First Thrill

by Steve Richer

  Jeff fired up the software and felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the chirping of the internal modem. He was even more nervous when he heard the handshake of the two machines. The layout was graphic-based and very easy to use, idiot-proof as his instructor had said. He accessed the search mode and typed Polar Tiger Industries.

  Clicking on the result, Jeff was presented with a list of all the phone numbers the Calgary company had called during the past month. There were many phone lines assigned to the client and each account had phoned hundreds of numbers.

  Jeff clicked on a button and he was offered an inventory of all long distance calls of which there were far less. There was a particular number that screamed for attention. The area code was of New York City and it had been called twelve times by two different numbers at Polar Tiger Industries. Jeff wrote it down realizing after he had done so he didn’t have to. He grabbed his cellphone and dialed the number.

  “Welcome to Anchises Insurance,” an automated voice began, “if you know the extension of the staff member you are trying to reach…”

  Jeff hung up. An insurance company. It was all falling into place.

  It couldn’t have been a coincidence. He thought about it all, but there was too much information to compute. He packed up his gear and left the cafe. He sat in the back of a taxi and wished the driver wasn’t the talkative type. He had to think, to analyze the situation.

  There were three men whose sole common link was their interest in an operation that could make them wealthy. The Bermuda meeting had hinted toward the fact that the group had come into the illegal possession of some sort of device.

  A former CSE agent was the leader, he had planned everything and he was taking the biggest risks. There was a French politician who was financing the project which meant that the cost was astronomical. And finally there was a Venezuelan banker who was in charge of finding a buyer.

  Then there had been a shootout in a North Carolina motel where four security guards had been killed. They had worked with Azinger Security whose largest client was Polar Tiger Industries, a computer company involved in a massive research venture subsidized by the government. The latter was in panic mode over a project that had yet to be completed. There were a lot of phone calls made to their insurance company.

  Could this mean they had lost something?

  It could very well be that they were simply negotiating their premiums for the following year. But the coincidence was too great to ignore. Hingle and his partners had stolen something valuable while PTI had lost just the thing. One question still cast a shadow on the rest of the solution: what was Morales doing in Raleigh?

  Jeff figured that it was nine o’clock in Ottawa but still tried calling Bellamy at the office. He had heard through the grapevine that the man was a widower. If he loved his job, nothing could keep him from staying in the office anymore. The Deputy Director of G Group picked up on the third ring.

  “John, I think I found what Hingle has.”

  “There’s a notion that you hear about at a very young age and that you learn to value when you enter the education system. It’s called the weekend. You stay home, you watch a ballgame, you do the goddamn laundry. You don’t work, you don’t think about work, and you sure as hell don’t call me about work.”

  “Is that why I caught you at the office? I’m not really down with all this double standard shit.”

  “Fine, fine, we should start attending workaholic anonymous meetings. What’s that background noise anyway?”

  “I’m sort of on an airplane right now.”

  “You’re on a what?”

  “Air Canada flight 1188. Don’t worry, it’s been charged to my personal plastic. I went to Calgary, I found out some things about those dead guys in Emmetts Run.”

  “Were you suddenly drafted by the RCMP without my knowledge?”

  Jeff didn’t like being scolded – that’s what it was and he even felt as if he’d earned it – but this was the most important day of his professional life. He knew he was onto something.

  Chapter 39

  Taking a deep breath, Jeff continued. He had to convince his superior that he had a lead.

  “You see, I think it’s really related to our problem. The guys that were killed were security contractors assigned to Polar Tiger Industries. That company was involved in a research project trying to develop some kind of miniature microchip or something. They received huge grants from the government. I go there and it’s like a crisis center, everybody’s working overtime. And remember this is the weekend. The PR chick tells me they’re late on a deadline.”

  “So?”

  The paper shuffling coming from just outside his office was annoying Bellamy. It hadn’t bothered him when he was doing the same, but now that he was on the phone it did.

  He had asked Julian Farris to stay in the office to help him sort out some files and that’s what he was doing at his secretary’s desk. He wished he could have extended his arm to close the door, but it was too far.

  “So I snoop around…”

  “You snoop around?” Bellamy repeated mockingly, but still interested.

  “Yeah, your fine agency taught me to use my computer to do all kinds of things. Let me ask you this, how many times do you call your insurance company each month?”

  “Jeff, what kind of question is that?”

  “Bear with me. How many times would you do it? How many times would a company do it?”

  “I don’t know, never. Unless something happened to me and they need to handle a claim.”

  “Exactly. PTI called their insurance carrier in New York twelve times in the past week. My guess is that the prototype they’ve been working on has been stolen and that Hingle and his cronies have taken it.”

  “You think Hingle stole that prototype from PTI just because you’ve heard about employees who were working overtime and calls were made to an insurance company? I think you’ve seen way too many movies. Let the police handle it. Relax, sleep late tomorrow and think about everything except work. Okay?”

  “But…”

  This was the most intense work Jeff had ever done and he couldn’t believe that it was being dismissed.

  “Is there a stewardess near you?” Bellamy asked.

