Power of the Raven (21 page)

Chavez escorted Gene outside, then walked away to talk to a detective who’d just arrived on the scene.

Gene watched for a moment. There was no way he was staying out of this. He still remembered what he’d told Lori when he’d dropped her off earlier that morning. The words clawed into him now.

He’d promised to watch her back and, one way or another, he intended to keep his promise.

L
ORI REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS slowly and, as she did, realized that she was in a bedroom inside somebody’s home, tied to a chair with what looked like drapery cord. Her thoughts were jumbled and, trying to lift the fog that clouded her senses, she shook her head.

She regretted that instantly. She had a world-class migraine, and there was one spot at the back of her head that throbbed with a vengeance.

She drew in a slow, steady breath to keep from vomiting, then looked around. The bed to her right held some embroidered throw pillows, evidence of a woman’s touch. The room itself was sparsely furnished, with a cedar chest at the foot of the bed, and a small chest of drawers. It appeared to be a guest room.

Lori shifted, moving back and forth, trying to edge her chair closer to the door, but the legs of the chair thumped harder on the hardwood floor than she’d expected. She didn’t make it far before she heard someone curse and the door was thrown open.

Lori stared at Steve Farmer, stunned. “
You,
Steve?
You’re
the man who’s been making my life crazy? But why? I’ve always tried to help you at work!”

He tossed her laptop and purse down onto the bed along with her cell phone. Lori could see the cell phone battery had been pulled, which meant nobody could track her location. But her laptop wasn’t completely closed and she could see the display. It was powered up, which meant there was hope.

“You really have no idea?” Steve asked, a haunted look on his face.

“None,” she said, tugging at the ropes that bound her wrists and held her to the chair. Steve had to be crazy. That was the only explanation that made sense. She had to find a way to get free or, worst-case scenario, buy time.

“Do you remember last Monday?” he said.

“What about it?”

“You took your break at the same time I did, and we sat at the table by the Coke machine. We each had our laptops out and I think you were blogging.”

“This is about my blog? But I never write about work or mention any of my coworkers. It’s only my random thoughts, and just on my webpage. What’s it got to do with you?”

Steve held up a small flash drive. “Do you recognize this?”

“Yeah, it’s a flash drive. So what’s your point?”

He held it up close to her face. “It looks just like one of your flash drives, doesn’t it? You use these to back up your current files before shutting down your computer.”

“
So what?
A million other people do the same thing!” She stared at the device a moment longer. “Wait—are you saying that’s
my
flash drive?”

“Now you’re catching on.”

Lori drew in a shaky breath. “Which would make the one I picked up, yours.” She slowly began to realize the implications of that one mistake. “So that’s why it wouldn’t accept my files when I tried to back up later that night at home. It kept telling me the drive was full, which I knew wasn’t true, so I just used a different flash drive. But what could possibly make your backup files so important that you’d risk getting killed over them, or killing someone else? Do you realize how many crimes you’ve committed for, what, a few megabytes of text?”

“Lori, shut up for a second,” he snapped, then began pacing. “What you took from me was an
illegal
download. I stole Jerry’s password and used his computer to get every licensed vehicle owner’s address and social security number in this state.”

She gasped. “Why would you do something like that? You can’t possibly think you’d actually get away with it! You’ll get fired for sure and probably serve jail time.”

“That’s
my
problem. I’m doing what I have to do. You wouldn’t be part of this at all if you hadn’t walked off with my flash drive. I really tried to keep you out of this, too. I did everything I could, from snatching your purse to searching your house and car.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me for it?”

“And risk having you connect me to an illegal download? You’d check to make sure, then I’d be screwed. You’d turn me in.”

“I never tried to access the files, so I had no idea it was your flash drive,” she said. “I just assumed the memory chip had gone south somehow—been corrupted.”

“I was so sure you’d figure it out, but when you didn’t say or do anything, I assumed my luck was still holding. I planned to sneak up and grab your purse after you left the restaurant that first night. I knew that you’d had a problem with Harrington, and he and I are the same size, so I dressed like he did and hoped the disguise would throw you off.”

