Deep Extraction

by DiAnn Mills

“What was his excuse for stealing Erik’s patent?”

  “What?”

  Albert huffed. “Don’t act like you weren’t aware of Nathan’s underhanded business dealings.”

  “I’m confused. Please explain what you’re talking about.”

  “He stole Erik’s patent to more efficiently conduct fracking.”

  Tori cringed. Nathan had made millions with his method of fracking. Had he really stolen the design from Erik?

  “I have no knowledge of this. I swear to you. Did you kill my husband?”

  “He deserved it for refusing to pay Erik for his design. With the money owed my son, he could receive treatment in Germany for MS. But Nathan refused, even after he learned Erik was facing death.”

  If Tori could only get a clear shot at the man. All she could do was listen and pray SWAT arrived soon.

  “Mr. Weiman, I’m so sorry for Nathan’s actions. I’d never hurt or steal from anyone. I want to make this right, so tell me what to do.”

  Smart move, Sally. Your sympathy may be what keeps you alive.

  He pulled a slip of paper from his pants pocket. “Transfer three million dollars into this account.”

  She took the paper. “Of course.” Strength and resolve resounded in her words. Her cell phone rang.

  Albert grabbed it. “No way are you stopping me.”

  “Mr. Weiman, would the three million take care of Erik’s treatment in Germany?”

  “Yes.”

  “I need my phone to make the transfer.” He pushed it back and she appeared to type into it. “I would have given you the money if you’d explained the situation.” She lifted her face. “I loved Nathan with all my heart. He never displayed anything but devotion to me and his sons. But since his death, the things I’ve learned have convinced me I didn’t know the man I married.”

  Good, Sally. Keep talking and stalling for time.

  Sally continued. “He obviously lied to me about Erik years ago before we married. He cheated your son out of countless dollars, and he set up an office in London without bothering to inform his family.” Her fingers touched his wrist, the one holding the gun on her. “We’ve both been deceived and hurt. Please, put the gun away. You now have the money.”

  Sally, be careful. The transfer will take a few days, and he may know the protocol.

  Albert swiped at a tear. Then another. “I couldn’t figure out what else to do. All I ever wanted was Nathan to pay what he owed so Erik would have another chance at life. I never wanted your husband dead. I . . . I don’t even remember doing it.”

  His finger rested on the trigger, stopping Tori from moving forward.

  “If one of my sons was that ill, I’d do whatever I could to seek treatment.”

  “Murder?”

  Tori envisioned her offering a sad smile.

  “I honestly don’t know.”

  He swiped at his nose. “The idea of hurting you and leaving those boys without a mother makes me as evil as Nathan.”

  “I’ve put the money in your account. All you have to do is leave and take care of your son.”

  “The cops will be after me for what I’ve confessed to you. Never dreamed I’d stoop this low.” He pressed his lips together. “And I can’t now.” He pushed himself from the table and aimed at his head.

  Sally lunged forward and shoved the weapon aside. The gun went off, and he stumbled.

  Tori rushed into the room, noting the blood flowing from Weiman’s thigh. She wrestled the weapon from his hand while he clutched his wounded leg.

  Sally grabbed a blanket from a chair and joined her. “Mr. Weiman, we’ll get you help,” she said.

  The poor man needed physical and mental care.

  “I can’t even kill myself so Erik could have the insurance money. Stay with me, will you?”

  “Yes.” Sally knelt beside him and took his hand. She glanced at Tori. “Please don’t restrain him. He isn’t going anywhere.”

  “I heard the entire conversation.”

  “So very sad . . . and needless.”

  Sounds from the front door indicated law enforcement had burst in.

  “We’re in the rear,” Tori called. “Mr. Weiman needs an ambulance.”

  The thud of boots on the hardwood floor grew louder.

  Tori texted Lance upstairs. Ur mom is ok. Man wounded. Meet me @ stairs. Neither boy should see this blood. Cole rushed in and gave her a grim nod.

  “Finally,” he whispered.

