The Gauntlet Assassin

by L. J. Sellers

  Her euphoria fading, she nodded at her competitors and crossed the lobby, scanning in both directions for the blond man. Outside, she caught a shuttle back to the hotel. Alone in the van except for the driver, she drank a can of ProFast and planned her next move. She had free time until the Battle tournament started in the morning and decided she’d better look at the footage in the auditorium where she’d seen the shooter.

  At the hotel desk, she asked the clerk to contact Thaddeus Morton. Lara figured he had to have a suite or office at the hotel during the competition. After a moment, the clerk wrote something down and handed her a small piece of paper. Lara read: Suite 440, at the end of the hall on the fourth floor. Be discreet.

  Of course. He didn’t want other contestants to see her enter his office. If she won, it would look bad. Lara took the elevator to the fourth floor, found the hallway empty, and hurried to the commissioner’s suite, which was three rooms away from hers.

  She started to knock, then heard a soft click and the door came open. Glancing up, she saw the security camera.

  Morton was seated at a large desk in what looked like a luxury apartment. “I’ve been expecting you.” He motioned for her to sit at a smaller desk nearby. “Congratulations on your excellent performance in the Puzzle. I don’t usually watch the footage unless I need to make judgments, but I wanted to see if you’d still be here tomorrow.”

  It wasn’t necessary to witness her efforts in the cube to learn her outcome, and Lara was surprised by his personal interest. “Thank you. I’m starting to feel optimistic about winning this thing. Provided I don’t get killed first.”

  “I was hoping you’d fail today, get on a plane, and go home. It would make my life simpler.” The commissioner leaned back in his chair. “You’re here to look at security footage?” He gestured toward the smaller desk.

  “We need to find this guy.” Lara sat down at the NetCom and tapped the fingerpad. “Has he come after you again or contacted you?”

  Morton shook his head. “I really don’t think he’ll be back.” He reached for the control pad. “I’m sending you the video section the security staff isolated for us.” A few seconds later, an icon appeared on her screen. “That’s the footage of the orientation,” he added.

  Lara opened the file and saw the front of the auditorium. “I need the footage from the camera aimed at the back of the room.”

  “Fine. I’ll send the whole folder. I asked for two-hour sections, so you’ll have to skim through the beginning.”

  A small blue folder appeared on her screen. Lara opened the file marked Camera 3 and started a video clip. The auditorium was clearly empty, so she fast-forwarded to the point where a service worker opened the doors at the back of the room. From there, she skimmed until the first contestants started filing in, then slowed it down and watched in regular time. After twenty minutes, she saw herself come into the room, look around, and take a seat near the back. Watching herself was a little creepy, and she was glad to move on. Some of the contestants came in pairs, roommates likely, but most were alone. The media people were easy to spot with their Docks and shoulder cameras.

  The room had nearly filled, and the audience turned to face forward, as if someone had taken the stage. A moment later, she spotted the guy. A shaggy-blond man in blue slacks and a gray sweatshirt slipped in. He hung in the back instead of looking for a seat. A minute later, the service worker closed the doors.

  Lara zoomed in on the guy and the image went blurry. He had the same build as the man she’d seen in the driveway at the commissioner’s house in Eugene and the same dirty-blond hair, parted in the middle and tucked behind his ears. Generally, the shape and color of his face looked similar too, but she couldn’t make a positive ID because she hadn’t seen the shooter’s face clearly, and this image wasn’t in focus.

  She panned out and watched the footage as he stood in the back, listening to the speaker. After a few minutes, the man took a seat. Lara zipped the clip forward through twenty minutes of the commissioner’s presentation. Blondie stood, so she slowed the speed and watched in real time and he walked to the wall and leaned against it.

  Moments later, she watched herself rise and head for the doors. Blondie saw her coming, did a startled double take, and charged for the exit. Lara was now certain he hadn’t followed her into the room. He’d gone there to hear Thaddeus Morton and had been surprised to see her, the witness at his earlier crime.

