by Kathi Daley
I took Levi’s suggestion and called Alex. She was still on the house phone with Hazel, so she hung up and called me back on her cell. She put me on speaker and I read the message.
“That’s classic game theory,” Diego said.
“John von Neumann invented game theory,” Alex added.
“So what do I do?” I asked. “What’s the correct answer?”
“There really isn’t a correct answer,” Alex explained. “In game theory you have to make a choice based on what you know about the other person and how you think they’ll respond.”
“Great, because I have no idea who Tom or Joe are.”
“The names are placeholders. What if Tom was replaced with Zoe and Joe was replaced with Ellie?” Alex postulated.
I paused and frowned. “Let me be sure I understand this. Assuming Tom and Joe are Ellie and me, if we choose to spare each other we’d both be set free.”
“Basically, yes.”
“I’d choose to spare Ellie. Ellie would do the same for me and we’d both be set free.”
“What if Tom or Joe is Mr. Baker from the market?”
Carl Baker seemed like a nice, honest man. I didn’t know him well, but he was pleasant and didn’t seem the sort to choose to sacrifice a person to gain his own freedom, although I didn’t have a clue what he would do in this situation. “I guess I would still choose to spare him even though I don’t know him well to be certain what he would do in that situation. In fact, I would choose to spare the other person no matter who that was unless I had reason to believe they wouldn’t do the same.”
“Okay, I’ll choose the option to spare Joe and see what happens,” Alex said.
At seven fifty-two the burner cell I’d found with the note pinged. I had a text that told me to enter my answer. I texted that I would spare Joe. My text was immediately replied to with the following message: There is a second captive in addition to Zak. His name is Fred and his wife is Wilma. The game will change a bit. This time Wilma has been given the same puzzle. If you both reply to this text with the word pain each man will be given an electrical shock that will hurt quite a lot but not kill them. If Zoe replies with the word Zak, and Wilma replies with the word Fred, both Zak and Fred will die. If Zoe replies with the word Zak and Wilma replies with pain, Zak will be set free and Fred will die. If Wilma replies with Fred and Zoe replies with pain, Fred will go free and Zak will die. You have 60 seconds to reply.
“Oh God. What do I do?” I asked Levi and Hazel, who were both standing next to me. I knew Alex and Diego were still listening as well via the phone. Panic gripped me as I struggled for the answer. “I don’t know Fred or Wilma. I have no idea what Wilma will do.”
Everyone was silent. The stakes were too high to just guess, but I only had about thirty more seconds.
“Levi?” I asked as my heart pounded in my chest. I was pretty sure I was going to pass out. How could I guess with Zak’s life at stake? What if I guessed wrong?
Levi took my hands in his. He looked me in the eye. “I can’t tell you what to do. You’ll have to live with the consequences. The choice has to be yours.”
“Zak would want you to pick pain,” Alex said over the phone line. “He wouldn’t want to be responsible for another man’s death even if it might mean his own.”
“Alex is right.” I typed in the word pain and waited. The next several seconds were some of the longest of my life. I felt a trail of sweat crawl down my back, but I was too nervous to move or even breathe. Eventually, the phone rang. I answered it. As before, the message was recorded. “Congratulations. You have passed and have earned the right to move on to the next challenge. If you complete it you will be at the halfway point. The next clue can be found where paupers rest. You have one hour.”
I let out a long breath of relief. I hoped the electrical shock wasn’t too painful, but at least Zak and Fred were still alive. If there even was a Fred. “Do you think there even is a Fred and Wilma?” I asked.
“Probably not,” Diego answered. “Though there’s no way to know for sure. My feeling is, if you’d answered Zak he would have died. Risking his life to ensure that the other man didn’t die was really your only move.”
“It would have been nice if you’d said as much before I chose.”
“Hey,” Diego defended himself, “I didn’t want to be responsible for the choice any more than Mr. Denton did.”