“It worked. I was sure it was him....”

“Then you got mixed up with that Navajo man. I tracked down his name later and looked up everyone associated with him. It was easy to check on next of kin, since out here almost everyone owns a car or truck,” he said. “I never intended on hurting you, Lori. All I ever wanted was to get that flash drive back—without letting you know it was me. That’s why I also switched Harrington’s plates around, to confuse you.”

“But you put my life in danger, Steve. Duane Hays came after me with a gun—and he didn’t miss by much.”

“I know. When I heard about it on the news, I couldn’t believe what he’d done. I told him not to hurt you. Then I got worried that he’d somehow end up identifying me to the cops. There was no way I could risk getting arrested, not before I got those files back. So I went to work early this morning to try and download the information again. I was ready to search Jerry’s office from top to bottom until I found his new password. I also brought a hand towel and a can of ether I got from an auto shop just in case I ran into Harvey. Fortunately, he was having breakfast in his car and never even saw me. Nobody else came in early, so I had plenty of time, but I still couldn’t find Jerry’s new password.”

“You conned me about that client with the ex-wife back at the DMV, didn’t you?” she realized, putting the final pieces together in her head. “You were hoping to get any password that would let you download those files again.”

“Yes, but it didn’t work, so I had to think of something else.”

“Like coming after me?”

“It was my last chance,” Steve said. “I called in sick and waited in a van outside until just before your usual break time. I sneaked in through the back exit and was hiding behind the cola machine when you came in. The rest, well, you went out like a light once I was able to get that ether-soaked towel over your mouth and nose.”

“You’ve done all this for what—money, revenge, politics?”

“No, this was never about money or any of that other crap.” He ran a hand through his hair and paced back and forth, continuing to take quick, furtive glances out the window. “The reason I couldn’t come to you has nothing to do with me getting caught. They kidnapped my wife, and unless I deliver what they want, they’ll kill Sue. I have until midnight tonight to give them those files.”

She swallowed hard.
Now
things were finally starting to make some sense. “
Who
has her? Do you have any idea?” she pressed.

“No, that’s why I’m stuck playing this game. I told them that I had the data, then after you got my flash drive I had to call them back and explain what had happened. They gave me more time, but warned me not to tell you what was going on. Now if I can’t produce another flash drive with the stuff by tonight, Sue’s dead.” His voice cracked and he rubbed a hand over his face, wiping away errant tears.

“
Why
haven’t you called the police?”

“That’s the first thing they told me not to do—and they’re watching me, Lori. They know when I get to the office, what I do there, when I leave work, what I do afterward. If I got anyone else involved, they threatened to do things to Sue....” He swallowed hard. “That’s why I nearly panicked when an officer showed up at my door fifteen minutes ago asking about you.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him I hadn’t seen you, and got rid of him fast.”

“The police will return. Then what will you do?”

“I’ll do anything to get my wife back, but I’m not out to hurt you, Lori,” he said. “Just to show you that I’m telling the truth, I’m going to cut you loose. But don’t run. Sue’s life is on the line and they’re outside somewhere, watching. Do you understand?” He brought out a pocketknife and started to work on the cords behind her back.

She nodded. “Steve, we’ve
got
to get help. You’re clearly no match for the people you’re up against.”

“Give me the flash drive and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Lori swallowed hard. Steve was on the brittle edge, and when she told him what she’d done with that drive, things were bound to get a lot worse.

Playing for time, she stood and took off the wig she’d been wearing. It was tugging at her scalp and making it hard for her to think. “Let me call my friend,” Lori pleaded in a soft voice. “He can help us. His brother is a security expert and his other brother has his own detective agency. They’re
not
the police.”

He shook his head. “If anyone shows up here unexpectedly, I have no idea what they’ll do to Sue. I won’t take a chance with her life. Having you here is risky enough.”

Lori swallowed hard. “Are they outside right now?” Seeing him nod, she added, “Show me.”

“No. Stay away from the windows. Let’s go into the hall to talk. Nobody can see us from the outside.”