  Tori met his blue eyes and walked to the foyer. The boys were pale, just as she’d left them. “Everything is under control. Your mom handled herself like a soldier. The shot came from Albert Weiman. He fired the gun and shot himself.”

  “We have to see her,” Lance said.

  “Not yet. Mr. Weiman needs medical attention. There’s blood on the floor, and the investigators will need to sweep the area. I’m sure your mom will be with you shortly.”

  “Why did the old man pull a gun on her?” Lance said. “He’s been here before and acted okay.”

  “I’ll let your mother tell you.” Like Tori, Sally would have to weed through Albert’s story for facts. A little bizarre, but with the new information surrounding Nathan, she shouldn’t be surprised.

  COLE AND TORI entered Katy’s Memorial Hermann emergency room, where Albert Weiman had been treated. His pants were torn to his thigh so the bullet could be removed and the leg bandaged. The doctor excused himself.

  Albert’s hands shook, and Cole questioned his mental condition.

  “Mr. Weiman, we have questions regarding the hostage situation at the Moore home,” Cole said. “Special Agent Tori Templeton heard your confession, which has been corroborated by Sally Moore’s statement. We’d like to record this interview.”

  “I don’t care anymore. And it’s all the truth.” He rubbed his face. “I also threw a rock at Mrs. Moore’s house and threatened her once on the phone. Can you give me an update on my son?”

  “Mr. Weiman,” Tori said, “I’ll need your code word at the hospital to check on Erik. I called for an update while you were being treated, but the nurse couldn’t give me details. I took the liberty of passing along a message from you to keep fighting and that you love him.”

  Tears welled in his eyes. “Thank you. He’s not going to make it much longer without special treatment.”

  “Erik was always a strong man.”

  “Except when it came to MS. None of the drugs have helped. Do you suppose Sally might see him? He still cares for her.”

  How very odd to request Sally in light of the circumstances. “I’ll talk to her,” Tori said. “Sir, Cole and I need details on how you hacked Nathan’s pacemaker.”

  His face tightened, and he gripped the bandage on his leg. “I got the idea from a TV show. Looked around until I found a greedy hacker.”

  “Who?”

  “Walt Hanna. I have his phone number and address.” While Albert spoke, Cole typed the info. “He charged me $8,000, then wanted more. A greedy punk. Took all I had to pay him.” He glanced up with reddened eyes. “I must have been drinking and given him the go-ahead. I was such a fool to believe Nathan might have left money for Erik.”

  “We all want the best for those we love.” Cole heard a difference in Tori’s voice, more than compassion or friendship. “I’m really sorry. The weapon you had this evening—it isn’t registered to you.”

  “Bought it off the street. One thing about delivering mail in bad neighborhoods, I met all kinds of people.”

  Cole cleared his throat. “Were you involved with the Moore Oil & Gas rig bombing near Texas City?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Is Anita Krantz a familiar name?”

  “No.”

  “The murder of Preston Ustach?”

  “No, sir.”

  “The attack on Tori and me at the oil rig, led by the Hermanos de Pistoleros?”

  “No.”

  “Are you acquainted with a man by the name of Jose Aznar?”

&
nbsp; “Never heard of him until I saw he’d been killed.”

  “Have you been working with Franc Lawd?”

  “He’s a friend. And he spied on the rig for me.”

  “You’re telling us these are the only crimes you’ve committed.”

  “Yes. Would you check on my son? He’ll be worried.”

  Tori spoke up. “I’ll call the hospital before we leave. Remember I need your code word.”

  He gasped and seemingly held his breath. The pain meds must not have taken effect yet. “The word’s healthy.”

  The old man had beaten written into the lines on his face. “Thank you. Always thought you were a good girl. I never wanted to hurt Nathan or his wife. In fact, I wish it all hadn’t happened. At least with Nathan alive, he might have changed his mind and helped Erik.”

  Cole read over Walt Hanna’s background before interviewing him. Authorities had picked him up at his address. “He’s in the system,” he said to Tori. “A family man with a daughter, infant son, and a wife. He works in sales at a computer company.”

