Authors: Greg Iles
Mortal Fear (24 page)
You see that? I ask. Christ. One session and hes got this woman ready to do anything he wants.
He simply played to her needs, says Lenz. As I intend to play to his. A little mysticism, a little danger, a little sex.
Forty-six years old and simpering like a schoolgirl. She was practically begging for a chance to tell him where to get her.
Lenz taps his fingers on the desk and exhales heavily. Thats common with serial killers. Many times the victim acquiesces to a situation that puts her in harms way. Often when shes in an environment where she feels no immediate danger, such as this one, she makes a critical mistake. The last one shell ever make.
Its like shes on standby for murder.
No question about it.
What are you going to do?
Calm down, Cole. Hes not close to her yet. Ill call Turner back and get Sarahs real identity. Then Baxter can have the local police department wherever she lives do a drive-by at her residence, use some pretense to verify that shes okay.
You really think thats enough?
Lenz punches the speed dial code for EROS. Within four hours well have FBI surveillance on her around the clock. If shes in a major city, less than one hour. Daniels already got the budget approved.
Youre relying on the zero error rate to tell you he isnt close to her. But what if hes changed his methods?
He already changed his victim profile, you said. What if hes changed his hunting method too? Shit! Weve got to shut down the network!
Calm
down,
Cole! You sound like a rookie cop.
Okay... okay. Im just trying to cover every angle.
Lenz speaks to Miles in measured tones. Even hearing only one side of the conversation, I can tell the phone trace went nowhere. Glancing over to make sure Lenz isnt watching, I send a copy of the entire Levon-Sarah thread to my personal mailbox in EROSs server.
Sarahs legal name is Phoebe Tyler, announces Lenz, stabbing another speed-dial code. She is indeed forty-six years old and a resident of Aurora, Illinois. The Chicago field office can have a team at her house in thirty-five minutes. Theyll use a ruse to ensure that shes okay, then organize around-the-clock surveillance. Daniel? Arthur here....
I am eyeing one of the cold pizza slices when Lenz shouts,
What?
As I look up, he snaps, Do it, and hangs up.
What is it?
Strobekker again.
Suddenly the pizza I ate two hours ago burns upward toward the center of my chest. He hasnt killed Phoebe Tyler. He couldnt have!
Lenz stands up and leans over the fax machine with his hands on the table. No. He sent Daniel another message.
I close my eyes in relief. When?
Thirty seconds after the conversation between Levon and Sarah ended.
Man, does this guy have our number. What did the message say?
Daniels faxing it to us now. This is clearly a reaction to the Bureaus attempts to trace his phone connection, yes?
Got to be.
Could Strobekker have known we were watching his Levon-Sarah exchange?
I dont think so. I mean, if he were in the system as a
sysop, or had root access, Miles would know about it. But that doesnt mean its impossible. A lot of people know a hell of a lot more about computers than I do.
The fax machine rings. Lenz picks up the receiver and hits the SEND/RECEIVE key. Daniel is considering arresting Turner, he says without looking up.
What?
His eyes stay on the fax machine. Theres a great deal of pressure from the police departments involved to arrest you both.
Goddamn it! Im sick of this intimidation!
Dont worry, no ones going to arrest you. But arresting Turner might keep the local gendarmes at bay for a while. Multijurisdictional investigations are always difficult. And this one is worse than most.
I read the new message as it curls out of the fax machine:
YOU HAVE NOT STOPPED HUNTING US. I ASKED NICELY. IF YOU DO NOT CEASE, I SHALL BE FORCED TO ENTER YOUR GAME, AND AT YOUR LEVEL. I DO NOT THINK YOU WILL LIKE THE RESULT.
REMEMBER DALLAS.
Now the threat, says Lenz.
If hes so confident well never find him, I ask, why is he worried about us hunting him?
Good point. Notice the pronoun change? The I creeps in now. Note the proper use of shall. And no contractions. I think this man has considerable education.
My eyes glance over the fax paper, all but unseeing. You know what I think? I think that whole Levon-Sarah thread was bait.
Mmmm? Lenz murmurs. Meaning?
Meaning the whole thing was done just to see whether wed be able to localize him to a chat room or isolate a phone line at EROS, et cetera. To see how far we could get.
And we did localize him to a room.
It was luck.
But he doesnt know that, Lenz points out.
No, but I dont think you realize what his use of a new alias means. Either he has gained sysop privileges, or he has access to at least oneand possibly hundredsof other legitimate accounts.
Wouldnt a legitimate client quickly complain about an unauthorized person using his or her account?
No. Thats the beauty of EROS. For Strobekker, I mean. Were expensive, but we charge a flat fee. Someone who knows my user name and password could log on for hours as me without me being the wiser or even giving a damn if I was.
You mean
I mean if Strobekker knows the names and passwords of legitimate account holdersif he really has a copy of the master client list and the clients passwordsyou may
never
be able to trace him. Because the only way well know what to trace is by searching room to room for his goddamn prose style. You saw how long it took us tonight, and we were lucky.
Lenz grunts and turns away from me. He stands in silence, like a man in defeat. But then I see a tensing of his posture.
What is it? I ask softly.
His right arm rises and points to the Dells softly glowing monitor. Levons back. In a lobby. The psychiatrist drops into his chair and pulls up to the Dell. How do I approach him?
Dont
. Just watch him.
You said yourself wed be lucky to find him.
And I dont believe in luck.
Lenz clicks his mouse and types something into the Dell.
