Hacker For Hire (Ted Higuera Series Book 2) (27 page)

“No one suspects a
thing.” That man with his back to the camera’s gravelly voice sounded very
calm.

“What do you mean
‘no one suspects a thing’? That bitch has another PI in here. She’s showed Delphi to two private Dicks. They’re snooping around. You’ve got to sanitize things before
they find anything.”

The man stood and
walked aimlessly around Metcalf’s office.

“Freeman,” Catrina
whispered.

Richard Freeman,
with his erect military bearing, wandered to the window. He pulled open the
drapes. There was a long silence. Freeman put his hands in his pockets and
watched the city below him.

Ted stared at the
monitor.

“Terry, we can’t
change what happened.” Freeman spoke with his back to Metcalf. “Our strategic
goal remains the same. We still have to get Alison out of office. Now, more
than ever, we have to have people that are loyal to us in positions of power.”

“Us? Loyal to us?
When did
we
become an
us
?” Metcalf leaped from his chair and
turned on Freeman. “I don’t remember making you an equal partner in this
venture. Don’t forget, you still work for me.”

“I think you
misunderstand the situation,
Mister
Metcalf.” Freeman’s voice suddenly
dropped. Took on the gravely tone that Ted remembered. “When Mrs. Harrison
unfortunately died, it upped the ante. We’re tied together now. Your fate is my
fate and vice versa.”

“You impudent
whelp. This is MY company. I make the decisions. You do what you are told.”

Freeman turned
back to Metcalf. “We’re way beyond that. This is now a matter of survival.
You’ll do what I tell you. I’ve been here before. I know how to clean these
things up.”

“Like you did in
the Marine Corps? You idiot.”

Ted could see the wave
of red climb Freeman’s face.

“Yes, I know all
about Kuwait. I know about the massacre,
Captain
Freeman. They may not
have pressed charges, but they cashiered you. They knew what you did.”

Freeman’s face
turned red, veins bulged in his neck.

“You son of a
bitch. How dare you?”

“That’s right,
Freeman. I know everything. I own you. You’ll do what I tell you, when I tell
you to do it. Do we understand each other?”

Freeman didn’t
respond. He stood for a moment, frozen, then broke into action.

In the blink of an
eye, he had his arm around Metcalf’s neck. Metcalf struggled, but couldn’t
break free from the younger, more powerful man. Freeman reached in his pocket
and pulled out a syringe. He pulled off the plastic cover with his teeth.

The two men
struggled. Metcalf’s chair was knocked over. Freeman pushed the needle behind
Metcalf’s ear and pressed the plunger.

A look of shock
filled Metcalf’s face. “What’re you doing?”

“Cleaning up a
mess.” Freeman let Metcalf go.

Metcalf slumped to
the floor, held himself up with his hands. He looked up at Freeman. “Dick. What
did you do?”

“It’ll go fast.
You’re having a heart attack. Coronary arrest. I hear it’s an easy way to go.
The police won’t investigate. An old man with a bad ticker having a heart attack
while working late. I doubt if they’ll even interview me.”

Metcalf’s hands went
out from under him and he flopped around on the floor. When it was all over, Freeman
sat Metcalf’s chair upright and lifted Metcalf into the chair. Freeman posed
Metcalf at his desk and cleaned up the office, being careful to pick up the
plastic cap from the syringe.

“This is the
missing video.” Catrina’s voice was hushed. “I’ve got to get this to Tom.”

****

Catrina sat in her
Explorer in the Kmart parking lot, drumming her painted fingernails on the
steering wheel. Where was he? Tom was never this late.

People came and
went. Cars pulled into the stalls next to her and left. People got out of their
cars and stared at the woman sitting impatiently in the Burgundy Explorer.

Finally, the dark
Crown Vic pulled in next to her.

“Where have you
been?” she stormed.

“Nice to see you
too, Cat.” Tom slid into the seat next to her. “This case has really exploded.
The mayor and the governor want hourly reports. What you got for me?”

Cat tried to
stifle her irritation. Why was she so mad at him anyway? This was just part of
the business. “Only the solution to your case.” She pulled a DVD from her purse
and waved it in the air.

“What’s that?”

“A video of
Freeman and Metcalf, caught in the act.
In flagrante dilecto.
I have a
video of Metcalf’s murder, and one of Metcalf ordering the hit on Harrison.”

