Manisha’s mouth was dry with anxiety as she fought the urge to again scream for help. Any compassion she may have felt for the troubled man was replaced by immense fear for what he may be capable of. She needed to know more about his plan if there were any hope of stopping him.
The only other thing she knew for sure was that the clock was ticking. The mad never reveal their designs unless they are certain it’s too late to stop them.
Chapter 28
Serious Vices
THE HALLWAYS OF the Genetics–Biotechnology Center were strangely quiet at a time when most morning classes would have just been getting underway. Faculty, students and members of the ever-busy maintenance staff were nowhere to be found. As evidenced by the still-darkened lights lining desolate passages, no one was being allowed in. Only small skylights let the morning in, and those served simply to deepen shadows and give stark contrast to the empty spaces. The only sound and movement found within the building centered around the small, unassuming office of Professor Manisha Shukla. She, however, had been missing for several hours.
Seth paced back and forth, his troubled footsteps echoing through the adjacent hallway as he spoke with Captain Fillion on his cell phone. With one hand pressing the phone firmly against his ear, the other hand participated in the conversation with exaggerated gestures as though trying to get someone’s attention from across a crowded room. Waiting inside the professor’s office, Agent Toth crossed his arms impatiently. He bowed his head at the tedium while Agent Alejo casually studied the small array of framed pictures placed here and there around the small room.
Turning his head expectantly, Joshua sighed as Seth paced, once again, past the doorway without so much as a glance in his direction. Bureau training at Quantico was all about action and what immediate steps to take in any given situation. To the young agent, standing around while a kidnapper was on the loose was nothing short of dereliction of duty. “It shouldn’t be this difficult to coordinate a search of one building.” Shrugging his shoulders with irritation, he turned to Leo, who was holding up a picture of Manisha next to one of her parents.
“Hey, how old do you think her parents are in this picture?” asked Leo, handing the photos over to Agent Toth.
Looking carefully at the neatly framed photographs, Joshua calculated his best guess. “I’d say they’re in their mid-fifties here. Her father’s suit looks new and is in a style popular about five years ago. I’d estimate them to be in their early sixties now, no doubt,” he said, nodding once to punctuate his irrefutable assessment. “Do you think we should contact them and see if they spoke with the professor recently?” he asked, raising his eyebrows eagerly at the prospect of finally taking some action.
Shaking his head, Leo took the photos back from Joshua. “Huh? No, I was just thinking that her mother looks good for her age,” he smiled and let his focus shift back and forth between the two photos.
Joshua’s eyelids drooped and he gazed despondently at the distracted agent. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “We could have been through a complete search of this floor in the time you just spent snooping through the professor’s personal items,” he seethed, his teeth clenched in frustration. Waiting on Seth to devise a plan was bad enough, but his tolerance for Leo’s antics wore razor thin.
Taking a step toward a filing cabinet, Leo carefully put the frames back where they had been. Reveling in the opportunity to be the one doing the reminding about proper procedure for once, he stepped back and turned to meet Joshua’s stare directly. “Don’t get your Armani undies in a bunch, kid, we need a plan before we make a move,” he said with a crooked grin. “This place is huge. We need to know where to start.”
Feeling his face flush with warmth, Joshua unfolded his arms and took a deep breath. He had always prided himself on the ability to master his emotions, but his tolerance for Leo’s mockery was at an end. “My title is the same as yours, Agent Alejo. I ask that you remember that,” he said, pointing a finger angrily at Leo’s chest, but refraining from making contact. “Of course I know we need a plan, but we can’t even do that with our lead agent wandering the halls while we stand here staring at one another.” He unfurled his arms into a wide, insolent shrug.
Tilting his head, Leo let his hands fall dejectedly down to his sides. “No offense intended, Agent Toth,” Leo apologized, with what appeared to be a slight but unmistakably condescending bow. “Just know that a title isn’t what brings you respect,” he advised, squinting in return at Joshua. They appeared poised to engage in an old west standoff when Seth hung up the phone and joined them in the office.
