by Tim Kizer
“No, it’s not bullshit. I’m Logan Broder.”
“Why did you switch bodies with Taylor Cowley?”
“I had leukemia. My dad paid Taylor a million dollars to trade bodies with me. They transferred my consciousness to his body and his consciousness to mine.”
The million dollars part must be a lie. No doubt Sam and Jeff had forced Taylor Cowley to switch bodies with Logan Broder.
Mark pulled Jeff Phillips’s picture from his pocket and showed it to Cowley. “Is this the man who helped you switch bodies with Taylor?”
“Yes. It was two guys, him and Jake.”
Mark took out Sam Curtis’s photo. “Is this Jake?”
“Yes. How did you find out about this?”
“What’s Jake’s last name?”
“I don’t know. My dad must know it.”
“What’s Jake’s partner’s name?”
“Peter.”
“Did your father pay Jake and Peter?”
“Yes. He paid them twenty million dollars.”
“Twenty million?”
“Yes.”
“How did your father find Jake and Peter?”
“Jake came to my dad and said that he could transfer my consciousness to another body.”
Was Logan Broder Sam and Jeff’s first client?
“Did he explain how he was going to do it?”
“He has a special machine that can transfer consciousness from one body to another.”
Sam Curtis must have decided that Andrew Broder wouldn’t believe him if he said he was going to use magic.
“Did the transfer take place on January first?”
“Yes.”
“What did Jake and Peter do during the transfer?”
“I didn’t see what they did during the procedure. I was asleep. Jake gave me sleeping pills before the procedure.”
“Where did the procedure take place?”
“In Jake’s company’s office. It’s somewhere in Dallas.”
“Jake has a company?”
“Yes. It’s called New Horizons.”
“Do you have its phone number?”
“No.”
“Do you have Jake’s or Peter’s number?”
Taylor shook his head. “My dad must have their numbers.”
“What happened to Taylor Cowley?”
They must have killed him. They couldn’t have let him live because if they did he would have gone to the police.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me, Logan. You know what happened to him. Is he dead?”
“I told you I don’t know. They said they’d give Taylor a new identity.”
Mark googled “Logan Broder found dead” on his phone and got no hits.
“Where did you live before the switch?” he asked.
“I lived in the same building I live now but in a different apartment. Apartment twelve-oh-seven.”
“Who lives there now?”
“No one.”
“Does your mother know about the body switch?”
“No.”
Was Cowley telling the truth?
Mark knew nothing about Logan Broder, so it was going to be difficult to verify that it was Logan who currently occupied Taylor Cowley’s body.
“Who else was in the office besides you, Jake, and Peter?” Mark said.
“My dad, my dad’s driver, and the guy who was going to trade bodies with another client later that night.”
“Do you know this guy’s name?”
It must be the man Jeff had switched bodies with.
“No. He was asleep the whole time.”
“How old did he look?”
“Early twenties.”
“Would you recognize him if you saw him again?”
“I don’t think so.”
Mark paced the room for a minute, trying to figure out how to verify that Cowley was Logan Broder, and then said, “When did you get your driver’s license?”
“Do you mean me or Taylor?”
“You.”
“Four years ago. Why?”
“Where did you take the behind-the-wheel test?”
“I took it twice. The first time was in Dallas and the second in Garland.”
“How old are you?
“Twenty.”
“Have you gotten any traffic tickets?”
“I got a few speeding tickets, a bunch of parking tickets. I got a ticket for running a red light once.”
“When was that?”
“Last March.”
“When did you get your latest speeding ticket?”
“Last September.”
“I’m going to verify this information, and if it doesn’t check out, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“It will check out.”
“Do you go to college?”
“Yes. Well, I did before the procedure.”
“What college did you go to?”
“University of Texas at Dallas.”
Mark opened the Internet browser, found the portal login page of the University of Texas at Dallas, showed it to Cowley, and said, “Give me your username and password.”
Neither Jeff nor Sam could know the username and password for Logan Broder’s student account.
Cowley told him his username and password, and Mark entered them.
Logan Broder’s student account appeared on the screen.
“Do you believe me now?” Cowley asked.
“Not yet.”
Mark called Detective Robert Worster, who worked in the Robbery Unit of the Dallas PD, and asked him to email Logan Broder’s DMV driving record to him. He received the record ten minutes later.
Logan Broder had run a red light on March 13 of last year and gotten his latest speeding ticket on September 7 of last year.
The guy was telling the truth; he really was Logan Broder.
“I’m going to let you go.” Mark fished the handcuff key out of his pocket. “I want you to keep this meeting between us. If Jake finds out I know who you are, he’ll kill you.”
“Okay. Please don’t tell anyone about the switch.”
