Toxic Blonde

by David Stever

“You are my client and you hired me to find proof of their affair. That, I can do. He asked me to investigate Keira Kaine under his suspicion she is undermining Tom for control of the company. Is he representing BST in this arrangement, or is he mad at what’s happening with you and Tom?”

  “Both. He is dedicated to his career and to Tom, who was like the son he never had. My Uncle George never married. His work was his life and now he is distraught. He was so proud of Tom and their accomplishments and equally devastated when he found out about Tom and Keira.”

  “He’s insistent your accident—ˮ

  “It wasn’t an accident,” Brynne reminded.

  “Insisting it was not an accident is a heavy allegation. I caution that what he wants me to do could be a product of his imagination.”

  She held up her wrist wrapped in cast. “I did not imagine this.”

  “Mary Ann, I’m sorry.” We all took a breath. Poured more wine into our glasses.

  “Johnny, do what he says. Please. I trust him with my life. He might come off a little eccentric, but I tell you he is not.”

  I turned to Katie. “What was the space thing he mentioned?”

  She flipped a few pages. “Space-based solar power.”

  “Yep. Tom’s claim to fame.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “They launch satellites into space with solar panels that absorb the sun’s rays. Solar power. The problem was sending the electricity back to Earth. Tom figured out a way to transmit it efficiently. The ultimate in clean energy. He is the world’s foremost expert in this technology.”

  “Translation: the country develops and implements the technology, Tom and Keira become billionaires, and Mary Ann is the lonely ex-wife with an alimony,” Brynne said.

  Mary Ann gave her a sideways look. “Thanks for the pleasant glimpse into my future.”

  “I’m just saying.” Brynne aimed a stare at Katie. “I’ll get another bottle of wine.”

  “None for us. We need to go. Mary Ann, I will work with George. I’m supposed to talk with him tonight.”

  “Whatever he tells you will be the truth. He only deals in absolutes. He’s a scientist. No emotion ever.”

  “I understand. You’re going to stay here for a while?”

  “Yes, I am. Until this business solved. Please call me after you talk to him?”

  “I will.”

  Katie and I got up from the table and said our good-byes. We made it around to the front of the house and to the driveway when she let loose. “What a bitch. Can you believe how they were toward me? I work for you. What about respect for me? Not my fault they couldn’t keep their husbands. Brynne thinks she’s some hot shit because of her hot body and a lot of money. Major fronting, if you ask me. Jealous old bag. I hope I never turn into one of them. No wonder the husband cheated. Guaranteed a frigid bitch in bed…probably laid there like a dead fish while he went at it. I bet she was blow job Brynne in college, and once she got married—nothing. No problem spending the husband’s money, though, huh? You could have said something.”

  “I—ˮ Don’t do it Delarosa. Let her vent. Keep your mouth shut.

  “You’re not going to say anything? Fine. You approve of the way they treated me? Rich country club bitches.”

  We got in the car and she slammed her door. I kept my mouth shut.

  Her rant continued for twenty miles.

  14

  “Tell me about the space-based energy program.”

  “Spaced-based solar power. The cleanest energy possible. We use satellites with solar collector panels to absorb the sunlight and then transmit the energy to receiving stations on Earth. Solar technology was developed at the beginning of the space program, but the original challenge remains how to safely send the electricity back to Earth at a feasible cost.” George Ainsley switched into rocket scientist mode. “Prior to now, the electricity could only be sent to Earth via microwaves or lasers, but the receiving terminals had to be massive. Kilometers in size. Tom Bellamy perfected a cost-efficient method using microwaves to pinpoint the transmission to smaller receiving stations. Once this technology is financed and implemented, it will be revolutionary.”

