by Al Boudreau
“He did.”
“Okay, then I guess I don’t understand your confusion. That hot-rod of yours can only get up to about 45 miles an hour, and that’s going downhill. They won’t be here for at least another fifteen minutes.”
“Aw, screw you, James,” I said with a smile, thankful for his efforts to keep my spirits up. No sooner had the words left my mouth when I spotted Brian and Shin approaching from the opposite direction.
James pointed toward the oncoming Buick. “Wow, they must have caught a heck of a tailwind.”
I nodded, only half-hearing his latest jab. My heart demanded the better part of my attention now, hammering away in my chest as I considered the possibility that the pair may have found Sarah. Their arrival was a ray of hope in an otherwise torturous series of false starts.
I jumped out of the cruiser before James came to a full stop and waved Brian down. He spotted me and maneuvered into a tight parking spot. He flung the driver’s door open, crashing it into the sheet metal of another vehicle. I normally would have made some light-hearted comment about the gaffe, but became distracted by the young man I assumed was Brian’s friend, Shin. I’d expected the kid to be of Asian descent. What I hadn’t expected was his height. The kid had to be 6’- 6, standing a full foot taller than Brian.
The pair had both back doors of my car opened now, and appeared to be gathering enough hardware to stage a rock concert.
James jogged over. “Here, let me help you guys with some of that. All of these gadgets going inside?”
Brian nodded. “Shin thought we should bring the entire set-up, just in case my mom was moved while we were on our way here from MIT.”
“Good thinking, guys.” I walked around the back of the car to the other side. “Shin, my name’s Carter. I want to thank you for your help.”
He offered a brief nod as he handed me a few crude pieces of cobbled-together electronics.
My heart sank. The collection of repurposed cases, stacked circuit boards, and rainbow of color-keyed wires looked more like a load headed for an electronics recycling center than the components of a cutting-edge crime fighting system.
I kept my mouth shut.
James caught my eye and gave me a look. I shrugged and headed toward the building. “Carter, we’ll set up in the conference room.”
One of James’s fellow detectives was ending his shift and making his way out to the lot as we approached. “Hi, Carter. Go ahead in, I’ve got the door.” He raised his eyebrows as we passed by carrying Shin’s electronic version of an Erector set.
As we marched down the hall, I saw Chief Goodhue look up from his desk. By the time I set my share of the load on the table, he’d joined us.
“Quite a collection,” he said, coffee mug in hand.
Shin looked at the chief. “Excuse me, is there a port anywhere in this room to connect to your agency’s mainframe?”
The chief made his way over to a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, unlocked it, and pointed. “This what you’re looking for?”
Shin nodded.
I was tempted to ask how this whole hodge-podge of gadgetry worked, but wasn’t sure if I’d understand a word of the explanation. Nor did I want to slow the process down, as Shin was connecting, plugging, and stacking like a man possessed.
The chief, on the other hand, seemed to have no such reservations. “So, Shin, my guess is you’re utilizing some type of voice-analysis program to run IP packets through, in order to locate a match for a known vocal entity.”
I noticed Shin slow down slightly and flash the chief a sly smile. “Correct. My system can tap into various mainframes by any protocol I choose, then analyze up to 96 gigabits of IP packets per second. I’m getting live feeds from smart phones, smart TVs, VoIP calls, laptops, tablets, you name it. Once my technology locks onto a match for any given input, it runs a trace process to pinpoint the location of that person’s last vocal output. And if it coincides with real-time audio it will indicate that, too.”
Chief Goodhue smiled and nodded his head with the enthusiasm of a teenager conversing with a rock star. “Nicely done, son. Very impressive.”
James gave me a look and threw his hands in the air. From my perspective, the kid might just as well have been speaking in tongues. It was well beyond my level of understanding despite being pretty good with gadgets. But none of the how really mattered. I just wanted it to work.
I just wanted to find Sarah.
“Shin,” James said, “what’s the address of the last location where you heard Sarah’s voice?”
Shin reached inside his pocket and handed a piece of paper to Brian, who read out loud, “115 Sentinel Avenue. How much longer before we’re up and running, Shin?”
Shin flipped several switches on, opened up his laptop, and tapped a few keys. “We’re on.”
Everyone in the room gathered over Shin’s shoulder as his laptop scrolled line after line of code. Roughly ten seconds passed when the scrolling ceased and nothing but a flashing cursor remained. Shin entered a line of commands and the computer began scrolling again. Another ten seconds, another flashing cursor. Shin shifted in his chair and glanced over his shoulder. “This cabin’s QT.”
We all looked at one another. Brian picked up on our confusion. “The place is quiet. They’re gone.”
The chief tapped James on the shoulder, then tipped his head toward the hallway. “You, too, Carter.”
I followed the pair down the hall to the chief’s office.
James was the first to speak. “What do you think, Chief?”
“The kid’s legit. I kept a close eye on that computer screen. I can’t say I understood every line of that code he wrote to make his system work, but the parts I did manage to comprehend are nothing short of remarkable. That system’s going to be a game-changer.”
“What does that mean for us right now?” I asked, feeling more than a little impatient.
