Chapter 5
Charlie walked around to the side of the diner, making sure she was out of sight. Swinging her leg over the seat of her Vespa, she left through the alley behind the restaurant and then quickly turned in the opposite direction.
Driving toward the campground, she kept a vigilant eye out for anyone who might be following her. The roads became more rural and she felt the pressure of crowded roads lessen…an emotion that made her cautious. Turning into the wooded campground, she drove along the gravel path making her way around the one-way road. Having selected the perfect spot for her camper van, she smiled as it came into view. Tucked into the woods it was near the end of the road, making it easy to pull out and escape if needed.
As she drove into the space by her camper van, she secured the Vespa on the back as usual. Always be ready for a quick getaway had become her motto.
Walking to the side, her gaze swept the area and found nothing but woods, squirrels scampering amongst the trees, and the sounds of a few children playing in the distance. Slipping discretely around the camper, she checked her security measures. Another useful skill I’ve learned. The unobtrusive security cameras and trip-wires were all intact. Stepping into her camper, she repeated the same steps as the other evening. Slipping off the red-haired wig and taking off the large purple-framed glasses, she once again stared into the mirror.
“What are you doing? I’m such a stalker,” she stated out loud, dropping her chin to her chest. After a moment of quiet self-reflection, she knew the answer and lifted her head.
I’m sick and tired of being alone. Fighting this alone. Trying to stay alive while figuring out everything by myself. And…I just wanted to see him again. He looks so trustworthy. So capable. Who am I kidding? He’s so gorgeous. She thought of how her life had changed in the last five months. The fear. The horror. And then, in the midst of it all, like a flower growing from the asphalt, she stumbled into Luke. Even if it had only been through the cyber-waves, they had formed a friendship of sorts. At least, for her.
Stepping out of the minuscule bathroom, she pulled the Glock G26 from her purse and secured it in the drawer next to the fold-down bed. Sitting down at her computer she quickly worked for a couple of hours, continuing to build a fake identity for one of her ongoing clients.
Finally, she was able to ascertain Luke was on as well. If anyone can help me…and find out who killed Eli…it’s got to be Luke.
*
Beginning with the most basic information, Luke delved into Eli Frederick. Not trusting the FBI report, he preferred to begin from square one and peel back the layers of Eli’s life, while keeping the Bureau’s file next to him when he needed it for the posthumous information. He slowly created the background to the young man whose life had ended so horrifically.
The beginnings were easy to decipher. Eli Frederick was an only child of two academic parents. His school records indicated a brilliant young man but his high school social media indicated a tendency to be bullied. Taking a fortifying breath, Luke recognized much of himself in Eli’s upbringing, with the exception of having someone like Chris in his life.
Eli’s parents moved several times due to different jobs at various universities and Luke began to see a pattern evolve. With each move, Eli had few new friends on social media and more problems with bullying. He not only had to contend with being the smartest, but was always the new kid on the block as well.
Methodical, thorough…Luke poured over the information he was gleaning. His stomach growled and, glancing at the clock, he realized he had worked straight through supper. Finding a few pieces of bread and a half full jar of peanut butter, he made a sandwich and grabbed a water bottle. Stepping out onto his back patio, he watched the sun slide over the trees. Leaning back at the waist, he cracked his neck a few times before bending over.
Grabbing a cup full of seed, he walked out into his yard and filled the birdfeeders before moving back to the patio. Stretching his stiff muscles, he toyed with the idea of going for a run, but the lure of the investigation called.
Finishing his meager supper, he walked back to his desk and continued for several more hours. Finally the yawns took over and he shut everything down. Securing his home and turning out the lights, he walked by his kitchen, knowing that in the recent past he would have cranked up his coffee maker and worked long into the night. No more, he lamented, acknowledging that his ulcer was so much better without his high-octane caffeine.
Climbing into bed, he checked his phone before placing it on the nightstand by his bed. He wondered if the woman from the diner would actually call or text sometime. Chuckling, he remembered how many times Bart or Cam would wink at a woman at Chucks and go home with them for the night. Well, at least before Faith and Miriam entered their lives.
Rolling over, he punched his pillow. I’ve never been very interested in getting someone for a night…but finding someone for a relationship was proving to be much harder.
*
The patient smiled up at the surgeon, Dr. Cheung, whose face was hidden behind the scrub mask. Anesthesia created a blurry, happy world and the patient was more than willing to rest comfortably.
“The pain you’ve been having will be alleviated,” Dr. Cheung promised, nodding to the head surgical nurse. “So close your eyes, count backward from one hundred, and it will all be over soon.”
Truer words were never spoken, as the patient slipped into unconsciousness and Dr. Cheung began the operation of removing the kidneys. Both of them. And then the harvesting of other organs to be delivered across the nation to needy patients with enough money to fetch them. Keeping the patient alive long enough to complete the harvesting, Dr. Cheung worked swiftly before nodding to the assistant to turn off the machines.
Turning from the bloody operating table, he walked through the surgery doors, snapping off his gloves. Standing at the sink, he scrubbed his hands methodically. A shadow approached from his left but he did not startle, confident in his security measures.
