Dead Connection

by Alafair Burke

  “Which he has,” Ellie made clear. “I don’t suppose you still have some magic password you can use to log on to the system?”

  Jason smiled and shook his head. “Sorry. I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that.”

  “I figured you probably would have mentioned it by now.”

  “I’ve got a question,” Flann interjected. “Any idea how someone could get into a woman’s FirstDate e-mails and print one of them out?” Flann explained how they found a FirstDate message that apparently wasn’t printed by the victim. He placed the laptop he was carrying on Jason’s desk and opened it. “This belonged to one of our victims if you want to take a look.”

  “Well, let’s start with the easy stuff. You said you have a list of FirstDate connections, so that means you managed to get into this woman’s account. How’d you do it?”

  Ellie explained how she requested a lost password and answered the so-called security questions on the FirstDate site. Jason nodded.

  “Okay, so there’s one way right there. You knew enough about the victim to have the password sent directly from the Web site provider. A higher tech way to get a password is by stealing a person’s cookies.”

  “English please,” Flann said.

  “A cookie is a tiny piece of data sent from a Web server to a Web browser. So when you use a browser like Internet Explorer to go to a Web site like eBay, eBay sends a cookie to your browser, then it’s stored on your computer so that eBay will recognize you the next time you visit the site from that same computer. What people don’t understand is that computers don’t just hang on to the stuff that you intentionally tell them to save. They also hang on to all kinds of data on a temporary basis. Here, take a look at this.”

  He had logged Amy Davis onto the law firm’s wireless network and then pulled up the popular search engine site Google. He clicked on the empty text box provided for users to type in their Internet search. A menu of text appeared.

  “With just one click on an empty box, we can see all of the different Google searches she ran since the last time she cleared her search history.”

  He scrolled down the alphabetical list. American Idol . Black wedge boots. Cat toys. Dwight Schrute.

  “That information is all stored in the computer temporarily. Same thing with her Internet browser.” He hit a separate button to display Amy Davis’s history on Internet Explorer, then scrolled down to point out all of the Web sites she’d visited recently.

  “You could erase all of this data just by hitting Clear, or by scheduling your computer to do it every day automatically. The same is true with all the cookies that get sent to your computer from Web servers. So what a cookie tracker does is send the victim to a link that’s disguised as a legitimate Web site. But instead of being whatever site it purports to be, the link lets the bad guy steal the cookies off the victim’s computer.”

  “And cookies are worth having?” Ellie asked.

  “Sure, if they contain anything of value to the person who steals them — things like passwords, user names, sites visited, old searches. A good hacker can steal all kinds of information through cookies. Or cookies could be used to create a profile of a person, by monitoring their activities across a number of different Web sites. It’s like someone stalking while you surf.”

  “Can you tell if anyone did that to Amy Davis’s laptop?”

  “No, but a computer like this is a hacker’s best friend. Her privacy levels are low. She hadn’t updated the security on her system for more than a year. It also looks like she was using an unprotected home wireless network to connect to the Internet.”

  “And what does that mean?” McIlroy asked.

  “Half the people in Manhattan do it,” Ellie explained, “including me. Wireless home networks are designed for houses, which means that in a city apartment, you can mooch off your neighbor’s connection and not have to pay for your own.”

  “It also means there’s about fifty different ways someone could have known what Web sites she was going to,” Jason explained. “They also could have gotten into any files she downloaded from the net, including that message.”

  “And with all that clicking around you’re doing there, you can’t tell us which of those methods was most likely?” McIlroy asked.

  “Nope. But what most people fail to realize is that the biggest risk of losing privacy online isn’t from the technological potential of the Internet. It’s carelessness.”

  “What do you mean?” Ellie asked.

  “Like one way for a black hat to get a white hat’s account password is to know them well enough to figure it out. People use birth dates, their kids’ names — amateur stuff. You pulled off a more sophisticated version when you answered all her security questions that backed up her password. Or they can hack it. Super computer nerd stuff. But the black hat could just persuade the white hat to turn it over. A phone call. There’s been a problem with our records,” he said, holding an imaginary telephone to his ear. “It’s possible that someone else has recently changed your password. We need you to verify your account information.”

  “So the idea is to scare the person with a threat that doesn’t really exist, so they suddenly trust this stranger on the phone,” Ellie said.

  “Precisely. Now imagine doing it not with a phone call, but with an e-mail sent to thousands of potential victims at one time. That’s what they call phishing.”

  “I bet the fraud unit sees cases like that all the time,” Flann added. “Why go for an e-mail password when you can say you’re American Express and need to verify the customer’s account number? It’s a very simple con.”

  “Exactly,” Jason said. “But the technology provides the incentive. The black hats can hit thousands of potential marks with a single e-mail. The stolen credit card numbers can be used to wire money to a Western Union, where it’s picked up using a fake ID.”

  Ellie knew that the profitability of identity theft had created a vast market for the sale and purchase of personal information. “So the same simple tricks people use for identity theft could’ve been used by our guy to access a victim’s FirstDate account,” Ellie said.