I guess I understood that. In his position I wouldn’t want to be responsible either. “Okay, moving on. The next clue is where paupers rest. Any ideas?”
“My first instinct is a paupers’ cemetery,” Hazel said.
“Do you know where I might find such a place?”
Hazel looked uncertain. “We could research it, but we only have an hour to locate the cemetery, drive there, and find the clue.
“We need Ethan,” Hazel and I said at the same time.
Hazel called Ethan Carlton, a retired history professor and part-time teacher at Zimmerman Academy, and explained the situation. There were two cemeteries nearby, he said, where, historically, those who couldn’t afford a proper burial were laid to rest. One had been used prior to 1950; the other was used after Ashton Falls was redeveloped. The older cemetery was closest to the library, so Levi, Hazel, and I would head there, and Ethan would call Phyllis and they would head over to the other one. We’d communicate by cell. Hopefully, we’d find whatever it was the madman behind this game wanted me to find. I sure hoped whoever had kidnapped Zak didn’t mind that I had help because suddenly I had a whole team working with me.
I leaned my head against the back of the car seat as Levi drove quickly toward the cemetery. God, I was tired. I hoped if the next little mind game was the halfway point we’d actually finish today and Zak wouldn’t have to spend another night wherever he was. I’d asked Hazel, who was my grandfather’s girlfriend, not to mention any of this to him until it was over. I knew he’d worry and there was really nothing he could do to help. My parents had taken my little sister to Switzerland to visit my mother’s family, so as long as Grandpa didn’t know what was going on, there was no reason for them to find out either.
Hazel volunteered to call Salinger and fill him in on the status of my nightmare, and I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a happier time. My mind drifted over moments from the last few months. I’d known Zak would be a good father to any children we might have; what I hadn’t known before Catherine arrived was how much my love for him would expand each time I caught him rocking Catherine in the middle of the night to avoid disturbing me, or making funny faces and silly voices when he changed her so she would smile at him with her tiny pink lips and huge blue eyes. I’d always known Zak was a loving, caring man, but since Catherine had come into our lives I’d had a glimpse of his uncertain, vulnerable side as well.
“It’s just up ahead,” Levi said, interrupting my daydream. “Any idea what to look for?”
“I guess an envelope and a cell. That’s basically what we’ve found at the other sites, although the note at the library was in a book, not an envelope.” I turned slightly to look at Hazel, who was sitting in the backseat. “Did Salinger have anything to say?”
“Not a lot. The medical examiner confirmed that Will was unconscious when he was shot. He was given an injection of an anesthetic drug that would have rendered him unconscious for at least an hour, possibly even longer.”
“So why knock him out and then shoot him?” I asked. “It makes no sense.” I groaned in frustration and closed my eyes once again. Damn, I hated this.
“You told me that Salinger found Will’s body after someone called 911 and reported hearing a gunshot. He arrived at the motel and found Will dead on the floor of his room with the note and cell phone in his hands. He called Levi and had him fetch you,” Hazel said.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“If Will hadn’t been shot nothing would have been heard and there wouldn’t have been a 911 call. Salinger wouldn’t have responded and he wouldn’t h
ave called Levi and asked him to bring you to the motel.”
“Yeah. So?”
“So if Will hadn’t been shot, how would the game have gotten started?”
I opened my eyes and sat straight up. “I guess it would have started when Will woke up and found the note and phone. I suppose he would have called me.”
“So why shoot Will?” Hazel asked the question we all had. “And if the plan was to shoot him all along why bother with drugging him first?”
I let out an exhausted groan. “I don’t know. All we’re doing is talking in circles. None of this makes sense.”
Levi pulled onto the side of the road when we arrived at the old cemetery. We piled out and looked around at the grounds, which were overgrown with weeds and shrubs. There were no headstones to identify the person buried in each plot, though there had at one point been more crudely fashioned wooden crosses than now remained.
