The Tenth Cycle: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 1) (27 page)

“What are those mothers doing involved in a domestic case?” he shouted.

Ryan held the phone away from his ear until Jackson was through venting. “Your guess is as good as mine, but we think it’s time everyone put their cards on the table. We’d like to come in and give you our theory of what’s happened here, and why my daughter is a victim rather than a perp. And then we’d like to offer our help in the investigation.”

“I’ll take any information you can give me,” Jackson replied. “But I’m not sure about involving civilians in a police matter. You’ll have to take that up with my lieutenant.”

“We’ll be right over.”

Less than half an hour later, the four were seated in a conference room at police headquarters, with a stenographer discreetly taking notes. Jackson started the proceedings by clearing his throat and saying, “Okay, shoot. Depending on what you have to tell me, my lieutenant is standing by to let you state your case. Let’s start with Mark Simms.” His last sentence was stated in a firm tone of voice, while looking at Daniel. Ryan and Luke also stared at him, leaving Daniel with no choice but to reveal to the police officer what Simms had to do with their research. He began with the background.

“Sgt. Jackson, I apologize for not being totally forthcoming with you when you interviewed us about Simms. We didn’t want to believe it had anything to do with our professional relationship, but it seems there’s no question now. If you have a few minutes to indulge me, I’d like to start at the beginning.”

“That’s as good a place as any,” Jackson said dryly.

“Okay. It’s an open secret that Sarah and I were on the trail of a mysterious code in the Great Pyramid at Giza.” This seeming non sequitur had Jackson frowning in puzzlement immediately, but he held his tongue as Daniel went on.

“It started as an assignment for my column at the New York Times,” he explained. “Sarah became involved because my editor and Prof. Barry were old friends,” he continued. “Barry assigned Sarah to vet my work, make sure the methods of investigation I used and the conclusions I came to, were scientifically sound and defensible. But, after we worked on it for two months and missed my deadline, my editor pulled the plug on the story and I was forced to work on it only on the side.”

Jackson interrupted now, “Is there a point to this history lesson?”

“I’m getting to it,” Daniel huffed. “Keep your shirt on. So, by this time, Sarah and I had developed a personal relationship, and although we didn’t advertise it widely, we were still looking for the key to the code. Along the way, we became convinced that the key was mathematical in nature, so Sarah asked Mark to help us. That’s how he became involved.”

“I’m still waiting for the point.”

Daniel plowed on, unwilling to interrupt his story to have a pointless fight with Jackson. “Long story short, Sarah saw something and Mark found the key to the code. He sent some data to the linguistics department and got a partial message back that tended to prove our theory. There’s a lot of information hidden in the stones of the Great Pyramid, and we had only begun to translate it, when Mark was killed. We have reason to believe that someone was spying on us from the beginning. Whoever that is must want that information badly. Clearly, neither Mark nor Barry would give it up, I don’t know why. And now they have Sarah.” The last was said with such sadness and desperation that even Jackson was moved by it.

“Son, why didn’t you tell us this before?”

Eyes blazing, Daniel shook off the unwanted familiarity and said, “If I had thought there was a snowball’s chance in hell that it would have brought Mark back, I would have. We took precautions, obviously not enough, but we didn’t have any reason to believe that they would kill Prof. Barry. We screwed up. Sue me.”

Ryan laid his hand on Daniel’s arm, but addressed Jackson. “There’s no need to lay blame. Everyone around them except Simms, and people they didn’t even know existed, had dismissed Daniel and my daughter as a couple of crackpots chasing an illusion. They didn’t know until Mark was killed that they were on the right track and that it was a dangerous secret.”

“Dangerous to who?” Jackson said, heedless when Daniel winced at the grammatical error.

Ryan answered. “We don’t know, but your instructions to cooperate lead us to believe that the CIA is already working this case. My brother,” he said, glancing at Luke, “may be able to tell you more about that.” A steady look passed between them, during which Luke must have decided that his niece’s recovery was more important than his consulting business. He nodded and cleared his throat, gaining Jackson’s attention.

“I’m ex-CIA,” he stated simply. “I contacted an old buddy when Sarah and Daniel came to us after Simms’ murder. He’s told me only that there is something that interests the government in their research, that they were monitored from the beginning. Yes, I know,” he said, holding up his hand to stop Jackson’s retort. “They aren’t supposed to be involved in domestic surveillance, that’s the FBI’s bailiwick. Why do you think the agencies hate each other? CIA thinks FBI is incompetent and has no compunction about illegal activity, because they have a way around it. They spy on our allies’ citizens and governments and in turn our allies spy on us. Then they trade material. It’s been going on for as long as the Company has been in existence, and probably will continue. It’s immaterial to our problem.”

