal, I’ll call sooner.” She recognized wishful thinking when she heard it. “I’ve got a fresh tank of gas and my java juice. I’m good to go.”
After Jess left the gas station heading north, the receiver got a faint hit. She almost missed it, and once the sound registered in her mind, she downplayed it. No sense getting her hopes up until the signal showed real signs of life. When it
got stronger, she was certain she’d hit pay dirt. She pounded her steering wheel with a fist, fighting the grin on her face. As soon as it was safe to make a call, she contacted Harper.
“I got a hit, Seth.” She gave him her approximate location, but had no idea where the transmission would take her.
“Pull over at a good spot and wait for me.”
She knew he was on the other end of Chicago. What if the computer bag was on the move? Should she stop and risk losing it? And once that Globe Harvest computer geek found Harper’s tracking software, could the transmitter be far behind? She had a feeling the clock was ticking down on her opportunity to tap into Baker’s illegal enterprise.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Seth.”
She kicked up the speed of the wiper blades as the rain got worse. The sound made it harder to hear the receiver, but it couldn’t be helped. Peering through the windshield, she leaned forward and looked over a dark horizon dappled with a blur of glittering lights. Their colors bled across the glass in streaks. Her heart was racing, pumped full of adrenaline and a fresh jolt of coffee.
“If I have to get off the interstate, I’ll call you again and we can talk, but I gotta stick with this. That bag may be on the move. I don’t want to lose it.”
“Oh, I think you’ve already lost it. And I’m not talking about the laptop,” he said. “Is it raining where you are? I hear rain in the background.”
She ignored his question. A discussion about the weather would only make Seth worry more.
“Funny, Harper. You ever thought about taking your act on the road?” She smirked. “Hell, I guess you’re doing that right now.”
She heard him sigh.
“Come on. I’ve got a full tank of gas and I’m driving the interstate. What could possibly happen?” She cringed, hearing the jinx come out of her mouth.
“Okay, we’ll do it your way. But Jessie, you better stick to
this. You call me once you leave the interstate and you stay put until I get there. You got it?”
Even through the rain pummeling her vehicle, she heard the concern in his voice. The worsening weather would only aggravate their situation.
“Yeah, Seth. I’ve got it. I’ll see you soon.” She took a deep breath. “And thanks.”
Payton Archer wasn’t the kind of man Sam had expected. After speaking to Jess and getting her take on him, she pictured of a loudmouthed jock whose favorite topic would be sports and himself—and not in that order. But Payton Archer had nothing on his mind except for his missing niece, a girl he loved without question.
No, Archer was quite different. And that distinction also reflected in his choice of friends. Even if she hadn’t learned about Joe Tanu’s law enforcement background with the Alaska State Troopers from their introduction, she would have sensed it. Tanu had the eyes of a cop.
Tanu carried a .45-caliber Glock 21 in a holster under his windbreaker and a .380 Walther PPK/S strapped to his ankle, along with a lawful affidavit giving him authorization to carry a concealed weapon in Illinois. The man had been up front about it, showing his authorization before she had to ask for his license. She had no objection. Having a retired state trooper along might prove useful.
After a quick meeting at Archer’s Oak Brook hotel suite, the men shared information on Nikki’s disappearance and, together, they had come up with a game plan. Their first stop had been O’Hare Airport. Although Archer’s niece had already arrived in Chicago, showing her photo to airport personnel might have turned up a clue, and they hit a solid lead when airport security played surveillance video taken outside, at the customer pickup area.
Sam was able to isolate an image of a man and a young woman who had picked up Archer’s niece. And although the
young woman had not been identified, after Sam e-mailed the digital photo downtown for review, she learned that the man in the video had an extensive arrest record.
None of this bode well for Archer’s niece, and by the look on his face, the man knew it.
“So what now?” he asked.
He sat next to Sam in her front passenger seat, looking out his window, watching other airline passengers coming and going from her parked vehicle. She felt the weight of disappointment in his voice. A town as big as Chicago had plenty of places for a felon to hide a young girl.
“I’ve put out an APB on the guy. And I’ve got one of our detectives looking for his known hangouts. We’ll find him,” she replied as she pulled away from her parking space. “For now, we need more to go on.”
Although she was confident they’d eventually find the bastard, she had no idea when. And her gut told her something else—the longer the clock ticked on Nikki’s time with the man in the video, the worse her situation would become.
From the backseat, Joe Tanu made a suggestion.
“The Alaska State Troopers are analyzing Nikki’s online chats. They faxed prelim comments to our hotel earlier today and there were local Chicago references made. Maybe you can help us decipher the significance.”
“Good idea.” Sam merged with traffic heading out of the airport, hitting her wipers to clear the rain from her windshield. “You have them with you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Great. Then let’s head downtown. Maybe we can—” The sound of an incoming call on her cell phone interrupted her.
Keeping an eye on the road, she pulled the phone from her belt and looked at the number displayed, not recognizing it. With all the strange things happening with Jessie, she decided to take the call.
