Her answer did not seem to please Krupe. “What about the position of the characters? Does this system, that you helped on, consider the positions of the data?”
The subtle inference was not lost on Crystal. I am the one who controlled Joe. “The system I designed takes every possible advantage of any information on position. It even uses information on position that is not 100% certain. The mathematics can get rather involved and I don’t want to confuse you, but if you would like to study a paper I wrote on it, I’ll be happy to give you a copy after these presentations are over.”
Krupe made a short laughing sound. “You wouldn’t confuse me, Crystal.” His demeanor turned caustic. “What about situations near the state border? Can it cross state boundaries?”
“If the adjacent state is using the program, yes.”
“And this radius approach. What if the circle crosses the state line? Will it translate properly across borders?”
“Certainly.” Krupe started another question, but Crystal ignored him and went right on. “It will handle those types of searches just as if there were no boundary there. Of course, as you can perhaps figure out, if the witness knows which state the license is from, that becomes a moot question.”
Krupe was getting more irritated with each answer. “What about searches based on zip codes?”
“Absolutely.”
“Area codes?”
“Naturally.”
William Rooney broke in. “Lester, I think you’ve proved that the system will handle anything you can throw at it. Shall we move on?”
Krupe was breathing faster and his face was florid. “Just one more, please, Bill.” He turned back to Crystal, contempt in his manner. “I don’t suppose it can handle input from non-human sources, can it?”
Crystal looked puzzled for a moment and the beginning of a twisted smile appeared on Krupe’s face. She turned her head to look at the graphic displayed on the screen. Nodding, she turned back.
“Dr. Krupe, when you interrupted my presentation, I was just about to put up another slide.” She clicked the remote control and an image filled the screen, a picture of the puce truck. “In actuality, this example I presented came from a computer-controlled surveillance camera. This is the actual picture. The computer interpreted the data, picked out the characters—and their positions——and fed them into the IPPI program. To answer your question, the system is already doing that.”
Bob Ingram spoke up before Krupe could open his mouth. “Excellent presentation. And an excellent system. I feel certain it will be a huge success. When will it be ready to market?”
Crystal gathered up her papers and looked at Mr. Ingram. “Today.”
Sally’s presentation followed her dress rehearsal plan exactly. Like the previous day, it caught the interest of the listeners immediately. And as during the rehearsal, the first question was: did they find the gold? Sally smiled her coy smile and said, due to a confidentiality agreement, she was not at liberty to say.
Mark provided the wrap-up and thanked the visitors for their attention and intelligent questions. “Now, we have a lunch being set up in the next room. We’re having a sumptuous spread from Sonny Bryan’s. For those of you not native to Dallas, you’re in for a real treat. We’ll show you what barbecue really means. But we’re a few minutes ahead of schedule, so please help yourselves to drinks at the table over here.” He pointed to a long table filled with a wide variety of drinks, plus ice, glasses, and fruit slices. A woman in a bright pink dress stood smiling behind the table, ready to lend assistance. “This will give Rooney Associates a chance to visit with IRS.”
Crystal was parched and ready for a drink. She considered a beer, but decided perhaps a glass of tea might be a better choice right now. She and Sally were quietly congratulating each other. Two feet in front of them, William Rooney and Krupe faced the bar, getting drinks.
“So, what is your overall impression, Lester?” Rooney was shaped like a steamer trunk turned on its end. His head was almost spherical and with his gray hair cropped to a quarter inch, it looked like a melon sitting on the end of the trunk. His eyes were clear, but held no expression. They took in information like a camera, not commenting, simply recording. He had small hands, better suited to writing checks than throwing a football. His voice sounded like rocks rolling in the surf.
Krupe drained the martini just handed to him and held up the glass to the woman in pink. “Another.” He turned his attention back to Rooney. “I liked what Wilson had to say about his work. Always good to see the commercial aspects. Sally’s work was interesting. A little dramatic, perhaps. Crissie’s little project didn’t seem very original.”