I stood at the edge of the cemetery and looked around. If whoever had Zak had hidden the phone and instructions here, they would most likely have found a place to leave them that was sheltered from the weather. It hadn’t snowed in the past couple of days, but there were still patches of snow on the ground.
I took out my cell and called Ethan. “Are you there?”
“We are. So far we haven’t found anything. Of course, we don’t know exactly what we’re looking for.”
“Every clue so far has been provided in the form of a note and a cell phone. Are there any structures where you are? Crypts perhaps?”
“No. This was a pauper’s cemetery. All that’s left are a few wooden crosses. It was last used in 1970. I believe the cemetery where you are was abandoned by the late 1940s. Do you see any freshly dug graves?”
I scanned the area with my eyes. If the graveyard hadn’t been used in almost seventy years freshly turned ground would be suspect. “No, but I do see a cross that looks a lot newer than the others.” I walked over to it. It was fashioned with aged wood so as not to be too obvious, but it was screwed together rather than being nailed. “I think I found something.”
I knelt and looked carefully at the ground near the cross. It didn’t appear as if it had been disturbed for a very long time. There weren’t any words on the cross, but one end of the bar had been carved to a pointed tip. I got down low to the ground and lined my eyes up in the direction the bar pointed toward. There was a tree about twenty yards away. I got up and walked to it. There was a small hole in the trunk of the tree that opened to a hollow center. The hole wasn’t large enough to make out what was inside, so I held my breath and stuck my hand inside, hoping the tree wasn’t the residence of a squirrel or some other woodland creature who might attack any intruder who dared interrupt his winter nap.
“I think I feel something.” I handed the phone to Hazel, who was standing beside me.
“Be careful,” Levi said. “There’s no telling what might be sleeping inside the trunk of that tree.”
I wrapped my fingers around something that felt like an envelope and slowly pulled it out. Inside was a note, another thumb drive, and another burner cell.
I unfolded the note and read it. The phone will ring at nine twenty-five. When it does provide the answer to the following question: Fifty years ago Leo hammered a nail into this tree to mark his height. If the tree grew by five centimeters each year, how many inches higher would the nail be now?
“More math,” I groaned.
“Calling Alex right now,” Levi replied.
Alex answered on the first ring. I read her the riddle.
“The nail wouldn’t be any higher,” Alex said. “Trees grow thicker at the bottom, but they only grow in height from their tops.”
I frowned. “Really? How do you know all this stuff?”
“Genius. Remember?”
I guess I knew that intellectually, but the girl still never ceased to amaze me. Just to be sure, Levi Googled “tree growth” and found she was correct. We all decided that when the phone rang my answer would be that the nail would be zero inches farther up the tree, and it was fine. The voice on the other end of the phone said I would find the fifth challenge by deciphering the thumb drive in the envelope.
I told Alex we were coming with another thumb drive. She and Diego promised to be ready to meet whatever challenge the wacko who had Zak could throw at them.
Chapter 4
When Hazel, Levi, and I showed up at the house, Phyllis and Ethan were waiting for us. Alex met me at the front door and I handed off the thumb drive. Ellie, who was waiting right behind her with Catherine in her arms, handed me my daughter, who I was thrilled to see, and then shepherded everyone into the kitchen. The countertop was covered with various brunch items. Ellie instructed everyone to eat to fuel up for the day ahead, while I headed upstairs to spend some time with my baby. When I entered Zak and my bedroom with Charlie on my heels and Catherine in my arms, I found the gas fireplace had been clicked on, there was a comfy throw on the sofa in front of the fireplace, and a tray with coffee, juice, and assorted breakfast foods was waiting for me on the coffee table. Leave it to Ellie to know exactly what I needed. I was so grateful to my friends for their help, but I needed a few minutes of peace and quiet to still the screaming in my head.