  Cole and Tori observed him through the one-way glass of an interview room. Just an average-looking guy. But bad guys seldom wore T-shirts announcing their criminal intentions.

  “We have a court order to image his devices,” she said.

  Cole refused to rest until he fulfilled his vow to end the crime spree. “I’m more than ready to put all the pieces together.”

  They stepped into the room. Cole introduced himself and Tori. “Mr. Hanna, we need answers. Tonight.”

  Not a muscle moved in Hanna’s face. “I have no idea what this is about.”

  “Do you know a man by the name of Albert Weiman?”

  “No, sir. Never heard of him.”

  What did Cole expect? “Mr. Weiman signed an affidavit in which he claims to have paid you $8,000 to hack Nathan Moore’s pacemaker. That makes you guilty of murder.”

  Hanna shifted and his breathing increased.

  “Are you ready to start over, Mr. Hanna?”

  “I . . . I took the money, but I’m not a killer.”

  Cole frowned. “I’m confused.”

  “Weiman never gave me the okay to hack the pacemaker.” Hanna inhaled sharply. “I realize he’s dead because of a hack job, but I didn’t do it. I have proof, and it’s on my laptop—”

  Cole waved his hand in front of the man’s face. “You’re telling federal agents you had the ability to kill Moore, took the money, but never got a green light?”

  “That’s the truth. Look, I give you permission to access my laptop. You’ll see I’m innocent. I was out with my wife and friends when the murder took place. They’ll vouch for me. In fact, I left my phone and laptop at home in case this ever came back to bite me.”

  “We’re holding you until evidence proves your claim.”

  LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT, Tori and Cole received word that Walt Hanna had not hacked Nathan’s pacemaker. Or at least his devices hadn’t been used to initiate the murder.

  So first thing in the morning, Tori met Cole at Memorial Hermann to further question Albert Weiman on his plans to eliminate Nathan Moore. The big gap in his and Hanna’s stories said a possible third party was involved.

  “I’m tired of the run-around in this case,” Tori said.

  Cole gave her a thin-lipped smile. “We both are. Would you mind leading out with Weiman? With your history, I think he’ll respond better to you.”

  “I’ll do my best. I remember him from college days, the supportive dad—kind and gentle. That man is still there. Did you receive his employment records and history?”

  “Just got them.” Cole read from his phone. “Solid worker. Dependable. Above average aptitude. Here is a man who valued hard work and never rose any higher in his job as a postal worker. He seemed to live for Erik, and nothing else mattered. Hard for me to think he arranged to kill Nathan.”

  “But he did, Cole.” She turned to him. “We talked about this late last night, actually early this morning. Someone else had to know Albert’s plans, a person who finished what Albert refused to accomplish. The question is who?”

  “That’s what we need to find out.”

  They approached his hospital room. “Good morning, Mr. Weiman,” she said. “We have a few more questions.”

  He appeared to be in pain. “I told you everything last night. There’s nothing left.”

  His white, thinning hair gave him a lovable grandfather appeal. Not the case.

  She sighed. “We interviewed Walt Hanna. He has the skills to hack Nathan Moore’s pacemaker, but he said you didn’t instruct him to do the job.”

  Bewilderment settled on his lined features. “You’re not making sense. Nathan’s dead.”

  “Did Erik have a part in this?”

  His gaze darted around the room. “He has no idea what I’ve done.”

  “Who else knew about it?”

  “I can’t tell you. My friend would never intentionally hurt anyone.”

  “I understand loyalty, but what kind of a friend betrays another?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He could have potentially executed a murder and set you to take the fall.”

  “You’re wrong.” Albert pressed his hands onto the table. Mixed emotions and a spark of fear flashed from his eyes.

  “Mr. Weiman, we’ve verified his claims,” Tori said. “Give us the man’s name, and we’ll get the matter resolved.”

  “Impossible.”

  Tori focused on him. Pity moved her. “Some people pretend to be our friends when they have their own agenda.”

  “I can’t give you his name. Leave me alone.”

