Fifteen Coffins

by Tony J. Forder

  ‘That was all over with a long time ago, Vee. We both moved on, and we’re both very happy as we are. So it all worked out as it should.’

  ‘I guess. You always were a fatalist as I recall. It’s so wonderful to see you again, Syd. And it looks as if you’ve already attracted an admirer.’ Verna indicated the street outside.

  Sydney frowned and turned her head. A couple of people walked by, but she saw nobody peering in through the window.

  ‘What do you mean, Vee?’

  Her friend wore a puzzled expression. ‘He was just there. I noticed him walk past twice while we were talking, before he stopped to stare straight at you. From the other side of the street there, under the awning outside the auto shop.’

  ‘What did he look like?’

  Verna put a hand to her face. ‘I couldn’t say for sure. Smartly dressed, I think.’

  ‘Excuse me a moment,’ Sydney said. She dashed back out onto the sidewalk, stepping into the mix of heat and a cooling breeze that ran off the hills and down the gulley provided by Main Street. She looked both left and right, saw several men striding away in opposite directions. None of them moved at pace, none glanced back over their shoulder. A man in a suit looked vaguely familiar, perhaps somebody she had caught a glimpse of earlier sitting in the coffee shop, but he didn’t look out of place or interested in her at all.

  Sydney wondered if Verna was mistaken, although it was equally possible that she had scared the man away by nodding in his direction. It would not surprise Sydney greatly to discover she was being followed, but neither was she about to become paranoid about it.

  She left things with her friend on a positive note, looking forward to getting together at the weekend. Walking back to where she had parked the Dodge, Sydney used most of the surveillance techniques she knew. Store windows were ideal for spotting people looking her way, swift changes of direction an easy method of catching out anyone close by who was forced to do the same. By the time she started heading back home, the feeling of being under observation had gone. During the short drive she watched out for a following vehicle, but again nothing stood out.

  Even so, Sydney’s senses tingled. Not only that, but the prickling sensation caused her to brood more intensely when she thought about what might be going on. There was no reason to dismiss the idea of someone watching her, especially as they had already been inside her home. And it was that aspect that got her wondering most of all. What else had they been doing while they were in there? What other method of surveillance had she yet to discover?

  Sydney closed her eyes for a moment and blew out a deep, long breath. When she looked ahead through the windscreen again, she knew precisely what she had to do.

  Thirty-Seven

  They sat in the parking lot opposite Applebee’s Bar and Grill in Sonora. Hank had suggested it as a safe place where they would draw no attention. Her phone call had intrigued him, her requests more so.

  When she climbed into his vehicle he greeted her in his usual way, while at the same time holding up a handwritten note. Keeping to idle chatter, Sydney also drew out her cellphone as instructed by Hank’s message. While the pair talked about the expected change in weather and the deceleration of wildfires, Hank broke open the cell’s casing and inspected the inside of her phone. He took a spare battery from his pocket and replaced hers, which he then wrapped in a foil container.

  ‘Your cell is clean,’ he told her. ‘But you can never be too sure about the batteries, so better safe than sorry. If they’re listening in and that battery is partially fake and acting as a bug, they’ll assume its own small battery has died.’

  Sydney welcomed Hank’s expertise and his extreme paranoid levels of self-protection.

  ‘This is precisely why I called you from a payphone. I didn’t want to dump my phone, though. Not before speaking with you about it, because I’m also concerned about my Bluetooth and GPS.’

  ‘It’s not very likely that they found an opportunity to bug your cell, but they may be tracing it. Dropping both the Bluetooth and GPS at this point in time will tip them off, so it pretty much depends on whether you want them to know you’re onto them.’

  She cast her gaze around the parking lot, considering his words. Across the way the Regal cinema was heaving with customers, and to her right a small office block stood silent as people went about their business behind the array of tinted windows. The lot was a wise choice, she decided. Anyone stopping to check them out would be obvious, and their location provided 360 degrees of vision.

