by Mike Faricy
“Who the hell is that?” I said, both lack of sleep and lack of Bonnie had done nothing to improve my patience.
“Oh, my God, it’s Wegger. That’s the ringtone I assigned him some years ago. I haven’t spoken to him since, well, forever.”
“Aren’t you going to answer it?” Bonnie asked.
“Answer that damn thing,” I said, more than a little creeped out.
“Hello?” Iggy answered, not sounding all that sure. “Speaking. Who is this? Really? Niles, how long has it been?” What little color there was suddenly drained from Iggy’s face. He looked at Bonnie and me, pointed to his cellphone and mouthed “Wegger,” as if we needed an explanation.
I rotated my hand in a circular motion, suggesting he keep the conversation moving. He nodded, then said, “To what do I owe the pleasure? I see. No. No, I didn’t know that. Really? An invitation, at almost four in the morning. I must have slept through it. No, a number of security people. I’m not sure. I lost count days ago.”
Bonnie looked at me and made the crazy sign, twirling her index finger next to her temple. I nodded in agreement.
“Yes, quite successful, now that you mention it,” Iggy said. “Well, yes, as a matter of fact she is,” he said and gave a worried look toward Bonnie. “Well, actually, we’re both working just now, Niles. I’m sure you can understand, we’ve a lot to…” Iggy suddenly yanked the phone away from his ear and cringed. We could a voice screaming on the other end.
“He said he want’s to talk to you,” Iggy said, then handed the phone to Bonnie.
“Hello. Yes, this is Bonnie. I’m not sure I understand.” The color suddenly drained from Bonnie’s face and her eyes grew wide. “J.D., is that you? Honey, are you all right?” Tears began rolling down her face. She nodded a few times but seemed unable to speak. I looked at Iggy, but he just stared at the floor. Bonnie gave a cry and then handed the phone to me.
“Hello.”
“Is this that intrepid security agent, Devlin Haskell?”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Wegger?”
“What can you do for me? I think it’s more like what can I do for you. Hold on, just a minute, I want you to talk to someone.”
A moment later a child’s voice came across. “Hello?”
“I bet this is J.D., is that right?”
“Yeah, are you the guy with that dog that liked to catch the frisbee?”
Bonnie had both hands to her face, her eyes were squeezed closed and tears were running down her cheeks. Iggy had rolled across the room in his chair and was madly tapping keys.
“Yeah, J.D., that’s me. Are your brother and sister with you?”
“Yeah, we’re all…”
Wegger was suddenly back on the line. “Now listen up, Haskell. I’m only going to say this once. It’s actually a very simple request. I’m returning the children to their mother, after all, I’m not a criminal. In exchange for that I would like access to Iggy’s system for one hour, just sixty minutes. That’s all.”
“You bring the kids here and it’s all yours.”
“I’ve a better idea. Let’s arrange access, oh, say, effective nine o’clock this evening. Once that’s complete you can pick them up. Fair enough?”
“I’ll have to…”
“It was merely a rhetorical question, you idiot. Your job will be to convince your two employers there of the wisdom of complying with my request. I’m only going to ask once. Good day,” he said and then hung up.
I handed the phone back to Bonnie, who snatched it from my hands, “J.D., J.D., honey. Are you there?”
“Wegger hung up,” I said.
“I’m getting a location,” Iggy said.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Anything on that location, Iggy?” He was still clicking keys, although now only occasionally. His cellphone was plugged into the computer. Bonnie was silently sobbing, both arms wrapped tightly around her.
“What are you coming up with?” I’d taken up a position directly behind Iggy.
“They are, or at least were, in a vehicle and I think moving.”
“You mean you can’t tell?”
“Exactly. No doubt Wegger’s pulled the battery on his cellphone, essentially halting my ability to track him any further.”
“Any idea where they called from?”
“Some place in north central Wisconsin. I’m getting a lock on that transmission.”