Jackson was now thoroughly confused, but had no intention of giving up his case, cases actually, to a group of civilians and a spy agency that was acting illegally. “And you see your problem as…?” he asked with his old sarcasm showing through.

“Getting Sarah back,” Daniel said first. “Nothing matters to me except getting Sarah back. They can have the key to the code, I don’t want anything to do with that damn pyramid anymore. I want Sarah back! Unharmed,” he added in a whisper.

Once again Ryan’s hand steadied him as he addressed Jackson. “We believe my daughter has been kidnapped and the perpetrator is questioning her. The best outcome would be if she gave them what they wanted and they let her go, but we can’t count on that. Her loyalty to Daniel may make her hold out, or the perpetrators might consider her a liability and kill her once they have what they want.” Daniel tensed as Ryan said the unthinkable in a calm manner, as if he were unaffected by the possible murder of his daughter. Ryan’s hand squeezed his arm harder, and Daniel tried to calm his nerves.

Ryan went on, “We can’t just wait and see what happens. Please, let us help gather information for you. We won’t get in your way. Surely you can use another pair of eyes on the security tapes, another person to help interview the students who may have seen something in passing.”

Jackson was shaking his head. “You’re not trained observers, it wouldn’t be the help you think it would.”

“There’s where you’re wrong,” Luke spoke up. “I’m a trained observer, and I might claim to be better than you if I wanted to piss you off. As a reporter, Daniel is, too. And my brother is highly detail oriented, as an engineer. I know we can help. Let us talk to your lieutenant.”

Sensing that he would get no peace if he didn’t at least let them state their case, Jackson led the way to the lieutenant’s office, while the stenographer left to type up her notes. When the conversation began to show signs that it would be a repeat of the last one, Daniel could no longer contain his impatience. “While we sit around and beat this thing to death, Sarah may be suffering terrible things!  Let’s do something!”

Jackson, surprisingly, came to his support. “He’s right. Lieutenant, these folks have some unique skills. They say they can help the investigation, and if they hang around here pestering me, they’re going to interfere with it. I need you to either say they can help, or lock them up so I can get some work done.” Daniel gaped at him.
Would they really lock us up?
he thought. Just then, the stenographer arrived with the transcript of the previous conversation. The lieutenant accepted the papers and scanned them rapidly. When he put them down, he held the gaze of each of them in turn, then said, “Okay, you can help, but under the direction of Jackson here. If I hear you’ve put the investigation in jeopardy, I will lock you up on charges of interfering with a police matter.” Going on a little more kindly, he looked at Daniel. “We’ll get your girl back, son.”

Because of their experience in observation and interview techniques, Daniel and Luke would join the effort to interview all students and staff that were on campus between noon of the day of Barry’s death and noon of the next day. Ryan was tasked with watching hours of security tapes and noting on a data sheet the license numbers of cars passing the cameras at every parking lot on campus. It was a monumental task, but helped by the fact that all approaches were gated and the cars had to first pass through the gates with a clear shot of the license plates.

Ryan was joined by several uniformed police officers to help with the work. Because they now believed a victim was alive but at risk, a massive number of officers were tasked to finish both aspects of the investigation as soon as humanly possible. It was just after six p.m. when the lieutenant had given his blessing to the Clarkes and Daniel being involved in the investigation. It was midnight when Ryan realized that he had let the last few minutes go by without really seeing the tapes. He declared a halt in the interest of not missing a vital clue. He had to have some sleep, even though he doubted that he could get any.

Luke and Daniel had dragged in only a couple of hours before, after staying on campus interviewing passing students for hours. David had arrived around eight, looking like he just stepped out of a GQ advertisement.

After establishing contact with Jackson and his lieutenant, he had set about arranging for police protection for the Clarkes and Daniel, and FBI protection for Emma and Sally in Colorado. It was the last that convinced Daniel once and for all that his research had blundered into something huge. In addition, he had their cell phones fitted with surveillance equipment to trace any incoming call immediately, in case a ransom demand came through.

