The Genesis Chamber

by Beighton Devlin

  “I found beige fibers around the back of the head and neck. This would indicate that he was put into a sleeper hold. It’s a classic wrestling move to render your opponent unconscious,” he explained.

  “So what you’re telling me is someone went into his cell unseen, knocked him out, shredded his jugular, and walked out of the station completely unnoticed.” She sighed.

  “That’s what it seems like,” he agreed. “There’s also the entry wounds. Whoever did this took particular care to make it look like suicide, but made a huge mistake.”

  “How so?” she interjected.

  “The initial entry wound, which was the fatal one, was at an angle that would have been impossible if it was self-inflicted. So I can deduce it was made by the attacker,” he said with confidence. “The following wounds were self-inflicted—”

  “Wait!” Maria interrupted. “You said he was unconscious—”

  “If you’ll let me finish, Detective Hernandez.” Palmer began to sound irritated by the disruptions. “I was about to say self-inflicted in a fashion. The screw was then put between the victim’s index finger and thumb and thrust repeatedly into the neck to make it look like suicide.”

  “Sick bastard. Have you told Regan?” she asked the forensics expert.

  “Yes. He’s ordered a second examination. I’ve organized it for first thing in the morning. It’ll be carried out by another examiner, who is unaware of the circumstances so we can get an independent judgment. He’s also got someone going through the CCTV from the entire station to see if they can spot who went near the holding cells.”

  “Okay, so we have to wait till tomorrow to see what they find?” she asked.

  “Pretty much so, Detective,” he replied. “If you like, I’ll call you when we start the second examination.”

  “Yes, please do.” She nodded to herself. “And Palmer, thank you.”

  “No problem, Detective.” He disconnected the call.

  The information she had just received raced around her head, leaving her momentarily mentally paralyzed.

  “Are you okay?” Travis asked, bringing her out of her trance.

  “What?” She blinked, coming back to reality.

  “Are you okay?” he asked again.

  “No. I mean, yes,” she flustered, and quickly looked at her watch. “Come on, we have to get going. I’ll tell you in the car. This case just got even stranger.”

  ***

  After they had negotiated Sinclair at the front desk of AppTech, they arrived in the conference room just as Jen made the final comments of her presentation.

  “ . . . So, in conclusion, we see this latest piece of software as the next big thing to hit the market, which will take AppTech to the next level in mobile applications, a concept that we are all very excited about. Thank you all for the hard work you have put into this product, and thank you for making AppTech the fantastic company that it is.” She picked up her notes and tapped them on the podium between her hands to straighten them before putting them in a leather folder and zipping it up. “Thank you for your time.”

  Jen stepped sideways from behind the podium and curtseyed. The crowd all exploded into a rapturous round of applause, and one by one stood to give her a standing ovation. She was obviously overwhelmed by the response; her cheeks had flushed red.

  Chris walked onto the stage followed by Miller, who carried a large bouquet of red, yellow, and pink flowers. He kissed his niece on both cheeks before taking the flowers from his star programmer and presenting them to her, then stood back and encouraged the audience to offer more adoration. As the applause continued, she cradled the bouquet in her right arm and waved her left hand in appreciation before slowly leaving the stage for her uncle to say a few words of encouragement to the entire AppTech staff.

  Peering over the crowd, Maria spotted Andy, Kim, and Amber at the front, all holding their arms open to proudly envelop their “little star.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if I could just have your attention for a few moments.” Chris stepped behind the podium and waved his outstretched arms to signal for everyone to return to their seats.

  The attendees slowly sat in their seats and prepared themselves for the boss’s rallying speech.

  “Thank you.” Chris cleared his throat. “I would like to take this moment to reinforce what my niece has said.” He pointed at her in the front row before waving his hands across the rest of the staff. “Each and every one of you have put a lot of hard work into this latest project, and it’s about to pay off. Thanks to all of you, AppTech is well and truly on its way to being the leading mobile software company in the United States.”

  The applause erupted again, forcing him to pause until it had died down.

  “This was my dream when I first set up this company, and today only proves that if you put the time and effort into your dreams, anything is possible.” He paused for a moment. “So, to show my appreciation for everything you people are doing, this weekend starts early. You can all take Friday off, with pay.” He looked proudly at his staff as again they erupted into rapturous applause. “Now go, enjoy the buffet and champagne.”

  He stepped down off the stage to be greeted by Andy, Kim, Amber, and Jen. Maria watched in slight agitation from the back of the room as they hugged and chatted among themselves with beaming smiles while members of the staff took the opportunity to shake Chris’s hand and congratulate his niece on her performance. She wanted to tell Andy about the latest developments, but didn’t want to cast a dark cloud over the occasion. She let out a small sigh of relief as they joined in the flow of people filing towards the exit.

  “About time, too.” She glanced at Travis, who had stood just over her right shoulder, and something caught her eye.

  A familiar face; one she knew, but couldn’t immediately put a name to it. The man stood motionless, watching the Cooper family from behind dark glasses with great intent as they moved towards him.