“What does it mean? It means we need to roll. If Shin says Sarah was there, then I believe she was there.”
James backhanded me in the solar plexus. “Let’s go.”
“Meet you outside. I need to let the boys know what we’re up to.” I jogged down the hallway to the conference room and stuck my head inside. “Fellas, we’re headed to Sentinel Village. Can you two stay here and monitor your system? Maybe let me know if you get any new hits?”
“C’mon, Carter, no way. I want to go with you.”
“I can’t let you do that, Brian. It’s not safe. Besides, you need to stay here and help Shin.” I realized just how ridiculous that last line sounded as soon as it left my mouth. No doubt Brian did, too. He shot me a rotten look but made no effort to follow me out of the building.
I climbed in James’s unmarked cruiser. He was on the gas and on the radio before I could even get my door closed.
“All available units. Possible 10-31, 115 Sentinel Ave.”
I’d been in some high-speed situations, both during my career as a Boston cop, and as a passenger in James’s cruiser, but I’d never experienced a ride quite like this one. I’d been fighting for the past several hours to keep my eyes open, but now I was wondering if my eyeballs were going to come flying out of my head. My head was pivoting back and forth like a windsock in a hurricane as I did my best to call out potential targets that might get in our way as we sped toward Sentinel Village.
We rolled up to find two cruisers already on scene. “Carter, please stay put.” James jumped out and took cover behind the cruiser closest to the building. Words were exchanged between the patrolmen, then, guns drawn, James and the two other officers ran toward the house, regrouping alongside the front door.
My attention was diverted from the police action by a jaw-dropping sound – one I hadn’t heard in days. The distinct ringtone I’d assigned to Sarah’s cell number.
I fumbled with the lining of my jacket to pull my phone out of the deep inner pocket, trying desperately to believe I wasn’t dreaming.
“Sarah?”
&nbs
p; Chapter 18
Time stood still as I listened for Sarah’s voice, a sound, anything to tell me she was alive and well.
“Sarah, are you there? Hello?” The sound I heard next made my heart sink: it was the ka-Chink noise my phone always made when a call was disconnected. I called her back. The call connected, then went straight to voicemail. Just like it had done the last two dozen times I’d tried to reach her.
I looked out the windshield of James’s cruiser toward the house and noticed they’d breached the entrance and were nowhere in sight. I had to assume they were doing a thorough search of the interior of the place. I reached for my handgun and was about to head toward the house when my phone rang again. Sarah’s son.
“Brian?”
“Carter, it’s me. It’s Sarah.”
“Sarah? Wha … where are you? Are you safe?”
“I’m outside the Bridgeport PD with Brian and his friend, Shin. I tried to call you several times, but my phone is acting all screwy. Then I got a call from Brian. He said he was at the police station, so I had the guy drop me off here.”
“What guy? Who dropped you off?”
“The taxi driver. I flagged him down in front of the drug store. Where the FBI cut me loose.”
“The FBI?”
“Yes, they told me ... wait, where are you? Brian said you’d left here in a hurry with Detective James to look for me in Sentinel Village.”
“We’re still in the village. Is that where you were being held?”
“Being held? They said it was a safe house. And that I needed to stay there for my protection after they rescued me from that crazy Webber dude’s house.”
“Okay, that makes no sense, whatsoever. We can discuss this when I get there. I’m just glad you’re safe. Please stay where you are, but inside the station. We’ll be there shortly.”
“Okay. I’ll be here.”
“Sarah?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too. Now quit screwing around and get here, will you?”
I ended the call and let go an epic sigh of relief just as I saw James emerge from 115 Sentinel. I swung the passenger door wide and climbed out. “Sarah’s free. She’s okay. She’s back at the station.”
James’s jaw dropped open. “What? How?” He broke into a sprint toward the vehicle.
“She didn’t go into detail, but said the FBI had her. Told her she was in a safe house.”
“Here?” James asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think that’s what she was saying.”
“Carter, the Bureau has no safe houses in Bridgeport. None. And if they did it certainly wouldn’t be located in Sentinel Village.”
“Detective,” one of the cops yelled out. As he approached I noticed he was carrying a black article of clothing. “I found this in one of the bedrooms. It was stuck between the edge of the bed and the wall.”
“That’s Sarah’s hoodie,” I said. “It’s the one I brought to the hospital for her to wear home.”
“Well, one thing is for sure,” James said, “Shin’s stack of black boxes work like a charm.”
That particular fact hadn’t occurred to me until James brought it up. “No kidding. I was probably the most skeptical out of anyone who witnessed Shin’s Hail Mary, but the kid nailed it.”
“Hey Carter, I hate to break it to you, but you were the only person who thought it was a Hail Mary.”
I rolled my eyes at James. “Yeah, okay. Can we head back to the station now? I’d really like to see Sarah.”
“Of course. Just let me give my guys their marching orders for this scene. Be right back.”
I got back in the cruiser and let my head fall against the seatback. What was the likelihood the FBI was the entity responsible for Sarah’s disappearing act over the past couple of days? It just wasn’t adding up for me. Surely they would have reached out to local authorities, if not immediate family.