Leo winked irreverently at Joshua and smiled before turning causally toward Seth. “What’s the word, partner?”
Feeling his molars grind as his nemesis abandoned the contest of wills, Joshua wondered if the confrontation had been nothing more than a minor diversion to pass the time. Any interest he may have had for earning Leo’s respect all but vanished. It was instead replaced by a burning desire to accomplish something which would demand it. He promised himself to keep an eye out for just such an opportunity.
“The building’s locked down tight thanks to campus security. Captain Fillion is bringing as many officers as he can to assist the search.” Seth raised an eyebrow as he noticed Joshua still glaring at Leo. Though certain Leo had done something to warrant it, he decided to stay out of it for the time being.
Feeling Seth’s eyes upon him, Joshua blinked and shook his head. He willed himself to let the situation with Leo rest, for the moment anyway. “What’s your plan, Agent Alexander?” he asked, clasping his hands in front of him expectantly. “There are several accepted protocols for scenarios such as this,” he went on, as if ready to take over the situation himself. “For starters, I’d suggest contacting the Hostage Rescue Team if we belie—” he stopped abruptly when he saw Seth hold up one hand to quash any further explanation.
Not about to give Joshua the chance to finish spouting off yet another textbook regulation, Seth used his right thumb to point between himself and Leo. “Leo and I will start searching on this floor and work our way down. I need you to go to the lobby,” he instructed, subtly diverting the young agents overly ambitious attention.
Shaking his head in dissent, Joshua let out a dissatisfied huff of air, bristling at the idea of being separated from the action. “I can’t do much, sitting in the lobby,” he complained.
“I need you to take charge and coordinate the police and campus security to search the rest of this building,” said Seth, nodding seriously. “I can have Agent Alejo help if you’re not up to it. I may be asking too much considering this is your first time in the field,” he added, attempting to appear uncertain of his decision.
The idea of being in charge of telling a large group of people what to do was too much for Agent Toth to pass up. He craved opportunities to demonstrate his superior abilities, and this sounded like a good one. “Agent Alejo’s assistance won’t be necessary. I can handle it on my own,” said Joshua with a curt nod toward Seth. Turning on his heels toward the door, he raised his chin and walked briskly away in a flourish of self-importance.
Leo watched Joshua disappear down the hall and turned, smiling, to Seth. “That reminds me of the first time I was asked to coordinate a police effort,” said Leo, shaking his head at the memory.
“It was the last time you were asked if I’m remembering correctly,” laughed Seth.
“Yeah, who would’ve thought that a bunch of cops wouldn’t like being told what to do by a skinny, snot-nosed federal agent right out of the cradle?” he grinned, thinking about what Joshua was running headlong into. Despite the fledgling agent’s arrogance, Leo saw his vast potential, but would never dare tell him; it would be like throwing gasoline on an already out-of-control fire. His only real concern was with just how much of a fall it would take to break someone with that much pride.
“I figured he needed a little wake-up call,” admitted Seth with a perceptive smile. “And I don’t recall you
ever being that skinny,” he added, poking playfully at his friend’s slightly paunchy stomach.
Feigning a hurt look, rubbed his belly. “A guy can dream can’t he?” he said with an unconvincing frown. “Breakfast is wearing off. Let’s find the professor so I can take her to lunch.” As usual, humor masked his true concern.
Seth nodded in agreement. “She’ll probably buy, so let’s get to it, partner. You go left, I’ll go right, we meet in the middle and head down a floor,” instructed Seth simply. He walked into the hallway and turned sharply to begin his search. “I asked Captain Fillion to have his teams start at the lobby and work up. Cameras didn’t catch her leaving the building, so she has to be in here somewhere.”
“Now that’s a plan even the new kid would be proud off,” giggled Leo. He started briskly walking left down the hall to begin searching.
Pivoting around on his heels to face in Leo’s direction, Seth called after him. “Keep your weapon handy. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here,” he cautioned as the familiar pit began to form in his stomach whenever they had to split up.
