Fatal Transaction (Thriller & Suspense, Cyber Crime)

by Lawrence, W. Richard

  Levy moved in. Leaning forward, he placed his hands on Derry’s wrists, pinning him, head only inches from Derry’s. “You’re a Christian. What does the Bible say about widows and the elderly? You are to protect them. So, why are you protecting the likes of Sara? Doesn’t that make you an accessory to her crimes?”

  “She’s changed. She’s not the same person.” Who was he trying to convince? Himself or Levy?

  Levy stepped back. “Wishing doesn’t make it so.” His voice became calm, soothing. “She’s not Tami—and never will be. You can’t bring your dead girlfriend back to life by helping Sara.”

  Chapter 47

  Lamar called a friend on the Denver police force, someone he said he could trust with his life.

  Mike, Jarred and Ben sat on the floor facing the wall, each about two feet from the other. It was the easiest way for Lamar to keep an eye on them.

  “Who’d you say was behind this?” He sat in a kitchen chair about six feet behind the detainees.

  Sara paced the room, unable to be still for more than a few seconds at a time. She gave the back of Mike’s head a quick glance before answering. “Ulrich Levy.”

  “Mr. Levy? That’s hard to believe.”

  “Yeah, well believe it. It’s true.” Sara tapped the jump drive against her palm as she patrolled the room.

  “Accusing a man like Ulrich Levy is serious business. I hope you have proof.”

  “Right here.” She held up the jump drive.

  Mike turned his head toward her. “Better be careful what you say. There are some things the police can’t protect you from.”

  “So,” said Lamar, ignoring him, “what would drive a man like Levy, who has millions, to risk all he has by stealing money in an illegal scam?”

  “Word is his legit companies aren’t doing so well.”

  “Better shut up, you little tramp.” Mike gave Sara a hard stare. The other two glanced at him when he spoke, but mostly just sat staring at the wall.

  Sara glared at Mike. She hated him. Turning back to Lamar, she didn’t see any wisdom in him asking these questions in front of Mike. Lamar returned her inquisitive look with a confident smile.

  “So, does he have other illegal operations, or is this it?”

  Sara watched Mike as she spoke. “He’d probably like to, but running an operation like the credit card scam takes a lot of resources and oversight. I believe Levy is hard pressed to keep track of everything and still have the mental energy to manage his other companies. No. I would have heard about it, if he had something else going.”

  “You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” said Mike. “You act like Levy is some small-time crook. Ha. You think you’re so important. You’re not the only one he’s got working on—” He added, “We’ll be out in no time. Then where will you hide?”

  Lamar wore a deadpan expression. “No, I don’t think you’ll be out anytime soon. And if anything happens to this little lady, I’m coming after you.”

  A knock sounded, the front door opened, and two police officers entered the guesthouse.

  Lamar moved to the door. “Hi, Ken. Is this your new partner?”

  “Yeah. Justin, meet Special Agent Lamar Stover of the FBI.”

  After they greeted each other, Lamar explained the situation.

  “I need these men to stay out of sight for at least twenty-four hours. No phone calls, no outside or inside contact. I need them to disappear for at least one day.”

  “Twenty-four hours, huh? It might take some doing to keep them lost that long.”

  “If they get to a phone or get a message out, it could cost a man his life. A friend of mine.”

  “Enough said. I’ll take care of it.”

  The officers and Lamar escorted the three captives out the door.

  Sara watched from the window. Seeing Lamar place them in a police car brought her a measure of satisfaction, but did little to fix the situation.

  It was all taking too long. Levy would have Derry in the chair by now. Steve only lasted three hours. How long could Derry hold out?

  Lamar returned to the house. “We need to move fast. Let’s go to my office. We can coordinate everything from there.”

  More delays.

  As they headed out to Lamar’s car, he glanced over at Sara. “You do realize that having that jump drive shows you’re involved?”

  “Yeah, I am. I am the programmer—”

  Lamar stopped, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Before you go on, I have to read you your rights.”

  “Are you arresting me?”

  “Depends on what I learn.”

  This was stupid. She didn’t care about her rights. The only thing that mattered was Derry. She told Lamar, too. Loud and clear.

  He still read her rights to her before they moved on.

  Cops.

  ***

  Why did he want to help Sara? Because she reminded him of Tami? Maybe in the beginning, but not now. No, he knew Sara was a different person, and he loved her. Sometimes, when she smiled or laughed, she reminded him a little of Tami, but his feelings for Sara were real.

  Levy however, painted a very different picture of her past than she did. Part of his picture matched Lamar’s story. Had Sara lied about her past? Was she still living that lie?

  Had Derry told her the whole truth about his own past?

  Oh, God I need you.

  He didn’t hear an answer—he didn’t expect to—but he was flooded with a strong desire to help Sara, to do whatever he could to save her, to lay down his life for her.

  Hearing a noise, Derry raised his head and opened his eyes. Levy and Vance stood a few yards away, conversing.

  Vance walked over and checked Derry’s pulse and eyes.

  “Yeah, I’m still alive.” A poor attempt at humor.