“Jesus God, Cat.
Where did you get those?”

“You don’t want to
know.”

Chapter 32

The lineup room
met Ted’s expectations. He stood on one side of a two-way mirror with Tom
Bremen, his partner, Marty McGinnis, and Anthony Petrocelli, the DA that wanted
him in jail. The lights on the other side of the mirror were turned down, but
Ted could see several men being led into the room.

“Here, put this
over your eyes.” Tom handed Ted a blindfold. “You have to identify his voice.
You can’t see who’s talking.”

Ted took the
blindfold and pulled it over his eyes. The room went black.

“Okay,” Tom said.
“When I call your number, please step forward and read the card. Number one.”

“I am such a lucky
man, Mister Higuera,” Contestant number one sounded like he read at fourth-grade
level. “It’s not often a man gets to make a living doing what he truly loves.
If I did this on my own, I’d be considered a criminal, a pervert. But instead,
I get paid a lot of money for it. I’m so fortunate.”

“That’s not him.”
Ted shook his head. “His voice was way deeper, kinda gravelly.”

“Number two,” Tom
spoke again. “Please read the card.”

“I am such a lucky
man, Mister Higuera,” Contestant number two sounded almost Ivy League. “It’s
not often a man gets to make a living doing what he truly loves. If I did this
on my own, I’d be considered a criminal, a pervert. But instead, I get paid a
lot of money for it. I’m so fortunate.”

“That’s not him
either.”

One by one, the
six men read the card. Ted couldn’t identify the voice. “None of them sound
right. His voice was lower, raspy. Almost like he was trying to sound weird.”

“Gentlemen, let’s
try it again.” Tom’s voice brimmed with impatience. “Only this time, make your
voices deeper, more raspy.”

Again the six men
read the cards. Again Ted failed to identify the voice. “I just can’t say. The
more I hear them, the more I think that Freeman disguised his voice when he
tortured me. I never saw his face. I know it was him. He said stuff that only
Freeman would have said, but I can’t pick out his voice.”

“Okay,
Mister
Higuera. That'll do it for today.” Anthony Petrocelli pulled the blindfold off
of Ted’s head. “We’re not going to do any good here.” he stomped off.

"Don't worry,
kid." Tom moved closer to Ted. "We've got all we need to put this
bastard away.”

****

Tom Bremen stood outside
the interview room, peering through the two-way mirror. “Has his attorney
arrived yet?” he asked the younger detective at this side.

“He’s on his way. Petrocelli
says we can’t ask Freeman the time of day 'til he gets here.”

Bremen looked at
his protégé. McGinnis was a good cop. A little young, but then the whole world
was a little young now a days.

Tom had his twenty
years in. Maybe it was time to step aside. Maybe he and Cat could make
something if he wasn’t on the Job.

“How did we catch Petrocelli
on this one?” Tom asked. “We couldn’t have done worse if we tried.”

“Petrocelli must
have compromising pictures of somebody.” McGinnis sipped on his coffee. “He
couldn’t argue his way out of a paper bag. They call him ‘OPB, Old Plea
Bargain’ in the break room”

A gray haired,
bent backed man in an expensive suit got off of the elevator. He looked around
for an instant, then walked confidently up to Tom.

“Elliot McKay, for
the defense.” He handed Tom a business card. “I would like to confer with my
client.”

“Right this way Mister
McKay.” Tom opened the door to the interrogation room.

McKay walked in,
but when Tom tried to follow, McKay barred his way. “I would like to confer
with my client
in private.
”

Tom and McGinnis
stood outside the two-way mirror and watched with the sound turned off. It was
unconstitutional to violate attorney-client privilege. They could tell nothing
from the conversation. Freeman and McKay looked like two old friends discussing
a day’s round of golf.

After what seemed
like forever, McKay came to the door. “Mr. Freeman is prepared to make a
statement.”

Tom, followed by
McGinnis entered the room. Tom switched on the camcorder. “This is detective
sergeant Tom Bremen, with detective Marty McGinnis. We are interviewing Richard
Freeman in the presence of his attorney, Elliot McKay.”

Tom made sure that
the camcorder was pointed at Freeman.