Drawing his weapon in response, Leo kept it pointed to the floor with the safety on as he moved out of sight into a darkened classroom.
Unholstering his own firearm, he resumed moving briskly in the opposite direction. Seth passed the lab where they had found evidence of the professor’s abduction, moving adeptly from room to room in a methodical but efficient search. He let his training direct his movements and determine his search pattern each time he entered a differently configured classroom or office. Even with the cookie-cutter layouts of each room, the organization and use of space varied greatly depending on the personality of the person who occupied it.
Some rooms were filled with pictures, plants, books, or knick-knacks, while others were so sterile that he swore even the paperclips were neatly stacked. Sometimes he wondered if visiting a person’s office told him all he really needed to know about them. He smiled and wondered what the mess in his own office at the Bureau said about him. Of course, no one would say a word about his office after experiencing Leo’s, which was really just an extension of Gertrude’s back seat.
After a few more minutes of rapid searching, Seth heard movement coming from an office down the hall. He stopped to listen for a moment, doubting that Leo had already made it that far. The amount of careless noise emanating from the small room told him that it was indeed not his partner. Moving silently toward the source of the commotion, he could see light spilling from one of the staff offices just a few doors from where he was standing. Slowly creeping close to the doorway, he readied his weapon. A thin, middle-aged man with wispy blond hair and squeaky tennis shoes backed into the hallway. He was leaning slightly forward as he pulled a fully loaded cleaning cart out of the office with him. “FBI, put your hands on your head and get on your knees!” shouted Seth forcefully, raising his weapon to point at the man’s chest. Eyes suddenly wide, the man’s hands flew to the top of his head and he dropped to his knees in compliance. Keeping the weapon aimed steadily at the man kneeling in front of him, Seth looked him over to see if it was worth patting him down for a concealed weapon. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“I uhh, I’m Dan Stanowitz and I w…was just emptying the garbage cans, I swear!” he stammered, doing his best to remain motionless, intense trembling notwithstanding.
Upon closer examination, Seth could see that the man was wearing a blue denim uniform with unidentified stains and small holes worn in it from heavy use. Around the man’s neck was a thin chain lanyard from which hung a laminated card with his name and picture on it. He was wearing headphones connected to a small Sony Walkman clipped to his waistband. Realizing this man was who he said he was, Seth lowered his weapon and quickly grabbed his arm to guide the startled man to his feet.
“This building is in lockdown, Mr. Stanowitz, you need to get yourself to the lobby.” Even through the stiff denim of the man’s sleeve, it was easy to detect how fast the frightened man’s heart was beating.
Still shaking, Dan obediently stood up and put his hands down to his sides. “Pulling socks down is your hobby?” he asked confusedly, as he tried to lip read.
Muffled rock music escaped from the man’s headphones as Seth reached up to pull them from his ears. “I said, the building is on lockdown. You need to get to the lobby.” He pointed down at Dan’s tape deck.
Still visibly shaken, Dan turned off the tape deck. “Sure would’ve been nice if someone had bothered to tell me that shit before you went all Miami Vice on me like that,” he said, shaking his head in astonishment.
Peering into the office to ensure that Dan was alone, Seth decided to question him before sending him on his way. “Do you know if there’s anyone else in the building?” he asked as he instinctively looked over the mundane contents of the custodian’s cleaning cart.
“There shouldn’t be,” assured Dan, shaking his head confidently. “I came in early today because it was my turn for a little overtime and classes don’t start until ten o’clock,” he added, looking reflexively at his watch.
Seth rubbed his forehead as more questions popped into his mind. “What about the night shift?”
“This ain’t the hospital, man. This building closes to the public by 6:30 most nights. There’s only one shift assigned to this building and I’m the only one on the list to be here this early,” he said in an assured tone. “What the heck is going on anyway?” said Dan, scratching the top of his head in bewilderment.
“Professor Shukla is missing, but may still be in the building,” confided Seth, feeling he owed the frightened man an explanation.
