“What did you do?”
She stopped the massage and pulled out a newspaper out of her purse. The banner said Roanoke Times and World News. It was folded over, showing a story on the bottom of the front page.
Kevin read the story twice before he looked up.
“Don’t tell me the unidentified woman was you.”
Erica nodded.
“Are you insane? What were you trying to prove?”
“If I had waited until the paramedics arrived, she would have been brain-damaged.”
“But the police. They were there…”
Erica shook her head. “I got away before they could talk to me.”
“Do you realize the risk you took?” Kevin said, his voice rising.
“Like I said, it didn’t seem like I had a choice. It all happened pretty fast.”
“Erica, we have been just one step ahead of these…psychos, whoever they are. What if the police had arrested you?” Kevin was off the stool now, pacing.
“What would you have wanted me to do? Let that girl die?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course not.”
“Oh, I’m the one being ridiculous.”
“You could have waited.”
“No, I couldn’t.”
“Are you sure? How do you know? You’re not a doctor yet.”
“I’ve spent the last three months in the ER. It was a judgment call. I made it. That’s my profession. Deal with it.”
“Your heroics have lousy timing.”
“I’m sorry emergencies aren’t more convenient for you.” Erica stood and picked up her purse.
Kevin grabbed her sinewy shoulders. “Don’t you get it? If you got taken to jail and Barnett found you there, he’d kill you in a minute.”
She looked up at him, her wide green eyes boring into his. “So?”
Kevin’s voice was almost a whisper. “So I couldn’t stand to lose you too.” Then, before he realized what he was doing, he pulled her toward him in a rush and kissed her deeply. Instead of pulling away as he thought she might, Erica returned the kiss even more forcefully. Kevin felt her breasts pleasantly compressed against his chest and inhaled the light scent of fresh soap from her skin. He cradled her head in one palm, holding her to him with the other. Their hips ground together, making him aware of his sudden desire.
After what seemed like an hour but had to have been only a few seconds, Kevin released her and held her hands.
“Why didn’t you do that in the motel?” Erica said.
“I wasn’t sure then.”
“About whether you wanted to?”
“No. About whether you wanted to.”
“Are you sure now?”
“Oh yeah.”
Erica looked at the equipment. “Can this stuff stay unattended for an hour or so?” Then she looked back at him with a curled smile.
Kevin punched a large red EMERGENCY STOP button, and the whine of the machinery ground to a halt. “Yes.”
Ted’s house was only five minutes away. It was the longest five-minute drive Kevin ever took.
CHAPTER 28
“STU Financial Aid and Student Affairs, this is Teri, may I help you?” The sentence was recited with the boredom of innumerable repetition.
The answering voice spoke in a dreadful southern drawl. She sounded young, maybe a teenager. “Hi, my name’s Maggie Burleson. I was told you were the right person to talk to.”
“What can I help you with?” Teri Linley glanced at the wall clock. Only two hours until the weekend. Friday afternoons were always the slowest. She hoped it wouldn’t take as long to get out of here as last Friday did.
“Yesterday, a friend of mine had an emergency. She ate some cake with peanut oil in it and had an allergic reaction.”
“Are you sure you need this office?”
“No, but this is who they told me to call to find a student. One of the people at the emergency was a South Texas student. Her name is Erica Jensen.”
Teri perked up at the name. It was one of the two she’d been told to be on the alert for. That priggish black-haired guy had told her she’d get a hundred dollars if she could tell him where Erica Jensen was.
“Go on, Mrs. Burleson.”
A giggle erupted from the other end. “I’m not married.”
Teri was impatient. A hundred dollars would make the weekend a lot more fun. “You said you saw Erica Jensen, Maggie?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if you could tell me her number.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Maggie. We’re not allowed to give out that information for confidentiality reasons. Where did you say you were?”
“It…the emergency happened in Blacksburg.”
Blacksburg? Where the hell was that? “Blacksburg, Texas?”
“No, Blacksburg, Virginia. Uh, I really need to talk to her.”
Teri decided to take another approach. “Maggie, I shouldn’t be doing this, but Erica is a friend of mine. If you tell me the message, I’ll make sure she gets it and calls you back.”
The line was silent for a few seconds. “She a friend of yours?”
“We’re in the fourth year of med school together. I just work here for extra money.” When Maggie hesitated, Teri said, “In fact, I’m going to pick up Erica at the airport tomorrow when she gets back from visiting her relatives in Virginia.”
“All right,” Maggie said, the apprehension apparent in her voice. “You should be proud of Erica. She saved my friend’s life yesterday. The doctors at the hospital said Tory, my friend, might have died if Erica hadn’t given her epinephrine.” She said the word slowly, trying to pronounce it properly.
“Oh my gosh! Is Erica with you now?” Teri impressed herself at how well she was doing. She was definitely earning that hundred dollars.
“No, and that’s why I was calling. Erica ran off just as the paramedics and police got there. Just after she left, I found her medical student badge. It must have fell out when Tory knocked her purse over. I put it in my pocket without telling the police. I been wondering all day whether I should tell them or not, but I figured there was some reason she ran away so fast without telling anyone her last name. That’s why I’m trying to call her, to see if I can tell the police.”
