by David Archer
I thanked him for the advice and let him go, then gave Dex a quick rundown of what he had said. Dex agreed with him, especially the part about scaring off my clients. Naturally, that was the last thing I wanted to do.
“So,” Dex said. “What do you want to do now?”
I had actually been standing there thinking about that very subject, and an idea had come to me.
“I want to go see Alfie,” I said. “It just dawned on me that I didn’t even send him the picture of our suspect. I wonder if he could figure out who the guy is?”
“Let’s go find out.” He led the way out of the building and locked it up, and we got into his car for the ride out to Alfie’s apartment.
Alfie was actually glad to see us. When I explained about getting the video of our suspect planting another bomb on my car, he freaked out for a moment, but then he grabbed my phone and plugged it into his computer. He copied the video off of it, opened it in an editor program and took several frames that showed different angles on the suspect’s face.
“I’m going to run it through facial recognition,” he said, “comparing it against driver’s license photographs. There are more than two and a half million licensed drivers in Oklahoma, so this is going to take a little while. My program is good, so I can filter out every female, and every male under twenty and over forty, as well as anyone who isn’t as obviously Caucasian as this clown. That should cut me down to under a million, maybe as low as half a million. At sixty comparisons per second, it’ll take somewhere between three and six hours just to run through them all. That’ll probably give me a few hundred preliminary matches, and then we go back through those and look for more detailed comparisons.”
“What do you mean,” I asked, “about preliminary matches?”
“I wrote my program to be fast,” he said. “The one the FBI uses works basically on taking specific identifiable points out of all the photos in their database and just looking for matches on those things. It’s designed to make as exact a match as possible, which means that it’s going to take more time. My system uses fewer matching points on its first run, and that’s why it comes up with preliminary matches. The one you’re looking for will be in there, but then I only have to run a detailed scan on a few hundred faces, rather than hundreds of thousands or millions.”
“Wow,” I said. “I’m impressed.”
“You should be,” Alfie said, “because I’m a genius.”
“Oh, that always impresses me. I was referring to the fact that I think I actually understood what you just told me. That’s what impressed me just now.”
He flipped me a bird. “If you’re going to hang around here while it runs,” he said, “make yourself useful and fix dinner. I know it’s a little early, but I’m hungry.”
SEVENTEEN
I chuckled, then went into his kitchen. Two minutes in there, where I found nothing but generic frozen pizza and ramen noodles, was enough to convince me that dinner was coming by delivery. I took out my phone and called the nearby pizza place that delivered in his neighborhood.
When I got back to the living room, Dex was excitedly telling Alfie all about his new shop and what he was planning to do with it all, the cars he was planning to buy and everything. I sat down and listened, grinning to myself at how excited they were both getting. Alfie might be a nerd, but he was apparently a nerd who knew his way around cars. He even turned the browser to Craigslist so he could look at a few of the cars for himself.
The pizza arrived in thirty minutes, as advertised, and we took a break to eat. Knowing that both Dex and I required extra calories, along with the fact that Alfie could eat more than any small person I had ever seen, I had ordered three large supreme pizzas. I ate more than half of one of them, Dex ate about the same amount, and Alfie finished everything else off. Considering the guy is only three and a half feet tall, I would love to know where he puts it.
Dex and I talked about leaving a couple of times, but a part of me wanted to be there if the computer came up with a match. I wanted to know who this guy was, and why he seemed to be holding such a grudge against me. I had gone over his face in my memory a hundred times that day, pulled out my phone and looked at his picture a hundred more, and I simply could not convince myself that I had ever met him before.
At the same time, there did seem to be something familiar about his face, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I played the video over and over, trying to see it from different angles, but that tiny little bit of familiarity just wouldn’t solidify. I was almost certain that I had never met this man, and I had even gone through the articles about Mike and his buddies, and all the accessories who were charged over that mess. Absolutely none of them looked like our bomber.
Dex and Alfie were still talking about cars and other things, but I was sitting there getting sleepy. I guess it was around nine when I dozed off, sitting there on the couch beside Dex, but the two of them simply turned down the volume on their voices a bit and let me sleep. Sweet of them, if you asked me.
“Cassie? Cassie, wake up,” Dex was saying. I struggled to get my eye open and looked up into his face. “The computer has done its thing, but it didn’t find any serious matches.”
I looked at Alfie. “Why not?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Apparently, your boy doesn’t have an Oklahoma driver’s license. If he did, I’m pretty sure we would have found it.”
I frowned. “Well, I guess it was worth a try. Any other bright ideas?”
“I’m not giving up yet,” Alfie said. “I’m going to leave the computer running tonight, and I’ve got it set to run the same searches on our neighboring states. That’ll mean going through a lot more faces, but I should know whether or not it finds anything by tomorrow afternoon, sometime.”
I let Dex help me up off the couch, and we stumbled out to his car. He insisted on checking it over, since we had not put security cameras on it yet, but he didn’t find any signs that it had been tampered with. We got in and buckled up, and headed for home.