D
ANIEL HEARD A KNOCK AT HIS front door. “That’s Paul. I’ll let him in,” he told Gene.

A moment later Paul and Dan walked over and joined Gene, who was busy working at one of the computers.

“What’s going on?” Paul asked.

“I’ve got a lead,” Gene said, never taking his eyes off the screen. “I think I know who Lori’s kidnapper is. Whoever came in through the back door had to have known the access code on the lock. I spoke to Miranda, Lori’s friend at the DMV, and she gave me the names of the two employees who were absent today. One’s the department supervisor, Jerry Esteban, who’s supposedly on vacation, and then there’s Steve Farmer, who called in sick. Farmer is about the same size as Harrington and has the right shape. I think he’s our man, but the only problem is that Farmer has no motive that I can see.”

“Let the police handle this. They’re trained—you’re not. If they haven’t been to interview Farmer yet, they will,” Paul said.

Gene shook his head. “Unless they see some sign of Lori at Farmer’s place they can’t do a thing. To get a search warrant they’ll need probable cause. They’ll just move on to the next thing on their list, finding and questioning Jerry Esteban, and that’ll take hours, considering he’s abroad on vacation,” Gene said, then continued in a hard voice. “I’m not playing by the rules on this. I’m going to Farmer’s home right now to check things out for myself.”

“Not alone, you’re not,” Daniel said in a stony voice.

“You’ve got that right,” Paul said.

Gene glanced at his brothers. “Okay, you can help, but once we find whoever has Lori, he’s mine.”

Gene leaned back and showed them the information he had on-screen. “Here’s what I’ve got so far on Steve Farmer—address, wife’s name, relatives, background, etc.”

“Did either of you try to track Lori’s cell phone GPS and maybe confirm her location?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, I did that, while Gene was working on this computer, but I had no luck,” Dan said. “My guess is that Farmer pulled the battery from her phone.”

Gene looked up at Dan quickly. “Lori’s got antitheft tracking software installed in her laptop, remember? She showed us the CD software case after the break-in at her house,” he said. “Is it possible for you to track that? She carries the laptop to work in her tote bag, and that disappeared along with her.”

“I remember the brand.” Dan considered it for a moment, then nodded. “I’ve done work with the security people connected to that software company. Since I’ve already got Lori’s full name and address, it may be possible for me to get the location of her laptop,” Dan said. “Step back and give me some room. I need to work around some normal procedures.”

It took several minutes and a software download, but eventually the screen shifted, becoming an elaborate map, then its focus narrowed twice. “Lori Baker’s laptop computer is at 424 Oak Street,” Dan said.

“That’s Farmer’s home address,” Gene said. “Let’s go.”

“No, we can’t go bursting in there without a plan,” Paul said.

“Getting Lori back safely is what really counts now,” Dan said. “I know you like going through channels, Paul, but if we call the police, and they actually buy into this, it’ll still take them an hour to assemble a team and make their move.”

“We can’t afford delays,” Gene said. “Farmer is unpredictable.”

“What has Lori told you about that guy?” Paul asked Gene.

“Nothing, but I’m certain that if he’d caused her any problems, she would have said so.”

Daniel switched screens, typed in a password and entered an encrypted site. “Farmer’s got no criminal record whatsoever—not even a parking ticket. He’s married and squeaky clean.”

“Then what’s he doing with Lori’s laptop computer? Let’s go pay him a visit,” Gene said.

“Wait,” Paul said, pushing Gene back down into the chair. “Pull up the house on Google, Dan, and let’s see the layout there.”

Chapter Nineteen

Twenty minutes later, they approached Farmer’s home. Gene nodded to Daniel, who, like him, was wearing a tan uniform work shirt and a phony photo ID tag around his neck.

Paul, at the wheel of the van and wearing a white shirt and tie, spoke as they passed Steve’s residence. “That’s the place. If he’s home, his van must be in the garage.”

“The curtains are closed, but I saw a light on inside,” Gene said. “A bedroom or maybe the kitchen.”