“You and Denver, you’ll have to go to the FBI, won’t you? You’re talking about crimes connected across state lines.”
“We’ll see. You gotta remember the locals here never get much excited about working with the G. We go to them and we get bigfooted. Every time, right up the ass. But you’re right, it’s probably the only way. If this is what I think it is, and what you think it is, the bureau will eventually have to run the show.”
I didn’t tell Washington I was going to the FBI myself. I knew I had to get there first. I pushed my plate aside, looked at Washington and shook my head. This story was incredible.
“What’s your feeling on this? What are we talking about?”
“Only a few possibilities,” Washington said. “One, we’re talking about one guy, somebody out there killing people, then doubling back and taking out the lead cop working the case.”
I nodded. I was with him.
“Second, the first killings are unrelated and our doer just comes into town, waits for a case he likes or sees on the TV and goes after the cop who heads up the investigation.”
“Yeah.”
“And third is we have two killers. In both cities one does the first killing and the second comes in and does the second, takes out the cop. Of the three, I don’t like this one. Too many questions. Do they know each other? Are they working together? It gets pretty far out there.”
“They would have to know each other. How else would the second guy know where the first one has been?”
“Exactly. So we are concentrating on possibilities one and two. We haven’t decided whether Denver is coming here and we’ll send some people there but we’ve got to look at the boy and the college kid. Look for any connection and if we find one we go from there.”
I nodded. I was thinking of the first possibility. One person, one killer doing all of this.
“If it is just one guy, who is the real target?” I asked, more to myself than Washington. “Is it the first victim or the cop?”
Washington put the V back in his brow.
“Maybe,” I said, “we’ve got somebody who wants to kill cops. That’s his objective, okay? So he uses the first killing—Smathers, Lofton—to draw out his prey. The cop.”
I looked around the table. Saying it out loud, though I had been thinking it since I was on the plane, sent a chill through me.
“Spooky, huh?” Washington asked.
“Yeah. Real spooky.”
“And you know why? Because if this is the case, there’s got to be others. Every time a cop supposedly kills himself the investigation is quick and quiet. No department wants that kind of story. So they go through the motions quick and then that’s it. So there’s gotta be more of them out there. If the first possibility is the correct one, then this guy didn’t begin with Brooks and end with your brother. There’s more. I’d bet on it.”
He pushed his plate away. He was finished.
A half hour later he dropped me at the front of the Hyatt. The wind off the lake was chilling. I didn’t want to stand outside but Washington said he wasn’t coming up to the room. He gave me a business card.
“I got my home and beeper on there. Call me.”
“I will.”
“Okay then, Jack.” He put his hand out and I took it.
“And thanks, man.”
“For what?”
“For making believers out of them. I owe you one for that. So does Jumpin’ John.”
13
Gladden stared at the bright blue screen for several seconds before starting. It was an exercise he routinely followed to help clear his mind of the pressures and the hatred. But this time it was hard. He was full of rage.
He shook it off and pulled the computer onto his lap. He cleared the screen and rolled the ball with his thumb until the arrow moved from window to window on the screen and stopped on the TERMINAL icon. He clicked the ENTER button and then chose the program he wanted. He clicked on DIAL and then waited while listening to the harsh screech of the computer’s uplink. It was like birth, he thought, every time. The horrible screech of the newly born. After the connection was complete, the welcome template appeared on the screen.
* * *
WELCOME TO THE PTL CLUB
* * *
After a few seconds the screen moved up and there was a coded prompt for Gladden’s first password. He entered the letters, waited while they were acknowledged, then entered the second password when he got the prompt. In a moment his entry was approved and the warning template appeared on the screen.
* * *
PRAISE THE LORD!
* * *
RULES OF THE ROAD
NEVER EVER USE A REAL NAME
NEVER PROVIDE SYSTEMS NUMBERS TO ACQUAINTANCES
NEVER AGREE TO MEET ANOTHER USER
BE AWARE THAT OTHER USERS MAY BE FOREIGN BODIES
SYSOP RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DELETE ANY USER
MESSAGE BOARDS MAY NOT BE USED FOR DISCUSSION OF ANY ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES—THIS IS FORBIDDEN
PTL NETWORK IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTENT
PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE
Gladden pressed ENTER and the computer informed him he had a private message waiting to be read. He lightly touched the appropriate keys and the message from the systems operator filled the top half of the laptop’s screen.
* * *
THANKS FOR THE WARNING. HOPE ALL IS WELL AND MOST SORRY TO HEAR OF YOU IN HARM’S WAY. ALL IS WELL ON THIS END. IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN I ASSUME YOU ARE OUT AND ABOUT. BRAVO! GOOD LUCK AND STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOURSELF AND OTHERS. (HEH, HEH)
.. . .. . .. . . PTL
* * *
Gladden typed in an R and hit ENTER and a reply message template appeared on the screen. He typed out a message to the sender of the first message.
* * *
NOT TO WORRY ABOUT ME. ALL IS TAKEN CARE OF. YOURS TRULY IS NOW OUT AND ABOUT
.. . .. . .. . . PTL
* * *
That done, Gladden typed in commands so that he could move to the main bulletin board directory. Finally, the screen filled with the directory of message boards. Each board was listed with the number of active messages available to be read.
* * *
1. General Forum 89
2. B+9 46
3. B-9 23
4. G+9 12
5. G-9 6
6. All’s fair 51
7. Musings & Whinings 76
8. Legal Beagles 24
9. Services by city 56
10. Barter Board 91
* * *
He quickly typed in the necessary commands to move to the Musings & Whinings board. It was one of the most popular boards. He’d already read through most of the files and had contributed a few himself. The writers were all ranting about how unfair life was to them. How maybe in a different time their tastes and instincts would be accepted as normal. It was more whining than musing, Gladden had always thought. He called up the file marked Eidolon and began reading.
* * *