James made his way across the street and climbed in. “Well, it appears as though whoever was holding Sarah left in a hurry. Lots of prints, as well as DNA evidence on utensils, glasses, et cetera, et cetera.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time believing this was an FBI action.”
“No way,” James replied. “Say what you want about the feds, but they don’t operate like a bunch of amateurs. They would have notified someone that they were holding Sarah.”
“Great minds think alike,” I replied.
“Let’s get back to the station,” James said. “I’m interested to hear what Sarah has to say.”
Chapter 19
I was anxious to see Sarah – and nearly as excited to see my pillow – but knew I was a country mile away from getting any down time. Sarah would need to provide a detailed statement concerning the hours between when she was taken from the hospital and when she showed up at Bridgeport PD. She’d also be questioned about the death of Mike Webber.
I could put up a stink and have some of the time-consuming parts delayed until we both got some much-needed rest, but after all of the effort Detective James and Chief Goodhue had put forth, I didn’t want to come across as ungrateful.
“You’re awful quiet over there, Hoss,” James said.
“I’m just glad the worst part’s over.”
“Yeah, you’re lucky. A few questions for Sarah and you two will be home free. Me, on the other hand ... well, my fun is just beginning.”
“I’m not going to volunteer to help you file your reports, but I have every intention of helping the department get to the bottom of this mystery. In fact, you couldn’t stop me if you wanted to.”
“Glad to hear it, Carter, because your help is just what we’re going to need. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but now that Sarah is safe and accounted for, I suspect the Carter Peterson I rely on to help crack our toughest cases will return. After some well-deserved sleep, that is.”
“No doubt my abilities were somewhat compromised by Sarah’s abduction. And I still say it was an abduction. So, yeah, a little nap time and I’ll be back. Back to prove my hunch has teeth.”
James pulled into the department’s lot and parked. “Promise me something, Carter. No funny business when you see Sarah. Remember, this is a public place.”
I laughed as I recalled a comment James had made a few weeks prior about my apparent lack of public affection toward Sarah. “Right. I’ll try to contain myself until I get her home.”
We entered the building to find Sarah, Brian, Shin, and Chief Goodhue seated around the conference room table, Shin’s amazing contraption still assembled front and center.
I stopped and looked Sarah up and down, my eyes barely believing she was here, safe and secure. She appeared remarkably put together, her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, her clothing as neat and tidy as it would have been if we were going out on the town. I was as pleased as I was confused. Aside from her arm being supported by a sling, she looked as if nothing had happened to her at all.
Sarah got up when she saw us and wrapped her good arm around me. “Hi, handsome.” She tipped her head back to look at my face. “Carter, I’m so sorry for what you had to go through. The boys filled me in about your search for me. It never occurred to me that the FBI would neglect to tell you I was okay.”
I saw James look at me, then at the chief. “What’s your take on this whole FBI theory, Chief?”
“We haven’t discussed any of that yet,” he replied. “I wanted to give Sarah a little time with her son before we got into it. And I thought you two should be here.”
Sarah picked up on the chief’s subtle hint. “Brian, I suggest you and Shin go grab some lunch. It’s on me, for all of your hard work.”
I watched Sarah look around for her bag. Her expression told me she’d just remembered she didn’t have her purse with her.
“Here, Brian, let me give you some cash.”
“Thanks, Carter,” she said.
Brian grabbed the fifty.
“Yeah, thanks, Carter. Can we spend it all?”
“Sure thing. You two earned it. And then some.”
Brian punched Shin in the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
We waited for the pair to disappear down the hall before we got into it.
“Can you believe that young kid was able to craft this crazy gizmo, then use it to find me?” Sarah asked, pointing to the stack of components on the table.
“That boy is going to be a multi-millionaire,” Chief Goodhue said. “That’s some real genius at work.”
“Sarah, that brings up an interesting question,” James said. “What prompted the men who were holding you to let you go?”
“Well … they had a lot of computer equipment in that house with them. A few hours ago I heard one of them say that our location had been compromised. And in talking to the boys the timing seems to be in line with when Shin discovered where I was.”
I had so many questions and couldn’t hold my tongue. “Sarah, how did Mike Webber take you from the hospital?”
“All I remember is being in the bathroom putting on my makeup when someone grabbed me from behind and held a rag across my face. Next thing I knew I was regaining consciousness in Webber’s van.”
“Did he explain why he’d abducted you?” I asked.
“To be honest I had no idea who he was at first,” Sarah said. “He must have told me three or four times that his wife was innocent, so I asked who he was and what he hoped to gain by kidnapping me. That’s when he told me Rachel Webber was his wife, and that kidnapping me was part of an agreement he’d made in order to clear her name.”
“Agreement with whom?” James asked.
“He never revealed that information to me.”
“What’s going on with your injury?” I asked. “Are you in pain?”
“Actually, I feel pretty good. One of the men at the house went to the hospital and somehow got hold of the medication I’d been prescribed.”
James made some notes in his booklet. “I’ll pay a visit to the head of security at Bridgeport Hospital and see if they might have captured this guy on any surveillance videos.”
