The Cormorant chirped. “Have you found his car?”
“It was parked, unlocked, on the side of the road near where he was killed. We towed it back here to the station. You can look it over before we leave for the marshes. Nothing unusual there, either. I’m sure he has a laptop somewhere. We haven’t completely searched his apartment. Next on our list.”
Octavius rumbled, “Have you had any previous dealings with him?
“One traffic stop two years ago.”
“OK, let’s take a look at the car and then go out to the marshes.”
As the Lieutenant indicated, there was nothing unusual in or about the car. Registration and insurance papers, lease documentation and that’s all. The trunk was empty.
Off to the scene of the crime. A wire fence with warning signs separated the marshes from the Canaveral complex. There was a Police Crime Scene tape set up around the area where the body was found. The group walked around outside the tape. Wallaroo asked, “This area is tidal isn’t it? How long do you estimate he was in the water? Could he have floated around?”
The policeman replied. ‘The water isn’t deep enough for him to float. My theory is he met someone near the roadway and was chased into the marshes where he was struck and left. I’d estimate he was down for about half a day before we got the anonymous message and got out here. We still haven’t identified the caller. It came from a throwaway cell phone. The message was pretty specific about where we’d find the body. Someone wanted him found.”
The Cormorant asked, “Any weapon or signs of another vehicle? This place doesn’t look all that well travelled.”
“Several utility vehicle tracks. The kind you’d expect to see out here. Whatever weapon was used, the killer took it with him or her.”
Belinda looked around. “There’s some kind of message to all this. It was hardly a random hit. We need some more data on his activities and relationships. I wonder if the other team found anything of value. Speaking of whom, they may be at Police Headquarters by now”
Octavius grunted, “If everyone has seen what they wanted to see, let’s go back. I assume your forensics people will give this place, his car and his apartment a thorough sweep, Lieutenant.”
“We’re on it.”
Back at the station, the two groups merged for a mutual briefing. Probably the biggest item of interest was the fact that the Cougar and the Professor were communicating. Not sure about what but I doubt it was a social call. He wasn’t keeping his association with Howard’s research team a big secret, either.
The two deaths shared a pretty common M.O. That didn’t prove anything as far as identifying the killer(s) went but we were almost certain the data being developed by the team was an important centerpiece. I was getting anxious to get back to Howard, Condo and Ursula to pore over the results of their e-mail analyses. Both the Professor’s and the Cougar’s.
Commander Cormorant seemed especially interested in searching out what data had been compromised and wanted to be briefed ASAP on what we discovered in the e-mails. The Navy was more than a little concerned about Multiverse activity and the military implications. I’m not sure how much he was contributing to the research and how much he was deriving from it. A question for Howard and Marlin.
Before we could agree on next steps, the doors of the conference room flew open and the Cubs descended on the assembled group. “We’ve been on Space Missions! We went to the moon and we climbed into a space shuttle. Mlle Woof sat in a lunar module and we watched rockets taking off into space. Ben and Gal bought us each a shirt with NASA patches. We saw the Vehicle Assembly Building. It’s huge. And we went into the Launch Control place. Poppa, can we buy the Space Center? You can afford it. Maybe we could bring some of it to Polar Paradise. Can we, Momma. There’s a lot of it to go around.”
“I don’t think the American government would want to sell the Kennedy Space Center, kids. Besides, we wouldn’t have enough room. Did you thank the Flying Tigers for your gifts?”
“Thank you, Ben and Gal. Can we go home now?”
“Not a bad idea,” said Octavius, “I think we picked up enough information here. Thanks, Lieutenant Beaver and Agent Bobcat. If we find anything new in our analysis of the Cougar’s e-mails, we’ll let you know. We also owe Agent Badger and Captain Ford in Detroit an update. Can you give us a ride back to the airport?”
As expected, the Cubs were out the door in a shot. “Can we ride in a Police car? Can you turn on the lights and the siren?”