  “But not for much longer.” Vance’s accent was heavy, his tone coarse.

  Vance moved away as Levy took a few steps toward Derry. “He tells me you cannot take much more of this.”

  “Good. Then it will be over soon.”

  Levy shook his head as he peered down. “That’s not exactly what he means. We can keep your body alive for days doing this. The problem is that your brain is turning to mush. You will still be able to feel the pain, but you won’t be able to answer my questions. Parts of your memory are already gone.”

  Levy strolled around in front of Derry. “I hate to see you suffer so much for the likes of Sara. You had nothing to do with her crimes. I’ll tell you what, if you tell me where she is, I will let you live. I wish you no harm. Just tell me where she is, and you can go free.”

  Derry laughed. “My brain’s not that mushy. You’ll never let me go even if I tell you where to find her, which I will never do.”

  “You are sure? You choose to die for that worthless woman?”

  “I choose to help her, any way I can.” Derry tried to stare into Levy’s cold blue eyes, but found his eyes wouldn’t focus for more then a second at a time.

  “That is indeed a pity. But I have other options, and I have wasted more than enough time on you.” Levy pivoted toward Vance. “Finish him off, and dump his body with Seth’s. Mike will take care of them when he gets back.”

  Levy headed toward the stairs.

  ***

  “You said you worked for Mr. Levy.” Lamar gripped the steering wheel.

  Sara was squeezed between the car door and the computer equipment. “I was forced to work for him. Blackmailed.”

  He gave her a sideways glance. “We will talk about that later. Do you know where they have Derry?”

  She knew exactly where Derry was: in the basement of the building where she worked. That’s where Levy did all his dirty business. But if the cops came rushing in, the first thing Vanc
e would do was kill Derry to protect Levy. She couldn’t let that happen. She needed to work out a trade somehow.

  “He has buildings all over town. Derry could be in any of them.”

  “We can hit them all.”

  “You think he’ll keep Derry alive while you search through one building after another?” Sara raised her voice. “Within minutes of searching the first building, Derry will be dead, and Levy will be heading out of the country.”

  Lamar glanced over at her. “We can hit them simultaneously. It will be a coordinated attack.”

  She knew Levy. She knew this plan would never work. If she left it in the hands of the FBI, Derry was a dead man.

  “You think you can mount an operation using dozens, if not hundreds, of cops and keep it from Levy? With all his resources? I know he has several Denver cops on his payroll. He’ll find out, and the results would be the same. Derry would be dead.”

  “You have a better idea?”

  “I give myself up. Give Levy what he wants.”

  Lamar looked over at Sara as he drove. “Absolutely not. I care about Derry a lot, but giving up one life for the possibility of saving another is out of the question.”

  “I know Levy. It’s the only way to save Derry.” She was pleading.

  Lamar reached his big hand over and lightly squeezed her arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll come up with a plan. But first, we need a warrant.”

  Cops, doing everything by the book. Does he think Levy will wait while the government goes through its paperwork? She’d seen how Levy questioned people. No one survived, and no one lasted very long.

  She leaned against the car door as she gazed out the window. Hope died a little more with each passing mile. Tears started off in the corners of her eyes. In minutes, they were pouring. She hadn’t cried like this since she was twelve. Lamar’s hand rested on her shoulder. He let her cry as his car moved toward the sunrise and the FBI building. By the time they arrived, she’d cried herself out. It didn’t help.

  They entered the building, and Lamar signed her in. “This way.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To meet with my team.”

  Chapter 48

  Lamar made several phone calls before leading Sara into a small conference room. Two other men waited for them.

  “Glad you both could make it on such short notice.”

  One of the men, who looked to be a couple of years older than Sara, spoke up. “Haven’t made it home yet.”

  “Sara, this is Todd Jenkins. He’s our computer guru. He’s been trying to trace the credit card charges back to their source. And this”—Lamar nodded to a Hispanic man about Lamar’s age— “is Tony Castro, also a computer expert, who knows the streets better than anyone in the Denver office. He’s been following up on the few leads we have.”

  Both men nodded to Sara before turning their attention back at Lamar. Their nods weren’t friendly, nor was the look in their eyes.

  “Priority change, men. The party believed to be behind the credit card crimes abducted a young man about four hours ago. According to Sara, he has less than twelve hours to live from the time of his abduction. That gives us less than eight hours to save him. The clock is ticking.”

  Tony cut in. “What about her? Isn’t she the prime suspect?”

  “Sara Beckwith is involved. She was their programmer. When Derry Conway was abducted, she called me.” Lamar glanced at her. “She’s willing to work with us.”

  Sara fidgeted. Was all this necessary?

  “Sara, tell us what you know. What happened last night?”

  All three men stared at her. She was put on the spot, and didn’t like it.

  Lamar knew the story, but she recounted the details for Tony and Todd. They were silent until she named the man behind it all.

  Todd interrupted. “Mr. Levy a kidnapper and embezzler?” Disbelief was clear in his tone.

  As Sara gave irrelevant details to the crisis at hand, he pounded away on his laptop.

