Authors: Simon Wood
The moment Santiago stepped from the room, Schrader and Bohnert emerged from the video-surveillance room down the corridor. They moved as an offensive line toward him. He imagined there was a lot of pressure on them for results. This would work in his favor.
“Gentlemen, can I have a word?” Santiago asked.
Bohnert ushered Santiago into the surveillance room. Schrader told the four other agents in the room to take a hike and closed the door on them. Hayden and Rebecca appeared on a large flat-screen monitor. The high definition made it easy to see how frightened they were. They’d dug themselves a hell of a hole. He couldn’t let them languish.
“Talk,” Bohnert said.
“These two weren’t behind what happened yesterday.”
“So you say.” Schrader stood next to the door with his arms crossed.
“Yeah, I do say. Look at them.” Santiago pointed at the TV monitor. “Do you really figure these two for this?”
Neither of the agents answered. They were playing “Who has the biggest dick?” with him. He wasn’t a Fed, so he wasn’t of the same class cop-wise and therefore not entitled to any answers. The tight-lipped act still gave him answers. They weren’t talking to him because they had nothing solid on Hayden and Rebecca.
Santiago went over to the monitor and tapped Hayden’s and Rebecca’s images on the screen. “These two are caught up in this, but they’re victims. Yesterday provided the perfect smoke screen for the attacker. Whoever was behind yesterday’s attack will either let them take the fall or take them out if they slip free.”
“Why?” Bohnert asked.
“I don’t know.” Santiago jerked a thumb at Hayden and Rebecca on the monitor. “You heard them. Someone followed them yesterday and I’ve got good reason to believe them.”
“Give me a break,” Schrader said.
“I’ve been working this longer than you have. I know these two. I know the case. A lot of people have died. Hayden has been attacked and I’ve got evidence to back it up.”
“So what do you want to do?” Bohnert asked.
“Cut them loose. Tell the media they were unfortunate victims who tried to prevent a disaster but were a moment too late.”
“Are you fucking nuts?” Schrader said. “They’re our prime suspects.”
Santiago ignored Schrader. The guy was too interested in proving his tough-guy credentials. People in charge didn’t shoot their mouths off. Santiago turned to Bohnert.
“Cut them loose,” Santiago repeated. “Someone is interested in them and will come after them if they’re released. I want to be there when they do.”
“I want our people involved, too,” Bohnert said.
“No, let me keep it small. If we have too many bodies on the ground, someone is going to spot them. Make it look vulnerable and someone will take their chances. I’ll keep you involved, but let me do it my way.”
Bohnert was quiet for a long moment as he weighed up Santiago’s offer. Santiago willed him to take it. He knew they wouldn’t want to relinquish control to him, but he was giving them an out by offering himself up as a scapegoat. If something went wrong, it was his head on the chopping block, not theirs. They could say the dumb detective had sold them on this line of reasonable doubt and it had gone sideways. It was the stuff plausible deniability was made of. If Bohnert was smart, he’d pick up on this fact and give it the green light. Santiago didn’t care about the scapegoat status. He knew he was right.
“You’re setting these two up as bait,” Bohnert said.
“It’s the only way to hook the big fish,” Santiago answered.
Bohnert exchanged a glance with Schrader. Schrader shrugged.
“OK, detective, do it your way, but don’t forget who gave you this opportunity,” Bohnert said.
“I won’t.”
Schrader stood aside for Santiago to let himself out. Bohnert stopped him at the door.
“People think Homeland Security agents are devious sons of bitches, but you, Detective Santiago, are something else.”
H
ayden rode the elevator down with Rebecca and Santiago. Bohnert and Schrader didn’t accompany them, but Hayden still felt their presence. Despite Santiago’s assurances, he expected the agents to drag them back before they left the building. Until he felt the comfort of the city sidewalk under his feet, he couldn’t relax. The elevator doors opened and no one blocked their way other than people waiting for the elevator.
“Thanks,” Hayden said as they pushed through the doors. “You saved our asses.”
“Yes, I did. You two belong to me until this is finished.”
It was a nasty reminder that this debacle was far from over.
Santiago walked Hayden and Rebecca to his car. He held the rear door open for them and they slid into the back. It was a less than subtle reminder of where they stood in all this. Bad guys rode in the back.
