‘Do you remember what the man said? It could be important. The police here...’ Doug didn’t know what to tell her. That they suspected him of murder? He had just killed a man less than an hour after leaving the Chief’s office, the policeman’s warning not to kill again ringing in his ears. ‘Kate. Involving the police may make matters worse. These people may hurt Johnny, might even kill him if they think you’ve contacted the police.’
Kate’s wet eyes appealed to him. ‘But Chief Lee is a good man. I was with him yesterday. He’s our only hope... I must call him, Doug.’
‘Kate, I met Chief Lee today,’ he ignored the implied question as she frowned at him, ‘and his men are overworked already. They’ve found over thirty bodies of little children buried in some evil man’s mansion grounds. He’s got enough on his plate. Chief Lee may be a good person, a great policeman, but his men aren’t that efficient, and many are corrupt. Who knows who’s involved in this?’
She looked confused. ‘Why did you meet him?’
‘That’s not important and time’s ticking. Can you remember anything else the man said?’
‘He was going to take me to Johnny, to make sure he’d co-operate. They want him for something to do with computers, Doug.’ Her face full of consternation as she realised, ‘They knew he’d hacked into the CIA system for me, for the report on Simm.’ Kate was recovering, thinking things through. She touched her nose, re-opening the cut in her nostril, blood falling in fat drops on to the blanket covering her nakedness. ‘How could they know that?’ Her mood was shifting, the panic now gone, her anger building.
‘What else did he say? He could have been lying about Johnny. Maybe he just wanted to scare you?’
She shook her head to emphasise how sure she was as she said, ‘No. He wanted to hurt me. To rape me.’ She hissed the words at the bedroom. ‘He told me we were going to see Johnny. In his van... It’s parked in the hotel car park. I was supposed to co-operate, not draw attention.’ She shuddered. ‘And then he stuck his fingers in me.’ More tears trickled. ‘Bastard!’
‘Is there a chance they wanted to abduct you so that you couldn’t raise the alarm, tell the police, cause a fuss about Johnny being missing?’ Doug felt guilty for manipulating her like this, but he could not allow her to get Lee here, not now. He watched her face as she thought it through.
‘You could be right. He wanted to check us out of the hotel. Presumably to make sure no one would wonder where we were.’ Her eyes widened in horror. ‘Doug! Your arm!’
The shirt was saturated, deep red, blood seeping through the material. Kate had not even noticed her lover’s knife wound, she had been so intent on the other man – her enemy. ‘Yeah. He cut me. And you.’ Doug caressed the tip of her nose with a tender gesture. ‘You may need a stitch or two.’
‘You need them more I think, but what about him?’ She pressed her thumb and fingers into her eyes, rubbing them as if she could erase the vision of the rapist from her mind. ‘And what are we going to do about Johnny?’ She looked into Doug’s eyes, earnest, worried.
‘I’m not sure, Kate. Let me think.’ Doug went back to Johnny’s room and returned in moments. ‘His computer’s definitely gone, along with mine. Who might want to do this Kate? Think.’
She twisted the edge of the blanket in her hands, mulling things over. ‘Anyone who knew he hacked the CIA would know he could get into just about any system. I’ve dreaded this happening, Doug. That’s why we kept it so quiet. No one really knew, except my boss...’
‘Your boss? He got anything to gain from kidnapping Johnny?’
‘He wouldn’t do it. Couldn’t do it.’ Kate was positive. ‘He must’ve told someone.’ She was boiling with anger as she grabbed the phone. ‘I’m going to call him.’
As Kate dialled and waited to speak to Tandy, Doug took a sheet to the bathroom, tore it into strips and re-bandaged his arm. The cut was deep into the muscle and the bone probably scratched, but no major tendons or arteries were damaged. It hurt like hell though.
‘Charles. It’s Kate.’ She waited while Tandy greeted her then cut off his words. ‘Johnny’s been abducted. The man who took him,’ Kate’s voice caught on the words, the vision of her attacker whirling in her mind, ‘the man told me something only you and Mark know. That Johnny hacked into the CIA for my article on Simm. Who did you tell, Charles?’