  “Okay,” he interjected, “according to our database, Mr. Levy owns or leases eleven different buildings or offices around the metro area, most of them in south Denver.”

  “And you won’t find Derry at any of those.”

  Todd glanced up from his laptop. Doubt still filled his gaze. “You know where he’s at?”

  “I know where he’s not.” Lamar’s team wasn’t the group of gun-happy bumbling idiots she’d pictured.

  “Okay, you worked with Levy on his dark side.” Todd crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “You should know how he thinks. Where do you think Derry might be?”

  His hard stare cut into Sara. She glanced at Lamar. His look was more sympathetic. He gave her a slight nod. It reassured her.

  “Levy has at least two other buildings, maybe three, that are not in his name. Look up Mike Kowalski. See what he owns or leases. Levy keeps his illegal operations under Mike’s name, hoping to add a layer of separation between himself and the crimes.”

  Todd leaned forward and started typing. He came back with the answer by the time Sara finished her explanation. “There are three properties under the name Mike Kowalski.”

  “And I am sure all three have surveillance cameras and alarms,” Sara added. “You can’t get near them without Levy knowing you’re there.”

  “I might be able to tap into them, and put them on a loop.” Todd talked as he typed. He was finally starting to trust—or, at least, believe—her.

  “Try it, and you’ll alert Levy. I know the girl who set them up. She’s very good. If you don’t have the right codes going in, it will sound an alarm.” Kai changed the codes every month, and she was the only one who knew them.

  Todd put a map up on the screen showing where the three properties were located. “There are two older buildings and a warehouse. Any guesses as to which one he’s holding Derry at?”

  Sara stood. All these questions were a waste of time. “He may not be in any of them for long.”

  “What makes you think that?” Tony studied Sara.

  She grabbed the back of the chair, leaning in a little as she gripped it tight. “Levy’s men didn’t come back last night. Mike was the one who took Derry to wherever they are holding him.” She pushed the chair in a little. Turning, she started pacing. “If Levy thinks Mike’s been arrested, he’ll move Derry. Maybe kill him and dump him up in the mountains somewhere. So whatever we do, we need to do it now. We’ve already wasted too much time.”

  Lamar stood. “She has a point. Any ideas?”

  He moved around to the front of the room next to a whiteboard. Todd and Tony talked about hitting all three buildings at once, but that would involve a larger team and take too much time to set up. Plus, there was the chance that Derry may not be at any of them.

  “We need more manpower. I want Faircloth’s team in on this. It’s right up his alley.” Lamar remarked.

  “Who’s Faircloth?” Sara didn’t like the idea of others being pulled in.

  “He’s part of our criminal investigation division. Don’t worry, he knows what he’s doing.” Lamar turned slightly. “Tony, give him a call. And while we wait, we need to come up with a plan to verify where Levy’s holding Derry.”

  “And for that you need me.” This was going nowhere fast. Sara pulled her chair out and dropped into it.

  “How so?”

  “As you said, I know Levy. I know how he thinks. He wants money. To him, money is power. That’s all he cares about.”

  “Okay, and how is giving you up going to help him achieve his goal?”

  Sara laid out her plan. None of them liked it, but time was running out. They had no other choice.

  ***

  “You sure you want to go through with this?” Lamar glanced down at Sara as
the two walked down the stairs to the lab.

  “It’s the only way. I got Derry into this, I need to get him out.” She followed Lamar through a set of double doors and over to a slim woman in her mid-thirties seated at a desk. She stopped typing and looked up.

  “Diana, we need your help.”

  She pushed the keyboard forward and propped her elbows on the desk. “Everyone does. What can I do for you?”

  “I need a special tracking device that is electrically undetectable and impossible to find visually. Have anything that might work?”

  “Always the impossible. Who’s it for?”

  Lamar pointed to Sara. “Her. She’s going into the lions’ den.”

  Diana rose—she was shorter than Sara—and stepped up to her. “Open wide. Let me see your teeth.”

  “Why?” Sara stepped back.

  “Trust me.”

  Sara stepped forward again. “I feel like a horse.” She opened wide.

  Diana smiled. “No, we could never get away with doing this to a horse.” She looked in. “Small teeth, but I think I have something that’ll work. Follow me.”

  She headed to the back of the lab where two men were working. “Robert, can you help me with one of those mouth trackers?”

  “Sure. Who’s it for?”

  “This young lady.” Diana gestured to Sara.

  Robert rose from his seat and maneuvered to a locked cabinet. He returned with a small metal box.

  As he worked, Diana turned to Lamar. “These are new. They work on a very high frequency, and are clamp- or- crush-activated. The drawback is they are short-lived, no more than three hours tops, once you activate them.”

  Robert used a pair of tweezers to pull the device out and lay it on the table. Sara could barely see it.

  “How do you expect me to crush something I can’t even see?”

  He glanced up from his work. “It will be implanted in the back of your mouth, between the upper and lower molars, glued in at a contact point.” Standing up, he grabbed a small set of colored disks and matched them against Sara’s teeth.