The Genesis Chamber

by Beighton Devlin

  He watched her closely, paying special attention to her backside as she stood in front of the wall.

  “Travis.” She spoke without turning around. “Quit looking at my ass, or I will put a hole in you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He smiled and went back to his work.

  She continued looking at the rogues gallery. Her attention was drawn to one face in particular. She leaned closer to get a better look and snatched the picture off of the wall. She held it close to her face, glaring at the image.

  “Holy sweet mother fucking Jesus Christ!” she shouted out.

  “You know, you should have been a nun.” He glanced up from his screen. “What is it?”

  “This guy?” She held the photo up so he could see it. “Who is this guy?”

  “I told you, the name is on the back.” He went back to the screen.

  Maria brought the photo down to look at the name on the back.

  “Hector Tobin,” she said aloud. “Run that name for me.”

  He fervently tapped away on his keyboard, then looked bemused. He frowned and went to work on the computer again. “Nothing is coming up.”

  “Not another one,” she said, not wanting to believe what he had said.

  “Afraid so,” he confirmed. “I have a hard copy here, though. How do you know this guy?”

  “He’s dead. He was executed in an alleyway. I left uniform to ID him. This is obviously the reason they’ve had no luck.” She studied the photo again. “Can you grab the file? I have to show my lieutenant, and don’t give me that crap about needing to copy it. We don’t have the time.”

  ***

  They walked up the four floors to Homicide via the rear stairwell to avoid being caught by the press in the reception area, and marched straight to Regan’s office. With the file under her left arm she knocked and entered without being invited in. The lieutenant was sitting, leaning on the table with his elbows, the phone pressed against his ear. He held a hand up to stop them from speaking, then pointed to the seats on the other side of his desk.

  “Yes, Commissioner,” he said firmly into the phone. “As soon as I find out, sir, you will be the first person I call.” He disconnected the call and looked directly at Maria. “I see our chat about just walking into my office really sank in with you.”

  “What?” Maria was momentarily confused. Then the light bulb went off. “Oh yeah, sorry about that. But I have something that could justify keeping me on this case.”

  He pointed at Travis. “Who is this, and why is he in my office?”

  “Travis. He’s with CACU,” she absently said. “Anyway, look at this.” She slammed the file down on his desk. “I’ve got the body you wanted.”

  “Tell me you didn’t shoot someone.” He slowly picked the file up.

  Travis tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh at the lieutenant’s comment. She glared at him.

  “You’re not helping here,” she snapped at him, then returned to her superior. “No, sir, not yet.” She looked at the detective, who nervously shifted in his seat. “That is the guy from the alley. Hector Tobin. He’s another convicted child molester, and another one not in our system.” Maria sat back and folded her arms confidently.

  He opened the file and quickly scanned the initial rap sheet, then studied the photo.

  “You have all these guys on hard file?” he asked Travis.

  “Yes, sir. My boss is old-school,” he replied. “Insists on everything being backed up.”

  He continued browsing through the file while they sat in silence, waiting for a response. He eventually sat back in his chair and started stroking his chin, as if pondering the situation. Then he suddenly sat forward.

  “Okay.” He tapped his finger on the file. “Two previously convicted pedophiles that have been erased from our system can’t be a coincidence.” He stopped and perused the file again. “Our hands are tied with Seaton. Internal Affairs is going to take over on that, possibly even bringing in the feds if they suspect an inside job. But with this one . . .” He tapped the file again, emphasizing it was the case that he was talking about. “This one, I can give you a green light on.”

  “Thank you, sir,” she said with obvious relief. She had been anticipating this moment, and was pleased her persistence had paid off.

  “Here’s what we do.” He pointed at her. The enthusiasm in his voice gave her encouragement. “You officially work on this as a separate investigation until something else turns up that conclusively links the two cases. That way we keep this one away from the feds.”

  “Roger that, sir.” She approved of his tactic.

  “I’ll keep the feds off your back until you come back to me,” he assured her. “But this isn’t an open-ended thing, Maria. I need something quick, so keep me up to speed on your movements.”

  “Yes, sir, I will.” She smiled. “I’m going to head to AppTech.”

  “AppTech?” He looked surprised. “Chris’s company? What have they got to do with this?”

  “I have a few questions about an app that belongs to them,” she informed him. “The kid we interviewed yesterday told us he was contacted via this app on his cell phone. If there is a pedophile ring behind these kids going missing, this could be how they’re luring them into a meeting.”

  The lieutenant raised his eyebrows and looked impressed. Her instinctive thought process had obviously captivated him.

  “Okay. That’s good enough for me.” He nodded. “Is there anything I can do to speed this along?”

  “Actually there is, sir.” She glanced at Travis, who had sat in silence. “Could you get onto the tech geeks? Maybe if you light a fire under their ass they might be able to give us some answers as to who breached our database.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” He asked as he closed the file and passed it back to her, “Anything else?”

  “Well, if you don’t mind, Lieutenant,” Travis interjected. “Could you square it with my boss to come to your department on secondment while I’m helping out?”

  “Do you need him?” he asked Maria.