“Excuse me. I should take this.” She held the phone to her ear. “Yeah, Cooper here.”
“Sam, it’s me. Seth Harper.” It took her a moment to register the name, but before she could respond, the guy got down to business. “Jess is tracking Baker’s missing laptop and I don’t have a good feeling about this. I think we’re gonna need your help.”
“What? Slow down, Harper. I think you’d better explain.”
Seth told her what had happened. At first Sam got angry at Jess for bending her “no secrets” agreement, but after she filtered her irritation through her friend’s warped version of logic, she realized Jess probably didn’t feel that she’d strayed from the concept. Thank God Seth had taken the initiative to call her, but even that was part of Jess’s plan, so again she couldn’t fault her friend.
“Give me her last location, Seth.” After he did, she said, “I’m heading there now, but don’t you make matters worse. Both of you sit tight until I get there. Tell her I may have to bring Detective Garza into this. She’s given me no choice. Jess will know what I’m talking about.”
After hanging up, she tried Jess’s cell. It displayed an out-of-service message. The weather probably didn’t help. She wasn’t sure it was any cause for alarm, but something in her gut told her Jess was onto something big. A cop’s instinct.
Payton Archer turned toward her, waiting to hear what had happened, though he had no idea that the laptop Jess was tracking might break a murder investigation—a case that could be linked to Nikki.
If Jessie had been right about that e-mail on Baker’s computer, Nikki Archer might have been the delivery from Anchorage. The coincidence was significant enough to make Sam a believer—enough to volunteer for the chief’s assignment with Archer and Tanu in the first place.
She knew she had to find Jess, and she had no time to
take Archer and Tanu back to their hotel. A part of her wanted to give these men hope. They had a right to know what was going on.
“Change of plans, gentlemen.” Merging into heavier traffic, she hit the gas pedal, heading south. “And I’ve got a lot of explaining to do on the way.”
“Stas. We need you in the control room. Now.”
The urgent voice of Ethan O’Connell came over the intercom in Petrovin’s private quarters. The Russian reached to press the button to respond, heat rising to his cheeks.
“I will come…five minutes,” he panted.
Naked, he lay spread-eagle on his bed, gazing at the frightened young girl ministering to his need. She crouched between his legs, her soft pale body completely exposed to his ways. Her head bobbed up and down, her lips warm and moist. For an instant after he’d gotten O’Connell’s message, the girl had looked up with tears glistening in her eyes, still holding him in her mouth. Perhaps she had hoped he’d ask her to stop, saying he had to leave.
That never happened.
“Five minutes…plenty of time.” He reached for the whimpering girl, gripping tufts of her hair in both hands. She would need his help to finish.
By the time Petrovin got to the control room, O’Connell did not look pleased with his delay.
“You said you’d come in five minutes.”
“Yes, I am a man of my word.” The Russian smiled. “What is so urgent, Ethan?”
“Baker’s laptop. One of my men inspected it and found it had been tampered with. Keystroke-tracking software had been installed, the kind identity thieves use. That bounty hunter must have done it.”
Before he had a chance to explain more, Petrovin asked, “Did your man access sensitive areas that could be detected with such software? Are we exposed?”
“No, thank God.”
The Russian almost laughed aloud at O’Connell’s reference to a higher power. With the storm outside, perhaps lightning would strike the man.
“You better hope there is no God, Ethan. For your sake…and mine.” He smirked. “I do not understand your urgency. Simply destroy the computer and be done with it. Very soon, this bounty hunter will no longer be a problem.”
“Not soon enough, I’m afraid.” O’Connell waved him over to the computer in question, lying on top of a desk. “Doing a thorough job, my analyst also found this.”
When O’Connell tore back an inside corner of the computer bag, Petrovin knew why the man had been concerned. The Russian recognized a transmitter when he saw it. Anger flushed through his system like a deadly toxin. If Lucas Baker were not already dead, he would do the honors again in a much more painful way. But since this would not be possible, he focused his anger where he could.
The bounty hunter had planted the transmitter, placing his entire organization at risk. And worse, the life he had cultivated in this country would come to an abrupt end at the order of his superior if this debacle compromised Bukulov’s grand design. Failure was not acceptable.
He clenched his jaw, seething with anger.
“I haven’t destroyed the transmitter yet, but I’m using a frequency counter to block it.” O’Connell said. “At a minimum, we need to get the word out to our key people. We’re in lock-down mode until further notice.”
“Yes, I agree. Do it now. But on my order, be prepared to evacuate. We can’t take chances. You know what to do.”
When Petrovin reached for the computer bag, O’Connell asked, “What are you doing with that?”
“Perhaps with the right bait, I learn to fish, no?”
With the computer bag in hand, Petrovin headed for the control room door. If the bounty hunter came looking for the computer, he would make sure she found it—and more.
“I need five of your best men. Now. Have them meet me…the weapons room.”
At the exit, the Russian looked over his shoulder at O’Connell.
“Tell your men…we are hunting.”