No one had any hope of that, though. Surely they would have been in touch within the first twenty-four hours if ransom was the goal. Ryan didn’t say it, because he had seen how such a thought made Daniel sink further into depression, but he was afraid Sarah was holding out on the information and that the kidnappers were employing coercion. His daughter had inherited a stubborn streak, a mile wide from him and, not for the first time, he regretted it intensely.

By six the next morning, the three were busy checking and cross-checking all cars that were registered to park on campus against the cars that had entered. There were none that didn’t belong. Bleary-eyed and fatigued, they pondered the implications. Then, Luke said, “It’s got to be someone from the university.” Daniel seized the thought. “Probably from the Institute. Who else would be interested in pyramid secrets?” Luke looked at him and slapped himself with the heel of his hand on his forehead.

“Daniel, who was the linguist that Mark Simms got to translate the code?” Jackson, walking into the room at that moment stopped in his tracks, a thunderstruck look on his face. Ryan held his breath for Daniel’s answer. The let-down was palpable as Daniel said, miserably, “We never knew. Mark didn’t say, and he was killed before we thought to ask.”

Jackson said, “We’ve got to put all of them under police protection. Whoever it was is next, if they know who it was, and if they don’t, they might just be ruthless enough to go after them one by one until they find the right one.” Daniel heard this with despair. If Jackson thought the killers were going after linguists, it meant he thought that Sarah was a lost cause.

“Why don’t we just ask them?” he said.

Jackson replied, “That’s all well and good, but if the perps don’t know who it is, they may still go after them by process of elimination. Which one of you wants to go with me to interview them?” Daniel stood up, while Ryan and Luke said they’d each call their wives with an update. They agreed to meet at a restaurant for a delayed breakfast at ten. Daniel tossed his keys to Ryan and then followed Jackson out. David hadn’t put in an appearance yet this morning, so Ryan and Luke intended to wait for him and fill him in when he got there.

Sarah waited in dread for the return of her captors. Nothing she had tried would bring back any but the most basic memories. She had cataloged what she knew for hours, until sleep overtook her, but it was precious little. Her name was Sarah. She had a boyfriend named Daniel Rossler, whom she couldn’t remember despite being shown pictures of the man. She had parents that she loved. In the dark confines of her cage, she moved rapidly through what she might have recognized as the five stages of grief, if she had remembered anything. Isolation was not only figurative; she was literally alone and sensorily deprived, her blindfold replaced at some time during the night when her silent jailer had returned to let her relieve herself again.

Denial was constant. No matter who she was or what she supposedly knew that these people wanted, it was not within her power to believe that this was happening to her. She expected to wake up at any minute. At the same time, she was angrier than she had ever been. Angry at the cruelty of the people who held her. Angry at herself for not remembering what they wanted her to. Angry at the loved ones she knew were somewhere, because they weren’t rescuing her. Why weren’t they rescuing her? Angry that she couldn’t wake up from this utterly impossible dilemma. And if she couldn’t wake up that had to mean that it was real, and that she should be preparing herself to die. Another wave of grief washed over her as she realized she wouldn’t have a chance to remember her life, would never know happiness with the kind-looking man in the photo. Tears rolled unheeded down her cheeks.

They would come for her; that she was sure of. She would bargain for her life, but she had nothing with which to bargain. And then death. A cessation of this torment, at least. Perhaps by the time they allowed her to die, it would be a welcome respite. If only it wouldn’t also put her parents in danger, and the stranger, who didn’t deserve to be tortured or killed just because she couldn’t remember. She had circled back to anger. The tears now represented frustration. How could she convince them to do something else instead?

All too soon, the noise of the door alerted her to the return of her captors. She waited, tense, for the voice that would let her know who was with her.

“Well, what have you remembered? Quick, now, there’s no more time for stalling.” Trunchbull. The woman frightened her more than all of the men put together, Sarah reflected. But she must answer, try to buy more time.

“Ma’am, I don’t know how to say it any plainer. I would tell you if I remembered. I don’t know what I know that’s so valuable, but I’d tell you, honestly. If you really have that man, and he knows the secret, tell him I said to please tell you.”

“Bah!” exploded the woman. “Come on.” Sarah was bewildered at the response, and didn’t know if the last had been a command to her or what. She was soon enlightened. A man’s voice, to the left of the woman’s, she thought, somewhere near her feet.

“I don’t think she’s faking. We should get rid of her and pick up someone else. That linguist has to know.” Sarah started shaking when he said ‘get rid of her’, and almost missed the woman’s reply.