“No!” Teri said, too forcefully. She lowered her voice. “No, you did the right thing. I’ll give Erica the message. She probably just wanted her privacy.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“The ID has an address printed on the back. Just mail it there. She’ll get it back. Thank you very much for your help, Maggie.”
“I was pretty scared yesterday, but Erica helped me a lot. I’m glad I’m able to help her.”
* * *
On Fridays at 6:15, the hospital’s parking garage was about as empty as it ever got. David Lobec motioned for Bern to wait in the car while he got out to meet with Teri Linley. As he expected, she wasn’t going to give the information over the phone when a hundred dollars was on the line.
Through the Friday rush hour traffic, it had taken them almost an hour to get there after her phone call. Her Fiero was parked in front of them at the deserted end of the garage’s fourth level.
A big-haired girl in her twenties got out of the two-seater and approached him. On the other side, a young man opened the door and got out. He wore a body-builder’s tank top and had the physique to match it. Obviously he was the boyfriend along for protection. He puffed up to his full six foot height and casually leaned on the open door.
“Do you have the money?” she said.
Lobec pulled five twenties out of his pocket and handed the bills over to her. “Where was she sighted?”
“It’ll cost you two hundred.”
Lobec didn’t blink. “The offered price was one hundred. I suggest you take it.”
“It sounded on the phone like you really want this information, and by the looks of you, you can afford it. Two hundred or you don’t get it.” She held out her hand for the money.
> Without moving his eyes from hers, Lobec grabbed her hand like a viper snatching its prey and pulled her towards him, twisting her arm back with his right hand. She gasped, but was too surprised to scream.
“You’ll tell me now for a hundred or you’ll tell me for nothing after I’ve broken your arm. Which shall it be?”
Out of his peripheral vision, Lobec saw the body-builder throw a punch at his head. He ducked under it and slammed his left fist into the man’s crotch in the same movement. Teri Linley began screaming. As the man doubled over, Lobec threw his elbow into the amateur’s face. Teeth cracked with the impact. The man groaned and vomited, spitting up blood.
Bern was still sitting in the car, smiling. According to the usual procedure, Bern was only to assist if Lobec’s attacker drew a weapon.
Lobec grabbed the woman’s face. “Now stop screaming.”
The woman, wide-eyed at her groaning boyfriend lying on the ground, exhaled in jittery sobs.
“Good. Unfortunately, I will now have to repeat myself. Where was she sighted?”
“B..B.Blacksburg, Virginia. Please, God, don’t hurt me.”
“You can help matters by answering my questions. Why was she there?”
Teri Linley’s words came out in a rush. “A girl said Erica Jensen saved her friend’s life and ran off before she gave her name to the police or anyone else. The girl found her South Texas ID. It had Erica’s name on it. That’s all I know, I swear!”
“When?”
“Yesterday. She didn’t say what time.”
“And you’re very sure it was Blacksburg, Virginia?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Thank you,” Lobec said, releasing her arm, satisfied that she was telling the truth. “I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson in negotiation.”
The woman looked at him as if he were crazy.
Lobec smiled. “Never bargain when you don’t have the advantage.”
* * *
As Bern drove out of the garage, Lobec opened his cell phone and dialed.
“We going to Blacksburg?” Bern asked.
“No, I am calling Mitch Hornung.”
“What for? The girl just said she was in Blacksburg.”
“Exactly. She was in Blacksburg. Yesterday. For any number of possible reasons. She and Mr. Hamilton could easily have been passing through on their way to another location. Before we go on another potential wild goose chase, I want to find out if there is any reason they would stay there.”
After five rings, the line clicked. It switched to Hornung’s beeper answering machine. Lobec entered the cell phone’s number so that it would read out on Hornung’s beeper display.
During the next three hours, Bern and Lobec tried calling the people they had already met with for information about anyone Kevin might know in Blacksburg. Relatives, friends, schoolmates from grade school on up, anyone Erica and Kevin had ever been in contact with. The few people who were home on a Friday night were useless. Finally, Hornung answered the page. Lobec was livid. Though he was the best hacker money could buy, Hornung’s lack of dependability had always been a problem.
“Mr. Hornung, I gave specific instructions that you were to be on call at all times until this matter was resolved.”
“Sorry, man. I was with Monica.” He said it as if it were supposed to mean something to Lobec.
“That is irrelevant. Mr. Bern and I will be at your computer in fifteen minutes. Meet us there.”
“But Monica…”
“Do as I say, Mr. Hornung. I am not always this pleasant.”
When Mitch Hornung arrived at his office exactly fifteen minutes later, Lobec explained the problem.
“Man, I don’t know. This could take a while.” Hornung looked at the screen in front of him. “Says here that Blacksburg has a population of 22,921, but including all the students at Virginia Tech and the people in the surrounding area, we’re talking over 100,000.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” said Lobec. “But I could go to this town and never find them if I don’t know where to look.”
“So you’re saying you want me to compare every name in that town to the name of every person either of these two have ever met and see if I get a match?”
“That is the gist of it.”