  “We wouldn’t be here now without these hard copies, sir.” She looked at Travis, then back to Regan. “I’m certain he’ll be an asset to this investigation.”

  “Okay.” He extended his arm and they shook hands. “Welcome to the team. Now go, and keep me updated on this, Hernandez.”

  “One more thing, sir,” she said as she stood up. “Can you let Andy know what’s happening?”

  “I’ll bring Cooper up to speed when he’s done with Percival,” he confirmed.

  “Thank you, sir.” She nodded to her new partner to leave. “Come on. Let’s get over to AppTech and get this thing moving.”

  The Genesis Chamber

  Chapter 24

  The ever-vigilant John Sinclair greeted them as they entered the reception area of AppTech.

  “Good morning, Detective Hernandez.” He looked at Travis and half-stood, reaching over the desk to offer his hand. “And…”

  “This is Detective Travis,” Maria said curtly. “We’re here to see Chris.”

  The pair shook hands. Sinclair lowered himself back into his chair, looked at his computer screen, and started typing. “Can I ask what this is regarding?”

  “Official police business,” she said abruptly.

  “Do you have an appointment?” he nonchalantly asked.

  “Look, we haven’t got time for this.” She placed her palms on the desk and leaned forwards to face off with the security expert. “I was told by Chris that I don’t need an appointment, so can you just tell him we’re here and let me know where I can find him?”

  Sinclair raised an eyebrow and kept eye contact with her. He pressed a button on his phone then put in an earpiece.

  “Mr. Cooper, I have Detectives Hernandez and Travis here to see you . . . very good, sir.”

  He tapped the phone, removed his earpiece and retrieved two visitors’ passes from the top drawer of his desk. “Mr. Cooper is in his office,” he s
aid, as he handed them over. “He’s expecting you.”

  As Travis took his pass, he leaned forward to have a closer look at Sinclair’s name badge.

  “John Sinclair.” He said the name aloud, as if memorizing it. “Thank you very much, John Sinclair.”

  “No problem, Officer,” he said, bemused by the detective’s tone. He kept watching them as they made their way to the elevator.

  “What was that about?” Maria inquired as they walked.

  “What was what about?” He pressed the call button when they got to the elevator.

  “That whole ‘John Sinclair’ thing,” she said, waiting for the doors to open.

  “Not sure,” he said, as he glanced back to the reception desk. “I recognize his face but not the name. I just wanted to make sure I had read it right.”

  Ding. The elevator arrived and the doors slid open. He held his hand out, allowing her to enter first.

  “That’s very chivalrous of you,” she said sarcastically.

  “Why is he even here?” he asked, as he joined her in the elevator.

  “I asked the same question.” She laughed. “Apparently he’s some kind of super nerd when it comes to protecting computers from hackers.” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “He sits behind that desk all day watching everything on his CCTV monitors.” She pointed at the security camera in the top corner of the elevator. “I don’t like him.”

  Ding. They arrived at their floor and the doors opened. Maria exited the elevator, closely followed by Travis, and they walked the short distance to Chris’s office. When they got there, the door was slightly open. The sound of playful giggling grabbed her attention. She looked inquisitively at Travis. Without knocking, she tentatively pushed the door open and peered around it to see Chris sitting behind his desk, typing away on his computer. Jen stood behind him with her arms wrapped around his neck, her head gently rested on his. They were being entertained by whatever they were watching on the screen.

  “Not interrupting anything, are we?” Maria coughed.

  Jen immediately stopped smiling and stood up away from her uncle, who continued smiling and waved them in.

  “Not at all, come in, come in,” he said, as he tapped on his keyboard and gestured for Jen to go to the coffee machine. “Would you care for a drink? Coffee maybe?”

  “Yes, coffee, black for me,” the female detective confirmed.

  “And how about your friend?” he asked, looking at her partner.

  “Oh, excuse me,” she apologized. “This is Detective Travis, from the CACU.”

  “The what?” he inquired.

  “Crimes Against Children Unit,” Travis answered. “And I’ll have the same please.”

  “Certainly. Two black coffees please, Jen,” he said as he stood up. “I’ll have a Jasmine tea please, honey.” He walked around the desk and signaled for them to take a seat on the sofa. “Please, sit.”

  The detectives sat where they were requested, and Chris sat opposite them. Before they could ask their first question, their drinks were placed on the coffee table between them.

  “Thank you, sweetheart.” He smiled at his niece and patted the seat next to his. “Come sit here.”

  She shyly sat next to him and looked at the two officers staring at her.

  “Now then,” Chris cheerfully said. “What can I do for Florida’s finest this morning?”

  Maria sat forward and picked her coffee up. “We need to ask you a few questions about this app, ‘Chat Around Me’.”

  “Sure, fire away,” he said, as he sack back and cradled his tea in his left hand.

  “We need to know how it works,” she stated.

  “Oh, it’s quite simple, really. It uses the phone’s built-in GPS to scan a pre-determined radius, allowing people to chat with other users in that local area.” He sipped his tea.

  “Can the users chat about anything, or are there specialized chat rooms?” Travis interjected.

