Mac raised his hand.
“Yes. Sorry, detective. Would you and your friend secure this area for us.”
“Certainly,” Mac answered.
Everyone moved off. Mac and Chad moved closer to the van.
“I should close these doors,” Mac said.
Chad looked in the van for the first time. He saw dark blackish blood on a blue hoodie. His hoodie. His face went pale. His knees buckled. Evers was not the target. He was.
Chapter 62
“What’s wrong, professor?” Mac asked, reaching out to help Archer. Then Mac realized Chad was looking into the van.
“Shit. Sorry, Chad. I wasn’t thinking.” Mac closed the door to the van.
“Mac. It’s my sweatshirt.”
“What?”
“He’s wearing my hoodie. I was the target.”
“Naw, why would you be the target? Biskell does not know you well enough. Even if he did, how would he know you were here in London? You’re imagining things. Come over here, out of the way.”
Mac set him down on the curb.
“I need to talk with you, Mac,” Archer began. “I need to tell you some things.”
A sleek Mercedes sped down the street, interrupting them. The driver looked over at them - a drunk sitting on the curb, head in hands, his friend standing over him, hand on his shoulder.
Rounding the corner, the car rolled another block and turned left toward the west gate. It stopped short at the site of armed police snapping the lock on the gate. The driver started to back up. He didn’t get far. Two sharpshooters took out the tires.
Mac ran toward the gunshots, reaching for the gun at his belt that was missing. He raced onward.
The night raced on as well. By morning, both cars had been recovered along with a warehouse full of paint, tools to change a VIN, and plate making materials.
Two mechanics, two drivers, one artist, and a hacker were arrested. Computers and other equipment were confiscated. The interrogations led upward another level. But no further. They didn’t get to Biskell. He was finally released twelve hours later, smiling and threatening further lawsuits.
One Boston cop, one Interpol agent, several UK officers, and one archeologist wearily went to bed at four in the afternoon. Saundra Moffat was still working.
-------
Archer woke two hours later anxious to work on his middle-of-the-night aha moment. He scolded himself. He made a mistake using his own computer last night. It could have been tampered with by Israeli Intelligence. Luckily, all they learned if they were monitoring his IP address was that he was pursuing latitude and longitude. In addition, if they followed his work, they would see his efforts fail. He dressed quickly and found the hotel’s business center.
Chad adjusted the two Egyptian codes for the difference between the Great Pyramid at Giza and Greenwich prime meridian. The pyramid is 31.1344 east of Greenwich. Adding that to the top number the longitude changes from 4.1048 east to 35.2392 east. Chad input those coordinates into the web page. Jerusalem. Specifically, the City of David. The top number was to help the researcher to know the reference point.
Excitedly, he adjusted the number on the back of the stone. The longitude became 94.0202 west. He looked it up.
It was in the State of Tabasco, Mexico. Chad knew what was there – La Venta, the site of an ancient Olmec city. Now he knew why Doc went to Mexico.
He was interrupted by his cell phone. It was Sandy.
“Hey, how are you doing?” he asked. “Did you get some sleep?”
“No, I’m still at the office. Giles told me to leave. I’m not sleepy yet. Would you like dinner?”
“Sure. But don’t you think once you lie down, you’ll crash?”
“Probably. I want to talk.”
“I’d love to listen,” Chad said. “Meet you in the lobby of the hotel?”
“Meet me at the Bear Print Pub. It’s a couple blocks from you. I’ll ask a motor unit to drop me off. Twenty minutes? You’ll have to put up with a grubby, tired bobby.”
“No worries. See how I’ve picked up that expression?”
“Don’t go all English on me, Archer. I need to teach you to be Scottish.”
Before he left, he corrected the coordinates on the bottom of the stone. It was in the Celtic Sea, south of Ireland. Something was wrong with that one.
------
“Order me a beer?” Sandy asked as she found Chad already seated. “I need to splash some water on my face and see how bad I look.”
“You look fine.” Chad ordered a pint and waited. She did look fine. How can anyone sleep two hours, go through two days like she did, and look so good?
“Thanks for the beer, Chad.” She forced a smile.
“Sandy, you were amazing last night.”
The pub tables were close to each other and two men next to them took a moment to glance at Sandy after that statement. Chad noticed and lowered his voice.
“You took charge. You were imaginative. You made a difference. And, you made an impression on Giles as well. Then, you worked all day at the office. You looked like you had been through this kind of mess a dozen times before.”
She took it as a question. “No. It’s my first. I never lost a partner before.”
“Sorry, Sandy. I didn’t know Alan well. But he seemed like a good man.”
“He was. I didn’t know him either. We just met last week. Did you know they found his cell phone open to a picture of his two girls.” Tears formed in her eyes.
“Have you let yourself process this, Sandy?”
“No. No time. I have to find the murderer.”
“No, you don’t,” Chad said emphatically. “Not just you. There is an entire department working on it.”
“You’re right. But it feels like it’s my fault.”
“Don’t think like that. What could you do?” he tried to get her to see the logic.
Sandy disagreed. “It was his turn to patrol. I should have been in the van.”