Dont bite, Doctor. Hes in control right now. I dont see any advantage until we can turn the tables
Its no use. Lenzunder the alias Lilithhas already invited Levon to join him in a private room. My fingers tremble as I wait for Brahmas response. The words appear in a flash without a single error:
LEVON> I dont believe weve met before.
Got him! Lenz cries, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
LILITH> I just joined the network. Im trying to get a feel for whats out here in cyberspace. So far, I must confess Im a bit disappointed.
LEVON> How so?
LILITH> Most of the talk is conventional. Even the racy stuff is fairly pedestrian. I was hoping for more sophisticated fare.
LEVON> You have to know where to look. Im intrigued by your name, Lilith. Do you know its origin?
LILITH> Do you?
LEVON> Rest assured that I do.
Lenz pauses, then types:
LILITH> Consider it a test.
LEVON> Ive always tested very well, Lilith.
LILITH> Amaze me.
LEVON> Lilith is a Hebrew word for demon of the night. It was mistranslated in the Book of Isaiah as screech owl, which is probably where your parents picked up the name. Lilith derives from the Babylonian _lilitu_, which itself derives from the Semitic word for night. Later rabbis took this night demon and from her created Lilitha beautiful woman who became Adams wife before Eve was created. Perhaps your father was learned in the rabbinical tradition?
Lenzs stunned expression tells me Brahmas information is dead on. Im still in shock when Lenzs shaking fingers type:
LILITH> I _am_ amazed. I now consider this months EROS fee well spent.
LEVON> You didnt answer the question about your father.
LILITH> I value my privacy.
LEVON> A sentiment I share. Good luck tonight, and all other nights. I must away.
LILITH> But we only just met.
Stop! I hiss at Lenz. Type B-Y-E.
But hes right here
Before Lenz can type another word, I shove his chair away from the Dell and type:
LILITH> Until we meet again.
Youre absolutely right, Lenz says in a quavering voice. I lost control for a moment. I felt my fingers on his sleeve.
You caught buck fever is what you did.
Suddenly Lenz is grinning like a hyena. By God, it was exhilarating, wasnt it? I think I finally understand the expression thrill of the hunt.
Dont mistake what youre doing with hunting, Doctor.
What am I doing, then?
Trapping.
Whats the difference?
If you dont know that, youll never get this guy.
Lenz looks at me like I just kicked his dog. Explain yourself.
Well... in hunting, the first thing you do is go into the quarrys environment.
Im doing that.
No, youre not. Not really. Because the digital environment is an illusion. Its a virtual world in every sense. You cant reach through that screen and touch him. Remember, somewhere out there this killer actually existsin the
corporeal
world. Thats where he lives, not in this box.
Keep going.
When you hunt, you follow an animals tracks.
Im not doing that?
No. Thats what Baxters technicians are trying to do.
And so far theyre failing. You personally dont have even the beginnings of the skill required to track Strobekkers digital footprints. And if he really knows what hes doing, there wont
be
any footprints.
So, what are you saying?
Didnt you ever visit the country when you were a kid? Shoot sparrows with a BB gun or anything?
No.
Jesus. Look, hunting is an aggressive activity. Basically, you take yourself to the quarrys territory, conceal yourself, wait a while, or maybe have dogs or beaters drive the game to you. And when your quarry happens up within range of your gun or your bow, you pop him. Whamhes dead. Trapping is completely different. Its all preparation. Its all about bait. Using the right bait, placing it in your quarrys path, and waiting.
Whats your point?
Lilith is the bait.
I know that.
And what is the job of the bait, Doctor?
The job of the bait? To lure the quarry, of course.
Fundamentally,
what is the baits job?
Lenz sighs in exasperation. I guess I dont know.
To be what it is. Thats all, Doctor. To sit there and do nothing but be what it is. You get it? Bait doesnt walk out to the quarry and say Come and get me! If its raw meat, it just sits there and looks dead and appetizing. If its a rabbit tied to a stake, it goes berserk for a while, then freezes in terror. If
This situation is more complex than that.
No. Its exactly the same. Everything must happen in the quarrys head. Your UNSUB is biologically programmed to want to kill the bait. Your jobyour only jobis to be what the killer wants. Forget about Baxter and his geeks, forget about trying to manipulate the killer into
doing
anything. He knows what to do. You just sit here and be that woman. Talk to other users, not him. Build your personality. And then hell come. In his own time maybe, but hell come. And youd better be ready.
Lenz stands up from the chair and stretches with nonchalance so elaborate that it must be feigned. He tears off
the stream of paper where it meets the printer and lets it fall to the floor. Im sure youre ready to get back home, Cole. If we hurry, youll just have time to make the Quantico plane. Unless you want to spend the night at a hotel and fly commercial in the morning.
He frowns at me like a flight attendant whos decided he made a mistake by inviting me to sit in the first-class cabin. Which is it, Cole? A hotel or Ms. Krislovs jet?
Part of me hates to walk out of this room, to withdraw from a game with stakes so high. Even at the most rarefied level, trading futures risks only money, not human lives.
The plane, I say, standing up from the Toshiba and walking past him without another look.
He follows me down the stairs. Near the bottom, I ask, Why did you decide to use a young decoy? I thought youd decided that Strobekker changed his pattern. That he wanted older women like Karin Wheat.
Thats correct.
I pause at the floor. But Margie Resslers only, what, twenty-eight?
You should have more faith in me, Cole.
As we move across the den toward the kitchen, I look over the Corian counter and see a full head of brunette hair. Sherry, I presume. Shes looking at something through the top window of an electric range. Pretty soft setup, I say to Lenz. Cook and everything.
