“How did the conversation with Gregory start?” Special Agent Henderson asked.
“He mentioned Nevada a few days ago, and I asked him if he was going there, but he told me there was no reason because he had no family or friends there. I don’t remember his exact words when he mentioned that state, and I did not bother to ask further. He was furious and wouldn’t speak with me. I wanted to know why,” Eric explained.
“Was there some kind of conflict between you two yesterday or in the preceding days?” Special Agent Sanchez inquired.
“We argued, but I would never betray my boss. Hackers don’t usually kill people. That’s an easy life sentence right there,” Eric said.
“What were you arguing about?” Sanchez went on.
“Gregory told me a cop came by three days ago to question about a murder. He must have meant Lucky! I came by yesterday, and he accused me of pointing a finger at him for the murder. He thought I told them that he killed Lucky,” Eric said. “If I hadn’t been stabbed by that bastard who put me in this bed, you wouldn’t have found me.” Eric shifted in his bed a little. “Look, some people will screw you if you mess with them – maybe Lucky betrayed Gregory, and it was payback. I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that I didn’t kill Gregory.”
“After the medical examiner inspected Gregory’s body yesterday, it was reported that your fingerprints and blood were on the victim's face, especially a cut on the right side of his lip,” Special Agent Henderson stated.
“We were arguing, and he pushed me. I told him to go to hell and pushed him back. He then punched me and almost broke my jaw, and then I pushed him and gave him a bloody lip. Afterwards, we drank beer,” Eric explained.
“You expect us to believe that?” Mr. Henderson asked.
“Yes, we vented our frustration at each other. I gave reasons why I wouldn’t lie to the cops about him, and we continued with what we needed to do. We’re men. We get over it in five minutes,” Eric replied.
The two Special Agents wrote on their notepads, and Eric continued.
“That’s how my blood was on him. I had no idea what would happen after I left. I looked at him on top of the car, and said to myself, ‘That could have been me if I hadn’t left.’ I also didn’t know the creep was lurking nearby to stab me. As I said, I had nothing to do with Gregory’s death, or Lucky’s for that matter,” Eric stated and turned away from them.
“Looks like we have an innocent man here,” Special Agent Henderson said.
“Ouch!” Eric touched his wound. “I said I didn’t kill anyone. Yes, my fingerprint was on his neck, but I did not push my mentor to his death yesterday. Isn’t that what you want to hear? The truth!”
“So someone else pushed your mentor, you say,” Special Agent Sanchez said sarcastically.
“It wasn’t me. That’s all I know,” Eric said.
“A witness also said you were at the scene in front of the building after the deadly fall. She noticed blood and immediately informed the police,” Mr. Henderson said.
“I was there, but I did not murder anyone. Whoever you are looking for killed Lucky a few days ago and then attacked Gregory yesterday, as I just said,” Eric answered. “That’s all I know.”
“Yet you do know, Eric,” Special Agent Sanchez said.
“I do?” Eric said sarcastically.
“Someone killed Lucky, then Gregory was killed, and you were stabbed. I have a hunch that there is some connection here,” Mr. Sanchez explained.
Eric kept silent. His head lay back on his pillow, and he stared out the window. Special Agent Henderson moved closer to him, purposely blocking the view.
“I’m not the killer!” Eric said in a stern manner.
“Who gave you that wound on your side?” Special Agent Sanchez questioned as he pointed his index finger to the thick gauze fabric over Eric’s wound.
“I actually don’t know,” Eric answered.
“You don’t?” Henderson said sarcastically.
“Tell us, Eric. With the evidence we have, you are seeing life, my friend,” Sanchez explained.
“I don’t know what to say, I really don’t. I... I...” Eric found himself at a loss for words. The hacker looked at the bare wall opposite to where the FBI agents were standing. Mr. Sanchez took out his handcuffs, then put one on Eric’s wrist and the other on the metallic bedrail. Eric quickly looked at his handcuffed wrist, and forcefully pressed his head back against the pillow.
“I swear to you,” he said while staring at the ceiling, “someone did this and ran. I couldn’t look.”
“You can’t really see in daylight?” Special Agent Henderson said sarcastically.
“There was a large group of people surrounding the front of the building,” Eric explained as he looked away from the ceiling and turned back to face them. “I was there at the hotel. I left after a scuffle with Gregory. He was very much alive at the time. Then he called me back an hour later, this was after our confrontation, saying he had something for me to work on. Check my phone records!”
“What time was that?” Henderson asked.
“Half past twelve in the afternoon,” Eric answered.
“So you were there at 12:30 in the afternoon,” Special Agent Sanchez said.
“Well, maybe 12:25,” Eric said. “The accident happened at 1:30, and I was there with a crowd of people five minutes later. I didn’t come out of the building at 1:35. I was walking to my car, which stood around the block. Then I heard pieces of glass falling to the ground, and saw people moving in that direction. I went to see what all the commotion was about, which was around 1:35 PM. I was not there at the scene at 1:30 when someone else pushed him out the window,” Eric said while pressing out his last words.
“You didn’t want to finish the job. So you left and had someone do it between 12:30 and 1:30,” Special Agent Sanchez suggested.