  ‘At the moment, I’m confused,’ Sydney confessed. ‘About the phone or any bugs I may find. There must be a way to use the devices against whoever planted them. Feed them misinformation of some kind. The only things is, I’m not sure how long I can keep that up.’

  Hank retrieved a second object from the glove box and handed it over. ‘I got you a burner in case you need one. My number is already in there. If you want to go dark, leave your personal cell behind and use this instead.’

  Sydney took the phone from him and pocketed it, realising for the first time how completely out of her depth she was. Having never worked either undercover or as part of a surveillance team, she was a novice at this other than from what she had gleaned while in the job, attending training sessions, or had researched for herself. It wasn’t a game for amateurs, which despite all her years of working in law-enforcement, best described her current status.

  ‘It’s okay, darlin’,’ Hank said, patting her hand. ‘It can be pretty overwhelming, which is why this kind of covert bullshit is usually run by highly trained operatives. Same reason they have specialist teams for it in the Bureau. And you’re right to question how long you’ll be able to keep up the pretence. I were you, I’d go for it one time at most and then leave it alone. Heck, I don’t think even I’m capable of keeping up the scam a whole day.’

  ‘Okay. That sounds like sage advice. Thanks. I was starting to feel inadequate.’

  ‘Not at all. Believe me, a person could go batshit crazy worrying about eavesdropping throughout every single conversation they had in a twenty-four-hour period. But you’re right to wonder if somebody has you under surveillance, even if it’s loose. So the first thing you need to know about bug tracking at the basic level is that the most popular listening devices these days work on GSM technology.’

  ‘That’s the global system for mobile tech, right?’ She had kept in touch as techniques continued to develop on either side of the criminal enterprise dividing line.

  ‘Right. So you’ll want something that works on the 1800 and 1900 megahertz frequency. Given you’re likely to be looking for tiny bugs, I’d say the battery life in them is relatively short. No more than three days on standby if it’s activated by sound – which these things usually are. So either they have all they need and are done with you, or they’ll probably be back to replace the batteries inside the next twenty-four hours.’

  Sydney looked down at the device in her hands. ‘And we can modulate this contraption for all of these bugs?’

  ‘Unless we’re talking about the government, then I’d say so, yes. GSM, certainly. But hey, if you don’t find anything when you run the sweep, that doesn’t mean the listening devices were not ever there. They’ve had both the time and opportunity to remove them since. Or they may still be there, but with dead batteries.’

  ‘So how will I know if one is still there and still active?’

  ‘This Bug Hunter picks up digital bursts and when it does so it’ll flash a red light, beep, or vibrate, or even all three if you like. Whatever you intend doing with the bugs you find depends on how you want it set up.’

  ‘How do you mean, Hank?’ Following his explanation was a simple enough process, but Sydney encountered a blind spot when she tried to see beyond the imminent search.

  Patient as ever with her, Hank nodded casually and broadened his comforting smile. ‘Well, if you don’t want them to know you’ve found it, either don’t have the audio alert set, or plug i
n some ear buds so’s only you can hear the sound it generates. The bug will react to the beep and broadcast it to whoever’s listening otherwise. If you decide you do want to plant some misinformation, I suggest you put on some music afterwards. Have noise at regular intervals in and around those listening devices. See, they’re configured to activate the moment they pick up some kind of noise, and to run for as long as it continues. You have any kind of sound going all or most of the time, it wears out the batteries that much sooner.’

  Impressed with his knowledge, Sydney realised her father had chosen well in making this man both a friend and ally as well as his lead investigator.

  ‘Is that a good thing?’ she asked, frowning. She could almost feel the creases in her forehead ageing her face as she spoke. ‘What if they’re not done with me? What if that draws them back to replace them?’

  ‘Then at least you’ll be prepared. Syd, you have to decide if you’re working offence or defence here. You want to be on the offensive, then you should consider using that misinformation you spoke about earlier to reel them in. Only, this time you catch them at it. If you decide to go defensive, lay your trap and then go about your business.’

