Chapter 10
Eryn looked up at Callan. Excitement gleamed in her blue-green eyes. “Everything okay?”
Callan nodded but didn’t comment. “Sorry.”
“Your plate’s in the microwave if you want to eat.”
Despite the fact that he still didn’t have an appetite, Callan went to get his plate, then returned to the dining room. “You’re working on the list?”
She shook her head. “Something else.”
Peering over her shoulder, Callan saw several digital images spread across open window on the screen. Another window showed the video footage they’d gotten from the hotel. Standing that close to her, he felt the heat of her body and smelled her fragrance. She wasn’t covered in soap and shampoo and perfume. There were hints of those things, but he smelled her as well. Maybe he didn’t have an appetite for a meal, but he felt another appetite building unexpectedly. The reaction surprised him and he tried to force his mind away from that and concentrate on Daniel’s situation.
“I know it’s going to take your friend a while to process all the video we’re going to send him, but can he work through some of the images?” Eryn pointed at the screen. “I’ve captured some of the frames. We can send them to him individually. I picked ones that gave the best views of the kidnappers.”
Gazing along the images, Callan saw that she’d captured several pictures. All of the kidnappers were masked, so no identities were revealed, but Callan felt he was a step closer to catching them. Part of the knot in his stomach was unloosened. “That’s good.”
Eryn smiled and nodded. “I thought so myself. These aren’t as big as the whole video. We can send them now. If your friend can handle it.”
Taking out his phone, Callan punched in the number he had for Koenig. Surprisingly, Koenig answered.
“Dude.”
“The woman I was telling you about?”
“Detective Hot And Sexy?”
Callan grimaced, knowing Eryn had heard the exchange because she was so close. She arched an eyebrow. Callan met her gaze without flinching. “She took some pictures—”
“Captured images.” Eryn shook her head.
“—from the video footage. She thought maybe you could work on those while you’re waiting for the video file.”
“Good idea, dude. She can email them to me.”
Eryn picked up a pen.
“She’s ready.” Callan held the phone out to Eryn.
“He’s holding the phone out to you, isn’t he?” Koenig sounded amused.
“Yes.” Eryn glanced at Callan, who frowned in displeasure. He knew he shouldn’t have cared.
“I knew he would. He doesn’t know where the speaker function is. He’s predictable.”
Eryn continued looking at Callan. “I haven’t thought so.”
“Stick around. Get to know him. In so many ways, Callan is vanilla. Plain and simple on the outside, but he’s complicated on the inside when he starts trying to figure out how to deal with other people. But he’s money in the bank when it comes do doing something he sets out to do. Whatever he says he’s gonna do, he’s gonna do, and nothing’s gonna stop him.”
“I got that impression.” Eryn looked up at Callan.
Koenig chuckled. “Callan has that effect on people. Ready for that email address?”
“Yes.” Eryn held the pen poised over a small notebook.
Irritated by the exchange, Callan worked at remaining calm, but he couldn’t help noticing the slender lines of Eryn’s neck and how it led to her cleavage. He dragged his eyes away and took a deep breath.
“I’ll have those images to you in a couple minutes.” Eryn began typing on the computer.
“Good deal. You and Callan get moving. By the time you reach an internet café, I should have the images worked, and I’ll have an FTP site set up so you can upload the video files.”
“All right.”
“In the meantime, has he talked to Jenny?”
Smiling in disbelief, Eryn looked up at Callan. “Yes.”
“Good. Now take his phone away from him and destroy it. He won’t know how to shut down the battery and the GPS signal. The police and FBI were all around his sister. They’ll ping his phone and get a lock on it, track it down. He doesn’t know that because he’s not used to real technology and operating in the United States.”
That surprised Callan. Then again, where he’d been the last few years and the things he’d been doing, Koenig was right. The thought that the police might track his cell phone hadn’t really registered.
The smile disappeared from Eryn’s face. “I should have realized that.”
“You’re not used to breaking the law. I know because I checked. And this is why Callan called me in. Deuce the phone and get him another one. Yo, Callan?”
“Yeah?”
“This is my bad, dude. I should have remembered to tell you that.”
“It’s cool.”
“Now you kids get off to that internet café. Uncle Koenig’s got stuff to do. Girl detective?”
Surprised, Eryn looked back at the phone. “Yes.”
“It’s good to meet you. Take care of my buddy while he’s in your hands.”
An uncertain look flashed through Eryn’s eyes. “I will.”
“Outstanding. I’ll talk to the two of you soon.”
“When I destroy his phone, won’t you need my cell number?”
“I already have it. Stay safe, Callan.” The phone clicked.
Looking perplexed, Eryn shook her head. “Quite the friend you have there.”
“I know.” Callan handed her the phone.
Eryn took it. “Don’t you need to copy any numbers from it? Once I destroy this phone, you’re not going to be able to retrieve them.”
Callan shook his head. “I’ve memorized every number I need to know.”
Without another word, Eryn stripped the phone to pieces. Callan was amazed at how quickly it came apart. She tore the coin-size battery from the unit, then took the debris to the trash in the kitchen.
