The Tenth Cycle: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 1)

by JC Ryan

  “No one could break the code you’re using unless they know the book and the key, even if they intercept your message. Yeah, I think I get it.”

  “It will take them a while, anyway. This will be only for long messages, or something where we have to use the word pyramid, or anything having to do with your research. Short cryptic texts will be fine, as well as short phone calls. But you must change phones often. Whenever either of us changes phones, send a message with the new number through the email accounts, but only through an internet cafe. For everything else, use your regular phones so that anyone listening won’t know you’re suspicious. Bring your computers to me and I’ll run a virus and malware checker that looks normal but will wipe out their ability to get in again.”

  “Raj, are you sure all this is necessary?”

  “Did you believe me before Simms was killed?”

  “No.”

  “If you had, perhaps he would be alive still.”

  Daniel’s heart sank. Raj was right. Too little, too late, he would nevertheless follow Raj’s lead from now on.

  ~~~

  The next few days were surreal, as Daniel arranged for a few personal days, citing a bad sinus infection as the reason. He couldn’t escape the feeling that something bad would happen to Sarah if he didn’t go to her, but was almost as anxious about leaving Raj. Deciding that he couldn’t protect everyone, and that Raj was well-versed in staying out of sight, he followed his heart. Without returning to his apartment, he left for Providence the following morning after his conversation with Raj.

  Sarah was torn between thinking that none of this could be happening to them and wanting to cling to Daniel. As a practical matter, she had disconnected both her desktop and her laptop from the internet, but doing the same with her computer at her university office proved difficult. She settled the matter by backing it up to an external drive and then avoiding its use. Whatever had been of use to the people who hacked it was compromised already, but she would give them no more.

  “What about your tenure hearing?” Daniel asked.

  “I’m playing it by ear,” Sarah answered. “It’s coming up in two weeks, and I’m ready, but I have a feeling that you and I are going to be busy trying to get to the bottom of this, or trying to survive.”

  Daniel, who had his arm around her, clutched Sarah to him. “Getting to the bottom of it. Surviving. There is no ‘try’, only do or do. Yoda said that.”

  With a faint smile that broke his heart because it was only a pale imitation of the one he loved, Sarah said, “I think Yoda said only do or do not.”

  “You should know by now that I never quote anything straight.”

  “True. I love you, Daniel.”

  “I love you, too, and we are going to be fine. We’ll get through this.”

  Sarah called Martha from the phone in her office, not wanting to compromise her pre-paid, and learned that the funeral was planned for Saturday, as Mark’s remains had been released that afternoon. Knowing they were still ‘persons of interest’, Sarah asked if the autopsy had pinpointed a time of death. Martha didn’t know, the information had not been released to her, so Sarah called her lawyer to see if they could find out. An hour later, a return call confirmed that it had been established as between six and seven, based on the digestion of a sandwich that indicated he had been alive at least until six. The relief was palpable. Daniel and Sarah had a solid alibi for that hour, and several afterward. They no longer had to worry about the police, but the shadowy figure of James Jones was still on their minds.

  ~~~

  Daniel spend his ‘sick’ days following Sarah from home to school, sometimes at her side, sometimes at a distance to see if he could spot surveillance. When he received no word from Raj, he sent a text. ‘Doing okay?’