  Katie jotted notes as fast as she could. We were huddled around cheeseburgers and fries at a small table in the back of Nancy’s Diner, a favorite spot of mine, owned by Nancy Carlisle. Her husband, Bill, was a cop and they ran the diner while he was still on the job. Cancer snatched him away leaving Nancy the restaurant to operate on her own. The cops keep an eye on her, and she keeps an eye out for them. The table was in a back room off the kitchen and I used it for my sometimes clandestine meetings. It also doubled as a poker table for a weekly game for guys from Bill’s old unit. Ainsley agreed to meet us here for a late evening meeting.

  “Does that work?” Katie asked. “You can send electricity to Earth from space?”

  “Of course.”

  “A laser fired from space to Earth is a bit on the sci-fi side, right? Wouldn’t interference be a factor, let alone the security issues?” I asked.

  “Mr. Delarosa, you hit on the problem that plagued the industry for decades. Laser technology is less expensive, but fraught with potential peril. Weaponization and blinding to name two.”

  “Blinding?”

  “Yes, don’t stare into the laser.” He smiled, leaned back in his chair, and let loose with a full-throated laugh.

  An inside joke for rocket scientists?

  The economic benefit would be life changing for the scientists who were first on the scene with this technology, but it also meant the government, competitors, other nations, and terrorists would want their piece of the pie. The upside was enormous and with that much of a payday, maybe Ainsley’s paranoia was real.

  Nancy approached the table as if she read my mind. “You folks need anything?”

  “Delicious as always, my dear.” I handed her a few of the empty plates.

  “Johnny, could I talk to you for a second?”

  I followed her to the kitchen.

  “There is a dark-colored sedan parked at the end of the side street. Two men, been idling there since you three came in. You expecting company?”

  “No, but my friend might be. Thank you. I can always count on you.”

  “Hey, I learned to keep my eyes and ears open, and my mouth shut.”

  “You’re the best.”

  I went back to the table.

  “Even though I’ll never pretend to understand all the science and technology, I do understand a lot of money is at stake. Does BST own this technology? What about the government?”

  “BST signed a joint venture relationship with the Department of Defense for our satellite work. Tom developed the microwave technology outside the scope of that contract. We are free to go to the private sector with the program. Of course, the government will want to be involved; their hands are in all our pockets anyway.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  “Find a way into our company and uncover what Keira is doing. I can’t do anything from inside, but I’m hoping—and I know this is risky—you can come up with some tech guy, a hacker or someone…who can hack into our computers, search around, get into her files, email, anything.”

  “If she wants the company for herself, she is smart enough to not leave a paper trail.”

  “No doubt you are correct, but I need to do something.”

  “Mary Ann asked me to help, and she has utmost respect for you, but I wouldn’t know where to find a hacker.”

  Katie popped up from her note taking. “I do.”

  Ainsley and I both turned to her. “What?” I asked.

  “You do?” Ainsley said.

  “Kid I went to high school with. Eric Eichenberg. Got sent to prison for hacking into the government. The Army or the Pentagon or something. We all thought he was just some gamer nerd, but he turned out to be this computer genius.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “Far as I know, he’s out and in Port City.
I can find out easy enough.”

  Ainsley almost came across the table. “Do it. Find him. At least find out if this is possible.”

  “Hacking into your company or anyone else is illegal. We can talk to Katie’s friend but if he has any sense, I hope he’s using his talents for the benefit of mankind.”

  “Please. Allow me to meet with him, which is all I’m asking.” He addressed Katie. “Miss, can you get me in touch with him? Set up a meeting and it will be out of your hands.”

  She checked to me.

  “We can contact him, but I need to advise against this,” I said.

  “Please, arrange a meeting. I will pay you for your time.”

  I sat back and studied George Ainsley for a minute. I believed Mary Ann. He was confident and comfortable when talking about his work, but when he talked about Keira, he was out of his comfort zone, and his desire to hire a hacker and delve into Keira Kaine’s background was way out of the scope of his life.

  “Mr. Ainsley, you told me you thought you were being followed. Did you see anyone tonight?”

  “No, but I have seen them before.”