“Wisconsin? Bonnie, isn’t that where your sister’s lake place is?”
She looked up at me but didn’t seem to quite comprehend.
“Bonnie, your sister’s lake place, where the kids are, do you have the phone number?”
She shook her head a few times, but more like she was attempting to clear her mind as opposed to answering no. She took her cell out of her pocket, pushed a couple of keys and put the phone to her ear. After a long moment she shook her head and disconnected. “No answer.”
“You okay?”
“I’ve got that position, looks like they were on Highway 29, in central Wisconsin. Five, maybe six miles outside of the town of Wausau.”
“Can you enlarge that map slightly?”
Iggy clicked a couple of keys and the map on his screen enlarged to a point where the names of some towns were legible. Highway 29 itself was clearly displayed and there was a blue star indicating the point where the call had been placed.
“Bonnie, look at this. Is it anywhere near where your sister’s place is?”
She looked at the map for a moment, then said, “No, she’s actually further east and north. But that’s the route we take. I’d guess her place is maybe a good hour, hour-and-a-half away.”
“Think they’re heading back here?”
“They certainly could be. I just don’t know.”
“Try your sister again. Iggy is there any way to track them?”
“No, well, unless they’ve brought a unit along that I’m imbedded in. That’s highly unlikely. I’m checking now, but nothing so far,” he said, then went back to clicking keys.
“Still no answer at my sister’s,” Bonnie said.
“Okay, call the police for that area. Don’t mention anything about the kids. Just tell them you’ve been trying to reach her, she hasn’t answered and could they drive out and check.”
“They’ll get there faster if we tell them about Wegger’s call.”
Iggy shook his head but continued tapping keys. “And then we have no way of knowing what he’s likely to do if the police confront him. At least this way we’ve still got a chance he’ll work with us.”
Bonnie seemed to think about that for a moment, then picked up her iPad and moved her fingers around. “Lily’s the name of the town, it’s a little place, God it’s an unincorporated town. It says here there isn’t one, a police department.”
“Check the county.”
“It’s Langlade County, ummm, I think Crandon City might be the closest one. I’m calling them now.”
I turned back to Iggy, “Anything?”
“I’ve got two more units to check, long shots. I’m probably going to come up empty handed.”
“If you can’t find…”
Bonnie was talking to someone. “Yes, I’m hoping you could help me,” she sniffled, but seemed to be keeping it all together, at least for the moment. “I’ve been trying to reach my sister, she has a place on the Lily River, I’m not getting an answer and I’m hoping you might be able to send someone out to check on her. What? Yes, she does have a medical condition, she has a heart condition and she’s diabetic. Yes, oh, thank you so very much. Here’s her phone number,” Bonnie gave them the phone number, her sister’s address and then, finally, her cellphone number. “Yes, I’m calling from Minnesota, the Twin Cities. Thank you, no, no, I really appreciate your help,” she said, then hung up. “They’ll send someone out to check, but it’s probably going to be a few hours.”
“Chrissy has a heart condition?”
“What? Oh, no, I just made that up s
o I didn’t sound like some neurotic woman who didn’t get a response to her Facebook post. No, my sister’s as healthy as a horse, or at least she was,” and the tears suddenly welled up in her eyes again.
Iggy turned around, faced her, and in a voice I hadn’t heard before said, “Bonnie, we’re going to deal with this. Everything is going to be okay. Now, I’m going to need you at this keyboard over here. Yeah, right, now enter this code,” he said as Bonnie sat down in front of the computer. He read off a bunch of numbers and letters signifying upper and lower case on the letters. “That’s at least one of the systems in Wegger’s office and I think his lab. Put that headset on. I want you to go back forty-eight hours and begin listening to conversations. You might be able to pick up some idea of where they’re heading to or, God forbid, what sort of foolish plan they’ve hatched.”