  He was dressed in an immaculately tailored Prussian blue suit with a contrasting electric-blue tie that rested on a crisp white shirt. His matching electric-blue handkerchief was neatly folded in the breast pocket, accessorized by the gold tie pin, gold cufflinks and what she guessed were easily thousand-dollar shoes. This guy not only had money, but also class. He looked eerily menacing, but not as menacing as the two stooges that flanked him. They, too, were dressed in immaculately tailored suits to fit their muscle-inflated torsos. Maria surmised that black was their favorite color. Everything was black. The suit, shirt, satin tie and handkerchief, socks, shoes, and finally the black sunglasses.

  As she scanned the stooge nearest to her she noticed the tell-tale bulge under his left arm. This guy was armed. Bodyguards, she told herself. Then it hit her. The guy. It was Franco Baresi.

  “Fuck me,” she muttered under her breath. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

  “Who?” Travis looked in the direction of the mannequin-type trio.

  She was about to tell him but was cut short.

  “Glad you could make it,” Andy said as he approached.

  “Hard day. I’ll tell you later.” She dismissed the sarcasm and pushed past him to congratulate Jen “Well done, kiddo. Sorry I missed most of it.”

  “Thanks, Maria,” she gushed. “Don’t worry, I’m used to having people not be there for me when they say they will.” She paused and nodded towards Andy. “My dad’s a cop, so you learn not to get your expectations raised.”

  “Hey, a cop’s life is not an easy one.” Maria smiled. “I know for a fact your dad always tried to attend everything that he got invited to.”

  “You see, honey, I told you I was busy.” He winked at his partner in appreciation. “Maria will tell you how things are in this job. And if you don’t believe her, Grandpa will always be keen to tell you a few stories about when he turned up late after Grandma left his dinner on the table.”

  “And those stories should be left for another time,” Chris interrupted, as he pushed past his brother.
“What did you think of my prodigy, Maria? You could be looking at the next vice chairman of AppTech here.” He put his arm round Jen’s waist and squeezed her.

  “I wouldn’t say that, Uncle Chris.” Her face flushed again. “It’s only my first presentation.”

  “And what a perfect presentation it was.” He beamed. “You are going to go far in this business, sweetie, don’t you forget it.” He looked over to Franco Baresi, who nodded to him.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to attend to something.”

  Maria was about to ask him about the app when he let go of his niece and started to move away. She watched as he went over and greeted Baresi with a kiss on each cheek before shaking hands with his companions. She was surprised by the public show of friendship between them.

  Franco “Frankie” Baresi was, and had been for a long time, a well-known figure in the underworld of central Florida, notoriously heading up the Baresi mob, which had links to numerous criminal activities including extortion, bribery, narcotics trafficking, and rumored murders. None of these accusations had ever been proven in the many court cases the authorities had managed to subpoena him for.

  “Hey, Andy, is that who I think it is?” she asked her partner, while not taking her eyes off them.

  “Uncle Frank?” he said nonchalantly.

  “Uncle Frank?” She looked at him with raised eyebrows.

  “Yes, he’s an old friend of the family. He and Coop go back a long, long way,” he informed her.

  “You do know he has a history?” she stressed.

  He leaned in and lowered his tone while watching if Franco was keeping an eye on them. “Have you ever heard of the saying, ‘Keep your fiends close and your enemies closer’?” He looked her in the eye. “Sometimes things like that work, and are best kept that way.”

  “Does the lieutenant know about this?” she continued.

  “Yes, he does.” He stood back and watched as Chris and Franco finished their conversation. “Let’s just leave it there, shall we?”

  Before she could say another word, Chris gently took hold of Jen’s hand and started to guide her towards the mob boss.

  “Jennifer, Uncle Frank would like to have a quick word about your presentation.” He pushed her over to her meeting.

  Maria watched as she was affectionately greeted by the boss and his bodyguards. She was taken aback slightly by the whole thing. How could a family with such close connections to the law be able to fraternize with the ‘enemy,’ so to speak? I’ll get to the bottom of this later, she told herself.

  “Chris, sorry to bother you.” She grabbed his attention. “I have a question to ask.”

  “Sure. Fire away,” he cheerfully answered as he watched his niece.

  “We’re in the middle of an investigation and have come across a mobile app called ‘Chat Around Me.’ Have you heard of it?” she queried.

  He took his attention away from Jen and looked at her. “Heard of it?” He laughed. “Of course I have. It’s one of ours.”

  “One of yours?” She had to stop herself from asking the plethora of questions, but realized this was neither the time nor the place. “Listen, I know you’re busy now, but would it be okay if I came by tomorrow to have a chat about it?”

  “Of course.” He smiled. “Drop by anytime. I’ll be here all day.”

  “Everything okay?” Andy interrupted.

  “Everything is fine. Although, I could do with a quick word with you, just to bring you up to speed on a few things,” she added.

  He narrowed his eyes as if trying to work out what she was about to tell him. “Sure, shall we go outside?” He nodded towards the door.

  “Chris, I’ll call your secretary in the morning to make an appointment,” she said, as she turned towards the exit.

  “No need, just come by whenever you want,” he replied.

  “Okay, thanks,” she replied, and as she passed Jen she reached out and placed her hand gently on her upper arm. “Hey, well done, again. I’ll catch up with you soon.”