  ‘I think the time for defence is over, Hank.’

  He nodded and stroked his beard. ‘That’s what I thought you’d say.’

  Sydney explained how, even though she was not working an official case, in many ways this was still her job. To that extent she wasn’t willing to walk away from it, but neither would there be any support from her fellow agents.

  ‘Which makes this the perfect time to bring me off the bench,’ Hank said, pleading with her once again. ‘I know you got the right stuff, Syd. I’ve always known that about you. But you don’t have the first clue who you’re messing with. You start inviting trouble in, you better have backup.’

  ‘I understand, of course I do,’ Sydney said. Still she shook her head. ‘But Hank, if all they’re coming to do is replace batteries, they won’t come heavy. It’ll be one man. An individual who either comes when I’m out of the house, or banks on me being fast asleep in bed. If I set up right, I’ll be in control of the situation.’

  ‘And if your one man entering your home has a driver sitting outside waiting for him?’

  ‘I’ll take care of it. I’ll zip-tie whoever breaks in, then I’ll go looking for an accomplice. This is not my first rodeo, Hank.’

  ‘Yeah, I realise that.’ He chuckled. ‘It’s hard for me to think of it that way is all. So how about feeding them misinformation if you find bugs and they’re still active?’

  ‘I’m reconsidering that strategy. It’ll buy some time, but I’m not sure what else it does for me. Locating those bugs and making sure they fail more quickly is perhaps the best chance I have of luring these people back to me. If I nail one of them, then I can legally bring Benton in to investigate. He’ll have all the reason he needs not to stay hidden away in the shadows.’

  ‘Well, that leads me to another subject we gotta discuss. Sheriff Benton Lowe. I don’t mean to talk out of turn here, Syd, but how sure are you about him?’

  The question gave Sydney pause. She had not made up her mind about Ben, yet having Hank voice the same concern somehow twisted her insides all the more. ‘You mean about him being on my side? To be honest, not at all. I admit I’m in two minds. But he did apologise, he did take a fresh look at it with me. He showed me that CCTV footage which I’d never have got near without him.’

  ‘And you think he did all that with the best of intentions?’

  Sydney looked up sharply. ‘What are you saying, Hank?’

  ‘Only that our sheriff went from ugly and angry on this matter to helpful and friendly pretty darn quickly, you ask me. I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to it, is all.’

  It struck Sydney how closely Hank’s fears in that regard mirrored her own.

  ‘You think he’s cosying up to me again so as to be on the inside? To have me spill all of my doubts and concerns right into his ear over a piece of pie.’

  ‘Can you tell me I’m wrong?’

  ‘Not for sure.’ Sydney shook her head and set her chin. ‘But I don’t believe it. Not deep down. I admit I’m confused, but he’s not committed to this with me, Hank. He still believes they got the right shooter that day. He’s listening, is all. He’s not being obstructive.’

  ‘Which is precisely the way I would go if I were him and I wanted to put on a believable display.’

  ‘But if they have him on their side like you suggest, then why do they need the bugs?’

  ‘Come on, Syd. You know the answer to that as well as I do.’

  And she did. Sydney swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a moment. Better coverage. Him plus the bugs gave them better coverage.

  Her eyes flew open and she stared at her friend. ‘You think he was the one who bugged my father’s house, don’t you? He couldn’t have, Hank, because he was with me when somebody messed with my laptop, and I’m sure the bugs were planted at the same time. If bugs were planted at all. Although, I suppose it’s always possible that he left the back door on the latch for someone else to use to slip in while we were out together.’

  Hank shrugged and twisted his lips. On a long sigh he said, ‘Anything is possible. I don’t have any straight answers for you, Syd. Benton may still be clean on this. Perhaps not fully behind you, but not completely against you, either. I hope he’s not involved up to his neck. I think he probably isn’t. And I have to say, when I saw him standing outside your door with that pie on Friday evening, he did look all kinds of regretful.’