  “Come look at this guy.” She reversed the clip while the commissioner walked over. She stopped it at the point where Blondie stood near the end of the speech. “Is this the man who shot you?”

  “Sure looks like him. Not many men wear their hair like that.”

  “You’re right.” Lara zoomed in again. “You know what? I think it’s a wig.”

  “You might be right.” The commissioner squinted at the monitor. “Do you suppose his mustache is fake too?”

  “I’m starting to think so.” Lara turned to Morton. “Can you visualize him with shorter hair and clean-shaven? Could he be someone you know?”

  “Without the hair, he seems vaguely familiar.”

  Lara selected Tools, clipped the frame, and saved it as a separate file. She sent the image to her iCom number and turned to Morton. “If we took this to the police, they have software programs that generate and modify a suspect’s looks.”

  “No.” Morton’s jaw tightened. “It’s too late now. I have political enemies who would use the scandal to run me out of office. Besides, the police rarely solve anything. They don’t have the resources.”

  “Could your political enemies be behind this?” Lara had to look at every possibility; it was the way she’d been trained.

  Morton rolled his eyes. “Shooting me in broad daylight doesn’t seem like their style.”

  “Could they have hired someone?”

  “It’s possible but unlikely. Remember, Kirsten was killed too. I think this guy might be insane.”

  “Why target you?”

  “I don’t know. It may be related to the Gauntlet. Some people take it way too seriously.”

  “You mean like that group from Iowa last year?”

  “Exactly.”

  Lara remembered the news story. Four men in their late twenties had been watching the Challenge in a bar and became infuriated when the Iowa contestant was given obstacles to overcome that his competitor had not faced. They’d gone berserk, smashing up tables in the bar, then stormed outside to overturn a car. They were on the freeway to Indiana when state police stopped them. The talking media heads had speculated the enraged men might have killed the first Indiana resident they came to if they hadn’t been apprehended.

  “That was a bunch of idiot drunks. This guy seems focused and determined.”

  “Do you still plan to run his image through the criminal database?”

  “Of course.”

  The commissioner’s iCom beeped, so he stepped away. After a moment, he turned to Lara. “I’m taking this in the other room and I’ll be a while. After you get what you need, just let yourself out.” He headed for what she assumed was a bedroom.

  Lara saved a second clip with just Blondie’s face and sent it to the NetCom in her hotel room. She remembered the hotel manager had sent a file of the hallway footage to Morton. She scanned through the rest of the folder but didn’t see a video file labeled hotel or anything similar. Wondering if it was on Morton’s Dock, Lara glanced at the bedroom door and considered interrupting the commissioner to ask. He’d said he would be a while. She hated to wait and she didn’t want to have to come back for it either.

  Lara moved quickly to the big desk where Morton had left his Dock. She would do a quick search for the hotel footage, then ask for it at the front desk if she didn’t find it. Not a single file appeared on his screen. Morton guarded his information. She was curious about the commissioner and skeptical of his denial of knowing who Blondie was. She decided to conduct a quick scan of his files. As a detective she’d searched a
few devices and had learned from reformed hackers how to find and screen a directory.

  She narrowed her search to just video files and was surprised to see a folder marked game room that had 422 files in it. The folder was password locked, piquing her curiosity, but clearly not what she was looking for. Lara moved on but didn’t see any files labeled hotel or hallway footage. She heard Morton’s voice near the bedroom door and quickly closed the search window.

  As she scooted back to the small desk, he stepped out of the bedroom. “I have to get my Dock. Were you leaving?”

  “Yes. Thanks for your help.” Lara grabbed her bag and headed out.

  Downstairs, she entered the hallway near the front desk and found her way to the manager’s office. A different woman was there today.

  “I’m Lara Evans, one of the contestants.”

  “Yes, I recognize you. I’m Alena Brown, assistant manager. What can I do for you?”