“Okay, Mister
Freeman. Let’s start with. . . “

“Let’s start with
you don’t have a shred of evidence.” McKay butted in. “My client is highly
offended that you even dragged him down here.”

“We’re really
concerned with hurting your client’s feelings.” McGinnis’ voice dripped with
sarcasm. “We have two homicides to solve. I think we’ve got our man.”

“Then please lay
out your evidence detective.” McKay didn’t even turn to acknowledge McGinnis.
He kept his eyes on Tom. “I would be interested to see what kind of fiction you’re
preparing.”

“Let’s start with
last things first.” Tom popped a DVD into the laptop on the table. “We have
Mister Freeman on tape, struggling with Metcalf. Injecting him. Posing the
body. That should be good for murder one.”

“You have nothing,
detective. Your surrogates made an illegal search of my client’s home. A jury
will never see that tape.” McKay looked a little bored. “What else do you
have?”

Tom ejected the
DVD and slipped in another. “Surveillance video. Your client was tracking Mrs.
Harrison. Then she ends up dead.”

“I’m sorry,
detective.” McKay got up and reached down for Freeman. “You’re wasting our
time. If this is the best you can do, we’re leaving.” He started towards the
door. “Call us when you find some real evidence.”

“Not so fast. Your
client isn’t going anywhere.” Tom blocked the door.

“Are you charging
him?”

“Murder one. Two
counts.” The edges of Tom’s field of vision turned red.

“You amuse me.”
McKay flicked an imaginary spec off of his sleeve. “This will never stand up in
court. No jury will ever see it. No judge in his right mind will allow you to
play those videos.”

Richard Freeman
stopped in the door way and turned back to Tom. “Good day, Sergeant Bremen. It was a pleasure doing business with you. You did a good job here. Really you did.
If you ever get tired of police work, give me a call. I can always find room
for a man like you in my organization.” He flashed a smug smile at Tom, then
turned his back and with erect military bearing, walked out of the squad room.

****

“McKay was right.”
Tom sat on the edge of Catrina’s desk.

Ted studied the
veteran cop. He looked like he had lost his last friend.

“The judge threw
out our videos.” Tom slid out a deep breath.

“He what?” Ted
jumped up from his chair. “We have a tape. We have visual evidence that Freeman
murdered Metcalf. What more does he need?”

“Petrocelli folded
like a cheap suit. McKay argued that the evidence was the fruit of the poisoned
tree. He said that you guys were acting as surrogates for the police and that
you entered Freeman’s home illegally. McKay is talking about pressing charges
for breaking and entering. He says that any evidence gathered as a result of
that search is tainted. Apparently the judge agreed.”

“Breaking and
entering?” Ted moaned. “Can it get any worse?”

“Don’t worry about
it.” Tom let out a deep breath. “They’re just posturing. They’ll take the
dropped charges and be happy.”

"How would
they know we were your surrogates?" Cat asked.

"The judge
asked me directly. I had to tell him that I might have given you the impression
that it was okay?"

"You
what?" Catrina's eyes flashed fire. "You couldn't have lied just a
little?"

"Not under
oath. This is the kind of stuff that comes back and bites you in the ass.
Besides, McGinnis was there. I couldn’t ask him to lie for me."

“Jesus Christ.”
Ted paced to the window and back. “That’s all a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo. We
have the tapes. They clearly showed Freeman doing it. What else do they need?
What about the guys in the warehouse?”

“The two guys you
shot in the warehouse, they worked for Freeman. Both former Marines, recruited
by Freeman, but we haven’t been able to prove that they were working on his
orders.” Tom continued his narrative. “McKay contents that they were acting on
their own. That they had gone rogue. We don’t have any forensic evidence that
can place Freeman at the scene. Nothing showing that Freeman ordered them to
torture Ted. There’s no evidence that Mrs. Harrison was ever there. We don’t
have anything that we can use in court to tie Freeman to Metcalf and Harrison.”

Ted turned to look
towards Catrina. He was desperate. Surely, she could do something.

His employer sat
in her chair, frozen. No emotion showed on her face. Her fingers were steepled
in front of her face.

“Cat, what are you
thinking?”

“NO!” Tom’s voice
rose. “Don’t go there. Don’t even think it. Let us work the case. We know who
did it, now we just need to find evidence.”

Cat slowly looked
up at him. She had a feral look on her face. “You won’t find anything.
Freeman’s too smart. He just got away with two murders.”