  I took a burner phone from my jacket pocket. “Call me tomorrow. My number is programmed in. Only use the phone to contact me, and I will only contact you on that phone.” He held it in his hand as if I empowered him with world secrets. “Where is your car?”

  “On Arbor, one block down.”

  I went to the kitchen and came back wearing a cook’s apron and one of those paper caps that keep hair from falling into the food. I took a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from my jacket pocket. “Give me thirty seconds then leave through the front, the way you came in. Walk to your car, do not glance around, and go straight home.”

  “I call you tomorrow?”

  “Yes, twelve noon.” I pointed to Katie. “You stay here.”

  I ducked out the back door and to the side street. It was not much more than an alley, room for the trash bins and two cars to pass. I lit a cigarette and leaned against the building, giving myself a view Arbor Avenue, which ran in front of the restaurant. Seconds later, I saw Ainsley on his way to his car. The sedan Nancy spotted pulled down the side street. I angled my face away as it passed, and then watched as it turned in Ainsley’s direction.

  Back inside, I took off the apron and cap. “Call your friend. We can use him to talk Ainsley out of his hacking idea.”

  “I’ll try tonight. Where did you go?”

  “Later. Let’s go.”

  We went out through the front and I grabbed Katie’s hand once we were on the sidewalk. “We are now a couple.”

  “Was he followed?”

  “No talking.” We rounded the corner to the side street and strolled like two lovebirds on a date. A car engine started. I pressed Katie against the side of the building and buried my face into her neck. “Is a car coming?”

  “Whoa. Um, yes. What are we doing?”

  “Do not talk, observe,” I whispered. “Make it look real.” She put her arms around me as the car passed. “How many in the car?”

  “Two men in the front. I think it was a Taurus.”

  “That was the tail car. Ainsley was followed. They probably made us, too.”

  We stayed in our embrace for a moment then made our way to my LeSabre and got in.

  “Damn. My heart’s pounding,” she said.

  “Sorry to surprise you, but you were perfect. Cool under pressure.”

  “The only thing, you hit my go spot.”

  “Go spot?”

  “Tickle spot on my neck. It gets me going. I got goose bumps clear down my legs.”

  “Sounds like a good thing to me.”

  15

  Eric Eichenberg spent thirteen months of a thirty-six month sentence at Janesville Federal Penitentiary for hacking into the Pentagon and the United States Army’s payroll system. He explained to prosecutors that his sole motivation was to prove the government’s computer networks were vulnerable, and that if he could hack in, then we were wide open to any foreign country. The Army was impressed, but not amused.

  He was seventeen years old and charged as an adult.

  At Janesville, he taught an intro to computer class to other inmates and in return for his exemplary behavior, he was released early and placed on probation for three years.

  Katie put a box of doughnuts on the table and made coffee.

  “He is a computer genius. Unbelievable.” I closed my laptop after reading through four newspaper accounts of how he hacked the government and was caught and convicted. We were in my condo. If this all went as planned, I wanted to keep Eichenberg out of sight. No sense of anyone getting eyes on him, especially if my plan screws sideways. I would hate to be responsible for him being sent back to Janesville.

  It only took three phone calls for Katie to track him down and he agreed to meet us here at nine. The knock came at eight fifty-eight.

  She opened the door to a short, skinny guy, dressed all in black: boots, jeans, Megadeath T-shirt, and leather jacket. He had black hair in an odd shag-mullet combination with a ponytail. His ears were covered in piercings and he wore a ring on each finger. He had computer bag over his shoulder.

  “Oh my God, Katie Pitts. After all these years.” He came in and threw a hug around her. His head came up to her chin.

  “Hi, Eric. Thanks for coming. Meet Johnny Delarosa.”

  He came to me with his hand outstretched. “Dude, nice to meet you. Katie told me about your cool private eye biz. Said you’re helping her get a PI license.”

  Katie’s face turned fire engine red.

  “We’re working on it. Please, sit. Coffee?”

  “Sure. Cream and sugar.”