The woman’s voice bit out, “I told you to take it easy. To slow down. There are those that may start looking a little closer at your business here.”
Drying his hands on the towel provided to him, he tossed it into the laundry bin before turning to face the angry woman. His eyes moved over her appreciatively. Sleek black hair bobbed to her shoulders. Her oval eyes expertly made up. Her boring clothes. The same boring, institutional clothes.
She caught his eyes roaming down her body before coming back to rest on her eyes. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared. “I’m telling you, once and for all, to chill the fuck out here. Until we know what your fuck up with the computer nerd is costing us, you need to keep up with your legitimate medical business!”
“My fuck up?” he said coldly. “I’m not the one who pulled the trigger. So you’d better keep working your magic to make sure I’m safe. Because, as the American saying goes, ‘If I go down, you go down with me’.” Leaning back, he smiled, long and slow. “But then, only one of us has diplomatic immunity.”
*
The Saints gathered around the table the next morning, listening and taking notes as Luke, Monty, and Patrick discussed their meeting with their contact. The others listened carefully, especially as Lin Wang was described.
As shoulders began to slump around the table, Jack said, “Well, as competent as she is, I definitely get the feeling that the special relationship we had with the Bureau is gone now that Mitch is no longer with them.”
Luke nodded while Patrick grunted. “Yeah, boss, I’d have to agree. While she seems more than capable, I got the feeling she wasn’t too happy to share the investigation with us.”
“If she wasn’t stretched so thin, she’d have fought her superiors more about bringing us in, I think,” Monty concurred.
“Well, we play the cards we’re dealt,” Jack declared, leaning back in his seat, his eagle eyes on Luke. “So what have you discovered?”
Luke grinned as he sent his preliminary repo
rt to their tablets. “This guy is interesting, to say the least. Just when I think I’ve got him pegged, I find out something more. And I’ll warn you, I’ve got a lot more digging to do on him. I’m only beginning to uncover the real Eli Frederick.”
Taking a gulp of his caffeinated energy drink, he continued, “Eli Frederick was the only child of two academics. Now, while at first I thought of the similarities between him and me, I quickly realized that we had fundamental differences.”
As he began to talk, weaving a few of his own experiences into the tale of Eli, the other Saints listened intently, realizing Luke was divulging more about himself than he had ever before.
“Eli’s parents moved fairly often to different university cities. He was a brilliant student but, looking at notes from schools and social media, he was also bullied, had virtually no friends and I would bet he probably had rudimentary social skills. By the time he hit high school, he was already writing computer codes, in the math club…although not a leader, and, from what I can tell, was a loner with no friends.”
With a self-deprecating shrug, he added, “With me, I was fortunate in that my parents didn’t move around and we had a cool, kick-ass neighbor who took me under his wing. He taught me martial arts and how to stand up for myself. I used to talk to him and his wife all the time when my parents were buried in their ancient texts, so I learned conversational and social skills.”
Luke’s excitement was palatable and the other Saints shared smiles as they watched Luke’s animation as he reported.
“Now, here’s where it gets interesting, and I’m still digging so this is only preliminary. Eli went to MIT and was in their Engineering program. He was two years younger than me, but I started early so he was actually three years behind me in college. I never heard of him but, then, I was a senior by that time, so a freshman wouldn’t have been in any of the same classes.”
“Even as smart as he was?” Jude asked.
Luke smirked as he realized Jude was prodding him. “Hell, Engineering at MIT? Everyone was smart.” Sobering, he said, “At a place like that, no one is a big fish anymore. Just all little fishes swimming in a great, big, fucking pond!”
The others laughed at Luke’s college description before turning their attention back to his findings.
“At MIT he seemed to find his stride and, I’ve got to tell you, a university can be a mecca for someone like Eli…hell, for someone like me.”
The other Saints looked up and Luke sighed, rubbing his forehead. He battled how much to tell them…how could they possibly understand? But then he realized that the ten of them around the table had become a family, of sorts. As much as he knew about them, he also had to admit he had given them precious little of himself.
Leaning back in his chair, he pinned them with his stare. “Guys, I’m not going to insult you by assuming your childhood or young adulthood was easy…I know it wasn’t for all of you. But as you stepped into manhood, it surely hasn’t escaped your notice that most of you are big men, made even more powerful by your sports, exercise, or even former jobs. And this may sound weird coming from another guy, but not one of you is hard on the eyes and back before you found your special someone, our trips to Chuck’s typically ended with the majority of you finding your evening spent with a hot girl on your lap and probably later in your bed.”
At that, Bart, the most notorious, former chick-magnet of them all, had the good grace to blush. “Damn man, you know how to lay it on the line!”
“Just keeping it real, bro,” Luke laughed. Sobering, he continued, “And you were probably that way in high school and college, if I had to guess. But in high school, for someone like Eli…and well, even me…whose social skills did not involve knowing how to converse with a girl, it was easier to throw myself in with the smart nerds. Now, college became a different thing for me. I was in the martial arts club sports and ran with the MIT running club as well as being an engineering student. Built the body up and finally managed to learn how to talk to girls. Sort of,” he joked with a shrug.
