Levy whirled toward Mike. “Get Kai whatever information she needs to get my money back, and do whatever you must to find Sara. Put the word out on the streets. Offer a reward. And double the number of credit cards out there. I need to get my money back.”
***
Taking Friday afternoon off, Derry headed over to the computer store Sara recommended. She said it was the only place in town that she was sure would have what she needed. Her instructions to pay with cash and to give out no personal information would have seemed weird under any other circumstance, but Derry guessed the owner must have been part of her old life.
He headed down South Colorado Boulevard, to Babbage Computing. The store was easy enough to find. It sat in one corner of an L-shaped strip mall, with an alley behind the buildings. Derry parked his car at the end of the building, just out of sight of the entrance.
He surveyed the store on entering, and felt lost. The kid behind the counter appeared to be several years younger than him. “Can I help you?”
“Sure, I guess.” Was this the guy Sara warned him about? Maybe. “I need a—” Derry stared down at the paper.
“Here, let me see your list.”
Derry handed it over. The young man seemed nice enough.
“Looks like a fancy system you’re wanting.” He glanced up. “Did a friend make this list up for you?”
“You might say that.”
He studied the list for several seconds. “I don’t have one of these built up right now, but I have something close. It’s faster with more cache. I can give you a price break on it.”
Sara’s instructions were clear. She wanted the computer listed on the paper. “No, I need that one. It needs to be compatible with my friend’s system.” Derry nodded at the list.
“The newer one would be.” He glanced back at the list. “But hey, okay, if this is what you want, I think I have everything in stock. For an extra hundred, I can put it together and install the operating system, but it’ll take me a few days.”
“No, that’s okay. Just the parts listed.”
“Okay. You know, eight months ago this was the hottest system on the market. Now some of these parts are dated. You sure you don’t want something a little faster?”
“No, that’s okay. Sar—I just need what’s listed on the paper.”
A gleam appeared in the kid’s eye for a split second, just long enough for Derry to notice.
“You want Intel, AMD? What clock speed, and how much cache?”
Sara had said something about that when she was making the list. Derry was sure it was written down. He leaned in a little, and stared down at the paper. “Doesn’t it say?”
“Oh yeah, it’s right here.”
Something was up.
“What operating system? Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS, or maybe PS2?”
The only word Derry understood was Windows, but he wasn’t sure if that was what Sara needed. Feigning confidence, he told the young man that he was sure that was on the list too.
A small smile started to form as the boy studied the paper again. “Sure, it’ll just take me a few minutes.”
As the kid moved about the store, gathering parts, Derry watched with suspicion. He was way too happy as he filled the order. He suspected something.
The kid bagged up the smaller parts, then added up the cost and gave the total to Derry.
Derry reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money.
The boy’s eyebrows went up. “Cash? I don’t see that very often.”
After they both counted out the sum, Derry started to stack up the boxes.
“I need your phone number and address,” the boy said.
Derry stopped. “Why?”
“It’s for the warranty. Most of this stuff only comes with a 90-day warranty but hey, it’s better than nothing. I need your name, address, phone number. Also, if you give us your email address, we can send you alerts on specials.”
Derry reached for the bags. “That’s okay. I don’t need the warranty.”
“If any of the parts are defective, I can’t replace them without this information. It’s a lot of money to lose if one of the CPUs is bad. You should at least give me your phone number and address.”
Steadying the pyramid of boxes, Derry grabbed his purchases and headed for the door. “No, thanks.”
“Here let me help you.” As the kid reached for one of the bags, his phone rang. The call kept him busy while Derry escaped to his car.
***
Sara nibbled away at her fingernails, a habit she had broken herself of years ago. Where was Derry? Was sending him to Babbage Computing a mistake? Did he betray her to Ted?
Ted was one of Levy’s lackeys and owed him money. He would betray her in a heartbeat.
Sara opened the door for Derry. “Did everything go okay? Did you get everything?”
He set them in the dining room, the only place with enough room to work. “I sure hope so. You are going to pay me back for this, right?” He asked the question with a smile. Was it real?
“I said I would. As soon as I get everything set up. Is tomorrow soon enough?”
Derry didn’t answer as he headed back out the door. Sara surveyed the boxes. She had a lot of work in front of her. She took a seat at one end of the table, and opened the box containing the computer chassis. Removing the back, she checked the motherboard. It was the right one. Good.
He came through the door with Kevin in tow. “This is it.” Derry carried the remaining few boxes in and set them on the floor near Sara.
“Did you get your new laptop?”
“Yeah, right here.” Derry held up one bag.
Kevin set down the bag he was carrying, and addressed Sara. “So, how’re you feeling?”
“A lot better. Your wife’s a good doctor.”
“Feel up to coming over to our house for dinner?”
Sara glanced at Derry.
“He’s invited too.”