  “Yep. Or, like I said, it could be super low tech if her password was obvious.” Jason shut down Amy Davis’s computer and handed it to Flann. “At first I thought you meant someone was using FirstDate to find women, like a big search engine. But if he was actually snooping through her account — I’m not a psychologist, but isn’t that, you know, sort of obsessive?”

  “That’s what we thought,” Ellie said. “Not just killing, but stalking first.”

  “If that’s the case, he probably did a lot more than read a few of her e-mails. Do you have any idea how much you can learn about a person without ever leaving your office? Even here,” Jason said, “the attorneys ask me to do research on opposing parties all the time. I can pull up a person’s divorce records, income levels, real estate transactions, an entire life picture. Pretty helpful stuff when you’re trying to figure out how deep a person’s pockets are or where they’re hiding money. And it’s all publicly available, thanks to data-mining companies that aggregate information from the public domain and pop it up on the Internet for all to see. Now imagine if someone with competent hacking skills decided to break the rules.”

  DOWN IN THE MARBLE lobby, men and women in thousand-dollar suits bustled through at fast clips to make the elevator, Starbucks cups in hand. Corporate types were always in a hurry, Ellie thought, but they always seemed to have time to stand in line for a five-dollar cup of coffee. Once they made it through the crowd, Ellie asked Flann about his visit to Mark Stern.

  “He was actually cooperative. I told him how we connected Tatiana Chekova to Caroline Hunter through ballistics. He immediately saw why we’d want to know if she was a customer. I watched over his shoulder while he checked, and, unfortunately, Tatiana’s name was nowhere in the system. He double-checked by calling accounting to see if anyone named Chekova had ever been billed by them. Nothing. He looked
pretty relieved.”

  “So where does that leave us?” Ellie asked. If Stern was relieved, it meant he was even more convinced that FirstDate was unrelated to the murders. She was having some real doubts about their theory as well.

  “Same place we were before. We keep working all the angles and hope something breaks.”

  “On that note, I’ve got real names for both Taylor and Mr. Right.”

  “How’d you manage that?”

  “They both sent me phone numbers.”

  “Jesus, it really is easier for women, isn’t it?”

  Ellie removed a small notepad from her handbag. “I ran the numbers through the reverse directory, and voilà. Mr. Right’s real name is Rick Newton.” He was the one Ellie thought of as dirty birdy, so fond of double entendre. “He’s got a drunk and disorderly three years ago at a bar in Tribeca. I took the liberty of calling him. I told him it was about some found property. He’s coming into the station this afternoon.”

  “And Taylor?”

  “Taylor Gottman. Two different women have obtained restraining orders against him in the last five years.”

  “Ding ding ding,” Flann said, touching the tip of his nose.

  “No arrests, but he’s definitely interesting. Him, I think we need to surprise.”

  Flann stole a glance at his watch. “No time like the present.”

  “Sounds good.”

  On the way out of the building, Ellie pulled on her gloves and looped her scarf around her face.

  “Doggone it,” Flann said, patting the pockets of his coat. “I left my gloves upstairs.” He headed in the direction of the elevators. “I’ll be right back. Can you do me a favor? I don’t want to waste the rest of the day trying to find this guy Taylor. Call his cell, make up some story, and figure out where he is?”

  “I’m supposed to do all that while you go fetch your gloves? Maybe I’ll get myself a manicure while I’m at it.”

  “See the confidence I have in you,” Flann said, his ruddy face beaming. “Oh, and, no pressure, but my lieutenant called. He wants a briefing this afternoon so we’d better nail down something soon.”

  Right, Ellie thought, flipping open her phone. No pressure.

  “MAY I PLEASE speak with Mr. Gottman?” Ellie had dialed the number Taylor Gottman had e-mailed to the woman he knew as DB990.

  “This is him.”

  Ellie fingered Jason Upton’s Larkin, Baker & Howry business card. “This is Larkin Baker calling from CellularOne. Can you please verify your home address and telephone number for identification purposes?”

  “What is this about?”

  “There’s been some recent activity on your cellular account that we need to confirm for security purposes. Can you please verify the address and home telephone number on the account?”

  Taylor rattled off a Brooklyn street address and a 718 area code number.

  “And can I get a work number for you while I have you on the line?”

  He recited a 212 number that she added to her notes.

  “Okay. And in the event we’re disconnected, is the work number where I can reach you now? Great.” She circled Gottman’s office number. “I’m calling because we recently received a request to add cellular telephone insurance to this account. Was that request made by you?”

  “No, it wasn’t,” Taylor said, sounding alarmed. “I don’t even know what that is.”

  “All right. There’s no need for concern. That’s why we make these phone calls, to make sure there’s no fraudulent activity on the account.”

  “Fraud? Someone’s using my phone?”

  “No, sir. Everything’s fine. The insurance covers the replacement of your telephone in the event that it is lost or stolen. Unfortunately, some people have been adding insurance to accounts, then making claims in our branch stores for very expensive telephones. Now we call customers to ensure that the insurance and any claims are authentic. Since we caught it up front, there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Okay. I guess I should be grateful you guys are on top of it.”