“These guys must have screwed Tarnwell out of some serious cash.”
“More than even you have,” Lobec whispered into Hornung’s ear. Hornung smiled at Lobec, but when he saw Lobec was serious, his smiled faltered. He quickly turned to the computer and began tapping on the mouse.
* * *
Given the task, Lobec wasn’t expecting an answer until well into the next day. But Hornung was good, which was why Tarnwell let him get away with skimming a few measly thousand each month. At three in the morning, he said, “Bingo.”
Lobec instantly got up from the couch where he was lightly dozing and went over to Hornung’s computer. Bern followed from the chair he was sleeping on. “You have something?” Lobec said.
“I got lucky. The only reason I found it so quickly was because the name was a little odd. Theodore Ishio. Both Hamilton and Jensen are getting graduate degrees, so I thought maybe one of them knew a student at Virginia Tech. Then I broadened the search to include professors. Guess where Theodore Ishio, the new assistant professor in chemistry, got his Ph.D.”
“South Texas?” Bern said.
“Very good, Dick,” Hornung said. “That only took you a few seconds.”
Bern grabbed Hornung’s arm. “Why you little…”
Lobec held up his hand. “That’s enough.” Bern let go, and Lobec turned to Hornung. “When did he graduate?”
“This past summer. Looks like he and Hamilton went to school together for a couple of years. Ishio’s got a vita about a mile long posted on the Web. He and Hamilton are even coauthors on one of the papers cited in the vita.”
“What is Theodore Ishio’s address?”
Seconds later the address was feeding into the laser printer on the desk.
Lobec picked up Hornung’s phone. No commercial flights would be leaving either one of Houston’s airports for several hours. But he knew that Tarnwell’s plane would be returning soon. “Yes, this is Lobec. Has the Gulfstream arrived from Washington?…Six o’clock?…No, tell them I’ll need it as soon as it arrives. I want to leave Intercontinental by seven…Then get another flight crew. And find the nearest airport to Blacksburg, Virginia.”
CHAPTER 29
It was Saturday, and the sun shone brightly through a cloudless sky. The commuter parking lot was still filling with cars, many with Virginia Tech banners flying from their antennas. Erica was surprised how many of the cars had University of Miami flags. She didn’t know much about football, but for the past week, the entire town had been consumed by the impending game, and she supposed that Miami fans would be equally ardent. The faculty lot had filled hours ago, and it didn’t look like many spots were left in the commuter lot. It was 12:25. The game would probably be starting soon, since most of the tailgaters were packing up their barbecues and heading toward the stadium.
The door to Ted Ishio’s office opened. Erica turned away from the window to see Kevin enter and close the door behind him.
“How’s it look?” he asked. “Crazy?”
“I’ll say. I’m glad we aren’t in it.”
“I will be in a little while. I’m starving, and the last of the pizza is gone.”
“We could get another one delivered,” she said.
“No, I’m sick of pizza, if you can believe it. I’m going to Wendy’s. You want anything?”
Erica was feeling slightly claustrophobic and wanted to go with him, but they had already agreed that she should show her face in public as little as possible to avoid running into someone who might recognize her from the grocery store incident.
“A grilled chicken salad if they have it. Vinaigrette dressing on the side, please.”
“Okay, but first I have something to show you.” The
look on his face was noncommittal as to whether it was a good something or a bad something.
“What?”
“Come with me.”
He led her to the lab. It was totally quiet for the first time in days. None of the equipment was running.
“What’s wrong?” Erica said. “Is something broken?”
“Nope. I ran out of raw material to make more buckyballs, but I think what we have is enough. Take a look in the chamber.”
Erica went over to the chamber’s window. She gasped when she saw the specimen. She hadn’t seen it since Thursday night, and it was now ten times the size it was then.
“By my calculations,” Kevin said, “it should weigh between 35 and 40 grams.” He tapped the Adamas Blueprint, which was lying on the workbench. “Looks like old Mike and I had ourselves a winner.”
Erica smiled and shook her head. “This is incredible. You’re going to be famous.”
“Maybe. I know I won’t be rich. The university will own the patent. I guess I can see why Ward tried to sell it instead. I have to say, it’s hard not to be tempted.”
Kevin saw how she was looking at him.
“I’m not saying I agree with him,” he said, “just that I can understand why he did it.”
“So what do we do now?” she said.
“The only thing left is to remove the specimen from the chamber and take it to Washington. The chamber is still hot. It’ll be an hour or so before we can take it out.”
“How?” She had been gone during that part of the setup.
“I soldered the target to the top of a quarter-inch diameter nut. Then I just screwed it on to a bolt that was out of the laser’s path. Not pretty, but it worked. All you do is unscrew it. If you’d like, I’ll let you do the honors when the chamber’s cooled.”
Erica did a slight curtsy. “It would be my privilege.”
“Now, before my stomach implodes,” Kevin said, “I am going to get some food.” He handed her Ted’s keychain. “Keep both rooms locked, even if you’re just going to the bathroom.”
“I think I’ll hang out in the office. At least I can get some sun there.”
The Adamas Blueprint Page 21