  “Oh, thanks, Maria.” Jen turned from her conversation. “Maria, have you met Uncle Frank?”

  She glared at the mob boss through his dark glasses. “No, I’ve never had the pleasure.”

  Franco stepped forward and offered his hand to be shaken. “Detective Hernandez, I’ve heard so much about you.”

  The hackles on the back of her neck rose. She shunned the offered hand. “Please excuse me. Jen, I have to speak to your dad.” She maintained eye contact with him while she walked towards the door.

  As she walked through the double doors to the corridor Travis caught up with her.

  “Hey, are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” She dismissed his question and continued walking. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  Once they were in the corridor they looked around them to see if they could be overheard.

  “What’s going on?” Andy asked, and pointed at Travis. “Who is he?”

  “Oh shit, sorry, this is Detective Travis from CACU.” She held her hand out indicating her new partner, and then waved her hand towards her usual partner. “Travis, this is Detective Andy Cooper.”

  The two men shook hands.

  “So, what’s going on?” he repeated.

  “We found the kid,” she said.

  “Fantastic! So that’s it then, case closed?” He looked at the pair.

  “Far from it. I think this thing is far from being closed. The kid was contacted using the app I just asked Chris about.” She paused. “I think this thing is a lot bigger and a lot more organized, and I still have questions about who or what Genesis is.”

  “Really?” he exclaimed. “What are your thoughts?”

  “I’m starting to lean towards an organized pedophile ring.” She looked straight into his eyes.

  Andy was visibly shocked by what he had been told.

  “There’s one other thing.” Maria looked down and shuffled her feet like a child about to be chastised.

  “What?” he asked

  “Seaton.” She paused. “It wasn’t suicide. He was murdered.”

  “What?” he almost shouted, then looked around to see if he had been heard. He rubbed his forehead. “Murdered while in police custody? By whom?”

  “Don’t know; I just had a call from Palmer telling me that the initial wound couldn’t have been self-inflicted,” she said.

  “This is not good.” He shook his head. “Regan is not going to like this.”

  “He already knows,” she informed him. “He’s ordered an independent secondary examination and has someone going through the CCTV footage from the station.”

  “When is the next examination?” he continued.

  “First thing in the morning. Palmer is going to ring me so we can go in on it.” She looked at Travis. “Do you want in on this as well?”

  “Sure,” he confirmed. “I’m more than intrigued about this case now.”

  “Okay,” Andy said. “So what’s the plan?” He looked at Travis, then back to Maria.

  “I’m going to go grab some dinner and have an early night. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day.” She smiled. “One thing is for sure. I certainly picked the wrong week to quit the booze.”

  “Okay, I’ll meet you at Coop’s in the morning and make a plan of action.” He shook his head again and rubbed his face with his hands. “Murdered in the cell . . . the press are going to crucify us.”

  “Yeah, we’d better keep this quiet for now.” She tapped Travis on the arm. “Come on. We’re out of here.” Then she looked back at Andy. “See you at Coop’s.” She walked towards the elevator.

  Travis extended his hand to Andy. “Nice meeting you.”

  “Likewise.” They shook hands, and Travis walked in a hurried pace to catch up with Maria. Andy went back to the party.

  She had reached the elevator and was impatiently pushing the button.

  “You know what? Screw it; I need a drink
,” Maria said, as Travis got closer. “You want to join me?”

  “I don’t usually drink on a school night.” He looked at Maria’s face. “However, I don’t think one would hurt.”

  “Okay, just one. I need a clear head for tomorrow anyway,” she conceded.

  As the two detectives boarded the elevator, Sinclair stepped around the corner. He had been listening to the entire conversation further down the corridor. He waited for the doors to close before he got his phone from his pocket and made a call.

  “I need to see you. I have something you’ll be interested in… The usual place, tonight at nine.” He disconnected the call and headed for the elevator.

  The Genesis Chamber

  Chapter 22

  “Are you okay? You don’t look well,” Andy said to Maria as he sipped his coffee.

  “Just tired.” She shrugged. “I’ve been up most of the night running this case through. I can’t make any sense of it.” She rubbed her eyes then took a mouthful of her coffee, staring at him intently. He had turned up at the diner a considerable while after she had arrived. So much so, she had actually finished her breakfast before he had even showed. When he did get there he walked in as if he didn’t have a care in the world and sat next to her. The only words he had muttered were asking Beth for a drink, and then he just sat there, staring straight ahead, silently. She put it down to being a tad tired after probably celebrating Jen’s achievement the night before. Or was he struggling with the case as much as she was?

  “I thought you were back on the sauce for a moment there,” he added, bringing her out of her thoughts.

  “Oh, no. I had one beer last night. I’m not going to lie to you; I came close to really kicking back and having a party.” She finished her coffee and pushed the cup to the end of the counter, awaiting a refill. “But I didn’t!”

  Coop appeared right on cue carrying a fresh pot of coffee. “Morning, son. The usual?” he asked while filling her cup.

  “Morning, Dad.” He raised his right hand to his forehead and mock saluted his father. “Yeah, the usual please.”