Doug could not hear the bluster on the other end of the line but something in his own brain clicked. Simm. It was his computer that was missing, Johnny had hacked the CIA for his file, and now Johnny was being held.
But why?
Could Simm have partners? People desperate to stop anyone discovering their operation?
Kate was arguing with Tandy, her anger threatening to explode. She slammed her phone down on the sofa. ‘He’s going to call me back. He has told someone, a bloody reporter. It could be all over London by now.’ And then the realisation hit her like a punch in the belly. ‘God. It’s probably my fault he was taken.’ Her eyes, wide and beautiful, but far from innocent, searched his face for reassurance. ‘I started this whole thing. Johnny found that CIA report for me. I put him at risk by publishing the story. And I told Tandy it was Johnny who hacked the CIA.’ She put her head down, smothered her face with her hands and wept. ‘It’s all my fault.’
Doug went to her and dropped to his knees as her phone rang. Kate swallowed, answered, listened for a second and put her hand over the mouthpiece. ‘It’s Tandy.’ Then spoke into the phone. ‘What happened? Who did Gus tell?’
Again there was an angry exchange and Kate finished by yelling into the mouthpiece, ‘You bastard!’ before hurling the phone across the room.
‘Well?’
‘His star reporter, Gus bloody Valens, told the MD of SimmpleTravel. God knows who he told. He hates me apparently... I hate me!’ She sobbed again, and Doug hugged her to his chest, could feel her shock and fear, pain and worry, her entire body awash with emotion.
‘SimmpleTravel? The firm Simm owned?’ Doug’s earlier thoughts crystallised. ‘Kate. The laptop that Johnny was working on for me, it belonged to Simm. I... I stole it from him.’ She looked confused as he continued. ‘I work in industrial espionage, you know, extreme company security.’ He didn’t want to lie, but he could not tell her the whole truth, could not admit to the killings. But he had to help her. ‘I think they abducted Johnny to access that computer. It all comes back to Simm.’
‘You stole his laptop?’ She stared at him. ‘Why?’
‘The people who pay me didn’t give a reason, but when Simm died and it came out he was a child molester, I wanted to find out what was on the laptop. I wanted to see if there was any incriminating evidence on the machine or whether it was just full of run of the mill business information. If it was purely for his legitimate travel business then I’d give it to my employers, his competitors. If there’d been evidence of wrongdoing I was going to hand it over to the police, but not until you’d got the story, all the details. I didn’t want a cover up. I explained this to Johnny. It’s why he agreed to help me.’
‘But how would they know Johnny had it if you stole it?’
‘I don’t know.’ Doug sighed. ‘Look. I need to check the dead guy’s pockets, see if there’s anything to help us find Johnny.’ She looked sceptical so he explained. ‘I’ve done this sort of thing before, Kate. Trust me, we’re better off without the police.’
He hoped he was right.
‘What about him?’ She gestured the open door. ‘There’s a corpse in my bedroom!’
‘The maid’s been already today. We can leave him here until we’ve had a chance to search for Johnny, okay? We’ll put a Do not disturb! sign on the door. No one will find him.’ He sounded more confident than he felt.
‘I don’t know.’ Kate fiddled with her nose. It was swollen red, crusted with blood and looked as if it would be sore for days. ‘You really think it best not to call the police?’
‘Let me do what I can this afternoon. If I get nowhe
re, we’ll call Lee this evening. Promise.’ Doug knew if he had nothing to go on by then, he had no chance of ever finding Johnny.
Kate thought about it for a moment and then started to nod. ‘Fine. But I’m coming with you.’
‘No way! I’m best working alone. Really.’
‘In that case I will call Chief Lee and take my chances. I am not sitting on my arse,’ the English pronunciation jarring Doug as she went on, ‘while they do God knows what to my brother.’ Kate strode across the room, picked the phone up off the floor and brandished it at Doug.
He took it from her, kissed her forehead. ‘Okay, okay. No problem. We’re a team. No police until tonight.’
***
‘Agent Rutherford, come in.’
The CIA man sat down at Lee’s desk and dropped a file in front of the policeman. ‘I was right. Brown was familiar.’
‘Really? A known felon?’ Lee reached for the file.
‘No. An agent. One of ours. Er... retired.’