  “We try our best,” Ellie said, hitting the end button on her phone. A quick call to the precinct for a reverse phone directory search of Taylor Gottman’s work number yielded a Midtown address. She was clicking her phone shut as Flann emerged from the elevator with his gloves on.

  “We ready to roll?” he asked optimistically.

  “Taylor Gottman’s office is six blocks from here.”

  17

  SMO MEDIA OCCUPIED FOUR FLOORS OF A MIDSIZE OFFICE tower at Forty-ninth and Lexington. The marketing firm’s receptionist was a young lithe brunette with full lips and flawless skin — undoubtedly an aspiring model when she wasn’t wearing that headset. She was squinting at Ellie and Flann, polite but clearly confused.

  “I’m sorry, who is it you’re looking for?” A well-polished fingernail ran again down the pages of names on the desk in front of her.

  “Taylor Gottman,” Flann said.

  “Do you know what department he’s in?”

  The man’s FirstDate profile described his job as “marketing/advertising/other” and his annual income as more than one hundred thousand dollars. “We’re pretty sure he’s one of the marketing or advertising executives,” Ellie said.

  The receptionist’s big green eyes roamed the phone list again as she shook her head bewilderedly. “No. I’m sorry. I don’t see him here. You’re sure he works here? SMO? You know, there are a bunch of other marketing groups in this building.”

  Damnit. Had Taylor been tipped off by Ellie’s phone call? No way, Ellie thought. No way did he pull a phone number of another marketing company out of his ass like that.

  Ellie pulled a small notebook from her jacket pocket and looked at the notes she had taken from Taylor’s profile. “He’s five eleven. Brown hair, brown eyes.” She tried to recall the online photograph. “Sort of short hair. Thin face.”

  The receptionist shrugged her shoulders, and Ellie realized her description was no better than the junk she usually got from eyewitnesses.

  “Do you have Internet access on that?” Ellie asked, gesturing to the flat-screen computer panel in front of the receptionist.

  “Of course,” the receptionist jiggled the mouse on her desk and the Web site for Entertainment Weekly appeared on her screen.

  “May I?” Ellie asked, already stepping behind the desk. She logged on to the FirstDate Web site, clicked on her connections, and pointed to a photograph of Taylor. “Does this man look familiar?”

  “Um, I’m not sure.” The model moved her face closer to the screen and looked again. “Oh my god. Is that…the mail room guy?”

  “What mail room guy?”

  “Some creepy guy who works in the mail room. I don’t know his name. He stares at me when he’s up here. A couple of times he noticed me catch him at it. He apologized, but then told me how pretty I was.”

  “That sounds like our guy. Do you know where we can find him?”

  She gave them directions to the mail room two floors down and pointed the way to the stairs.

  “The mail room, huh?” Flann said on the way down. “Last I heard, that wasn’t a six-figure job.”

  Ellie feigned shock and fanned herself like a southern belle. “Oh my lawd. Call the papers. A man lied about his income.”

  They found their way to a large room in the back corner, where a bulky man sat at the front counter, placing labels on a series of envelopes.

  “Can I help you?”

  Ellie scanned the office and saw a man resembling Taylor sorting manila interoffice envelopes into folders hanging from a file cart. She shifted her jacket, revealing the NYPD badge clipped at her waist.

  “We’re looking for Taylor Gottman. Is that him?” She nodded her head toward the back of the room, and the big man’s gaze followed hers.

  “Yeah. What’d he do?”

  Ellie noticed the response. Is everything all right? Did something happen? That’s what she was used to from empl
oyers, coworkers, neighbors — people who knew the suspect. But not with Taylor Gottman. What’d he do?

  “Absolutely nothing,” she said confidently. “We’re just here about some unauthorized activity reported on his cellular account. We’ll need him to file a report.”

  “Yo, Taylor. Cops for you.” Taylor and his four coworkers all turned in response to the man’s big voice. “Something about your cell phone.”

  Taylor Gottman was tall and thin with short brown hair, full lips, and pale, smooth skin. As he made his way over, Ellie noticed he had an effeminate walk.

  “Someone from the company just called me twenty minutes ago. I didn’t even call the police.”

  “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?” Flann asked.

  Taylor looked uncertainly at the beefy guy with the big voice, who in turn looked at the watch on his thick wrist.

  “Go ahead and take your fifteen,” the man said.

  Taylor led the way to a break room down the hallway. A frumpy woman sat at the only table in the small room, eating a Butterfinger and reading a paperback romance novel. “Excuse me,” Ellie said. The woman’s eyes didn’t leave her book. “Ma’am? Hello? Excuse me.”

  Finally, at least a visual acknowledgment of their presence. “We’re police. We need to take a crime report from this gentleman. I hate to interrupt you, but could you give us some privacy?”

  The woman pushed some yellow Butterfinger crust into her mouth as she considered the request. “My break’s over anyway,” she acquiesced, glancing at the clock. She read a moment more, then tucked a bookmark neatly into the novel.