Critter was delighted to see us, of course, though she was cussing me out in kitty talk. Mama had been gone too long, and the food and water dishes were shamefully empty. I rectified both horrible situations for her, and she forgave me.
Dex and I went to bed, and I actually beat him to sleep.
I woke to the ringing of my phone on my nightstand, and slapped the top of it a couple of times before I found the damn thing. I looked at it, but didn’t recognize the number.
“Cassie McGraw,” I said. My voice was a little raspy, because my throat was dry.
“That was pretty good,” said a voice, and I recognized it instantly. It was the same voice that had spoken to me the day before, the one that I didn’t realize in time was the bomber. “Getting my picture, I mean. I never would have expected you to put cameras on your car, so kudos to you.”
“Who are you?” I asked. “Why the hell are you doing this?”
“Well, now, that’s for me to know, and you to find out if you can. I mean, you’re supposed to be some hotshot private investigator, now, right? Yeah, I follow the news about you. I know all about you, Cassie, and all about what you do. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I know more about you than you do.”
The arrogance in his voice was pissing me off. “Oh, yeah? Well, in that case, you know I’m going to put you away for the rest of your life, right?”
“No, that’s not how this is going to play out. Like I said, Cassie, I know all about you. Your enemies don’t go to jail, they end up dead. You want to stop me, bitch? Then you’re going to have to kill me.”
“Oooh, is that a challenge? I love a good challenge. How about this? You and me, all alone, you name the time and place.”
Dex was up on his elbow, staring at me. I held up a finger to tell him to be quiet.
“Now, that’s more like what I have in mind. The trouble is, if I tell you when and where, I’m not sure I believe you’ll show up alone.”
“I
will,” I said. “You know, it looks like everything you’re doing is aimed at me, anyway. Even if things go bad when we meet, at least you’ll be able to stop hurting innocent people once you got me, right?”
“See, there you go again. That’s not how this works. You want me to stop? Then you have to stop me. Cassie, I’m way too smart for the cops, I know way too much about how they work. You, on the other hand, you don’t think like they do. You do things your own way, and that’s why you might actually manage to stop me.”
“Wait, you want me to stop you?” I asked. “Is that what this is really all about? You’re some kind of serial killer, right, addicted to it?”
He laughed. “That would be pretty convenient for you, wouldn’t it? I guess there might even be a little truth to it, because there is something pretty exciting about knowing you have power over life and death. Isn’t there?”
It’s not all that often than I’m left completely speechless, but he managed it for a moment there. “You son of a bitch,” I said. “Don’t you even imply that I’m anything like you. I’ve never killed anyone for fun, for a thrill.”
“Nobody ever does, the first time,” he said. “The trouble is, that’s when you realize that there is a thrill, that it makes you feel alive and powerful. I’ll bet you just about wore your boyfriend out after you shot that guy. Am I right?”
He did it again. Left me speechless. As much as I hated to admit it even to myself, that was the night I had actually let my guard down and allowed Dex to take me home with him. I hadn’t been with a man since Mike, I even told everybody I hated men, but that night…
Nobody likes to admit it, but it’s true. Violent death, especially when you are the one who caused it, makes you horny as hell. I always blame the fact that Dex and I had been drinking, but the truth was that I needed that sex that night. I needed it bad.
All of that went through my mind in a split second. “God, you’re disgusting,” I said. “Like I said, you want to meet up and settle this? You just name a time and place.”
“The time will be soon,” he said. “As for the place, just pay close attention and I’m pretty sure you’ll figure it out before long. Things are about to get lively, Cassie.”
The line went dead and I instantly dialed Alfie. He answered sleepily.
“I need you to check my phone,” I said. “The bomber just called me, see if you can figure out his number.”
“Give me five minutes,” he said.
It actually took him almost ten minutes to call me back, but the news wasn’t good. “I got the number he called from, but it’s a typical burner phone. One of those cheap ones that you can activate with a credit card, and he only activated it an hour ago. The credit card he used belongs to somebody in Oregon, so it’s probably stolen. I’m sending the report to your email, anyway, so you can give it to the police. Facial recognition is still running, so I’m going back to bed.”
He hung up. I looked at Dex and saw the worry in his eyes.
“You are not going to meet this guy alone,” he said. “Not as long as I’m alive.”
I smiled and reached out to touch his face. “Of course not,” I said. “We’re partners, right?”
He grabbed me and pulled me down, kissing me and holding me close. I surrendered to it, because I suddenly just needed to feel alive.
Thirty minutes later, I realized that it was not quite eight o’clock yet. Alfie was probably going to charge me double for waking him up, but it was worth it. I let Dex go take the first shower while I waited for eight and the chance to call Pennington.
“Why did I just know I was going to hear from you first thing this morning?” Pennington asked.
“I don’t know, are you psychic?” I told him about the call from the bomber, and the veiled hint that he was about to do something more. I also forwarded him the email Alfie had sent me, with the report on the number and credit card.
“One of these days,” he said, “you’ve got to introduce me to your computer guy.”
“No way,” I said. “He’s pretty private, I think he’s got PTSD or something. Never comes out of his cave.”