“Sandy, if Alan was the target, it wouldn’t have mattered. They would have found him in the street. On patrol.”
“Probably. About that, Chad. Mac talked to me. He said you had some notion you were the target because Evers wore your hoodie. That’s a ridiculous idea.”
Archer remained quiet. His eyes downcast. He was undecided.
She asked, “Is this part of that secret?”
“Yeah. Look, Sandy, you’ve had a tough couple of days. We can talk about it later.”
“Your call, Chad. I’m here for you, now. This will take my mind off Evers. You’d be doing me a favor.”
Chad made up his mind. “Okay. Let’s get dinner.”
“Great. Fish and chips?”
------
“Wow, Chad. That’s a story. Do you believe it’s true? The tablets have been moved and are findable?”
“Yes. I can believe it’s true. What is factual, the scrolls, point to that.”
“Did your friend, Doc, believe it?”
“I think so,” he answered
“Then someone is killing people that know about it. Doc. The scientist, Lipman. The rabbi. Now you - mistaking Evers for you.”
“You’re good at summarizing this,” Chad said.
“Who do you think is behind it?” she asked.
“I’ve considered several possibilities. There are only two entities that would fit facts. One is a small group within the Israeli Army, more specifically the Intelligence Directorate. A group that wants to keep it quiet.”
“Why do you say a small group?”
“They could have killed me when they abducted me. They did not. I get the feeling they want to find the tablets but have failed to solve even the first clue. At this point, they would just as soon follow me. However, there could be someone that knows about the scrolls that wants no leaks and no competition in locating them.”
“And the second?”
“The guardians or the guard. Whoever that is. The military team that took me kno
ws they exist. I do not know what they are or who they are.”
“They scare you?”
“Odd you say that. I don’t feel scared. I feel worried.”
“You sound like a man that just considers Evers death as one more fact, one more piece of forensic history. Very professorial.”
“Very foolish?” Chad asked.
“We have a saying in Scotland, tattie howkin’.”
“What’s that mean?” Chad asked.
“It means to help the farmer gather potatoes from his field.”
“What potatoes?”
“It means I will help you, you dummy.” She leaned across the table, over the remains of the fish and chips, and kissed Chad. “Let’s go. You can tuck me in.”
Chapter 63
Archer, Superintendent Giles, Jimmy MacDonald, and Adrien Tellier were talking next steps. It was nearly midnight Wednesday evening. Sandy was at the hotel sleeping.
Mac was talking. “I’ll stay here in London and work with your theft experts. Somewhere there is a link to Biskell. Somehow Patti Bertram or her friend Slick figured it out or stumbled on it. I’ll try to stumble, too.”
Chad shared his thoughts. “I have been thinking about that since Adrien told us about Biskell’s VIN scheme. I think I have some forensic facts. Fact – Biskell is stealing or fencing high-end performance cars. Fact – Biskell likes VIN schemes. Fact – VINs are used when repairs are made. Fact – Patti Bertram works at an import repair shop owned by Biskell. Fact – Patti discovered something big, something worth enough to kill for. So, here is what I think happened. Biskell moved on from just changing VINs. He realizes that these high-end performance cars will need maintenance and that the manufacturers want to know what happens to their cars. Also, often the repair parts will come from the factory and they need the VIN. Okay, so far?”
Mac replied for the others. “Makes sense so far.”
Chad continued. “All of those facts, or assumptions, leads me to a theory that will fit them. I think Biskell makes up new VINs for targeted cars, hacks into the system for a manufacturer and inserts a sale record for that VIN to a fictitious dealer. Then he creates a Bill of Sale from that dealer to a shell broker, who in turns sells to Biskell. Biskell’s records look legitimate. The shell broker is a legal entity. An office somewhere, bank records, and such. No one ever needs to check on them. Patti somehow stumbles onto an auto where there is no manufacturing record, only a sales record.”
“How could that happen?” Tellier asks.
Chad answered. “Perhaps the manufacturer’s sales database is down one day and they check their manufacturing database. I assume they are separate. Or, they transfer her to someone in manufacturing. Something like that. In the end they discover no record of manufacture.”
Giles spoke up. “Would one incident give her enough to blackmail?”
Mac answered. “No. But she could bluff it.”
A voice from the doorway said, “Or, maybe she did some hacking herself. Or, that was the part her friend played. Not fair you boys playing without me.”
“Inspector, that was not much sleep. How are you doing?” Giles asked.
“I’m fine. I was listening. What can we do to check out your theory?” she asked.
Tellier answered, “I’ve resources in Lyon to check the database and IT side of things.”
Mac offered, “I can dig into what background she might have for IT. Or what Slick has. However, he seemed like a loser. Had a rap sheet for minor drug stuff. I can also look into what she actually did in her job.”
Giles delegated to Sandy. “Inspector Moffat can check with a couple UK manufacturers on their normal VIN record practices. Sandy, I know it’s sudden, but I’d like you to take this case over. It was Alan’s. Now it’s yours.”