“Oh no! I hope she’s ok. The professor is a really nice lady,” frowned Dan, genuinely concerned.
Seth noticed a sign with directions to the nearest stairwell and pointed to it. “Head down to the lobby and wait there,” he instructed. “If you aren’t immediately stopped, ask for Agent Toth and tell him that Agent Alexander sent you down.”
“Toth and Alexander, got it,” said Dan, nodding agreeably. He reached for his cleaning supplies and moved his cart out into the hall.
Grabbing the cart with his free hand, Seth grinned. “I need you to hurry, Mr. Stanowitz. Please leave your supplies here for now.”
“Oh, sorry,” said Dan. He released the cart’s handle and stepped away. “I’m just so used to pushing this damn thing around I feel a bit naked without it,” he said, smiling sheepishly. With a parting nod, he turned and walked briskly around the corner.
A few moments later Seth heard the high pitched sound of tennis-shoe rubber coming to an abrupt halt. “FBI, Hands on your head!” Leo’s voice echoed loudly from around the corner where Dan had just departed.
Sprinting, Seth came around the corner to see that Dan had automatically dropped to his knees and put his hands on his head. “He’s ok, Leo!” he yelled loudly, holding up one hand to signal his partner the all clear.
Holstering his firearm quickly upon being waved off, Leo helped the exasperated man to his feet. “Sorry about that…uhhhh…Dan,” he said, looking at his nametag.
Slowly putting his hands down, Dan tilted his head at Leo. “You must be Tubbs,” he presumed. “Can I go now or is there another one of you guys around every corner?” he asked sarcastically, fearing that his frayed nerves weren’t going to take another jolt.
About to give him the go-ahead to leave, Seth paused as something occurred to him. “Dan, did you say that there’s just one shift of custodians working in this building?” he asked, raising his eyebrows curiously.
“Yup, we arrive just before the faculty arrives and leave an hour or so after they head home,” he verified with a nod.
Looking at his partner’s face, Leo always knew when the gears were turning. “What are you thinking, bro?” he asked.
Rubbing his chin as he thought, Seth looked back at the custodian’s supply cart. “If custodial staff is gone soon after faculty leave for the day, then why was there
a full mop bucket in the lab where she was taken after hours?” he pondered aloud.
Finding it difficult to believe that someone on the cleaning and maintenance staff could be to blame, Dan expressed disbelief. “You don’t think one of my crew kidnapped the professor, do you?”
Reaching for Dan’s nametag, Leo reached over and lifted it toward him, examining it more closely. “That or someone is masquerading as one of your guys,” he suggested, letting the laminated Identification go once satisfied that the man was who he claimed.
Putting his hands in his pockets, Dan swayed slightly forward and back as he thought. “We don’t have a large crew assigned to work this building. I’m sure it would have been noticed if someone in a maintenance uniform was running around who didn’t belong,” he said confidently.
In full agreement, Seth realized that they suddenly had a narrow pool of suspects to consider. “It has to be someone who belongs here and could move around freely without attracting much attention. So we’re looking for one of your co-workers,” Seth concluded as he looked directly at Dan.
“Two, bro. There were two sets of footprints, remember?” added Leo.
Dan stopped swaying and pulled his hands from his pockets and held them up harmlessly in front of him. “I swear guys, I had nothing to do with this shit!” his voice cracked as he pleaded his innocence.
Leo put a hand calmly on Dan’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, there’s no reason to believe you were here all night, relax. Other than your age, the profile doesn’t fit. Besides, you don’t really strike me as the kidnapping type,” he assured, shaking his head.
Putting his hands back into his pockets, Dan looked curiously at Leo. “I’m glad you don’t think I did anything wrong, but how do you know it was someone my age?”
Deciding that Dan had more than earned the right to a little inside information, Seth leaned in. “We found evidence that the professor was subdued using a chemical, probably chloroform since the labs have it on hand. That means whoever took her was fast enough to subdue her and strong enough to carry her away,” he explained.
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