“I won’t.”
Mark unlocked and removed the handcuffs.
Should he tell Cindy Cowley what had happened to her son?
Would Cindy believe him?
He didn’t think so.
“Don’t say anything to your father.”
“Okay.”
Mark cut the duct tape and stripped it off Cowley’s legs.
“Can you take me home?” Cowley asked.
“Yeah.”
They went to the garage, and when Mark got in the car, he pounded his fist on the steering wheel and emitted a growl.
He’d thought he’d found Sam and Jeff, and it turned out he’d been wrong.
He might have lost these bastards forever.
“What’s wrong?” Cowley asked, looking at him worriedly.
“Nothing.”
Chapter 49
1
Andrew Broder had a tanned, plain-featured face and a receding hairline. He was fifty-three but looked younger. He was a highly educated man: his biography on Prism Capital’s website said that he’d earned his BA from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mark had headed to Prism Capital’s headquarters right after he dropped Taylor Cowley off at the Metropolis condominium complex.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions about your son, Logan,” Mark said.
“All right,” Broder replied.
Did Broder suspect that Taylor Cowley had been forced to swap bodies with his son?
“Do you know where I can find Logan?”
“Why are you looking for him?”
“He’s a person of interest in a robbery case.”
“When did this robbery take place?”
“Two days ago.”
“I don’t know where he is.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“
January first.”
“When was the last time you spoke to him?”
“January first.”
“Do you know where he could be?”
Broder shook his head. “No.”
“So you haven’t heard from Logan since January first?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you worried?”
“About what?”
“About Logan. It’s been nine days since you last heard from him. He has leukemia, doesn’t he?”
Broder leaned forward and said, “Detective, I don’t know where Logan is. Do you have any other questions?”
“Yes, I do. Do you know a man named Taylor Cowley?”
“Logan has a friend by that name.”
Mark took out Taylor Cowley’s photo and laid it on the desk. “Is it him?”
Broder looked at the photo and nodded. “Yes.”
“He bought a car from your son for seventy thousand dollars a few days ago. Do you know where he got the money?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I think he stole it.”
Broder said nothing.
“Mister Broder, I know that your son’s consciousness was transferred to Taylor Cowley’s body.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I talked to your son. He told me about New Horizons. He said you paid them twenty million dollars to transfer his consciousness to Taylor Cowley’s body.”
Broder frowned. “When did you talk to him?”
“This morning.”
Broder picked up his cellphone and dialed a number.
Was he calling his lawyer?
Holding the phone to his ear, Broder said, “Can you leave me alone for a minute, Detective?”
Mark stepped out of the room and took a seat in the reception area. About two minutes later, Broder opened the door and asked him to come in.
“Yes, it’s true,” Broder said. “Logan’s consciousness was transferred to Taylor Cowley’s body. What do you want from me?”
“I want you to help me find Jake and Peter.”
“I don’t know where they are.”
“When was the last time you spoke to Jake or Peter?”
“January first.”
“What are their last names?”
“Jake’s last name is Ford, and I don’t remember Peter’s last name.”
“Did Jake give you his business card?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
“I left it at home.”
“Do you have his phone number?”
“Why do you want to find them?”
“They’re criminals.”
“What did they do?”
“They kidnapped Taylor Cowley.”
“Do you have any proof that they kidnapped him?”
“Do you think Taylor switched bodies with your son voluntarily?”
“He did it for money. Jake told me they paid him a million dollars.”
“He lied. They forced Taylor to switch bodies with your son.”
“I was not aware of that.”
Would Andrew Broder have let Logan take Taylor Cowley’s body if he had known that Cowley was being forced to trade bodies with his son?
Being a loving father, he probably would.
“Did you talk to Taylor before or after the switch?”
“No.”
“I need you to give me Jake’s and Peter’s phone numbers and their company’s address.”
Broder picked up his phone, tapped the screen several times, and then told Mark “Jake’s” number and New Horizons’ address. “Peter didn’t give me his number,” he said.
“Later I might need you to call Jake and ask him to meet with you,” Mark said. “Can you do that?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Do you have Jake’s email address?”
“Yes.”
Broder told him the email address.
“How did you pay them the twenty million?”
“I wired the money to their bank account.”
“I need the name of the bank and the account number.”
“What do you need this information for?”
“I need it to track down Jake and Peter.”
Broder leaned back in his chair and said, “You haven’t given me any proof that Jake and Peter kidnapped Taylor Cowley.”
“Do you still think that Taylor switched bodies with Logan voluntarily?”
“I think it’s possible. A million dollars is a lot of money.”
“Mister Broder, I need you to tell me the name of New Horizons’ bank and their account number.”