The Lieutenant laughed. “You can ride in the Police Van, but we won’t use the lights or the siren. We’ll scare too many animals.”
The Cubs weren’t sure whether they should pout or not. Mlle Woof settled that issue. “There will be no pouting! When you get in the van, you may put on your new NASA shirts.”
Raised paws for bumping. “Yes!”
The Cormorant went off to his military aircraft waiting inside the Center. The rest of us settled into the Police Van. Octavius, once again, had to sit on the floor. Belinda phoned ahead and arranged for the Flying Aquabear to be refueled and she negotiated a departure slot from Melbourne Air Traffic Control. She also ordered a supply of snacks for the flight back to Cincinnati. She looked over at Octavius. “Was this trip worthwhile?”
“I’m sure the Cubs think so. We did confirm that Covington and the Professor knew each other, and that the Cougar was pretty loose with project information that was supposed to be very confidential. As far as the victims are concerned, the two killings are very much alike. I guess, on balance, it was worth the fuel and the time. Maury, when we get on the plane, call and bring Howard and Marlin up to speed. Ursula will know already. Ask Senhor Condor how he is doing. I’ll give a call to Agent Badger and Captain Ford.”
The SST had been refueled and the Flying Tigers were performing exterior checks while Belinda inspected the cockpit, galleys and lavatories. A food truck rolled up with snacks. The Cubs wanted to get at them before they were loaded on the plane. Once again, Mlle Woof intervened. “You must wait until we are all seated. Then I will get you some food.”
“And drinks too. We haven’t eaten since noon.”
“Yes, I know. I was with you. Remember?’
Octavius entered the plane and proceeded on all fours to the rear. (He can’t stand erect in the tight fuselage.) The rest of the team distributed themselves on the luxurious seats, buckled up and waited for the engines to start up. A pushback by the airport tug and we slowly taxied toward the main runway. I hooked my encrypted phone into the aircraft communication system and waited until we were airborne before starting my round of calls.
“Howard? Marlin? Maury! We’re on our way back from Canaveral. You probably already know this but our friend, the Cougar was in communication with the Professor. He’s also been pretty careless about keeping your group and its work secret. What are you finding out from the e-mails?”
“The same thing. Thanks to those two and maybe others, we’ve lost control of our so-called confidentiality. There have been some back-channel messages between the players that excluded Marlin and me. The Shrike is further along in her experiments than we thought.”
“What role is the Cormorant playing? It seemed to me that he was much more interested in being on the receiving end than making any contributions. I assume the Navy has a major interest in Quantum Physics and the Commander is probably passing on your data to interested parties.”
“We think you’re right. Not sure yet who those interested parties may be. We’re seriously considering disbanding the team. There will be some pretty fierce pushback, at least from some members. I think the Armadillo and Shepherd have been playing it straight, but I can’t be sure. The Shrike is jealously guarding her results - too jealously. We need to have a major strategy session when you all get back. Any idea who murdered the Cougar?”
“No, but the
M.O. is very similar to what happened to the Professor. Has Condo come up with any suggestions?”
“He seems to think that both of them were feeding a third party, but the Professor got out of control with his lawsuits and the Cougar just got too greedy.”
“OK, we’ll see you in a couple of hours. I’m going to call Condo now.”
Another encrypted connection and the Big Bird was on the line.
“Mr. Meerkat! Delighted to speak with you again!”
“Hello, Senhor Condor. What news have you to share?”
“Plenty, as it turns out. It seems our Cougar friend was a prolific communicator, especially with the Professor and his team mates in Howard’s Elusive Electron cabal.”
“I am coming to the conclusion that confidentiality is not a strong suit with that group.”
“You win the prize for Understatement of the Year. But let me start out with the Professor. One of the earliest communications Ursula decrypted from our friend Covington’s files was a rather angry accusation that the Professor was not playing the game according to the agreed upon rules. There was to be an arrangement in which the Cougar was to share in the revenues acquired by the Muskox. Do you think he was talking about the lawsuits brought by the Professor and Foxx firm? I can’t imagine how stupid or naïve Covington was if he actually thought that any organization was going to fall for those phony threats. He was supposed to be a successful Venture Capitalist, wasn’t he?”