  “What?”

  “Do you see a stewardess? Put her on the phone.”

  Jeff was puzzled and he could sense it was a gimmick, but he nevertheless complied. He handed the phone to a flight attendant who looked even more perplexed then he was.

  “Hello?”

  “You see the guy who handed you the phone? Bring him a double whiskey with no ice. And give him a pillow, he needs to sleep.”

  She smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  She handed the phone back to her passenger and when he put it against his ear he noticed the line had gone dead. The woman went away and returned moments later with the drink and the cushion.

  Jeff arched his eyebrows when she told him it was for him. He took a sip of the scotch and winced as it burned his throat.

  Against his better judgment, Jeff produced his cellphone – he couldn’t use it, but it had all his contacts. He scrolled through the speed dial numbers in memory. He stopped on Chasey’s. He had kept the napkin on which she had first written it, but he had inserted it into his phone so he wouldn’t lose it. He grabbed the air phone again and dialed her home number.

  “Hi?”

  His stomach contracted into a knot as he heard her lazy drawl. It was against his work ethic to call a reporter, but it was also because of her help that he had gotten this far. He had followed this lead only as a way to get close to her and it turned out it was linked to his own investigation.

  He wasn’t calling it coincidence anymore; it was fate.

  “Hey, this is Jeff Riley I don’t know if you remember…”

  “Oh, hey! How’re you?” Her voice sounded enthusiastic which wasn’t a bad sign at all.

  “I’m great, never been better.” It wasn’t f
ar from the truth. “You?”

  “Gooder than grits.”

  “Wonderful. Listen, my investigation has made huge leaps and bounds. I’d really like to talk to you about it.”

  “Okay, let me get some paper.”

  Jeff waited five seconds before continuing. “Actually, I don’t think I can talk about it over the phone. Do you think there would be a way you could come to Ottawa tomorrow?”

  “Uh, I guess. This is a big story?”

  There was hesitation in her voice and Jeff knew that she was doing a cost-benefit analysis. He was asking a lot from her. She’d have to sacrifice her weekend as well as several hundreds of dollars.

  “Very big story,” he replied. “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, if you can come. We could do lunch.”

  She hesitated before speaking and ultimately said, “Sure thing. I suppose I can talk my boss into it.”

  He gave her the name of a restaurant he liked and they agreed to meet there at noon. She would call if she wouldn’t be able to make it. It pained Jeff to hang up.

  Her voice brought up feelings he had never felt before. But what aggrieved him even more was lying to her. He could have told her everything on the phone, he could have written her a tight little e-mail, and saved her time and traveling expenses.

  But he wanted to see her so much that nothing else mattered. He was being selfish and loathed himself for it. Once she discovered she had flown up to Canada for almost nothing, she would hate him even more.

  And yet, he was willing to jeopardize it for one more glimpse of her.

  Hingle had convened a conference call following what Farris had told him.

  It was late for Ledoux but he was there, as was Morales. Using instant messaging software freely distributed by the information superhighway giants, the three partners were talking through the Internet. Hingle had a webcam but he didn’t bother to turn it on; nobody needed to see him in his underwear.

  “Gentlemen, we have a problem. Remember that CSE agent I said might have been in Paris about us?”

  “You mean about me.” Ledoux’s voice was groggy and impatient.

  “You are us. We’re all in the same boat here. Well, the boy has started to dig.”

  Morales cleared his throat before speaking. “What does he know exactly?”

  “Ninety, ninety-five percent of our operation. He knows about PTI, he knows about the prototype, and he knows about us.”

  “Oh mon dieu…”

  “Why aren’t we in prison right now then?” Morales asked slowly, remaining calm.

  “Because the kid hasn’t been able to convince his superiors. CSE still considers it a police matter. As long as it remains that way, we don’t have nothing to worry about.”

  There was a long pause.

  “How do you propose we achieve that?”

  “We remove this agent. If his point of view stops being heard, then everything is just honky dory.”

  “You’re not suggesting…”

  “You bet your French ass I am. I’ll contact the guy who’s been spearheading the dirty end of the business for us since the beginning. We might need a little more money though. Ledoux, that means you.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “So that means everybody’s in?”

  “We don’t have a choice.”

  There was a cold detachment in Morales’s voice. He was signing a death warrant like it was a mortgage renewal.

  “Ledoux?”

  “I’m providing the money, non?”

  “Great. I’ll call my guy right away and see if we can eliminate the problem by tomorrow.”

  Hingle hit the kill switch and removed his headset. He picked up the phone and placed a call to California. It was costing him ten cents a minute to order death.

  AUGUST 11

  SUNDAY

  Chapter 40

  At fifteen minutes past noon Jeff began to feel nervous. He had been there for three quarters of an hour and was on his second soda. He was feeling the need to go to the bathroom, but didn’t dare for fear that he would miss her. At last, Chasey showed up two minutes later and he stood to greet her.

  “I’m sorry I’m late, I stopped by my hotel first to drop off my bag.”

  “It’s no problem, I just got here anyway,” Jeff lied. “Did you have a nice flight?”