Santiago gunned the engine but didn’t pull away. Instead, he turned around in his seat.
“This is the way it’s going to work. My job’s on the line because of you two, so you’re going to do exactly as I tell you. OK?”
Hayden and Rebecca both nodded.
“Good. This also means we don’t let you out of our sight. I’ll be with you days and Deputy Rice covers nights.”
“You’re going to babysit us?” Hayden said.
“The choice is yours. I can turn around and you’re free to sit in a cell on your own.”
“So, how long are you and Deputy Rice going to live with us?” Rebecca asked.
“For as long as it takes. We’ve got the guy in the Angels cap and Tony Mason to find. These guys aren’t going to stop at the first try.”
It was a sobering thought and one Hayden had already had. The bull’s-eye he carried on his back was getting larger and larger, and it was wearing him out. It wouldn’t take much to nail him.
Santiago stepped on the gas and his unmarked cop car leaped forward. “You smell like a monkey cage, Hayden. Need a change of clothes?”
Hayden didn’t need reminding of his own rankness. “Yeah, but I want to go by my car first.”
“Forget the car. I do the driving.”
“Trust me. You’ll want to see what I’ve got in there.”
Santiago drove Hayden to the lot where he’d parked his Mitsubishi. To his relief, his car was still there. Bohnert and Schrader hadn’t gotten to it, because they hadn’t known where to find it, and Santiago’s arrival had shortchanged their questioning.
“I need to move it,” Hayden said.
Santiago shook his head. “I’ll take care of the car. Now, what’s inside?”
Hayden removed the plans and flash drive from the trunk. Since putting them in there to show Eskdale, he hadn’t had the time to stash them somewhere safe. Now it looked as if his car had been the safest place of all.
Santiago took the plans from Hayden and spread them out on the Mitsubishi’s hood. “This is what you worked on at MDE?”
“Yeah,” Hayden said. He ran through the various design features. “One of the small units was set off in the BART station.”
“I can’t believe it’s so simple,” Santiago said.
“It’s no more intricate than a can of hairspray. It’s what goes into it that’s the dangerous stuff.”
Santiago put the flash drive in an evidence bag, rolled up the drawings, and locked everything in the trunk of his car.
Santiago took Hayden’s car keys, proving their relationship was still a tenuous one. They returned to Santiago’s Crown Vic, and he drove the car across Bay Bridge toward Fairfield.
“I’ve got an update for you two,” Santiago said. “The needleless syringes tracked back to Kenneth Eskdale. Dysart was right. The syringes were prototypes from PainFree Technologies. PainFree issued samples to academics and doctors. Eskdale’s name is on the list.”
“Any luck finding Eskdale?” Rebecca asked.
Santiago shook his head. “He’s gone.”
Hayden guessed they wouldn’t hear from Eskdale this side of an ice age. He and Rebecca had exposed him. Eskdale’s employer would hide him away so he couldn’t compromise them. Santiago would break Eskdale in minutes. Bohnert and Schrader in less time. Hayden wondered if Eskdale would turn up dead.
Santiago pulled up in front of Hayden’s house. Hayden opened his door to leave, but Santiago stopped him. “You’ve got ten minutes, so don’t get any ideas.”
Santiago meant running. It wasn’t an option, let alone an idea. Hayden didn’t have the resources or the skills for it. Santiago was his only way out of this jam. Hayden nodded and slid out of the car.
He let himself in and found Bohnert and Schrader’s people had visited. They’d turned the place over, but hadn’t broken anything. It wasn’t a lot different than when he’d come home to find his house burgled about a million years ago. It looked as if they hadn’t finished. He guessed Santiago’s intervention had stopped the search mid-flow.
His answering machine blinked at him, telling him a stack of messages waited for him. Most, if not all, would be from his mom. He didn’t have the stomach to listen to them. He’d call her later to smooth things over.
He pulled out an overnight bag and packed it with clothes. He didn’t know how much to pack. Enough for a day? A week? The thought of this situation lasting weeks drained him and he stuffed what he could into the bag.