“Yeah, whatever. Keep me posted if you learn anything more.” He hung up, and I went to take my own shower as Dex was coming out.
When I came out of the shower, I went ahead and got dressed before I went to the kitchen. Dex had bacon and egg sandwiches waiting for me along with a fresh pot of coffee, and I happily sat down to enjoy them.
“What’s on your agenda for the day?” Dex asked.
“Going to the office, I guess,” I said. “I need to put out some advertising, let people know I’m there.”
“What if I had a better idea?”
“I’m listening,” I said. “What are you thinking?”
“I just called Lonnie Beals. He’s the deputy sheriff who runs the concealed carry course here. It’s only a three hour course, and he and I have actually done some shooting before, so he knows I can handle a gun. He says if I’ll come by this morning, I can have a permit before lunch.”
I broke into a smile. “Thank you, Dex,” I said. “I can’t tell you how much better I’ll feel knowing you can defend yourself.”
We finished breakfast and went out to Lonnie’s place, which was out near Sand Springs. When I had come to Oklahoma, I had to pass the CCW test even though I already had a Missouri permit. I had met Lonnie then, and found him to be a pretty great guy.
“About time you did this,” he said to Dex. “Especially if you’re going to be with this gal. From what I’m hearing, she has a tendency to attract some pretty crazy people.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and he chuckled.
I sat beside Dex while he listened to the things Lonnie was telling him, and took the written part of the test. He passed, of course, and then we went out to the firing range behind Lonnie’s house. Dex had brought along a Colt .45, and had to demonstrate that he knew how to use it properly. That was really nothing but a formality, so that Lonnie could sign his paperwork. We actually left with his permit at ten after eleven.
“Let’s celebrate,” I said. “I want to buy you a new holster. Heck, I’ll buy you a whole new gun if you want.”
Dex laughed. “I like my old forty-five,” he said. “It’s been a good gun for a long time. I bought it surplus, after I got back from Afghanistan, and it’s probably my favorite.”
He let me take him to a local gun store, and I convinced him that a shoulder holster would just look good on him. Of course, that required something to cover it up, so I bought him a black leather vest. That served a dual purpose, because it was actually a concealed carry vest; it had a pocket hidden on the inside that was big enough to hold his pistol. If he didn’t feel like putting on the shoulder holster, the vest was good enough.
While we were there, I spotted a beautiful little Kimber Ultra “Crimson Carry” forty-five that I liked. My own pistol was a nine millimeter, but I’d heard horror stories about people shot with a nine and not even slowing down. The dealer was willing to let me test fire the Kimber, and I was able to put every round exactly where I wanted it. I bought it, along with two boxes of hollowpoint ammunition and the new holster that would let me carry it the same way I had been doing with my nine millimeter.
We were in my car, because Dex said he had another errand he wanted to run that day, but would need a ride for it. When we finished up at the gun shop, I looked at him and asked, “Okay, where to next?”
He directed me back into Tulsa, and to a used car dealership called “Less Is More.” I think I must’ve looked at him a little funny when he told me to pull in, but he grinned and I decided to wait and see what was up. We parked in front of the little building and got out of the car, and a large, round moon pie of a man stepped out with a big smile on his face.
“Dex,” he said. “Good to see you, man. How long has it been, anyway?”
“Couple of years, anyway,” Dex said. “Lester Moore, this is Cassie McGraw, my girlfriend. Cassie, meet Le
s Moore.”
I shook hands with him, and grinned. “Nice name,” I said. “Did your parents do that to you?”
He laughed. “Actually, it was Mom. Dad said he was dead set against it, but mom just liked the way it sounded.” He let go of my hand and turned back to Dex. “It’s around back, come on.”
We walked around to the back of the office building, and I suddenly realized what we were doing there. Dex was staring at a truck, one of those big ones that has the flatbed that slides back and tilts down, so you can load a car on it.
“It’s only got sixty thousand miles on it,” Lester was saying, “but I just don’t really need it. I don’t do any repair work, anymore, and when I buy cars at the auction, I just have them delivered.”
Dex was crawling all over the truck, looking underneath it, raising the hood and crawling over the engine, giving it a thorough inspection. He started it up and worked the bed, making sure everything was operating properly, and then he and I took it for a test drive.
“Equipment?” I asked with a smile.
“One of the most important pieces,” Dex said. “With this, I can go pick up the cars I buy all by myself. It seems like a big expense right now, but it’ll save a fortune in hauling and towing bills.”
“I’m not objecting,” I said. “I kinda like the way it rides. How much does he want for it?”
“Well, it’s in great shape, but it’s still ten years old. He’s asking eleven thousand, but I was going to offer him eight thousand cash. He’ll probably haggle, but I should get it for about ninety-five hundred.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what it’s really worth,” I said, “but that doesn’t sound all that bad, to me.”
We took it back to the car lot and the haggling began. Lester didn’t want to come under ten thousand, and Dex refused to go over nine. I waited until it looked like they were both about to get angry, then stuck my own two cents’ worth in.