Sara returned her attention to Kevin. “Is this meal going to be out of a can?” She hoped to maintain a deadpan expression. “I see Derry’s had a bad effect on you.”
“Hey, I heard that.” Derry set a box on the table at the opposite end from Sara.
“No, Natalie knows how to use a stove. In fact, she’s a very good cook. If it weren’t for us, he would starve.”
“There are always restaurants,” Derry protested.
“You know, I’ve seen his choice in restaurants,” said Sara. “Starvation is less of a punishment.”
“I think I’m being ganged up on.”
“Nope, just being honest.” She gave Derry a confident smile.
“So, I take it you want real food tonight?” Kevin shifted his attention between the two.
They both agreed.
Kevin moved toward the door. “So, about six?”
“Sounds good.” Derry opened his box.
That gave Sara two hours. She went to work putting the system together.
Derry sat at the other end, setting up his new laptop.
Sara stole a few glances as he worked. He seemed like a nice person. Was he really, or was he hiding something? “Where do your parents live?”
The mood in the room immediately changed.
“They’re both dead.”
Not what she expected. “Oh, I’m sorry. What happened?”
“My mother died a couple of years ago, at the hands of a street gang in my old neighborhood. My real father died when I was ten.”
Both parents dead; that caught her off guard. “Your real father?”
“Yeah. After he was killed, my mother remarried. My stepfather and I didn’t get along. He kicked me out when I was seventeen.”
His father’s death at such a young age
was something with which she could relate. “Oh, I’m sorry. How’d your real father die?”
“He was in the Army. He died overseas. A squad in his platoon got caught in a firefight. It was a trap. They were outnumbered, pinned down, and running low on ammo. They needed backup. My dad and part of his squad rushed in to help them. As the men withdrew with the wounded, my dad stayed behind to provide cover fire. He never made it out.”
The story really touched her. She could see he still hurt over this. He hadn’t learned to turn his emotions off, to dig a deep hole and bury the pain.
“He sounds like a good man.”
“Yeah, he was a hero.” Under his breath, he added, “Not like my stepfather.”
After this, they both worked in silence.
Finally, Derry looked at his watch. “Oh, we’d better be going.”
Sara glanced at the microwave.
6:03.
“Just one minute. I want to start the hard drive formatting, so it can work while we’re gone.”
Derry waited as Sara typed in a few commands. Three minutes later, they headed out the door.
Chapter 29
Sara slept in later than she expected. It was approaching noon when she dragged herself out of bed.
“Morning, sleepy head.” Derry was moving about in the kitchen.
“Muuuh.” She wasn’t a morning person, never had been.
A bag of muffins sat on the table close to Derry’s laptop. “Those look good.” Sara reached for them. “Can I have one?”
“I bought them to share. Want some juice to go with it?”
He was so perky. What was wrong with him?
“Coffee?”
“Sure.”
Derry turned toward the coffeemaker as Sara plopped down in front of her computer. The operating system was installed, and the computer was waiting for her to answer a few dozen questions.
She picked at the muffin as she worked her way through the final steps. The coffee helped. Derry sat at the other end of the table working on his computer. He couldn’t view her monitor from where he sat. Once the setup was complete, she logged into the offsite backup location where she’d stored all her programs.
She started the download as she nibbled some more on her muffin. Derry grumbled about his lost data.
“You should’ve backed it up.” She finished her first cup of coffee and rose to get a second.
“Yeah, I know. I hear that all the time.”
“Well, maybe you should have listened. You know, it’s easy to do.”
Derry raised his eyebrows as he watched her moving back to her seat. “For you, maybe.”
He seemed so likeable. Was he really like this, or was it just an act? Sara scanned the download’s progress. Derry’s Internet connection was slow. It would take some time to complete. Getting up again, she went around to his side of the table and pulled a chair up next to his.
“You going to set up my computer for me?” He had a little kid smile. Cute.
“No, but I’ll walk you through the process.”
“Hmm, I guess that means I have to do the work.”
“No duh.”
She enjoyed sitting near him. It felt natural, and a little weird at the same time. Forty-five minutes later, his setup was complete. She could have done it faster, but she didn’t mind showing him the different options and explaining why he should choose one over the others. He was a quick study.
She moved back to her side of the table. Her downloads were complete. In a few more minutes, she’d be able to check her email and move about the Internet without being tracked by Kai or anyone else.
But first things first. Did Levy really find her money? All of it? Could she pay Derry his money? She had three different accounts. She checked her local bank first. This was the one Kai and Levy were most likely to find.
Empty, not surprising.
Well, that was the smallest account. Did Levy find his money? Did he stop the transfers from last weekend? Not as likely. This account was harder to find and was under her new name, Ramos.
Sara logged into her offshore account.
Sitting back, she knew she still had him. The account was untouched, lots of money. If he hadn’t found that one, he probably didn’t know about her third account, either. This one was also under Ramos. It had money from her past, before she started working for Levy. Checking it, she found it still had several thousand dollars in it.