  ‘Check email’ was the answer. Daniel left Sarah at home with instructions to keep her gun at hand, and searched out an internet cafe on the opposite side of town. There he printed out a long ciphered message from Raj, and then took it home to decrypt it using the copy of Hitchhiker’s Guide that he had fortunately found at an off-campus used book store. The message said: Too much to tell you in message. Can you and Sarah come this weekend? Rather than go back to the store for a long answer, Daniel sent a text, ‘After funeral Sat. See you 6.’

  ~~~

  Martha asked Daniel and Sarah to sit with her at the chapel and again at graveside, having no children or other relatives to support her. Her quiet dignity during the moving service was an inspiration, and she greeted well-wishers afterward with dry eyes and a gracious smile. Her exhaustion was apparent afterward, though, as the couple accompanied her back to her home, now cleared of the crime scene tape except for one strip that sealed the study doors. Martha’s garden club had decked the living and family rooms in flowers, and members were in the process of laying out a buffet meal in the kitchen. Mark’s students, fellow math faculty and other friends, as well as Martha’s friends, dropped in for a few minutes or to partake of the meal, as they felt appropriate. Sarah kept an eye on Martha, who had rallied and was thanking each guest for their thoughtfulness. It wasn’t unlikely that she would collapse at any moment, so Sarah stood by to pick up the pieces if and when it happened.

  Daniel had spotted Sgt. Jackson among the attendees at the graveside service, and now looked for him at the house. Finding him in the kitchen with a large plate of food, Daniel took the opportunity to speak to him.

  “So, I understand the time of death clears Sarah and me, is that correct?”

  “Apparently. For the moment anyway.”

  “Then is Sarah free to leave town? I need to get her away from all this. I’d like to take her to New York with me.”

  “That should be okay, as long as she leaves word with us where she’ll be. You should, too.”

  “We will. Thank you.”

  Daniel left the officer staring after him. It wasn’t often that a suspect thanked him. He was beginning to like both of these people, despite the guy’s prickly interactions with him. They seemed to have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

  When the last of the guests had left, and the remaining food was put away, Sarah helped Martha into bed and told her to stay put.

  “Take some of that food with you, dear. I’ll never eat it all.”

  “Daniel and I have to go to New York tonight, hon. We’ll take some of it when we come back, if you want. You rest. Some of your garden club friends will be back in the morning to check on you, okay?”

  “Thank you, dear. I don’t know what I would have done without you and Daniel here.”

  Sarah returned to the kitchen, where Daniel was eating a slice of apple pie. “Let’s see if the flash drive is here.”

  They dug through the container of kidney beans where they last knew the drive was hidden, with no success. They had to believe that the data, including the translation of the initial message, was now in the hands of the bad guys. But who were they?

  Carefully locking the door behind them, Daniel and Sarah left the house. At the end of the driveway, the police officer materialized from behind a large clump of pampas grass, holding his hand up as if he wanted them to stop. Daniel rolled down his window.

  “Speak to you for a minute?”

  “I guess.”

  “I assume Mrs. Simms is still alive?”

  Daniel’s face instantly turned red, and he reached for the door handle. This cop had just pushed the button on his last nerve, and it was time to teach him a lesson. Sarah, perceiving what was about to happen put her hand on his arm to stop him. Meanwhile, the cop realized his mistake.

  Holding up both hands to placate Daniel, he said in a more conciliatory tone, “Wait, sorry. Occupational hazard. Do either of you have any idea who might have done this, or why? We’re drawing a blank.”

  Still angry, Daniel snapped. “I don’t, but I have a theory.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That your friend James Jones knows more than he’s telling you. As
k him.” With that, Daniel rolled up the window and drove off, leaving the officer with a thoughtful look on his face.

  Chapter 19 – You Must Get Out of Town

  Three hours later, they were at Daniel’s apartment, since it was too late to call on Raj. Daniel sent him a text. ‘Here.’ Raj sent back ‘Looking forward to our picnic tomorrow noon, fav place.’ So, he wanted to keep Daniel away from his place. That made sense. Daniel told Sarah they were going to picnic with Raj the next day, and maybe he’d bring Sushma for camouflage. He was happy to see her spirits lift, but hoped that what Raj had to say wouldn’t depress her again. After getting into bed beside her, he pushed her hair back from her face and gave her a tender kiss.