****

“You’ve done a
great job.” Alison Clarke, wearing a bright red suit, took the coffee cups from
her assistant’s tray and handed them to Ted, Catrina and Jeff.

Ted took the cup
and sat on one of the loveseats in Alison’s office. Once again, he thought that
the office was bigger than his apartment.

“We didn’t get
Freeman.” Cat moved over slightly so Alison could sit beside her.

“I’ll take care of
Freeman. We’ll offer him a severance package, but he’ll never work in security
again. With Terry Metcalf’s unfortunate death, I’m putting one of my people on
the board. We’ll hold a formal election next week. I’ll be named Chairman of
the Board. I have a lot to thank you for.”

It didn’t feel
like a celebration to Ted. Freeman had walked. The man was Teflon coated. The
cops couldn’t find enough evidence to charge him with jay walking.

Four people were
dead. Donna Harrison. Terry Metcalf. Freeman’s two henchmen. Who knew what
other victims had fallen to the power struggle between Alison and Metcalf. How
many careers had been ruined because someone had chosen the wrong side?

“I have some good
news for you.” Alison was in a jovial mood. “I talked with Anthony Petrocelli.
It wasn’t difficult to convince him that having Millennium Systems for an enemy
would be bad for his political aspirations. He’s dropping the charges against
you three.”

Ted looked to
Catrina and Jeff. He expected to see jubilation in their faces. They didn’t
even look relieved. They both had blank stares.

I guess that’s
what power gets you
. If you have enough money you can buy yourself a
district attorney or two.

“So you’re free to
roll out Delphi?” Catrina said in a trance-like voice.

“We still have a
few problems there. The CPU still over heats and we’ve had the battery pack
break out in flames. Our R&D guys are still working on it, but I’ve dropped
it from our strategic plan for next year.”

“You mean all of
this, it was for nothing?” Ted couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I don’t
get it. Why did we do all of this?”

“Ted,” Alison
said. “That’s just business. Sometimes you make a good bet, sometimes you
don’t. We try to weigh outcomes, only take smart risks, but sometimes we roll
craps. The important thing is that Terry Metcalf is out of Millennium Systems.
I have total control of the company now. We're poised for the future.”

****

Ted sat on the
stool at his breakfast bar and stared at this Blackberry. He knew he had to
call. He dreaded what he would hear. Papa was not happy with him. How could he
ever make him understand?

He took a sip of
his coffee. Oscar jumped up on the counter and rubbed against Ted’s face.

“Hey, little man.”
Ted scratched his ears. “You always know when I need you, don’t you?”

He couldn’t put it
off indefinitely. He called up his address book and dialed.

The phone rang
twice, then he heard a perky female voice.

“
El Chaparral
,
how may I help you?”

“Hi, this is Ted.
Can I talk to Papa?” Everyone at the restaurant called his father Papa.

“Just a minute,
Ted. He’s in the kitchen. I’ll go get him.”

The few minutes it
took for Papa to come to the phone seemed like hours.

“¿Mijo, está tu?”

“
Si,
Papa
.
I have news for you.” Ted gulped. “We’re off the hook. The DA
has dropped all the charges.”

There was a short silence
on the other end of the line. “So that means you never did what they said, you
never broke into someone’s computer.”

“Not exactly. We
did hack into MS. They’re just not pressing charges. The Chairman of the Board
died. The new Chairman is withdrawing the complaint.”

“So what you’re
telling me is that what you did was illegal.” There was a harsh tone of
judgment in Papa’s voice. “You broke the law?”

“We really didn’t
break the law at MS.” How could he explain this? “We had the CEO’s permission
to hack their network.” Papa was so old school. He always saw the world in
blacks and whites. “Where we did sorta cross the line was hacking into First
Washington Bank. We had to find motive for Donna’s killing. Cat says to follow
the money; that it’s usually about money.”

“So you did break
the law? You did enter someone else’s computers illegally?”

“Yes. But they
aren’t pressing charges.” Ted breathed. He had to tell Papa the truth. “But
they don’t know about it. They don’t know we were in their network.”

“So,
Mijo
,
what you’re telling me is that you broke the law, you did a criminal act.” Papa
stopped for an instant to let his words sink in. “You just didn’t get caught.”