Good. No, great!
“What’s so funny?”
Sara glanced at Derry. “What?”
“You had a big smile on your face.”
Oops. “Oh, just something I read. If you have your bank info handy, I can transfer the money now.”
Derry rose, and retrieved a checkbook from one of the kitchen drawers. Approaching Sara, he held it out. “This should have the information you need.”
Sara took it, and Derry stood behind her.
“Ramos?”
At first, Sara didn’t catch him saying her new last name. It sounded a little odd. He must have read it off her screen.
“Yes.” Her hands held a stationary position over the keyboard.
“That’s your last name?” The tone carried an accusation.
“What’d you think my name was?” She worked not to appear defensive.
“Oh, I thought I heard something different at Jasper’s. Something that started with a B.”
She could feel him behind her now. What was enjoyable a minute ago was suddenly oppressive. “Maybe.”
“So, you have two last names? Were you married or something?”
Is that what he’s concerned about, whether I’m single or not? “I have to use a false name when running tests for two reasons. One, so the card companies know the transactions are tests and the charges can be trapped. Two, in case the charges aren’t trapped, I can’t have it hurting my credit rating.”
Oh, I’m good.
“Hmm, makes sense.”
After the transfer, Derry headed out to the shack he kept calling a guesthouse. That gave Sara the freedom to take care of some of her own business. First thing she needed was a new credit card; she had lost everything when she dumped her pack in Estes. She could live without a driver’s license, since she had her passport waiting for her. Sara logged into her credit card account, canceled her old card, ordered a new one, and had it sent to her PO box in Estes Park.
Chapter 30
“Get Kai in here.” Levy stood in front of his office window, glaring at Ted.
“I’ll see if she’s in.” Mike reached for his phone.
“She’d better be in, or that girlfriend of yours will be the next one in the chair.”
Mike made no response to Levy’s threat. “Kai, it’s Mike. Mr. Levy needs to see you ASAP.”
Ted shifted uneasily under Levy’s stare.
Levy continued, “Your story better check out, or I’ll shut down your store so fast you won’t have time to pack your pens.” He didn’t like Ted, but like all of the people who worked for Levy, he had his uses.
“She’s on her way.” Mike slid his phone into his pocket.
Mike was incompetent. How could one half-dead woman escape his grasp for so long? They had one task, one simple task. Find Sara. While they were looking for her, she was stealing Levy’s money.
Worthless, all of them were worthless. And Ted’s story did nothing but aggravate the situation. “You said this man was in your store on Friday afternoon?”
“Yes, sir.” Ted had lost his cocky smile.
“But you waited until Monday to inform me?”
“I have a store to run. The weekends are my busiest time. I tried calling, but never got through. And I didn’t know you wanted Sara until today.”
He was making poor excuses.
The door opened, and Kai rushed in.
“What took you so long?”
“I was in the shower. I got here as fast as I could.” Her long black hair dripped on Levy’s new rug.
“Why weren’t you at your desk?” He didn’t care that she’d been there for eighteen hours a day since Sara had escaped. Without waiting for an answer, he shifted his annoyance back to Ted. “Show it to her.”
Ted handed Kai a slip of paper.
She read it, then raised her gaze to meet Levy’s. “It’s a list of parts for my computer system.” She sounded confused.
“And Sara’s?”
“Hers, too. They’re identical.”
“Are your systems uncommon?” Levy calmed his voice, but not the exasperation that built within.
“I don’t know. Sara’s the one who designed the system. She was very specific about the setup.”
So Ted might be onto something. It was the first break in over a week. Levy’s anger subsided a fraction. He turned back to Ted. “Who is he?”
Ted nervously shuffled his feet. “I don’t know. I couldn’t get his name.”
Levy threw his pen at Ted. “Then what good is your information?” His voice boomed. “You’re just as incompetent as everyone else working for me. Get out.” Levy spun toward his desk. Of all the useless excuses to take up his time.
“I have a picture of him.”
Levy hesitated for a fraction of a second before proceeding the rest of the way around his desk. “Let’s see it.”
Ted reached into his pocket and pulled out a jump drive. “It’s on here. It’s from the store’s surveillance cameras.”
Mike stepped forward and snatched the jump drive. As Mike stuck it into Levy’s computer, Kai and Ted repositioned themselves, to see the monitor. In a few moments, all four were viewing the transaction that took place the previous Friday.
“Well?” Levy glanced at Mike.
“It looks like it could be the guy from Estes. But it’s such a poor picture, it’s hard to tell.” Mike continued staring at the monitor.
Levy wheeled toward Ted. “That will be all. Leave. Now.”
Ted backed toward the door, but hesitated. “I heard there’s a reward.”
Fatal Transaction (Thriller & Suspense, Cyber Crime) Page 15