Callan took the pistol from the dining room table and tucked it into the back of his waistband. He plucked the bomber jacket from the back of one of the chairs. “Are you ready?”
Quickly, Eryn packed the computer into a single-strap backpack, pulled on her jacket, then took a holstered pistol and clipped it to the back of her belt. She covered everything with a thigh-length black jacket.
A frown tugged at the corners of Callan’s mouth. “You’re taking your gun?”
“Yes. I thought it would be better than throwing rocks at anyone that might choose to shoot at us.” Eryn couldn’t believe how she was now accepting the fact that they were going to get anywhere close to whomever took Daniel Steadman, but after everything Callan and his friend had done, she was starting to become a believer.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“As well as I know how to use a cell phone and a computer.” She cocked an eyebrow at him and didn’t back off an inch. “Should I be concerned about you?”
Callan almost smiled. “No. I know guns better than I know cell phones and computers.”
“Good. I hoped you’d start pulling your weight around here.” Eryn turned and strode toward the door. Callan trailed after her.
On the way down in the elevator, Eryn enjoyed the quiet way Callan stood beside her with his hands crossed. She liked the way she’d surprised him, the way she’d shown him she was competent at her job.
Then, when they reached the apartment building lobby and she realized her car was still at the hotel, she lost some of the glow. She reached into her jacket pocket for her phone. “I’ll have to call a cab.”
“No.”
“My car is still at the hotel.”
“I know. But the police are going to figure out that we’re together. They may already be tracking your phone.”
Eryn hadn’t considered that. All right, you’re new to the fugitive game. Cut yourself some slack and get your head into
it.
“If you call a cab on your phone, the police can get in touch with the driver and find out where we went. As of this minute, we need to be off the grid. You need to get rid of your phone too. If Koenig had known you’d helped me break into the security office, he’d have had you destroy your phone, too.”
“I like my phone. It has a lot of important information on it that I need.”
“You can’t take it with us.”
Desperate, Eryn wrapped a fist around her phone. Maybe Callan had a healthy disregard for all things electronic, but she had her life on that phone. She couldn’t just destroy it. Pictures, address books, everything she needed to stay in touch with her world was on that phone.
But it also allowed people—even unwanted people—to reach out and touch her, too. Callan was right. However, she didn’t have to destroy her phone.
In the lobby, she turned to the mailboxes. She opened hers and Renee’s, placed the phone inside and locked it. “They can track the phone there, but that’s the United States Post office. They’ll have to get a writ to open that box, and it’ll be hard to get one before morning.” She didn’t like the idea of her phone getting ripped to shreds on some forensic table at the police department, but it was the best thing she could do to protect it. She caught Callan’s gaze behind the aviator lenses. “We’ve also got to get some dye for your hair. You still look like you.”
Callan didn’t take any offense. “Car’s more important right now. When Koenig gets us a connect to a friend in Vegas—”
“You have a friend in Vegas?”
“Koenig has friends everywhere. That’s what he does.”
Eryn got a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Friends like you?”
Callan smiled. “No. A lot of these guys are generally guys I try to put away. But they’re people you need to work with in order to get things done.”
“Terrific. This night just gets better.”
He reached out gingerly and touched her shoulder. “You don’t have to be part of this. I told you that.”
Eryn wanted to say something smart, but there was no challenge in his voice, nothing there that was trying to belittle her or question whether or not she could hang with him. What she heard was genuine concern, and that touched her.
She remembered how he’d been out on the balcony while talking to his sister. His shoulders had rounded and he’d looked nowhere near as invulnerable as he had while running full tilt at a van full of gunmen.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I was just venting. If we’re not going to use credit cards, getting a car is going to be difficult.”
“There was a pay phone at the bodega. We can call a cab from there. The world hasn’t quite abandoned the old ways.”
“The cab ride can be expensive. So can the internet café.” Eryn shook her head. “I don’t carry much cash. Usually I use a debit card.”
With a look of disbelief, as if the idea of people walking around without money was beyond comprehension, Callan shook his head. “I’ve got cash. Let’s go.”
Forty-three minutes later, they entered the internet café only a few blocks off the Strip. Posters of armored heroes and scantily clad women with swords and ray guns hung in the windows. They had a minor stumbling block at the desk because the guy wasn’t happy about just taking cash. He wanted a credit card and an ID.
Eryn read the guy’s name tag. “Look, Jamie, we only need to use the computer for a bit. You’ll be able to monitor everything we do. We’re just going to upload a video file to a friend.” She nodded at the graphic novel open on the counter and smiled. “If Vegas had Batman, maybe my husband and I would have had a safe visit.”
“True. But only if it was the Christian Bale Batman.” Jamie smiled, then nodded. He handed Callan an electronic key.
Before Callan could ask what it was, Eryn took the key and smiled at the clerk. “Thanks, Jamie. We appreciate it.”
“No prob.”
Eryn led the way back to the computer terminal, sat down and made herself at home.