  “Both,” Chris replied, as he placed his cup on the table and straightened his jacket, sitting back in the seat. “The main page is a general chat room. Then, for example, if you want to talk about your favorite bar, you have the facility to open up a separate chat group with the name of the bar. This will be displayed in the general chat forum, allowing users who are interested in it to join the group.”

  “Is there some sort of registration? Say, for instance, do people have to use their real names and provide their ages?” she asked.

  “They can create a user name, like a nickname, in the chat rooms, but they have to provide a proper name at registration.” He paused and looked at both detectives. “Can I ask what this is about?”

  “And is there any way of verifying that information?” she continued.

  “Not really.” He looked concerned. “Is there something wrong with the app?”

  “Are there any other security features on this app?” Travis dismissed the question and continued.

  “Security features?” He leaned forward in his chair. “Regarding what?”

  The male detective sat forward and clasped his hands together while resting his elbows on his knees. “Well, for example, would a terror cell be able to set up a private chat group and organize a strike without being monitored?”

  “Holy shit!” Chris spluttered. “Is that what happened?” He became very animated. “We have a keystroke logger installed on it that sets alarm bells ringing if keywords are used. Let me get the developer in here.” He pushed himself up out of the chair and walked briskly to his desk, where he frantically pushed buttons on his phone.

  “Miller,” the electronic-sounding voice answered.

  “Oh, Martin, can you come to my office immediately?” he said urgently.

  “Yes, Mr. Cooper,” the voice replied. “Right away, sir.”

  Click. The call was disconnected, and Chris returned to the meeting. “Miller will be able to answer all your questions about terror attacks.”

  “Slow down, Mr. Cooper—”

  “Chris,” he interrupted. “No need for formalities here, Detective Travis.”

  “Okay, Chris,” he said, holding his hands up, gesturing to slow things down. “I never said that’s how it had been used. I was asking, is it possible?”

  “I, err…” He rubbed his forehead, visibly worried by how the interview was going. A gentle tap on the office door drew his attention away. “Come,” he ordered.

  Miller entered, carrying his prized tablet. When he saw the detectives he was visibly shaken by their presence. Maria noted he was wearing his usual beige shirt, beige trousers, and sneakers. A red baseball cap was pulled down just far enough for anyone looking at him to not see his eyes. Is this the only clothing this guy wears? she asked herself.

  “Ah. Now here’s the man you need to talk to,” Chris said, waving his finger at the programmer. “Martin, come and join us. The detectives have a few questions about Chat Around Me.”

  Miller hesitantly sat in the chair at the head of the coffee table between Maria and Chris. He placed his tablet on the table and sat back. The worried look on his face told her she wouldn’t have any problem getting information out of him.

  “Morning, Pee Wee.” She wasted no time in putting the geek under pressure. “Tell me, is this the entire collection of your wardrobe?” she asked, looking him up and down.

  Miller bowed his head, allowing the peak of his cap to cover more of his face.

  “Oh, come now, Maria, play nicely. He’s here to help you.” Chris was quick to defend his star developer.

  Maria glanced over to Travis, trying to work out how much information to part with at this stage. Figuring that she needed results and answers quickly, she decided to tell them what she needed and why.

  “We’re working a case at the moment, and it appears that this app of yours is being used to arrange meetings which are resulting in the abduction of minors.” She directed the information at Chris.

  “So it’s not a terrorist plot?” He sighed. �
�Wow, that’s bad. Kids being abducted? This is terrible. But, being honest, I’m relieved it’s not terrorists.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure it’s a massive relief to all the parents out there, too,” Travis said, throwing a look of disgust at the boss.

  “Sorry.” He held his arms up. “I really am. I wasn’t thinking.” He shook his head. “Obviously this is terrible. We’ll help any way we can.”

  “Okay. Let me tell you that according to a kid that was nearly abducted, the meeting was set up using this app.” Travis sat back in his seat and looked at the programmer. “So, Miller, tell me about the app. Does it have any security features built in to prevent this sort of thing from occurring?”

  “When we were brainstorming this idea, we did have concerns over this kind of event happening.” Miller paused and moved awkwardly, crossing his legs and leaning towards Chris. “Although to be honest, our major concern was terrorists using it. So we installed some security features aimed specifically at that area.”

  “I don’t follow.” Maria looked at him with curiosity.

  “We contacted the NSA, who sent a guy down from Langley to consult with us. He advised which keywords we should be looking out for—”

  “So if someone typed in jihad, bomb, and al Qaeda in the same sentence, alarm bells would start ringing?” she interrupted.

  “Exactly that!” he exclaimed.

  “What happens if that occurs?” Travis joined in.

  “It automatically gets sent to the NSA to analyze.” He shrugged. “How they deal with it is up to them. It’s in their hands.”

  “Okay, that explains the terrorist element. What about pedophiles? What safeguards are in place against them?” She pointed an inquisitive finger at him.

  “Unfortunately, without someone actually typing ‘I’m a pedophile would you like to meet me after school,’ there are very few keywords we can pick up on that can differentiate between something sinister and a perfectly innocent exchange,” he said apologetically.

  “Are all the messages sent stored anywhere other than the actual phone?” the male detective jumped in again.