  “Thanks for meeting us. I appreciate you coming.” I served the coffee and we sat around the table.

  He could not take his eyes off Katie. “I can’t believe it. When you said it was you on the phone last night, I about stroked. My God, you are hot. You went to school in Florida, right?”

  “Florida State.”

  He turned to me and lowered his voice. “I went away after high school too, sort of lost touch.” He turned to Katie. “Old friends, catching up.”

  “Well, we weren’t really friends—ˮ

  He aimed at me. “This is a cool place you got here. You own the bar, too? Dude, ex-cop, private eye, owns a bar, hot babe works for you—this is jammin’. Should be a TV show or something. Video game—dude, I could create it!”

  He dumped sugar and milk in his coffee and it slopped over the cup as he stirred. I cocked an eyebrow at Katie. She passed him some napkins, which he ignored.

  “So you need some help, huh? I’m all ears.”

  “Well, I have a client who—”

  “Katie, you look damn fine, girl. I cannot believe you called. This is amazing. You locked into a boyfriend or anything?”

  “Nope, no boyfriend or anything at the moment.”

  “What happened to your dude, Brad or Tad, or something? Had one of those rich kid names.”

  “Um, we broke up after high school. I heard he got some girl pregnant in college and is now married.”

  “Dude, wouldn’t want that scene. Too bad for him. What about the hottie, Mandy? You still friends with her?”

  “Still best friends.”

  “She was hot in high school. She’s gotta be smokin’ now. Unless she got fat. BFFs, huh? Doughnut?”

  “Sure.” She slid the box to him.

  He grabbed a chocolate frosted and finished it off in two bites. He pulled his laptop computer out of the case. “So, private eye, what’s going down?”

  He saw us both staring at a bumper sticker he had pasted on the outside of his laptop:

  YEAST INFECTION: IT’S CONTAGIOUS

  “That’s my band.”

  Katie set her coffee on the table and folded her arms in front of her. “You’re in a band called Yeast Infection?”

  “Yeah, I play bass. Righteous mash of grunge, punk, and heavy metal. Laying it do
wn loud and nasty. Writing our own stuff, too. We have a gig downtown on Saturday. You should come.”

  “Um, I’m going on vacation. Maybe another time.”

  “Dude, what about you? Might not be your thing, but there will be some cool babes there. They always dig the older dudes.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Katie biting her lip. “Can we get down to business?”

  “Dude, I’m all in.”

  I explained about Ainsley, and what he wanted, and that we needed a hacker who can do some deep digging.

  “Whoa, I can’t hack. I can search around for you, but they still monitor me. They say they don’t, but…”

  “I understand. No hacking. I promise. Just need to appease the client a bit.”

  “Your wish. When is this going down?”

  “Available tonight? Here, eight o’clock, park around back.”

  “Right on, dude. Cloak-and-dagger. I’m down. Katie baby, I’ll ding your celly when I’m here.”

  He closed the laptop, gave me a fist bump, Katie a hug, and grabbed a doughnut on his way out.

  She locked the door behind him and came back to the table.

  “Sorry about that. I didn’t know what to expect. I haven’t seen him for years.”

  “If he called me dude one more time, I was going to throw him off the balcony. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”

  “Please.”

  “He wants a shot at your go spot.”

  “Funny.” She threw a piece of doughnut at me. “Dude.”

  16

  Katie went downstairs to the bar to prep for her shift and I opened my computer to the accounting program. I had a mountain of invoices to enter and pay.

  My phone chirped and I answered. It was Mary Ann. “Johnny, we’re being followed. You need to do something.” Her voice was frantic.

  “Where are you?”

  “Brynne drove me to the doctor and the same car stayed behind us the entire time. When we came out, we saw it again. Now, we are almost back to Brynne’s, and he’s behind us.”

  “Describe it.”

  “Dark blue. I think a Chevy. I could see the thing on the front.”

  “How many men in the car?”