“And you’re saying that Eli didn’t have anything else to fall back on?” Cam asked.
“Not from what I can tell. He threw himself into his classes, although he made a couple of friends. But even in that world of academia, he didn’t step outside of his small group very much. He continued to be mostly a loner with just a few friends.”
“And those friends?” Jack prompted.
“It appears he was closest to a group of three others. Tim Kelly, Hai Zhou, and Charlotte Trivett. From what I’ve been able to discover, those four met in a group project and remained friends. I’ve discerned that Tim Kelly is married with three kids, lives in Boston and works for an international accounting firm as a software designer. Hai Zhou went to California for about three years after graduating from MIT and then returned to China. I haven’t had time to get a lock on Charlotte yet, but it looks like she lived in the northern part of Virginia, near the Maryland line.”
“And Eli?”
“Eli took a job, similar to Tim’s, in Baltimore and worked there for six months. Then he quit and, according to his tax records, he worked for himself. He never incorporated or set up his own business, but instead began to take private software design orders. From what I can tell, a company would contract him to work on a software project from home, he would design it, and then get paid. And paid well, I might add.”
Monty’s head jerked up. “You mean he just worked from home without any of the protections of having his own business? Why would he not set up an LLC or some business license?”
Shrugging, Luke answered, “From what I can tell from his bank and investment accounts, he was making serious bucks doing what he was doing, so it may have never entered his mind. Hell, he got paid and his bank account shows it.”
Jack leaned back again, rubbing his hand over his face and asked, “Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to tell us this guy left very little for us to go on?”
“One of his specialties was encryption and I’m having a devil of a time breaking it. So far, I can find out a few of the businesses that hired him and I’m not coming up with much in the way of who would want him dead.”
“What about his friends?” Patrick asked, hoping for a chance to interview. The newest Saint had recently joined after his tour of duty with the US Army Corps of Engineers.
“From what I can tell…he doesn’t have any.” Seeing the incredulous looks shot his way, he threw up his hands in defense. “Guys, I’m telling you this man had almost no virtual footprint. His encryption is brilliant.” Shaking his head, Luke sighed heavily. “If he wasn’t dead, I’d be trying to find him just so I could see if I could get him to work for us!”
“So we’ve got nothing?” Jack clarified, his piercing gaze staying on Luke, never having seen his computer expert so frustrated.
“Well, here’s what I can get my hands on,” Luke continued. “I can find a few of his contracts, I can see what he worked on up until about nine months ago. I can tell that he maintained a bit of communication with Tim Kelly and Charlotte Trivett. Tim, we can talk to. Charlotte, I haven’t checked into yet, but plan on doing so this afternoon. I know the intel is there, I just have to discover it.”
The group, almost in unison, leaned back in their chairs, the information swirling in their minds.
“Okay,” Jack began, “I want Luke to dig more on Charlotte and see if there’s anything on Hai from the time he left MIT, including what he worked on in California before going back to China. Once he’s got that we’ll go to Boston to check with Tim.”
Most of the other Saints filed out of the room, their own assignments to accomplish. Marc and Jack moved to the equipment room to check on their weapons and ammunition. Luke sighed as his eyes traveled to his special coffee maker sitting neglected on the counter. Grimacing he rubbed his chest before turning back to his keyboard.
Time to get back to work and find out what the hell Eli Frederick was involved in…what he
was hiding…and what his friends knew about him.
Chapter 6
Shoving his chair back in frustration, Luke stalked into his kitchen, his glower only pacified when he remembered his trip to the grocery store before he came home. Throwing a frozen pizza into the oven, he frowned at the timer on the stove as he watched the minutes slowly click by.
How the hell can anyone disappear? Luke had spent the past four hours attempting to find Charlotte, but could not connect her to anything recent. He knew Hai would be difficult so he saved him for last, but he assumed she would be easy to investigate.
Pulling the hot pizza out, steam rising from the melted cheese, he slid it onto a large plate and moved back to his computers. Plopping down, he stared at the notes he had taken. Charlotte Trivett was the only child of divorced parents. He determined her father left when she was only four and married another woman, having nothing to do with his ex-wife or daughter after that. Her mother worked in a grocery store during the day and as a waitress at night.
Charlotte’s academic records revealed what he had already assumed by her admission to MIT. She was brilliant, analytical, and appeared to be a loner. Her high school yearbook yielded no pictures of her, not even in the math or science clubs. She had attended a posh private school on an academic scholarship. With her mom working as a waitress, I’ll bet she was shunned by the little princesses there. Her social media footprint was scant at best.
One year younger than Eli, she would have started after Luke graduated, so he knew their paths did not cross. Sighing as he continued to peruse his notes, he continued to find little about her other than school records. Just like high school, she was not in clubs or a sorority. She worked in the Engineering library for work-study to assist with costs. Her mother died during Charlotte’s junior year of college, leaving her very much alone. Most of her education was financed with financial need and student loans, which she paid off within two years of graduating.
Discover Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 4