  Seeing Weiman refuse to incriminate anyone, Tori and Cole left the hospital room. “I have to talk to Erik. He may have evidence his father refused to give. Sally wants to see him, and I promised to go with her. The man’s dying, and he may not be as bitter as Albert. It’s worth a try.”

  Tori and Sally checked in with the ICU nurses’ station at St. Luke’s for instructions regarding Erik.

  “Mr. Weiman is very weak,” his nurse said. “Please don’t stay longer than ten or so minutes. He’s due for meds soon, and that will help him rest this afternoon.”

  They walked toward his room. Tori stopped and focused on her friend. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? I can talk to Erik alone.”

  “I have to see him. This nightmare started with Erik and me when I believed he was seeing another girl. According to his father, he loved me, and I broke his heart.”

  “Sal, it started in high school with them. You entered the picture much later.”

  They lingered outside his door. Sally lifted her shoulders. “It’s about time a Moore took the initiative on righting a wrong. Ever since Nathan died, my sons and I have endured tragic news, horrific things that have devastated us. Our lives will never be the same. How will we ever be able to trust anyone again? I can’t help but keep reliving last night with Albert. If he’d stopped to consider that I couldn’t have transferred so much money with a keystroke, I’d probably be dead. Still, I feel horrible for the way Nathan treated Erik.”

  Tori wanted to mention God, but she held back. Sally had voiced her disinterest in spiritual matters, and moving her friend toward faith would be as tough a journey as her own.

  Sally took deliberate steps into Erik’s room and Tori followed. The monitors—steadily beeping—showed indicators of heart rate, respiration, oxygen level, and blood pressure. Oxygen flowed through his nasal cannula.

  “Erik,” Sally said, “are you up for a visit?”

  His brown eyes fluttered open, and a feeble smile widened. “It’s you.”

  She giggled lightly, probably out of nervousness. “And I brought Tori.”

  Tori waved. “Hey, Erik. How are you feeling?”

  “Good now that the two prettiest girls in Texas are here.” His words sounded like the old Erik but were fragile compared to the once-robust man. “A nurse and an FBI special agent. My
lucky day.”

  Sally took his hand. “It’s been too long.”

  His smile stayed, but his cloudy eyes were marked by the medications flowing through his body.

  “Dad said he’d seen you. Met your sons.” He drew in a ragged breath. “Sorry about Nathan.”

  Sally blinked. “Thank you. The ordeal has been difficult for me and the boys. According to the nurse, we can’t stay long. So let me talk and you listen, okay?”

  The anguish of his lost love could not be denied.

  “Your dad told me about the girl I saw you with all those years ago at the coffeehouse. He said she was a friend. You tried to explain, but I refused to listen. I apologize.”

  His eyes pooled.

  “I loved Nathan, but I regret our relationship began with a lie.”

  Erik continued to stare at Sally, his face filled with pure adoration.

  “There’s more. I’ve been informed that Nathan stole your patent. He told me your friendship ended because you had feelings for me. Another lie.”

  He exhaled his apparent discomfort. “Nathan was my friend—”

  “Hush. I’m talking.” Sally’s tenderness reminded Tori of when the boys were babies. “Your dad says there’s a treatment for MS in Germany that’s been successful. I want to help. Nothing I can do will make up for the past.”

  He lifted his hand, the one with the IV. “Please. It’s not necessary. Look at me. At most I have six months.”

  “More of a reason to fund the treatment.”

  “Did Dad ask you for money?”

  How could Sally respond honestly? “He made me aware of the problem when I asked about you.”

  “No way would I take your sons’ inheritance.”

  Sally tilted her head. “There’s plenty for them. Your objections have no consequence, Erik. I plan to make the financial arrangements.”

  But who would escort him to Germany when his father would be in jail for murder? Why hadn’t Sally discussed this with her before announcing it to Erik?

  He started to speak, his jaw quivering. “I’m embarrassed. When Dad gets here, I’ll ask him to leave you alone. Not sure where he is this morning.”

  How soon before he learned the truth? A TV was anchored on the wall, and the remote sat on his nightstand. Time for Tori to handle the critical aspect of the visit before a nurse chased them out.