Crystal’s whole body stiffened. Within seconds, she could feel the blood pounding in her temples. She remembered the feeling of power she had with the gun in her hand. She glanced at her briefcase lying on the conference table. Without a word, she handed her glass to Sally and stalked over to the table. She popped open the briefcase, found what she was looking for, and marched toward Krupe.
Chapter 58
KRUPE had emptied his glass again and held it toward the bartender. He turned back to Rooney. “And not very worthwhile. Probably a waste of your money.”
Crystal stepped in front of Krupe, her face flushed, nostrils flared, muscles tense.
A quizzical look came over his face. “Yes?”
Her heart hammered in her chest. “Lester.”
He arched his eyebrows, but said nothing.
“You didn’t like my presentation today?”
“Well, I just thought it wasn’t very . . . worthwhile.”
Her hands were pressed against her back and she could feel the adrenaline surging through her body. “That’s what you said about my work at Stanford.”
Krupe blinked several times and forced a smile. “Well, I didn’t want to bring that up today.”
“But it was good enough for you to present at the University of Texas Learned Lecture Series yesterday.” Her voice was husky and she almost spat out the words.
The professor’s mouth twitched and he glanced at Rooney. Krupe swallowed, took a deep breath and stretched up as tall as possible and looked down his nose at Crystal. “Certainly I did not present your material at the Lecture Series. It might have been in the same area but it certainly was not your feeble work. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”
“No, I will not excuse you. And it was definitely my work.” She brought her right hand around from behind her back and waved a folder in front of him. “Here is work I produced two years ago. Work you had access to. And it is the same work you presented yesterday.”
The twitch at Krupe’s mouth started again and he licked his lips. His face turned noticeably paler and his focus shifted right and left, trying to find something to latch onto.
Crystal was still holding the folder in front of him. “Shall I read some of this to Mr. Rooney?”
“I don’t know what you have there, or where you got it, but it is hardly relevant. And you are making a fool of yourself.” His voice had risen and his usual control seemed to be faltering.
By now, Mark had come over. “Dr. Krupe may be right, Crystal. This may not be the time or the place for this.” He put his hand on her elbow but his eyes were on Rooney. She pulled her arm free.
“I’m in no rush,” said Rooney. His voice was so gravelly that Crystal had the urge to clear her throat.
Krupe seemed to have recovered somewhat, although the vertical lines between his eyebrows grew deeper. “Okay. I warned you,” he said to Crystal. “The work you did at Stanford was poor, sub-par. It was not up to graduate school standards. There. Are you satisfied?”
“No. Not really.” Crystal’s voice was now calm and she could tell her blood pressure had dropped. “Let me make just two points. What you presented yesterday was exactly what is in this folder, work I did at Stanford, work you undoubtedly have a copy of. Second, let me read you something.” She opened the folder, looked at Rooney, then at Mark. She read
off the paper, “This is excellent work. Some of the best I’ve seen here.” She closed the folder and looked at Krupe. “Does that sound familiar?”
He did not answer nor did he look at her.
“Those are your words, Dr. Krupe. Written, and dated, in your own, unmistakable handwriting. Addressed to me and written on the paper you presented at UT.”
The entire room had grown quiet. All attention was focused on the duel between the consultant and the IRS employee, the professor and his former student. Even the bartender was caught up in the confrontation. Brandi moved over to stand right behind Crystal. Phil watched without moving a muscle, while a tiny smile formed on Sally’s face.
Crystal realized she wasn’t breathing and tried to start taking in small amounts of air without being noticed. The scene remained motionless. Dr. Krupe closed his eyes without saying a word. The tic at his mouth started once again. Rooney shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
A full minute passed. Crystal was determined not to break the silence. Krupe had to respond to her accusation. He had to respond to his own words written on her paper in his own hand. She could wait. She would wait.
In the back of her consciousness, she could hear the muted sounds of lunch being set in the next room, could smell the pungent aroma of barbeque sauce wafting in through the open door. A strange calm descended over her, even as she challenged her former advisor.