  “It will be okay, sweetheart. It will all be okay.”

  In answer, Sarah turned and clutched his body to her. He felt her tremble and put his arms around her in turn. The only way he knew to reassure her that he was there for her was to hold her close until she fell asleep. It had been a long day. He wanted to make love to her, but decided she needed her rest even more than he needed the physical release. He kissed her tenderly and said, “Go to sleep, sweetheart.”

  The next day, a Sarah that was more like herself than she had been since the rude awakening in the middle of the night last Sunday dressed in a pretty sundress, ordered a picnic lunch from the deli on the corner, and put on a brave face. Daniel’s heart was going to burst if his love for her grew any stronger. He couldn’t stop touching her, squeezing her arm, trailing a finger softly along her jaw line, tugging on a lock of hair until she turned for a kiss. If the shadow of Mark’s death and the uncertainty about their immediate future hadn’t been there, Daniel would have been the happiest man on earth.

  Their conversation with Raj would have made other picnickers very curious, if they hadn’t chosen a spot that was isolated from anyone’s hearing. Raj had indeed brought Sushma, who had in turn brought her little poodle along to take for a long walk while the others talked. What Raj had to tell them was a serious wake-up call. He still hadn’t heard from all his contacts, as getting in touch with them sometimes took a circuitous route around obscure foreign domains. But from what he had heard, he urged the two to leave their respective homes for a while and lie low. There was talk in some circles about someone stepping up inquiries among pyramid conspiracy enthusiasts. His prognosis for how long their make-shift encryption would last was discouraging.

  “You have to understand, Daniel, that these people have computing power that will be able to crack even AES encryption in a matter of hours. Our government has made it difficult in the extreme to legally distribute programs that will encrypt even to that level, and our cipher is nowhere near that powerful. All they would have to do is read one of our messages and then perform trial and error runs on computers that would put a Cray supercomputer to shame. It would take days, perhaps, but not a week.”

  “So you think we should make ourselves scarce until you find out more.”

  “Yes, I do. What makes it even more alarming, is that if it is our government that is after you, they could easily make you disappear, but recent developments mean that even more nefarious groups may know of the government’s interest.”

  “How so?”

  “You know there has recently been a major security breach, yes?”

  “Seems like there’s always a major security breach.”

  “True, but what you may not realize is that this time it’s compromised US spying operations globally. Our operatives are at risk, not only from governments that are not our friends, but also from international criminal elements. Any of them might become aware of you, and your value.”

  “Wait a minute,” Sarah objected. “What value? We don’t know anything of any value.”

  “They may not realize that yet. They may think you’ve cracked the pyramid code that people have been trying to decipher for hundreds of years. That may even be why they killed Mark, because he refused to give them the key. Until we know what it is that they think you know, your lives may be in danger.”

  A chill washed over Daniel as he took in Raj’s logic. As whacked-out as it sounded, nothing could erase the fact that Mark was dead, their data was compromised, and their safety was in question. He exchanged a long look with Sarah and she nodded. It was decided, then. They would get out of town. It only remained to decide where to go.

  As Daniel and Raj continued to discuss how to continue to communicate without endangering Raj or giving away what they were up to, Sarah got an idea. “Daniel, we could go to my dad for help.”

  Surprised, Daniel asked, “What could he do that we can’t do ourselves? Besides, it might put him in danger.”

  “What he does is classified, so I don’t know exactly, but I do think he could help. And he’d be upset if he knew I was in danger and hadn’t come to him.”

  “Well, I don’t want him mad at me!” Daniel said. “Give him a call and see if we can come.”

  “No need to ask, but I’ll let them know we’re on the way. We need to get somewhere to buy plane tickets.”

  Raj spoke up then. “Wait. Don’t fly out of New York. Anyone tracking you is watching passenger lists out of here and could have someone ready to pick up the surveillance when you get there. And Daniel’s right, that could also put your family in danger. Where does your dad live?”