Bonnie took a deep breath and began reviewing the taped conversations from Wegger’s computer. Iggy was madly clicking keys. I went upstairs and found Luscious asleep in a lawn chair out on the deck. He had headphones on and an iPod resting on his chest. I kicked his foot a couple of times until he came awake.
“Luscious, bit of an emergency. I want you to check on something for me.”
He yawned and said, “You can count on me, Dev.”
“Perfect. Here’s what I want you to do. Drive over to Wegger’s house. I’ve got his address on the kitchen counter next to a bag of pretzels. See if his green Jaguar is in the driveway. Now that I think of it, even if it’s not in the driveway, knock on the door, see if Wegger answers. Let me know either way if he’s home or not.”
“You want me to bring him back here, Dev?”
“That’s tempting, but it would probably be better if you didn’t. Take Bonnie’s car, the keys are hanging on the cabinet by the kitchen sink.”
“I’m on the job, Dev.”
“Thanks Luscious, I’m counting on you, and for God’s sake, drive carefully.” A moment later I heard him grab the car keys, then heard him rip the pretzel bag open as he headed down the stairs and out the door.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Bonnie’s phone rang about forty-five minutes later. It was sitting on the desktop alongside the computer she was working. With the headphones on she didn’t appear to hear it ringing. I stepped over and tapped her on the shoulder, then said, “Phone,” and pointed to her cellphone on the desktop.
“Yeah, I know. It’s Wayne, I’m ignoring it.”
“Wayne? Maybe he’s got information.”
“Believe me, Wayne doesn’t have any information, certainly nothing worth listening to.”
“I don’t know, Wegger, the kids, maybe he knows something.”
The cellphone stopped ringing at this point and Bonnie said, “Didn’t you tell me Wegger assaulted him in Benny’s? You said he threatened Wayne, told him he wanted his hundred dollars back, right?”
“It still might be worth checking out just to be sure,” I said.
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt, thus far the only thing of interest on these tapes has been an order for pizza and one side of an obscene phone call with some woman named Celeste.” She picked up her cellphone, pressed a couple of keys and waited.
“Hello, Wayne. Sorry I missed your call. I was busy working. What can I do for you? Really? And why now? I see. Well, other than your illegal entry a few days ago and your apologetic phone call, I haven’t heard from you for the past three-plus years, so I don’t think we’re interested. No, Wayne, I, I won’t reconsider. Wayne, Wayne,” she said and then burst into tears, crying uncontrollably.
I took the cellphone from her hand. “Hello.”
“Who the hell is this?”
“Dev Haskell, Wayne. We met last week out on the deck. Remember, you gave me the finger when you drove off, that was right after I helped you into your truck. I saw you the following night at Benny’s. Niles Wegger pushed you into a couple of bar stools before I had a chance to get my hands on you.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re the guy who snuck up, then blindsided me with that board.”
“You mean the guy who opened the door for you when you were trying to break in, then broke your nose, just on general principles.”
“What’s going on over there? Is Bonnie okay?”
“She’s just under a lot of pressure right now and really busy.”
“Then put one of the kids on.”
“They’re all outside playing. Look, if there’s nothing else…”
“Listen, wise-ass, I’ve been pretty patient up till now. I got half a mind…”
“Stop right there, Wayne. You’re absolutely right. You do have half a mind. Unfortunately, it seems to be the pain in the ass half. Please don’t call for a couple of days. Bonnie’s working on a project and doesn’t need the interruption.”
“You can’t tell me…” I disconnected and handed the cellphone back to Bonnie.
“I don’t know, Dev,” Bonnie sniffled. “He’s tried to be really nice ever since you cracked him over the head with that board.”
“Well, there you go. Maybe a half-dozen more therapy sessions like that and he’ll be halfway normal.”
“Maybe,” she said, then slipped the headphones back on.
They continued working, probing, listening, tapping keys and coming up empty-handed over the course of the next three hours. “Let’s break for a moment and put our heads together,” Iggy said, rolling his chair away from a keyboard and into the middle of the room.