‘Ha!’ Lee leafed through the papers. ‘Douglas Hunter? This is him, no question?’ His eyebrows were raised as he glanced at Rutherford.
‘No question. The prints you sent us confirm absolutely.’
‘According to this file the man is deceased!’ Lee was enjoying himself. Who said the Thai police were inefficient?
‘Our information was obviously inaccurate.’ Rutherford stared impassively despite Lee’s implied criticism.
‘Indeed.’ Lee read on, the silence broken only by the whir of his ceiling fan. ‘Something of a hero, this agent of yours.’ Lee looked up at Rutherford, quizzical.
‘Yes. A brave man. A little disillusioned in the end. Didn’t agree with his orders. One termination too far.’ Rutherford was clearly uncomfortable now. Lee was sure the man did not like discussing other agents with outsiders. A rogue agent was worse.
This one far worse.
‘You are being remarkably frank, Agent Rutherford. I’m surprised you care to share such sensitive information with me.’ Lee was sure the sparse details in Hunter’s file did not tell the whole story.
‘Director’s orders, sir. I was told to give you everything, to make up for my predecessor. And hopefully to ensure continued co-operation. Both ways Chief.’
Lee’s forehead crinkled, trying to follow through the logic. ‘I see. And this man? What do you propose I do? The file suggests his MO is similar to that of our serial killer. I have strong suspicions, but little evidence as yet.’
The analysis of the blood traces on the knife would take time though the tests were being undertaken as they spoke.
‘The Director asked if we could...’ Rutherford seemed to lose confidence, the words hanging in the air.
‘If we could?’
‘If you might allow us to take care of Mr Hunter/Brown.’
‘Take care of him? Another killing on Thai soil? An American citizen who is dead already?’ Lee was sarcastic, but the agent remained deadpan.
‘No sir! Return him to the US for a Court Martial, in camera. No media. No waves.’
‘This,’ he tapped the picture of Doug, the cropped haired individual in the photograph a younger version of the man today, ‘this file says you already took care of him! Not so, Agent Rutherford?’
The agent squirmed. ‘We’d like the opportunity to correct our mistake. We thought it might be possible for you to find an alternative solution. Find another criminal guilty of his crimes. For the media.’
Lee slapped his palm on the file, his humour dissipating. ‘We may have our problems but many of us in the Royal Thai Police force are not corrupt. I would never frame a man for a crime he didn’t commit. You overstep your welcome, Agent Rutherford.’
‘Sorry, Chief Lee. I meant no disrespect. We thought, we hoped, you may find a likely cadaver to pin the blame on. A convicted criminal perhaps? I believe you have several who died this week. The streets are violent. Those who live by the sword...’
‘Ah! I see.’
‘It would allow us all to save face.’ Rutherford was appealing to Lee’s oriental ways and the policeman smiled, nodded his appreciation as the agent went on. ‘The Director has written to your Prime Minister confirming your co-operation and hospitality. Commending your methods and your men. Regardless of the outcome of this conversation, that letter has been sent already.’
‘Most kind.’ Lee acknowledged the favour with a dip of the head. ‘Just one thing.’
‘Yes?’ Rutherford’s face showed concern, expecting the Chief to be awkward.
‘I want this man,’ another tap on the file, ‘out of my country by midnight.’
‘No problem.’ The agent stood and shook hands. ‘It’s been a pleasure working with you, sir.’
Lee watched as the American left, then kicked off his shoes and yawned. His problem was solved. The dilemma of whether to arrest and prosecute Doug Brown, or just allow him to get away, would be resolved by the Americans.
It was, after all, their problem.
It started with Simm. It involved the CIA. It ended with Brown. Americans chasing Americans. He looked up at his overhead fan, thinking, the circle was complete.
Lee had plenty to do following up the leads from Pop’s records, and did not need foreigners breathing down his neck for results, his bosses pestering because of the political implications.
No.
Let the CIA deal with its own.
***
Kate dressed and bathed the blood from her face. She looked a wreck, but she did not register the state she was in. Johnny filled her thoughts. She knew she was to blame. After all, her brother, her kid brother, was just an innocent she had used.
I must find him.