“You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought. We don’t know which linguist did it. Much as I’d like to bash the bitch’s head in for the trouble she’s given us, our only choice is to offer her in return for the formula and the computer program they used, if he wants us to release her unharmed. How can we get in touch with her boyfriend?”

Sarah’s heart soared. They had lied! They didn’t have the man after all. And if he really was her boyfriend, wouldn’t he give them what they wanted to get her back? Then it sank again. They were liars, what if they had lied about that? A flicker of hope bloomed. There was nothing to do but hope they hadn’t lied about that. They were gone now, the door closing before she heard his response to the woman’s question. With as much patience as she could muster, she prepared to wait.

~~~

Jackson dropped Daniel off at the restaurant where he was to meet the Clarkes, telling him he’d be in touch if anything turned up. He had to arrange for police protection for seven faculty members from the linguistics program, though only one had knowledge of the pyramid code. That man had been hysterical when they informed him that Mark Simms’ and Prof. Barry’s deaths had been related to it. They had to call EMTs and have him sedated, so Daniel still didn’t know any more about him than he knew before. He was anxious to tell Ryan and Luke that they had found him, though. Spotting them through the windows, seated on the outdoor patio, he made his way through, indicating to the hostess that he had found his party.

Luke recognized first that Daniel had news, his open face unable to conceal his excitement. “Give. What did you find out?”

“We found the guy that did the translation. He’s safe, but he flipped out when we told him what’s going on. I didn’t get to talk to him anymore. He’s at the hospital, under sedation. The rest are getting police protection at home. I’m afraid the University isn’t too happy with us. We literally shut down the linguistics department. Where’s David? Any news on that front?”

Luke answered. “We haven’t seen him yet this morning, but I just got a text asking where we are. I sent him an invitation to join us.”

“Good.” As Daniel uttered his response, a server approached with a pot of coffee in either hand. “Coffee? Decaf or regular?”

They made their choices and Luke asked for artificial sweetener, which the server said he’d bring right away. As Daniel and Ryan prepared their coffee the way they liked it, Luke spoke of Sarah. “You know, the good news is that her body hasn’t turned up.” Daniel blanched. “No, look. They had no problem leaving Simms and Barry where they were murdered. They’re not going to conceal a murder. If she were dead, her body would turn up. She’s alive, I know she is.”

It was the first glimmer of hope for Daniel. Unconsciously, he heaved a sigh of relief as the server approached again.

“Here’s your Sweet’n’Lo, sir,” he said to Luke. “And sir, this is a message for you,” handing a folded piece of plain white paper to Daniel. Puzzled at the unusual circumstance, Daniel immediately unfolded the paper and read the message. Ryan and Luke, looking on curiously, saw a display of emotion crossing Daniel’s face. Fear, anger, hope, excitement followed one another almost too rapidly to process.

“What?” said Ryan.

With shaking hands, Daniel handed over the message to Ryan, who read it aloud.

“We have your girlfriend. We’ll trade her for the formula to break the pyramid code and the computer program you’re using to parse it. Keep your phone on. We have your number.”

“Wait, when they phone you ask for proof of life” cautioned Luke. “You said yourself that if they had killed her already, her body would have been found,” Daniel argued.

Within moments, Daniel’s cell phone rang. A distorted voice came over the line instructing Daniel where to be for the exchange, and what to bring with him. The voice also warned him that police presence or surveillance would result in Sarah’s death.

Lastly, it said, “Do you have all this? There will be no further contact until time for the exchange.”

Daniel repeated his instructions, and heard a click on the line. “Hello?” No answer.

“They hung up.” The others had heard him as he repeated the instructions, and all started talking at once.

“Stop!” Luke commanded. Each of them stopped mid-sentence and gave him their attention. “We need to go somewhere else for this conversation.” Casting his eyes in the direction of the server, he lifted his eyebrows, and the others nodded. They signaled for the check and paid for their uneaten breakfasts, then left for Sarah’s house, where they intended to discuss their options. There was no time to waste, as they had to decide what to do about the demand for a one-on-one exchange with no backup, and then if they decided it was safe to involve the police, they would need to go to Jackson and let him know.

~~~

No sooner had they arrived at Sarah’s when David pulled up, explaining that he had been on the way to the restaurant when he spotted them and followed them. He gave a good-natured dig at Luke’s ribs and said, “You’re slipping, buddy. You didn’t even notice you were being followed.”