I responded “It might be that the Professor was playing another game. He might have been selling the data to a third party, using the lawsuits as a distraction, but cutting the Cougar out of the loop.”
“What third party?”
“I’m not sure, but General Turmoil’s name keeps cropping up.”
“So, you think the lawsuits were just a blind.”
“Maybe not entirely, Condo. If somebody was dumb enough to fall for the threats, he’d certainly take the money. Bruce thought an Aussie company was willing to pay up. But I think the Professor was covering his bets. Remember, he didn’t want to meet with Octavius and risk possible exposure. He knew he was running a scam, but he may have been in too deep with the law firm to back out.”
“Anyway, one of the next e-mail messages is the killer, literally. The Cougar insists on meeting the Muskox in Detroit to iron out the agreement.”
“And the agreement didn’t iron out, so the Professor ends up in the Detroit River with a broken neck.”
“That’s the way I read it.”
“So, if we think the Cougar killed the Professor, who killed the Cougar and why?”
“That, my dear Meerkat, is what I am trying to learn right now. There are too many players in this drama. My first guess is that one or more of Howard’s Hobnobbers are also in the information delivery business and didn’t care for the Cougar’s competition.”
“We need to talk with Howard and Marlin. This research group or one or two of its members may have come up with something more important than simply triggering off entangled electrons. Something that would encourage high stakes bidding. I’m betting on the Multiverse angle having more profound implications than we thought. What do we really know about them?
Condo emitted a strange sound from his artificial voice box. “The Colonel did a background check on each one of them, but we know from past experience that those records can be rigged. Remember our musical friends in Winnipeg?” (See Book Four - The Lower Case.) Several of them turned out to be from another world.
“Wow, that would open up a whole new outlook on this thing. Alternate Universe beings who joined up in the project to keep it under control. Day One - Entangled Electrons. Day X - Entangled Worlds. That needs to be put on the agenda, right up front.”
“I agree, Maury. It should probably be Topic Number One although I’m not sure everyone will buy into it. Let’s see what Octavius has to say.”
“I haven’t heard from the cockpit in a while, but I believe we are nearing Cincinnati. Get a hold of the Porcupine and Dolphin and share our opinions. I want to talk with Octavius. Then we can stage another ‘all hands’ powwow after we arrive.”
I heard snores from the aft section of the plane. Could it be that Octavius was once again, out for the count in spite of the noise?
The Cubs had dressed up in their NASA shirts and were doing countdowns and shouting “Blast Off!” Wait till they realize the Bear’s Lair has a guided missile silo disguised as an Oriental pagoda. Belinda and Mlle Woof will, once again, have their paws full. Arabella and McTavish had never fully explored Octavius’ properties in their previous visits from the Shetlands. I suspect that shortcoming was about to be rectified. They already had Ursula on their side. The pint-sized explorers could twist Frau Schuylkill around their little claws. Our “Estate Manager” was about to be managed.
I went back and attempted to wake Octavius up. It can be done, but not without danger to one’s life and limb.
Chapter Eighteen
As the dots all begin to connect,
We are starting to strongly suspect
Some researchers are not who they seem.
There are enemies within the team.
Are all our suspicions correct?
A snore/growl followed by a “What?” Not as bad as usual. Sprawled on the floor in the empty rear of the SST’s cabin, I let him get oriented. Another “What?”
“We are getting close to Cincinnati. Did you get a chance to call the Police and the FBI before dropping off?”
“Yes, I did. The Cougar’s death has them puzzled. It has me puzzled, too.”
“Well, here’s one data point you’ll want to consider. In sifting through the e-mails between the Professor and the Cougar, there is one from Covington that Ursula found, setting up a meeting in Detroit between him and the Muskox. Supposedly to work out an agreement on sharing the proceeds of the Professor’s suits and we believe, other revenue sources. We suspect that meeting did not go well. In fact, we believe it resulted in the Professor floating face down in the Detroit River. No real proof, mind you, but very strong suspicions.”