Callan pulled up a chair and sat beside her, then took out one of the disposable phones they’d purchased at a casino kiosk on the way over. Eryn had shown the CyberStealth company credit card she’d been given, her ID and Callan had paid in cash when she’d explained to the clerk that the company had a fixed limit on how much could be charged. That way the purchase showed up in CyberStealth’s name, but there was no bank routing number or credit card number involved. It was the closest to off-the-books they could manage.
After Callan entered the card ID, then punched in Koenig’s number, he handed her the phone. “Put it on speaker.”
As the phone rang, Eryn showed him how to manage the function himself. He didn’t appear overly interested, but he was attentive. He sat quietly beside her and she felt the heat from his leg barely touching hers. At rest, he looked almost docile. His fingers were interlaced. But she knew that he was tracking every movement in the building.
“Dude.” Koenig sounded almost jovial.
“You’re on speaker.”
“I could tell from the way it sounded. Is girl detective still with you? Or did you manage to scare her off?”
“I’m hard to scare.” Eryn smiled.
“Good for you. I’ll keep that in mind. Just remember, there’s always a good time to be scared. I’ve gotten some of these images cleaned up.”
“I’m impressed.” Eryn had seen the lab at CyberStealth take hours and days to process images.
“This is what I live for. Callan kicks down doors. I pluck secrets out of digital hidey-holes. Tag me at this address and let me show you what I have.” Koenig provided a website address.
Eryn tapped the keys quickly and the site came up almost immediately. Plain and unadorned, the screen showed only pictures hung against a black backdrop.
“I don’t have any faces yet, but I will. Or a facsimile thereof.”
Shaking her head, Eryn looked at the masked kidnappers frozen in flight with Daniel Steadman herded between them. Daniel looked terrified. “They’re all masked. You can’t get faces from this footage.”
“You have your specialties, I have mine. I’ve got software that, given time, can peel those masks off and give me a good idea of the contours that lie beneath. If I wanted, I could strip them down to the bone and build them up again. But I’ll also have eye color from these images, and interesting little bits like scars and tattoos. This is going to be way better than any police sketch artist can do. It just takes more time. I’ve got access to facial recognition databases around the world. When I get the faces the way I like them, I’ll run them through that and see if we get any hits.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right. Don’t you forget wow. I specialize in wow. You should see me when I really have time to throw a party.”
Callan smiled a little at that. Eryn suspected there was a story, or maybe several stories, that went with the claim. He took a sip from the coffee—just black, nothing added—they’d gotten at the shop next door. Eryn had gotten bottled water and tucked it into her jacket pocket.
“Do you guys have that list of party guests?”
“Yes.” They’d put it together in the back of the cab. “I’ll send it to you now.”
“Awesome. I’m building a facial recognition database off the friends I’ve listed. Grabbing images off Facebook. I’ll match what I’ve got against what you have, see if there are any misses.”
The chair squeaked as Callan shifted. “I don’t want to put pressure on you—”
“I’m working as fast as I can, dude.”
Callan sighed.
Eryn peered at one of the pictures, examining the exposed wrist of the man in the image. His sleeve had risen and bared a few inches of skin above his glove. She leaned in closer for a better look.
“Third image over on the second row. Is that a tattoo?”
Callan leaned in as well.
“You have a very good eye, girl detective. That
is, indeed, a tattoo. The image was grainy, but I’ve got intelligent software that can bridge pixelization, fill in the gaps and holes with intuitive logic. I think I’ve come up with an enhanced view of that tattoo.”
Abruptly, the image blew up and filled the screen. The tattoo took shape, gradually sharpening until it was a hawk with its wings spread and a knife in its beak.
Koenig’s voice was light and happy. “Now that, folks, is not your run-of-the-mill tattoo. I did some looking around after I turned that up. Thought there was a chance this guy got his ink done locally, if he’s from Vegas. A lot of the tattoo artists put pieces up on their websites. Took me only a few minutes to find this one. There’s a tattoo shop not far from where you two are now, in fact. Vegas is a twenty-four-hour town. Could be someone there is still working and can look up the records for you.”
“We don’t need to do that.” Eryn spoke calmly but she was rushing inside. Most of the work she’d done at CS Sec had been quiet and boring. She’d performed mostly as a bodyguard in casinos and done computer work, putting in hours and filing reports.
She hadn’t actually been part of an aggressive skiptrace before, and she discovered that she enjoyed being the hunter. Her pulse quickened as she thought of finding Daniel Steadman alive and whole. It could happen. She was starting to believe that.
“You know this tattoo?” Callan focused his cold sniper eyes on her, and for a minute she felt threatened.
“There’s a group of security guards that specialize in guarding high rollers that are known to be eccentric.”
“What do you mean eccentric?”
“Men, and some women, that are likely to get into trouble as they tour the casinos. CEOs and rich kids with a license, and cash, to play for high stakes and generally lose a small fortune. They’re the kind of business the casinos thrive on, so they won’t turn them away. But they will hire security teams to keep them clean inside the casinos. These are people that get caught up in the sex trade and drugs. A security guard who gets caught up with these people can go down on the same charges.”
“The sex trade is legal here.”
“Not with kids and not with people that don’t want to have sex.”
Best Man for the Job Page 11