“Let me get back to you on this.”
“I need this information now.”
“I don’t have it at hand.”
“How long is it going to take you to find it?”
“I don’t know for sure.”
It was obvious to Mark that Broder had no intention of giving him the details of New Horizons’ bank account.
Broder looked at his watch. “I’m sorry, Detective. I have to go. Can we talk some other time?”
“Look, Mister Broder, Jake and Peter murdered Taylor Cowley after the switch. They’ve killed at least four people, and they will keep killing. We have to stop them as soon as possible. Every day, every hour counts.”
“I’m sorry. I have to go.”
“I’m not after you, Mister Broder. I’m after New Horizons. Give me their bank account number.”
“I said I’ll get back to you on this.”
“Do you realize you could be charged with obstruction of justice?”
“Let’s meet next week.”
Mark pulled out his card and gave it to Broder. “Here’s my number. Call me when you change your mind.”
“Sure.”
“One last thing. Don’t tell anyone about this conversation.”
Chapter 50
1
He should check Sam’s personal bank account first: they might have used one of them to receive payment from Broder. The wire must have been sent on January second or shortly thereafter.
He should obtain a search warrant for Andrew Broder’s bank records. The warrant would have to cover Broder’s business bank accounts, too, because the money might have been wired from one of them.
If Broder had wired the money from an offshore account, it might be weeks if not months before he found New Horizons’ bank account.
On the way to New Horizons’ office, Mark realized that none of the cases he was investigating could be used to obtain a search warrant for Andrew Broder’s bank records.
Emily Phillips might know New Horizons’ bank account number. He should try to get her to tell it to him.
New Horizons’ office was located in a nondescript four-story office building in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas. It was closed when Mark arrived. He went to the building manager’s office, showed his badge, and asked for the name of the person who had signed New Horizons’ lease.
“Just a minute,” the clerk said, and disappeared into the manager’s office. She came out less than half a minute later, accompanied by her boss, a middle-aged woman with red hair.
The manager looked at Mark’s badge and said to the clerk, “It’s all right, Alicia, you can give him the name.”
Alicia opened New Horizons’ file and told Mark that the lease had been signed by Jonathan Medlock. It must be an alias of either Sam or Jeff.
“Do they pay rent by check?” Mark asked.
“No. Money order.”
Were Sam and Jeff going to use this office the next time they performed the ritual for money?
It was possible.
The next full moon was on the night of January 30, twenty days from today.
Mark went to Dallas PD headquarters and requested geolocation information for the number Broder had used to contact Sam Curtis. The number was the disposable kind. The cellphone company said that the phone had been off since January 4. Its last recorded
location was the city of Downey, California.
Had Sam and Jeff moved to California? If so, it was unlikely they would use their office in Dallas again.
Sam’s bank account had received no wire transfers in the last nine days. Mark called Emily Phillips and asked if Jeff had any business bank accounts. She said she didn’t know.
2
At two p.m. on Thursday, January 11, as Mark wrote a report on the interview he had conducted earlier, his phone rang.
It was Andrew Broder
“I’ve given the matter some thought and decided to tell you New Horizons’ account number,” Broder said.
“Thank you, Mister Broder.”
Mark opened a new Word document. “Go ahead.”
“You said they murdered Taylor. Did you find his body?”
“No, not yet.”
“Then how do you know they killed him?”
“They couldn’t have let him live because he saw their faces.”
“You said they killed four people. Who are the other three?”
“Jake and Peter kidnapped and forced them to trade bodies with other people. I can’t tell you their names.”
Mark couldn’t tell Broder about the ritual (he was sure Broder would laugh at him if he did), so he had to lie.
“Will my son have to testify in court?”
“No, he won’t.”
“I want you to give me your word that the government won’t call him to testify.”
“All right. I give you my word your son won’t have to testify.”
“I also want you to promise that you won’t make public why I paid New Horizons the twenty million.”
“Okay. We’ll keep this information secret.”
“When you find Jake and Peter, don’t tell them I helped you.”
“I won’t.”
“The name of the bank is Alliance Bank. It’s in the Caymans. The account number is six-two-three-oh-five-six-seven-one-nine-oh-four-two. The Swift Code is ALLBKYKY.”
Mark wrote down the information and said, “Can you email me a copy of the wire transfer?”
Broder hesitated, then said, “Okay.”
“Thanks for your help, Andrew. Goodbye.”
3
Broder had paid the entire twenty million in one transfer, which had been made on January second. The recipient’s name was Summit Consulting; its address was 52 North Church Street, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
Because anonymous offshore bank accounts were not allowed anymore, Sam and Jeff had been required to put their names on the application when they opened their account at Cayman Commercial Bank.