  “In Colorado. A little mountain town outside Denver. Driving there would take over a full day, even if we drive straight through.”

  “Then your best bet is to drive to someplace like Pittsburgh, say. Somewhere where neither of you has any connections. Get on a plane there. Pay cash, and preferably use a small carrier.”

  Daniel was sure that was overkill, but he wouldn’t insult Raj by saying so. “We’ve got some planning to do. First, we’re going to need a lot of cash.”

  “I already thought of that.” Raj handed Daniel a fat envelope, which proved to be full of $100 bills. Daniel could only stare at the money blankly. Sarah took a peek, let out a small cry and clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes flying to Raj. That broke Daniel’s trance, and he asked, “Raj, we can’t take this.”

  Raj shrugged, “I’ve got a few of these stashed away. Don’t worry, it’s mine, earned legally, and you can pay me back when you can, if you can. Take it, my friend, you’re going to need it, and it’s untraceable.”

  Daniel gripped Raj’s forearm in a gesture of gratitude and friendship, unable to speak. Sarah threw her arms around Raj and hugged him hard, until Sushma, who had taken in the last part of the conversation with growing amazement and alarm, finally said, “Hey, that’s my guy. Hug your own.” The jest broke the intense mood, and caused all four of them to laugh.

  After much discussion, they decided to keep Sarah’s laptop and flash drive with them, so they could more easily explain to her dad what they had discovered. Raj ran a few diagnostics on it and did find traces of snooping. He installed a program that would block any further attempts. However, he told her, she should still not connect it to the internet unless absolutely necessary. And even then, the flash drive must not be in it at the time.

  The three of them agreed that they must go forward with the translation at any cost, since not knowing was at least as dangerous as knowing. During this discussion, Raj asked for the name of the linguist who had translated the first part. Sarah and Daniel looked at each other with consternation written on their faces. Mark hadn’t said the man’s name. Getting in touch with him through the University could prove dangerous to him, if it hadn’t already. They would have to find another, but getting to Denver and her father’s advice was first on the priority list.

  Daniel and Sarah then took their leave of the others, Sarah hugging Sushma fiercely and whispering, “Take care of Raj, hon. He’s very important to us.”

  Chapter 20 – We Have Been Watching You

  Denver International Airport was as familiar to Sarah as her childhood home, but Daniel was startled by the fantastic shape of the roofline. Made of Teflon-coa
ted fiberglass in peaks to resemble the Rocky Mountains to the west, it was lit from within to create a surreal glow. He wondered if Raj had ever seen it, and whether the thought of alien construction might have crossed his mind. They boarded the shuttle train to the terminal with relative ease as the lateness of the hour meant fewer passengers than usual. Sarah’s dad had insisted on coming to pick them up, even though it was late and Daniel thought he might want a rental car at his disposal. Ryan swept away all his objections, though, and Daniel considered it prudent not to argue with the protective dad from hell. Sarah just shook her head at him when he expressed the thought, and mildly suggested he not use that phrase in the presence of the man. He assured her that it was just his little joke, that he had the utmost respect for her dad.

  Sarah spotted her parents waiting for them at the rail that separated the huge main terminal from the arriving trains. She raised her hand to signal them just as her dad also spotted her, and broke into a little trot to make her way around the railing and into his arms, with Daniel trailing a little behind her at a more sedate pace. One bear hug and one group hug with her mom joining in later, Sarah turned and drew Daniel to her.

  “Mom, Dad, this is my Daniel.” Her smile was radiant as she said the words.

  “Of course it is,” her dad observed. Grinning, he held out his hand for Daniel to shake, which he did with a firm grip.

  “Well, I want a hug,” said Emma. Daniel was happy to oblige. Here was a living picture of the woman Sarah would be in twenty or thirty years, and the thought took his breath away. He needed the pace of their lives to slow down a bit so he’d have a chance to properly propose to her. Daniel wouldn’t rest until he knew Sarah would marry him. She would be just as beautiful as a grandmother as she was today; her mom’s beauty proved it. His smile was genuine as he hugged the older woman.