  “I need to look at the security footage from the hallway the night of the murder.” Lara took a seat. “The manager last night said she’d send me the clip but I didn’t get it.”

  “I’ll text Lindsey for permission.” The assistant manager relayed the request into her iCom. She looked over at Lara. “It might take her a while to get back to me.”

  “I’ll wait.” Lara figured her presence in the office would ensure some follow-through. She pulled her Dock from her bag and tried to get online to catch up on the news, but her internet access was blocked. Of course. That’s how they kept contestants from watching the coverage on personal devices…and why the contestants and media people were the only guests in the hotel.

  She opened an e-book she’d been reading called Supercharged Calories. Essentially, it was about staying healthy on a minimum caloric intake. Lara found it difficult to focus on nutrition. She closed the file, clicked her notepad, and started a list of what she could do to investigate Kirsten’s homicide: 1) Upload Blondie’s image to CODIS and run a comparison match; 2) Show the image to everyone who worked the desk at the hotel and see if he was staying there; 3) Dig deeper into Morton’s background to see if he had any enemies he didn’t want to name.

  Alena’s iCom beeped and she read her message. “The boss says to let you see the file. She already sent a copy to the police.”

  “Thanks.” Lara recited her iCom number, which functioned as a central messaging point for everything. The file would also appear in her message center on her NetCom back in Eugene.

  “Are you working with the police to catch the killer?” the manager asked.

  “Yes.” It was the easiest thing to say. As she left the office, Lara thought about Detective Harper. Had he seen the footage from the hotel? Would he come back to ask more questions? She hated keeping the whole truth from him.

  She took the stairs to her new room on the fourth floor and made a protein shake. At the desk, she downloaded the file where she could view it on the large screen. At first, the camera showed empty hallway with muted colors and a slight telescopic rounding at the edges. After ten minutes, a man came into view. He was about five-ten and wore dark slacks and a gray sweatshirt like the guy in the auditorium. His hood was pulled up over his head and he wore sunglasses, like someone who didn’t want to be recognized. As he came toward the camera, the man turned his head and quickly walked out of view. Lara watched the clip for another few minutes, then it abruptly ended.

  She backed it up and observed it again, looking for details. The man walked with a normal gait, no limp or injuries that she could tell. He wore black athletic shoes and slacks, like someone who worked in an office. His torso was longer than average, leaving him short squatty legs. The light-gray sweatshirt was partly zipped, showing a white shirt underneath, maybe a t-shirt. Had the police viewed this footage yet? If so, why was she still wearing the damn ankle monitor?

  Lara froze the clip just as he was about to turn away and studied the image for markings. Overall, his face was small and square with an average Caucasian nose and a small mouth. Pale skin with no freckles and no sun damage. His strong chin was all that kept his face from being nondescript. Sunglasses hid his eyes. She tried to zoom in, but the generic software on the hotel NetCom didn’t allow it.

  She uploaded the clip of the man’s face from the auditorium and compared the two images side by side. Same nose and chin. The mouth in the auditorium clip was obscured somewhat by the mustache, which Lara now knew was a fake. Why had he worn it to the orientation and not to the hotel? Because she’d spotted him and blown his disguise?

  A loud pounding startled her. Lara pulled her 9-millimeter and spun toward the door.

  Chapter 23

  “It’s Detective Harper. I need to talk to you.”

  Her shoulders relaxed at the familiar name, then tightened again. Crap. She didn’t have time for another round of questioning. Lara closed the files and wondered if she could get away with ignoring him. No one was supposed to know her room number.

  “Lara, I know you’re in there. Open up. I’m not here to arrest you.”

  Reluctantly, she reholstered her weapon and trudged toward the door. She wanted to stop in the bathroom and make sure her hair and makeup still looked decent, but she didn’t let herself. Except for the contest cameras, her looks didn’t matter. She didn’t want men looking at her that way.