‘Kate! I’ve got his keys, but there’s not much else. No identity card, passport, not even a driving licence. The hallmark of a professional. I just hope there’s something in the van.’ Kate watched as Doug tucked the dead man’s knife into his waistband before he said, ‘I need one of Johnny’s shirts. Okay?’
His own shirt was saturated with blood and Kate found him one of Johnny’s new shirts.
‘How’s your arm? Is that sheet enough to stop the bleeding?’ She inspected it, trying to ignore the corpse near her feet. She could feel Doug’s warmth, smell him again. It helped.
‘It’ll be fine. Let’s go.’
Kate followed as Johnny’s tee shirt, baggy on her brother, rippled, tight to Doug’s muscles, the death’s head logo incongruous on the clean-cut American.
The dead man’s van was easy to find, the key told them it was from a hire company, the logo on the fob identical to the one on the side of the vehicle. Doug flipped the lock and Kate clambered in.
She watched as he riffled through the papers in the glove compartment and side pockets. Her heart sank. It was impossible. ‘Let’s call the police, Doug. They must know how to deal with kidnapping. Surely they wouldn’t endanger Johnny?’
Doug reached up to the sun visor, flicked it and a map dropped into his lap. ‘Look! It must be fate, Kate. I think we’ve got it. This map’s been marked. It’s got to be where they’re keeping Johnny! It’s only thirty or so miles from here.’ Doug cranked the engine and it burst into smokey life.
‘But what will we do when we get there? Christ, they could have an army!’ Kate’s speech tailed off as she saw his murderous look, his eyes slicing into her. She shrank back in fear, then told herself not to be so stupid. It was Doug, not some beast wanting to hurt her.
She was an emotional wreck. Pull yourself together girl.
‘I can do this, Kate. You can wait here, or come with me. Johnny has a better chance with me than the local police.’ His voice was hard. ‘Well?’
Kate wanted to trust him. He had protected her, had killed the man who had tried to harm her. And Chief Lee may not take too kindly to a foreigner killing another man in his city, albeit in defence of her virtue. A police investigation into her rapist’s death would slow things down in the hunt for Johnny. And what if they arrested D
oug?
No. They would deal with the police later. Johnny was the priority.
‘Let’s go. But, if it looks like there’s any chance of Johnny being harmed or if there are too many of them for you to handle, we call the police.’
Doug gunned the motor and the truck bucked out of the car park. ‘I know this area,’ he tapped the map. ‘It’s mostly family farms with a few small businesses dotted around. I guess Johnny’s being held in one of those. There’s lots of distance between buildings and nobody around to see you come or go. Perfect.’
‘And nobody to hear you scream.’ Kate felt sick as she said it. ‘Please God, let him be all right.’
Doug squeezed her knee. ‘They’ve only had him for about twelve hours, at the most. And why come for you if they planned to hurt him anyway? You were their insurance, to make Johnny co-operate. I doubt they’ll hurt him, not if they want him to be on the ball, to use his skills effectively.’
‘Are you just trying to make me feel better?’ She heard the hope, desperation telegraphed in her voice.
‘I won’t lie to you, Kate. These are ruthless people and they’ll use any means they can.’ He fixed her with his gaze as the van waited at traffic lights. ‘And I may have to be ruthless too. Are you prepared for that?’
She could see his eyes full of sadness, or was it remorse? Last night she felt she had connected with him, like they were soulmates. But now?
‘Who are you Doug? What are you?’
‘I’m just... just me, Kate. I was in the US Special Forces, okay. I don’t want to say any more right now.’ His doleful eyes held hers and then concentrated on the road as the lights changed.
‘You’ve killed before? Other people?’ Kate’s overloaded brain was urging her to think straight. Her instincts were jangling a warning.
What?
‘Yes.’ He paused and she could see he was struggling to find the right words. ‘More than I care to remember. I came to Thailand to forget about that part of my life. To start afresh.’ Doug swerved to avoid a maniac driving a motorcycle with three passengers on board. ‘I feel reborn. Like life is worth living. Like my life is worth living.’ He gave her a lopsided grin. ‘I didn’t just find myself. I found you too, Kate.’
The Hack Page 31