  Sydney nodded. ‘He did. But it’s something to consider, right?’

  ‘Right.’

  Yet it was so much more than that for her. If Benton had betrayed her, put a fright into her, it meant he was a completely different man to the one she had always believed him to be. Sydney wondered what that would say about her judgement of character.

  ‘I still don’t like your plan.’ Hank shook his head as he removed his sunglasses. His eyes were little more than slits as fierce sunlight reflected off the windscreen. ‘Not one tiny bit. You should have something up your sleeve, Syd. You should have me.’

  Sydney regarded him fondly, recalling his frequent visits to her home, the close relationship he’d had with her father. ‘Let me ask you this. Say my daddy had come to you in this exact same situation. Would you be leaving it to him to handle or would you be offering to hold his hand?’

  ‘I wouldn’t be offering your father a damn thing.’

  ‘There you go, then.’

  ‘No, what I mean is, he had nothing to prove. He’d’ve flat out asked for my help up front.’

  This time she saw it was useless to argue. She was stubborn and set in her ways, but so was he, and this time he was not wrong. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Let me think on it some more. I don’t want to argue about it, so I need some time to reach the right decision. Meanwhile, I’ll go check out my house.’

  ‘Don’t forget your truck.’

  ‘Sure. How about I text you with what I find? You feel safe with your cell, Hank?’

  ‘I don’t feel safe with any device that can tell people where I am at any given time, that can be remotely turned on and even have its contents deleted. But I got mine secure enough unless the NSA are on my tail. These people aren’t those people.’

  As Sydney opened the door and stepped down out of his vehicle and back into the heat, she turned to look back at Hank. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘For the bug finder, the burner, and for being there for me when I need you.’

  He winked at her. ‘Always, darlin’,’ he shot back. ‘Always.’

  Thirty-Eight

  When Sonia Kasper let herself into her home shortly after eight-thirty that night, she was reflecting on what a great day she’d had. Customers visiting the store had been pleasant and sales were up, which when reflected in her pay would have a residual impact and make her smile all over again. After work she had taken a slow walk along
the beach by the lake, a cool breeze coming in off the water as daylight faded and the sky became a lurid display of reds and golden oranges with thin threads of dark crimson disappearing over the horizon. For a few minutes she sat on a wooden bench at the vista point, staring up at the furrowed mountains and feeling insignificant by comparison.

  Even seeing her husband’s borrowed truck on the drive when she pulled in failed to dampen her spirits. If he’d been for a drink after work he couldn’t yet be drunk enough to want to pick a fight. Legally he was not allowed to come to the house and let himself in when she wasn’t home, but it was something she seldom argued with him about when he disobeyed the court-imposed instruction. It would only get heated if she mentioned it to him, and she would lose out in one form or another if that happened.

  Not tonight, she decided. Tonight she would let him say his piece and be done with it. Humouring him was often the best way to respond.

  Having entered through the side door from the driveway into the kitchen, Sonia threw her keys into the wooden fruit bowl on the counter top. Finding the room in darkness was a surprise. Usually, Gerry would set up camp in there so as not to have to walk any great distance to and from the refrigerator. She set her jacket and purse down on a small wooden table by the utility room door and wandered through into the hallway. At the far end, the lounge emitted a single dim glow. She heard no sound, not even the TV.

  A sharp finger of dread worked its way down her spine, causing her flesh to lay a trail of goosebumps. Gerry not being in the kitchen knocking back a beer was unusual. Gerry sitting on his own in the quiet waiting for her return was something to worry about. Left alone with his thoughts, there was no telling where they’d lead her husband.

  Her heart began to pound, and hot blood pulsed inside her head. A high-pitched keen only she was able to hear punctuated the silence. It would only enrage him if she attempted to leave again, yet Sonia did not want to walk down that hall and into the lounge without knowing what monstrous form of husband she might face.