Luke laughed, not bothering to explain that he knew he was being followed, because there was an invisible police presence around the three of them. He assumed David was aware of it. Instead, he filled David in on the ransom demand, saying that they were glad he was there, they could use the help in listing and making a plan for every likely eventuality.

Daniel was not unaware of the tricks and double-crosses that kidnappers could put him through, he just didn’t care. He would go through hell and high water to get Sarah back safely. But the others were not so sanguine that the outcome would be as Daniel wished. Luke and David especially wanted to detail what might happen and what Daniel should do in each eventuality. They went over the likelihood that the first meeting place would merely be the starting point, with Daniel being sent from place to place while the kidnappers watched from safety to make sure he wasn’t followed by the authorities. David had a trick up his own sleeve for that; he had already arranged for the use of a couple of top-secret surveillance drones in case this very scenario came about. He explained their operation to Daniel, with the Clarkes listening in. He also made them swear on their lives that they were not to talk to any living soul ever about the drones, as it was highly top secret technology and the CIA could not afford this technology in the hands of anyone outside the CIA.

“There will be no need to involve the police. These things will follow you and are undetectable in most circumstances. They’re ultra-compact, just big enough to carry a couple of rounds of high-powered ammunition in case a take-down is needed. They’re solar-powered and make almost no noise. If anyone does see one, they think it’s a pigeon. It’s got a camera that broadcasts video via cell tower, so we’ll be able to see you at all times and can act to protect you if need be.”

Even Luke looked suitably impressed at this news. David then went over how Daniel should drive if he were asked to go to a different place; not fast enough to attract a traffic ticket, but wasting no time in case the kidnappers were timing him to prevent him from contacting followers. After they had exhausted all the twists and turns that the exchange could take except for an abrupt bullet to Sarah’s brain—no one wanted to go there—David asked Daniel casually what the exact nature of his part of the bargain was.

Daniel answered that he would need a couple of hours to get it together, the database program with all the data and the algorithms for parsing it, which he didn’t have with him. He thought of Raj for the first time in hours. He said, “You guys help yourselves to some food. I have an errand to run. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He then strode out of the house without a backward glance, leaving a bemused Ryan and Luke in his wake, along with David, who didn’t seem pleased. Driving methodically up and down streets with commercial buildings on them, Daniel finally found a pay phone. He dialed Raj’s number, and listened as a succession of whirs and clicks eventually resulted in a ring and Raj’s cautious, “Hello.”

“Hey, it’s me. No names.”

“I understand my friend. What news?”

“I’ve been contacted. I need you to get me a copy of your work that I can exchange for her.”

“You’re sure she’s alive?”

“As sure as I can be. Listen, can you fix it so it looks good but doesn’t work right? I don’t want to jeopardize her. If they test it before turning her over, it has to look legit.”

“I understand. How will I get it to you?”

“I’ll charter a plane if I have to. You’ve only got a couple of hours, can you do it?”

“I will have to, my friend.”

Daniel returned to Sarah’s house and took Luke aside. “I need to get to New York and back. Is that jet still at your disposal?”

“Yes, but…”

“It’s where the program is. I’ll be back in time if I leave right now.”

“Go, then. I’ll get in touch with the pilot, who should be standing by. See you soon.”

Without alerting David, who might have objected to Daniel leaving, or Ryan, who was anxious enough now that the plans were set, without learning of an errand that would take Daniel out of the area, Daniel left and drove to the section of the airport where private planes were hangared, parking in a lot that was reserved for the owners. A man stood on the tarmac, with Daniel’s name on a cardboard sign.

Daniel went over and introduced himself, to which the man replied, “I’ll be your pilot. Mr. Clarke said to take you to New York. I need to file a flight plan; which airport?”

Daniel thought for a moment and asked, “Is it absolutely necessary to file a flight plan?”

The pilot looked dubious, but said, “Well, I should. But no, it isn’t absolutely necessary.”

“Then, if you don’t mind, let’s just take off, and I’ll tell you once we’re in flight.” Daniel marveled at how paranoid he had become, surpassing even Raj, he thought. It probably wouldn’t matter in the least if the pilot filed a plan, no one could know who his passenger was, and even if they did, the chances that it would get back to the kidnappers were very low. Still, it couldn’t hurt to be cautious, could it? Within a few moments, they were taxiing to the runway and only a few moments later were cleared for takeoff.

Once they were in the air, the pilot’s voice came over Daniel’s headphones. “Okay, Mr. Rossler, where are we going?”