Bonnie let off a long sigh, pulled off her headphones and rolled away from the computer. I sort of shook my head in an effort to come fully awake.
“The problem, as I see it, is we give them access tonight and they can embed something we’ll probably never be able to find. That said,” Iggy stared at Bonnie. “We’re going to give them access, your children and your sister are first priority. We all want them back, safe and sound.”
“Can’t you just duplicate this, store it in a closet or something? Let Wegger embed whatever it is and then delete the thing, and you know, use the duplicate program,” I said.
“I think you meant store it in the cloud.”
“If you say so, but wouldn’t that work?”
“It’s a good idea except for one little problem, it won’t work. Wegger will embed his bug in a number of places. Even if we delete it he’ll have it programmed to re-embed. Visualize a hornet just hovering out there somewhere and programmed to sting you the moment you step outside. Now, you can change clothes, wear a disguise, but he’s still going to hover, and no matter how much you disguise yourself, alter your appearance, height, voice, maybe hair color, gait, even your acquaintances, your DNA always remains constant. Which means you’re still going to get stung. Once Wegger obtains access to our systems, he essentially has our program’s DNA. And, therefore, continual access.”
My cellphone rang, it was Luscious. I took the call. “Luscious, what did you find out?”
“The car is in the driveway, it’s that fancy dark green Jaguar, right?”
“Yeah, did you check to see if he was home?”
“I knocked, rang the doorbell, then went around to the back door and knocked. No one answered. When I peeked through the window of the front door there was some mail on the floor, so I’m pretty sure no one’s home. You want me to sneak inside?”
Luscious ‘sneaking’ inside would probably amount to something subtle like a brick thrown through a large picture window. “No, better not, more risk involved for very little benefit. Come on back here and we’ll figure out what we’re going to do next.”
I hung up and looked at Bonnie and Iggy. “I sent Luscious over to check out Wegger’s place.”
“I think Wegger is liable to be a bit more cautious than carrying on like this in his home,” Iggy said.
“I agree, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure. Anyway, Luscious didn’t find anything, no one seems to be home, mail scattered on the floor inside the front door and Wegger’s Jaguar was parked in the driveway.”
“Well, it means he’s not home and he’s not driving his Jaguar. So either he has another vehicle or, at the very least, access to one, and that ups the possibility that he has at least one accomplice.”
“What about his brother, the one who escaped the other night?” Bonnie asked.
“His name is Delmar,” Iggy added.
“I’d say the odds are rather high. Let me make a call to a contact I have at the DMV and check on vehicles registered to the two of them.”
Iggy glanced at his watch. “It’s after four, in less than five hours we’re going to have to let them gain access to our systems.” He sounded more than a little frustrated.
“I just want my babies safe,” Bonnie said, then picked up her phone and clicked it on. It immediately chimed a half-dozen times. “Oh, God, it looks like Wayne has been calling nonstop.”
“Can you get rid of him?” I asked. “We really don’t need any more complications at this stage.”
“I’ll try, I’m sure he just wants to help. After all, they’re his kids too.”
“Bonnie. He doesn’t even know. He hasn’t…”
“I know, I know, it’s just that it’s the only interest he’s ever shown since, well, forever, it’s actually kinda nice, in a Wayne sort of way.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Bonnie was in the process of returning Wayne’s call when the doorbell rang. We all looked at one another.
“Wegger,” Iggy said.
“The kids,” Bonnie said and jumped from her seat.
Morton barked.
“Oh, God, now what,” I groaned.
I was two steps behind Bonnie as she raced up the stairs to the front door. “Bonnie, Bonnie, will you hold on for a minute, wait. We don’t know who it is.” Too late, she pulled the door open just as I reached the top of the stairs.
“Oh. Wayne, it’s just you,” she said, not hiding her disappointment.
“Hey, Baby, you okay? I brought you some pizza, look, your favorite. Sausage with anchovies and plain cheese with extra cheese just for the kids.”