Finally, the consultant opened his eyes and looked at her. “I am the scientist here. I am the national figure, the authority, the consultant.” On the last word, he looked directly at Mark. Krupe’s mouth twisted into a sneer as he refocused on Crystal. “You are nobody. I do not have to answer to you. I do not have to answer to someone who couldn’t even finish her dissertation. And Mark’s judgment has to be questioned if he hires someone of your caliber.” He turned to the bartender and said, “Another.”
No one else moved, or even breathed, it seemed. The room was a tableau, frozen in an instant by some strange cosmic force.
Rooney broke the silence. “You are the consultant, Lester. My consultant. And you certainly don’t have to answer to Ms. Moore.”
Krupe looked back at Crystal, a smirk on his face.
“However,” Rooney continued. “As my consultant, you have to answer to me. And I expect that as a national figure and authority, as you describe yourself, you will have to provide an answer to the scientific community. But, I’d like to hear your answer to Rooney Associates right now.”
Crystal didn’t feel that Mr. Rooney was taking her side. His words were said without menace or pre-judgment. He simply wanted to resolve this dispute now. That was okay. Confidence was pulsing through her veins.
Krupe rubbed his chin and studied the floor for a minute. Then he tilted his head back slightly and stared down at Crystal. “I didn’t want to say this to everybody. I was trying to keep you from suffering too much embarrassment, perhaps ruining your chances in this field for all time. But you wouldn’t let it alone.” He took a deep breath and looked at Rooney. “I shouldn’t have done it, but Crissie—”
“My name is Crystal.”
“If that’s important.” He paused momentarily, then continued, but his voice had lost some of its richness. “Crystal was struggling, couldn’t seem to come up with anything original. She was a good kid and I didn’t want to see her drop out. She worked hard. She just didn’t quite have it when it came to originality.”
Crystal thought of Big Man trying to get Nana arrested and of his threats to call his lawyer and create trouble for Glothe. She smiled. It amazed her how much Dr. Krupe sounded like Big Man: all huff and no substance.
“I gave her the idea for this paper. In fact, I almost wrote it for her. When she couldn’t finish it, I decided to reclaim my idea and my work. And I presented it at the University of Texas. My real mistake was in feeling sorry for Crissie, ah, Crystal. I should have just said she wasn’t graduate school material and let it go. But since she couldn’t handle the ideas I gave her, why should I let them go to waste?” He had a forced smile on his face as he looked from Rooney to Mark.
Crystal knew that even a few days ago such comments from Dr. Krupe would have thrown her into deep depression. She would have hung her head and blundered off to cry in a darkened room.
But Dr. Krupe no longer intimidated her. Now, his words slid off her like butter off a hot knife.
“Dr. Krupe, a few minutes ago, I didn’t read everything you had written on my paper. I’d like to read the rest of it now. I think Mr. Rooney will find it interesting.”
She was speaking softly, confidently. Sally and Phil moved closer. Mark leaned in toward his employee. Brandi was smiling.
Crystal opened the folder again, looked directly into Krupe’s eyes for a moment, then back at the paper. She read the words slowly and distinctly, hoping no one would miss the meaning. “This is extremely creative work. I never thought about applying I.R. techniques in this area or in the manner you have. Very creative. Wish ... I’d ... thought ... of ... this ... first.” She closed the folder and looked at the consultant. “Again, this is written and dated, two years ago, in your inimitable scrawl.”
No one moved. It was so quiet Crystal could hear Krupe breathing. Rooney stuck out his hand. “May I?” he asked Crystal.
She handed the venture capitalist the folder. He opened it, and for several minutes studied the page. Then slowly he flipped through the remaining papers in the folder. Without comment, he handed it back to Crystal.
Pam appeared at the door. “They’re ready with lunch.” Then, looking at the group, she said, “Oops. Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt,” and she ducked back out.