Eric shook his head and touched his wound. “No, I’m innocent. I didn’t know who my mentor knew. Besides, that is none of my business.”
FBI Special Agent Sanchez’s facial expression revealed that he was starting to become frustrated, and Eric did notice.
“I am a hacker, that’s it. I have a criminal record for hacking, but there is no record of any murder. I knew the guy who fell to his death. As I said before, we did several tasks together, but I don’t know other people on his end,” Eric stated.
“Tell me what I want to hear, Eric,” Sanchez said.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Eric answered.
“That is not what I want to hear, Eric,” Agent Sanchez pressed. “We dug a little deeper for more information on you. You were on a team based online called Gray Web.”
Eric fell silent.
“It went under after police collaborated with an IT security company and the police raided the place. They were able to arrest everyone in there except you. You were finally caught after stealing someone’s identity months later,” Special Agent Sanchez added.
“I served my time after that. I was no longer there,” Eric said to him.
“That’s because someone paid you more and you worked for them, instead,” Special Agent Sanchez continued.
“Who do you work for now?” Mr. Henderson asked.
“I work alone, I think I’ve mentioned that,” Eric answered.
“I see,” Special Agent Sanchez said. “Eric, give me answers, not ways to make your life more difficult. You want life without parole?”
“I’m telling the truth! Ouch!” Eric touched his side for a few seconds, then removed his hand. “I need more painkillers,” he said in agony and slowly shifted in his bed.
Special Agent Sanchez glanced at Eric’s wound. “I’ve had enough, you have wasted my time. Keith, get the nurse. And throw the book at him, too.”
“Wait, wait!” Eric said loudly.
The hacker remained speechless for a few seconds while looking down at his bedsheets, before he slowly looked back up at the two Special Agents.
“I’m honest w
hen telling you that I work alone. Officially, alone now. After I left, I had an opportunity with another networking group called Cold Degree Team, but I turned it down. If you research them, they’ve probably changed their name.”
“How do you know?” Special Agent Henderson asked.
“Gregory used to work for them. Cyber organizations change their name after a certain period of time to keep cops and IT security away. Two weeks before Gregory was killed, I tried to get the name from him again, but he didn’t want to tell me,” Eric said.
“And why is that?” Special Agent Henderson questioned.
“He knew I was on to…” Eric became silent.
“Why are you suddenly speechless?” Agent Sanchez asked.
“Lost for words. He couldn’t finish a key part in his sentence,” Henderson said with fake sympathy.
The hacker looked away from them.
“He’s hiding something,” Henderson continued.
“What else, Eric?” Sanchez pressed.
With a moment of hesitation, Eric tried not to stutter over his words. “He... he... just.. felt I was going to steal his thunder, so to speak. He was one of the best hackers around. I learned many things from him.”
“He was your mentor, and you reaped a fortune with his skills and used it to plan his death,” Special Agent Sanchez replied.
“No, no, no, no, no, no! That’s not true. No way. Not true at all,” Eric exclaimed. “I told you as much as I know. I knew him, but I didn’t know the other people he knew.” Eric spoke quickly while again touching the wound that was causing him immense pain and making it difficult for him to speak.
“You argued with Gregory because he accused you of ratting to police about Lucky’s death, you said.”
“Yes,” Eric replied.
“Why was Lucky killed? To screw someone is one thing, as you assume he did, but what is the reason? What did Lucky do?” Special Agent Henderson asked.
Eric didn’t answer, and Henderson took out an object from his coat pocket. “I think this is the reason why you’ve become speechless.”
Eric and Special Agent Sanchez glanced at the USB drive in Henderson’s hand.
“Care to explain?” Special Agent Sanchez asked.
Eric stared at the device and then at the officers, who were waiting for his answer.
The hacker’s eyes opened wide, and he gulped. “How did you get that?” he nervously asked. “Only the person who pushed him to his death would have had it. If you plug it into any computer, all the information is there.”
“What information?” Sanchez questioned.
“Of course I don’t know. If I did, I would’ve been the one getting pushed off the building,” Eric replied.
“So, this USB stick is a valuable secret?” Special Agent Henderson said.
“In the cyber world, there are no secrets. Everything is out there on the web. The thing is, so much information makes everything clump together, and it makes it much harder to find what you are looking for. It’s called data mining, and it takes skills and experience – and often big bucks! It’s not like a search engine where you type a keyword and it is easy to find,” Eric carefully explained.
“So you’re telling me, this USB drive, it’s valuable money-wise, correct?” Special Agent Sanchez questioned.
His partner turned away from them and walked around the patient’s room in deep thoughts.
“Yes,” Eric replied. “Let’s imagine Gregory is still alive today. He has the USB drive and knows he can make over $800,000. For what’s inside the small device, he can sell it very quickly. The other bidder will someway find out who the buyer is, or the buyer may contact the place it was originally brought from, and will present more money in exchange for the device,” Eric explained. “I wanted to negotiate the price, which was $200,000. Gregory told me he already had three bidders for it, and it had already been sold to the highest bidder. I was upset because I worked for him on many projects and thought he would cut me some slack; but I also knew that if I was in his position, I wouldn’t want to negotiate the price, either. It was worth a try, though. I guess he did not want to frankly tell me no.” Eric shifted in his bed a little. “Besides, Gregory said he had something else for me in two weeks, and I was fine with that.” Eric looked sideways in disgust, then shook his head. “Now I won’t have that opportunity for the next holiday.”