Chad was thinking about Lyon. When Adrien said it, a bell rang for him. The rabbi said Lie Own. It was a common mispronunciation. As urgent as Mexico and La Venta was, maybe there was another clue for him in Lyons.
“Adrien, is there a monastery in Lyon. Somewhere that a religious order of brothers may live?”
“Yes. Sainte Marie de La Tourette. Dominicans. Why?”
Chad danced around the truth. “It came up in some research. An old monastery?”
“It’s not old, not in European terms. Built in the fifties.”
“Would it be okay if I went to Lyon with you?” Chad asked Adrien.
“Sure.”
“I think you should go as well, Moffat,” Giles instructed.
“I’ll go back to Boston,” Mac told them all.
As they all laid out their plans, Chad thought he needed to update Boyer. Three people are dead and one of them was supposed to be me.
Chapter 64
Archer bought a throwaway phone to call Boyer. He wondered if Doc felt pursued. Thinking of Doc made him think of Julie. He owed it to Doc to keep her informed and to check on her. He called her first, standing outside New Scotland Yard.
“Hey, Julie. It’s Chad.”
“Chad. It’s great to hear from you. A new phone? How is it going?”
“Yeah, something is wrong with mine. Things are good, thanks. I met with Gaige Mandl in Jerusalem. He had some good stories and information for the book.”
“Wonderful. How about Dad’s quest?”
“Great on that as well. I found some clues and solved them. I followed his trail to England and I’ll go to Mexico soon. I also am working on a case for Interpol. It brought me to London and next I will be going to France. How about you and the campaign? Still have money problems?”
“Actually, no. It’s amazing how this works. Individuals cannot donate a lot, but they can form a SuperPac independent of my campaign and then campaign for me with ads and stuff. One was started and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. And money works. Just in a week, the regional polls have me gaining ten points. I am so busy. It seems that every day I have three breakfasts, four lunches, and two dinners - all with various constituent groups.”
“That is wonderful news.”
“Not so wonderful for my waistline,” she remarked.
“I don’t think you have to worry about that. You look great. Besides you are doing all that running.”
“What running? The exercise has fallen off, too.”
“The running around,” he explained.
“Chad, for just a moment you were sweet then you ruined it trying to be funny.”
“Sandy says that, too,” he added.
“Sandy. H-m-m-m. How’s that going? Will you get to York while you’re in England?”
“She was transferred to London. How about that?”
“Oh, really? Convenient. So that must be going great.”
Chad wondered if he heard a note of jealousy. It had to be his imagination. “We’re okay, but her partner was killed the other night.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Julie said.
That was genuine, Chad thought. “I won’t keep you, Jules. Just wanted to check in.” They said their goodbyes.
Time to call Boyer. Chad decided to wait until after dinner.
-----
“Hello?” Boyer answered.
“It’s Archer. I need to talk with you but I can’t use my phone.”
“Where are you calling from?”
“London. I bought a cheap phone.”
“Okay. What’s wrong with your phone?”
“It could be bugged. Probably is. Here’s a summary. I found the place where the locator stone used to be. I decoded clues that tell me the tablets were taken to Mexico. Elsha Lipman, the technician who read the scrolls has been murdered. The rabbi has been murdered. Someone wearing my clothes was killed in London. There are two, maybe three groups after the information or after me, or both.”
Boyer listened carefully, amazed at the composure and calmness of Chad’s delivery. “Sounds like you have been through a tough time. I’d like to hear the details. Can we meet? I can bring a technician and look at your phone.”
>
“That would be good. Can we meet in France?”
“Sure, but if the tablets are in Mexico, why would you go to France?”
“Appearances. I’ve been working on a case with Interpol. It’s hot right now. My cover story is a book about Doc. That can’t be as urgent. If I blew off helping Interpol for that, it would raise suspicions.”
“I see. That makes sense. I’ll call you at this number and meet you in Lyon tomorrow. Do you need protection?”
“I’ll be with the police. I think I will be okay.”
“Alright. I will call you.”
Chad hung up. Boyer questioned the trip to France, but he seemed unconcerned and didn’t press it. It was like he already knew. Did I tell him I was going to Lyon? I mentioned Interpol. That’s where Interpol is headquartered. It was a logical guess. Repeating Doc’s visit to the maritime museum in London would have to wait a return trip.
Lupa wasn’t guessing. The tracker put away the small parabolic microphone and hurried ahead of Archer to the hotel to pack.
Chapter 65
Archer and Sandy landed in Lyon, a two thousand year old city, just past one o’clock. He remembered his previous visit to the city to assist Interpol. He was struck by the many contrasts of Lyon. Some cities may have a mix of new and old. Lyon had the extremes - ancient and the modern. A half million people made this the third largest city in France.
From its founding by the Romans in their conquest of Europe, Lyon and its rolling hills has been at the center of war. For centuries. In World War Two, it was a center of German occupation as well as a focus for the Resistance. Now, the headquarters of Interpol carried on another war – a war against crime around the world.
Archer rented a car and drove them to Interpol headquarters, a modern building built in 2001 on the northern part of the city. Adrien met them in reception.
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