Rooney’s stubby fingers covered his chin and half his mouth. He let out a long breath and turned to his consultant. “Lester, we’ll talk about this later.”
Brandi stuck her head in between Crystal and Mark. “Sorry, Lecher. I made a mistake when I called you Dr. Crap. It should have been Dr. Crook.”
Krupe looked up when she addressed him, then looked back at the floor without opening his mouth.
Once again, Rooney broke the silence that had descended over the group. “Well, Mark, let’s go try that wonderful barbecue you’ve been praising.”
He started toward the door, but stopped abruptly and addressed Crystal. “I liked your presentation and I see it as a very successful project.” Then, he turned his attention to Brandi. “You have lovely hair. And beautiful eyes.” He raised his eyebrows and for a brief moment, his eyes twinkled. “And the ability to capture the essence, succinctly.” He chuckled as he strode out the door.
Brandi grabbed Crystal. “You did it. You were a wild woman.”
Krupe turned to the bartender and asked for another martini.
Epilogue
AT the soft knock, Mark looked up to see Crystal and Eula standing in the doorway to his office. Nearly six weeks had passed since the terrible encounter with Joe, Al, Big Man and The Beard. And Dr. Lester Krupe.
“Come in, come in. It’s not a surprise, since Crystal told me she was bringing you in today. But it is certainly a pleasure.” Mark rose and walked over to meet them as he spoke.
“What a silver-tongued man, this Bull O’Malley is,” said Eula and she reached up and gave him a hug. “I guess silver is an okay word.”
“I’d say so,” Crystal said.
“Sit over here. It’s more comfortable.” Mark motioned them over to the couch and easy chairs that defined the conversation area of his office. “How did today’s business go?”
“I’d say fine. Crystal is pickier.”
Crystal grinned and raised her shoulders, causing the large swordfish dangling from each ear to swing back and forth. “Like store-bought rolls. Okay, but could have been better, I would think.”
“And congratulations,” Eula said to Mark. “Crystal tells me you got the next chunk of change from the money people.”
“That’s right. And Crystal is partly responsible for that.”
/> “And no consultant looking over your shoulder.”
“Crystal gets all the credit for that. She showed Rooney their consultant was, uh, not doing a good job for them.”
“Or as Brandi puts it,” Eula said, “Dr. Crap don’t know jack.” The wrinkled old woman cackled.
Crystal and Mark both laughed.
Eula narrowed her eyes. “But I got a bone to pick with you two. I met Sally Whatshername out in the hall and she wanted to know what happened. I can’t believe everybody here doesn’t know everything. That kind of information not spreading like wildfire is rarer than feathers on a skunk. And ain’t this an information retrieval place?”
Mark looked at Crystal and raised his eyebrows. Crystal shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how much you wanted people to know, Nana.”
“I didn’t kill anybody,” Eula said, a shade of disdain in her voice. “Why should I care if they know everything? Course, I’m not going to force feed them either. But I’ve always said, if people are hungry, feed ‘em.”
Mark and Crystal looked at each other, not really knowing what to say.
“That’s the trouble with you young people. You think too much. If you work out every last detail before you start, it may be too late. Let’s just do it. Crystal, find out who’s interested, and order in lunch for that many. I’m buying. I’ll fill ‘em with food and answers at the same time. Any objections, Bull?”
“Just one,” Mark said, looking amused. “The office knows me as Mark.”
#
Almost the entire office joined the lunch in the conference room. Crystal wasn’t certain whether it was to hear Nana’s story or for free food.
“I’m thinking you’ve heard all this,” Eula started. “So you ask and I’ll try to answer. Much as I know, anyway.”
JT spoke very softly. “Was there any gold?”
Eula smiled. “Well, I guess the answer is no.” There was a low murmur of disappointment. “And yes.”
Everybody laughed, but their curiosity was not satisfied. Sally put her sandwich down and said, “If there is a yes component to the answer, then start by telling us how you found it.”
A Ton of Gold (Crystal Moore Suspense Book 1) Page 29