“Holiday?” Special Agent Sanchez questioned.
Eric gulped, and the FBI agents noticed.
“Next holiday you say,” Special Agent Henderson said and looked at Sanchez. “Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.”
“What is happening tomorrow?” Special Agent Sanchez asked.
“I am aware I’ve said more than enough to get me deeper into trouble, but I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” Eric said.
“You do,” Henderson quickly replied.
“Honestly, I don’t know. He just told me I’d have an opportunity to use it during the next holiday. My mentor only guides me slowly, or else I wouldn’t become as good as him eventually.”
Mr. Sanchez had been silent and expressionless while Eric tried to read the agent's face, but now he spoke again. “I also believe there is a link between the dead hacker and the missing women. Why did you go to the Crowns Inn motel?”
“I had to warn them,” Eric said.
“I think he’s trying to manipulate us,” Special Agent Henderson said.
A breathing machine sounded near the wounded hacker. The suspect adjusted his plastic breathing piece inside his nostrils.
“This USB drive led to a hacker’s death and one woman’s identity being hacked, and now her life is in danger. Is there a connection?” Special Agent Sanchez questioned.
“I don’t know,” Eric claimed.
“How did you find the two women?” Sanchez went on.
“It was luck on their part. I was staying at the same motel for two days. I decided to return and stay in hiding until things cleared. I had a feeling that since I was there before the killer, I’d become the prime suspect,” Eric replied. He closed his eyes and groaned again while clenching his teeth and his fist at the same time. “I need painkillers. Where is the nurse?”
“Make it fast, Eric,” Special Agent Sanchez persisted, and turned to his partner. “Keith, get the nurse.”
FBI Special Agent Henderson went outside the suspect’s hospital room.
“You’re nervous,” Special Agent Sanchez said.
“The only crime I committed was hacking. I do not want life in prison,” Eric implored.
Sanchez, who noticed more sweat flowing down Eric’s face, quickly moved to the entrance door. His colleague and the nurse were still a few yards away, but moving rapidly towards Eric’s room. “We’ll be waiting for you to get better before you go to jail tomorrow. Get well,” Special Agent Sanchez said to Eric, and exited the room seconds before the nurse stepped inside.
While the nurse began to check up on Eric and gave him an extra dose of painkillers, the FBI agents stood outside the suspect’s room.
“Is that the real USB drive? Eric seems to know something about it, given how amazed he became after you pulled it out,” Special Agent Sanchez wanted to know.
“No, it isn’t. A light bulb came on inside my head. Pretending this was the real one may give us more answers from him,” Henderson explained.
“Excellent,” Sanchez said with a smile.
Eric yanked his hand that was handcuffed to the bedrail. He stared straight at his hospital room door. The FBI agents had walked away from the door and were no longer in sight. A few minutes later, Eric started having flashbacks of a light spring season jacket appearing to him as he was forcefully pushed down in the middle of the crowd, viewing the deadly scene in front of the Empire Hotel. The pain on his side slowly started to irritate him again. Eric’s flashbacks continued. At the Empire Hotel, he felt the sudden pain intensify. He lowered his head and touched the widening bloody spot on his shirt. Eric felt warm li
quid slowly rolling down his side, inside his shirt. His mind was becoming foggy. He rolled up the side of his jacket to suppress the blood. People on his left and right, in front of and behind him pushed him without even noticing. He managed to get a glimpse of a gray jacket a few feet away. His eyes moved down to the stranger in blue jeans and then to the shoes, until the person disappeared from the crowd when he blinked.
“Remembering something?” his nurse asked.
Eric blinked his eyes several times, and found his nurse hovering over him.
“I thought you’d left?”
“I did, but I came back to put a new bandage on you,” the nurse explained.
“My mind; those meds,” Eric said.
CHAPTER 15—UNLOCK
The three were on Interstate 95 heading to Manhattan. Benjamin touched his shoulder while keeping his other hand on the wheel. He then touched his neck and rubbed it. He tried to pass a slow car in front of him. After a full night’s rest, Gloria sat comfortably in the backseat. She heard Benjamin shift in his seat several times, and less movement from Anna.
“I can tell you were uncomfortable sleeping on the floor. I kept hearing you shift around,” Gloria said to Benjamin.
“I slept all right,” Benjamin said. “I did some work on my laptop, and made a phone call outside before we left this morning. A colleague of mine who lives in the Tribeca area in Manhattan is allowing you both to stay with her until we find the killer.”
“Great,” Anna said.
“I guess we can do our practice and wait for your latest news. No one can find us in the city. Too many people,” Gloria said.
Anna shook her head and remained silent, which Benjamin noticed.
“You’ll be surprised. Whatever you do, just stay safe. It’s not California. The killer is close, but this is the best that I can do,” he said.
“Thank you,” Gloria replied.
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