“You know how I feel about suspicions but I guess we have nothing better to go on for the moment.”
“Well, if you don’t like suspicions, how about a theory.”
The Great Bear snorted. “I like them even less, but go ahead.”
“We may have completely misread Howard’s merry band of Multiverse specialists. Suppose, instead of working toward proving electrons can be excited between alternate worlds, one or more of them is trying to throw a monkey wrench into the program. Suppose they want to keep control of the process in their own paws or claws. They may be feeding the results of their work to someone who is hostile to the idea of inter-planetary remote control. We’ve been conjecturing on the possible involvement of General Turmoil, who would love to take control of the process. Suppose there’s an Alternate Universe General Turmoil who wants to keep it out of anyone else’s paws or claws.”
“That’s a lot of supposing. You are also assuming that this Alternate Universe is home to animals like us and that Homo Sapiens isn’t a factor.”
“For the moment, but we’ve seen several different varieties in the past. I’m not sure how Howard selected the target universe. We need to get the specifics.”
“The Colonel did a pretty thorough job of vetting these folks.”
“Yes, but I don’t know that he was looking for off world attachments. You remember how the Winnipeg Opera Director and ursine assistant covered their tracks.”
“Well, we don’t seem to be making much progress following other evidence. Let’s all get together after we land and shake down this idea of Condo’s and yours.”
“By the way, Octavius, if our idea holds up, Marlin and Howard may be in serious danger.”
“I don’t like the sou
nd of that but you may well be right. Fortunately, they haven’t budged out of the Lair for quite a while. Let’s keep this among ourselves for the moment. I’m not sure the Police or the FBI even believe in Multiverses. No need to complicate matters any further.”
We were interrupted by one of the Flying Tigers doing their approach messages. The Cubs set up a noise festival to greet the announcement. “We’re the astronauts back from outer space!!”
They weren’t the only ones who were spaced out.
* * *
Back on the ground and gathering the clan. Mlle Woof herded the space cadets into the oversized kitchen and was getting an array of “rocket grub” set up for them. There must be a way to harness all that energy. Ursula had set up a simulated launch control system for them and they were anxious to get at it.
Octavius had asked the team to gather in the main conference room. Call the roll: Howard, Marlin, the two Wolves, Condo, Ursula, Otto, Bruce, Belinda and me. Eleven participants - all present and accounted for. The Flying Tigers were seeing to the SST.
The Great Bear rumbled. “If anyone wants refreshments before we begin, speak up.” Without being asked, the Frau had brought in a keg of mead for Octavius. Bruce had commandeered a six-pack of beer. Otto went in search of his kelp juice and vodka. Belinda had a crystal bowl of champagne. I uncovered a quaff of fermented coconut milk VSOP. The Colonel and Condo had Scotch and the Frau had a snifter of schnapps. I’m not sure what Marlin and Ursula had, if anything. (What do dolphins and AI systems drink?) Howard abstained.
“All right. If your brains are adequately lubricated, let us begin. Senhor Condor and Ursula have come up with significant evidence in the e-mails between Covington Cougar and the Professor to give credence to the idea that the Cougar killed the Muskox. Is that correct, Senhor?”
“Yes, Octavius. It was clear that a major disagreement had arisen between the two of them having to do with payments over information. We believe the Cougar was feeding material on the Electron Project to the Professor. What the Professor was doing with that data is not that apparent. I doubt if it was being used to support his lawsuits. I believe he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to run another scam or two. There’s a third (or more) party in there somewhere. Anyway, the Cougar went to Detroit to have it out with the Muskox and since all communication ceased with that meeting, we surmise that the Cougar killed off the Muskox. Probably not airtight evidence for law enforcement but pretty damn suggestive. Now, of course, the Cougar is also dead.”
The Suit Case Page 10