  Certain it was Harper’s deep smooth voice, Lara unbolted the door and stepped aside to let him in. “Can we make this brief? I’m in the middle of something.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Like what? You don’t compete again until tomorrow.”

  “You’re keeping track?”

  “Of course. You’re my favorite contestant.” He smiled, all charm this visit. “I watched your performance in the Puzzle. Amazing. I don’t think anyone will beat it.”

  Lara fought back a smile, not trusting his new tactic. She glanced back at the hotel room, glad her new space had a living area. “This isn’t a good place to talk. It may have cameras recording.”

  “When I got your room number from the director, I told her our conversation needed to be completely private. She reassured me there are no cameras in this VIP suite.”

  Her relief was physical, as if a pressure was suddenly gone. “Let’s sit down.” She gestured for him to go first, then locked the door and followed. The detective sank into the soft club chair, so she took the matching couch and sat at an angle to face him.

  “Have you dropped the charges yet?”

  “Why would we do that?”

  “Because you know I didn’t do it. The hotel sent you video footage showing a man in the hallway outside Kirsten’s door around 8:36 p.m.”

  “That doesn’t prove you’re innocent. Who is he? You know him, don’t you?”

  “I don’t. Have you run the image through CODIS?”

  “Yes, but with the hood and sunglasses, it’s pointless.”

  Lara thought about the second image she had of Blondie in the auditorium.

  The detective leaned forward. “What is it? You know something. I saw it on your face.”

  Lara mentally kicked herself. Her expressive nature often worked against her. “I was just thinking that with the hood and sunglasses he looked like that image of the Unabomber. You remember him, don’t you?”

  “Don’t try to distract me. I need your help, Lara. If I don’t close this case soon, it’ll get shuffled to the back of the workload and Kirsten will never get justice.”

  Lara hesitated. Was there a way to tell him about Blondie without mentioning the commissioner? “If I tell you what little I know, will you drop the charges against me?”

  “It’s not up to me. But if you give me another suspect, I can push the DA to shift his focus.”

  Law enforcement still in her heart, Lara had to tell him something. She knew how frustrating it was to come to a dead end and feel like she’d failed the victim. “I looked at the hotel footage and the guy seemed vaguely familiar. Then I remembered seeing someone dressed like him at the back of th
e auditorium during the Gauntlet orientation.”

  “Dressed how? Give me the details.” Harper tapped his Dock, preparing to take notes.

  Lara repeated Blondie’s description. “He also had the same body type and clothes as the man in the hotel hallway.” She shrugged. “He’s on the camera footage for the auditorium. Would you like to see it?”

  “You’ve been doing our job for us.”

  “Somebody has to.” She smiled to soften the sting. “I had some free time this afternoon.”

  “Show me.”

  Lara uploaded the images side by side on the big screen. “He has the same nose and chin, but the hoodie makes it hard to get a positive ID.”

  Harper tapped the auditorium photo. “Send this one to me.” He recited his number and Lara quickly sent the files to his iCom.

  The detective stared at her for a long moment. “You’re the prettiest suspect I’ve interviewed in a long time.”

  “Does that line ever work for you?”

  He laughed. “I like you, Lara. Will you have dinner with me?”

  “Thanks, but I’ve already eaten.”

  “Will you join me anyway? Have a drink and keep me company while I eat? I have a long night of work ahead.”

  She remembered what that was like. Sitting in the conference room at the department looking through bank statements and phone records until two in the morning. Eating cold Chinese food by herself while she worked. He seemed like a good man.

  “Why not? It’ll be a relief to get out of this room for a while.”

  “Where would you like to go?”

  “I can’t leave the property without permission, so how about the restaurant downstairs?”

  “Is it fancy? I’m not dressed for anything upscale.”

  Lara laughed and pushed off the couch. “They cater to Gauntlet contestants and tourists. I doubt they have a dress code.”

  “You haven’t eaten there?”