  “Peachy. I had to change planes in Boston, it was my first time there.”

  The waitress came over and Chasey ordered the cheeseburger plate. Jeff hesitated between a smoked meat, the famed Montreal brisket sandwich, and a poutine, two meals that were difficult to find in Ontario. He opted for the smoked meat since he could always make a poutine at home.

  “So you managed to convince your boss to let you fly up here.”

  “After I told him that I was in line for the Pulitzer, he wished me bon voyage and called the airlines for me.”

  Oh Christ, Jeff almost blurted out, she’s really gonna hate me when she realizes I can’t say anything. He had to stall for time.

  “I’m sure you’ve traveled a lot, being a reporter and all.”

  “Oh sure, Wake County, Sampson County, the odd trip to Charlotte. I’m a regular globetrotter.”

  She said it with a smile that dissipated any sarcasm that could have peered through.

  “Same here, Emmetts Run is the farthest I’ve been, unless you count that trip to Disney World when I was ten. I usually spend my days on the telephone.”

  “I know what you mean, that’s half my job too. But every dog has his day and a good one has two. I’m gonna get that Pulitzer.”

  “I sure hope so, I really do.”

  He said it a little too softly and it made her look at him with angled eyes and a crooked smile. She’d heard his tone and read his mind. He excused himself and went to the bathroom to escape that awkward moment.

  When he returned, the food was on the table and she was waiting for him to inflict the first bite. He took hold of his thick sandwich and checked if they had put mustard on the small rye bread. One glance at the brisket meat was enough to judge he had seen better on the other side of the Ottawa River.

  “So, what’s the big break that’s gonna get me a job with The Washington Post?” She sank her teeth into the cheeseburger.

  “Okay, here we go. There are three men, a French guy, some dude from Venezuela, and a third fella as yet unidentified.”

  There was no need to involve and embarrass his agency so he had left Hingle’s identity out.

  She pulled a pen and a notebook and began writing. “How are they involved with the murders?”

  “Don’t jump the gun here. These guys, they stole a prototype from a computer company. Don’t ask me what it’s about, I don’t know. The guys that were killed, four of them anyway, were working for a security firm from Toronto. Their assignment was to, and this is all speculation, to retrieve the stolen prototype. And they were outnumbered, or outgunned, or just really bad at their job.”

  She was chewing through a bite and was about to swallow. Jeff quickly took a sip of his drink and then opened his mouth before she could utter a word.

  “The reason I couldn’t say that over the phone, is that some of the people involved are some serious VIPs.”

  “You have to tell me names. That’s gonna put the fat in the fire,” she said with a grin.

  “I can’t mention names. This is a very sensitive investigation. It could mean my getting fired from the RCMP. And I can’t let you publish anything, not right now anyway.”

  “You can’t keep me from doing that. I’m sure even in Canada you have some constitutional clause about freedom of speech.”

  “Here’s the deal I’ll make with you: every piece of information I get, I’ll forward to you. Everything I know, you’ll know. It’ll be as if you were on the inside, you’ll be ahead of every journalist. When we’re ready to make arrests, I’ll call you and you can print your story the next minute. But until then, I’d appreciate total secrecy.”

&n
bsp; She lowered her head and made a puppy face. “Can’t I get one tiny little name? The name of the computer company maybe?”

  It was difficult to resist, he would fly out and bring back the moon for her. But this he couldn’t do.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t. The reason I told you all this is to nudge you in the right direction. You know the name of the security firm, I’m sure you can figure out the rest.”

  “And I bet you’re gonna tell me that because it’s Sunday all the offices are closed.”

  “I wouldn’t bet against that, yes.”

  He finished the first half of his sandwich and wiped his mouth. She would have nothing to do this afternoon, he realized. It was a perfect opportunity to make a smooth move, a faint move, but a move nevertheless.

  “Say, were you planning on staying in your room all afternoon?”

  “You got something against indoor girls?”

  “No, I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to tour the city, I could show you the sights. I mean, if you want to. This being your first time in town and since there’s not much you can do this afternoon, I thought, well, you know.”

  Very smooth, asshole. He had once vomited on himself with more subtlety.

  “Isn’t your girlfriend gonna get jealous, bless her heart? You going out on the town with another woman and all.”

  “It’s okay, I’m single,” he said way too eagerly.

  She nodded, having probably grasped what was going on, and could have punched himself at his stupidity. Jesus, he had single-handedly escaped from a terrorist, but he couldn’t even talk to a woman? Waiting for her reply was pure torture.

  She said, “All right then, let’s do it.”

  She put her writing material back in her pocket and returned to her food. Jeff was thrilled. He was going out on a date, even if she didn’t know it.

  Chapter 41

  They spent the afternoon visiting the capital. Jeff took her to the Parliament and showed her the impressive library. They dropped by the National Gallery and strolled through ByWard Market. They ate dinner at the Fish Market Restaurant, one of the most popular eateries in town. After a promenade along Rideau Canal, Jeff escorted Chasey to her room at the Travelodge.