Catherine seemed to be in a good mood, which helped a lot. Ellie had bathed, fed, and changed her, so she was content to lay on the sofa next to me, waving her arms and kicking her legs and squealing in delight every time Charlie, who was laying nearby, gently put a paw on her stomach. I smiled despite the terror I was feeling. The tasks I’d been asked to do so far had been varied. Some, like the game theory challenge, had been emotionally draining, while others, like the mathematical equations, had been intellectually challenging. I supposed whoever was behind this madness was counting on me getting help. Unless this person didn’t know me at all, they should have had no expectation I could accomplish everything I’d been asked to do on my own.
I knew I should try to eat something, even though the very thought of food made me want to heave. Ellie had been correct: If we were to see this through we would need our strength. I took a sip of coffee and then nibbled the corner of an apple slice. Someone would come to get me once Alex had something to share, so I tucked Catherine between my body and the back of the sofa and stretched out beside her. Charlie curled into the crook made by my bent legs as I settled into a fetal position and slipped off into a void for a few precious moments.
I probably only slept for a short time, maybe fifteen minutes, but when I woke Catherine was asleep. I carefully transferred her into her own bed, then went into the bathroom, splashed water on my face, then headed downstairs to see how Alex was doing. When I entered the computer room I found her and Diego sitting side by side and whispering. This was a random thought to have at such a time, but I couldn’t help but notice that Alex’s long dark hair was almost the same color as Diego’s shorter but much thicker hair.
“Did you get in?” I asked.
Alex turned and looked at me. She frowned. “Yes.”
“And…?”
“And the instructions are to hack into the NSA and create a back door.”
I leaned against the wall behind me. “Can you do that?”
Alex shook her head. “No. Not without help. Zak could probably do it, but we obviously can’t enlist his help. I thought about calling Pi.” She’d referred to Zak’s ward, who was now a college student and junior partner in Zak’s cyber security company.
Diego had a frown on his face. He took a moment before he spoke. “What I think we need to ask ourselves isn’t so much can we do it as should we do it?”
I paused as I let this sink in. My first reaction was that we should definitely do it. Zak’s life was at stake. But we were, after all, talking about national security. There was no telling why the person who was holding Zak wanted that back door, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t because they were planning a surprise party. Or maybe they were, if you didn’t take the word party too literally.
/> “What should we do, Zoe?” Alex asked.
“How much time do we have left?”
Alex looked at the clock. “About three hours.”
I walked across the room and sat down on the sofa. I put my elbows on my knees and rested my head in my hands. Zak wouldn’t want us to do anything that might threaten national security even if it meant his death. But there was no damn way I was just going to sit back and let the love of my life slip out of my hands.
“Zoe?” Alex asked again.
I lifted my head and found them looking at me. I thought back to the game theory test we’d dealt with earlier. When faced with an impossible situation the only thing to do was cheat. “I have an idea.” I explained, and when she agreed we put it into action.
I hadn’t so much come up with a plan as a plea for help. I called the one man I thought could know what to do in this situation. Everyone called him Shredder, which I was sure wasn’t his real name. He was some sort of high-level government spy or black ops team member or something. I wasn’t clear on exactly what he did, but based on the two occasions we’d spent time together, he not only had mad hacker skills but had contacts in the highest level of the military and government.
I explained what was going on and Shredder agreed to help Alex set up a back door they could access, but if anyone else did an alarm would be set off that Shredder would be monitoring. It took Alex. Shredder, and Diego most of the three hours we had to put the plan into action. It would have taken longer if Shredder didn’t already have clearance to access the NSA site, which once again made me wonder if whoever had Zak didn’t know exactly what sort of resources I had at my disposal.
Alex had just finished when the latest burner cell dinged. The text instructed me to send a link to the back door to a specific IP address. Once Alex had done that we waited for the next set of instructions. Luckily, it didn’t take long to receive them.
You have passed the fifth test. The sixth will bring you one step closer to seeing your husband. You are to access the NSA through the back door you have created and obtain a file. The file will be labeled Chameleon. Once you have the file you are to download it and send it to me. You have one hour.