He left his bedroom for the bathroom to stock up on toiletries. He was leaning across the bathtub for his shampoo when he caught a flash of something reflected in the bathroom mirror. Before he could react, a hand covered his mouth and another arm snaked across his middle to pin his arms against his sides.
“It’s OK,” the man whispered in a soft tone. “I’m a friend. James Lockhart sent me. Please don’t make a noise.”
Hayden’s heart beat like a jackhammer in his chest, but he stayed silent. After the previous assaults on him, he still hadn’t gotten used to being attacked. But unlike with the arsonist and Tony Mason, he trusted the person restraining him.
“I’m going to let you go, OK?”
Hayden nodded.
The arms restraining him released him. Hayden turned around to face a tall man dressed in a polo shirt and jeans who backed away with his hands up. The polo shirt rode up to reveal an automatic pistol pushed into his waistband. Friends with guns. Just what Hayden needed.
“I’m Maurice Beckerman. I’m sorry about breaking in, but you’ve created quite a stir. I doubt you’ve seen the television. You’re notorious.”
This was something else Hayden didn’t need to hear. “What does Mr. Lockhart want? He wasn’t too interested in talking to me yesterday.”
“Mr. Lockhart wants to speak with you. You’re very important to him right now.”
“Why hasn’t he helped us with the police?” Hayden asked.
“He can’t. He’s been used. If he goes to the cops, everything leads to him. The attack yesterday was a nasty reminder of what these people are capable of if he doesn’t play ball.”
“But what can I do? I don’t know anything.”
“You know more than you realize. Mr. Lockhart wants to apologize to you for not speaking candidly yesterday. You caught him at an awkward time. He also wants to meet you tomorrow.”
“We’re in police custody and are on our way to San Rafael.”
“I know.” Beckerman sidled up to the living room window and sneaked a look outside without disturbing the drapes. “Just the one cop?”
“Yeah. For now.”
“Do you know where you’re being kept?”
“Yes,” Hayden answered and reeled off Shane’s address in San Rafael.
Beckerman nodded, absorbing the information without writing it down. “Don’t worry about the police. I’ll take care of them. There will be a diversion. When it happens, get out. OK?”
“Hey, wait a minute.”
“Do you know where the USS
Hornet
is moored?”
“Yes, but—”
“Just be ready to make a run for it. A car will be waiting for you there tomorrow morning at eight.”
This was crazy. People were coming at them from all angles—Santiago, Lockhart, FBI agents, Mason, and now Beckerman. God only knew who this guy was. Lockhart’s personal aide? What kind of aide broke into people’s homes to deliver a message? Hayden certainly was out of his depth.
“Who are you?” Hayden asked.
Beckerman smiled. “Private security.”
That sounded like a polite euphemism for something more mercenary. It made sense for Lockhart to employ someone like Beckerman with all that was going on.
“Look, I’m in enough crap with the cops. The guy outside is a good guy. Let’s bring him in on this. It’ll give Mr. Lockhart an ally.”
Beckerman’s expression hardened. “You breathe a word to the cops and you’re on your own. We need each other right now, but we can do this without you. You can’t afford the same luxury. The FBI has enough on you to jail you into the next century. Do you understand me?”
Hayden did. For all of Bohnert and Schrader’s accusations, all they really had was circumstantial evidence and conjecture. Unfortunately, his possession of the plans, survival while others perished, and the fact that he was there at every stage of this affair turned circumstantial evidence and conjecture into something more solid. It wouldn’t take much to prove means and opportunity. He had no motive, but others would invent one for him. He didn’t like being cornered like this. Beckerman was no different from the FBI agents, except the FBI agents weren’t offering him a lifeline.
“I’ll be waiting for your diversion tomorrow.”
“Smart man,” Beckerman said. “If the police are outside, we don’t have much time. Do you have the designs?”
With everything moving so fast, Hayden almost missed the significance of Beckerman’s question. “How do you know about the designs?”
“Eskdale. He’s part of Lockhart’s team. Look, I don’t have the time to explain the ins and outs of all this. I just need to know you’re on board and that you have the designs.”
Hayden wished they had more time. He wanted to choose his options, not have them thrust upon him, but he didn’t have that luxury. Not with Santiago’s clock ticking. “They’re in the car with the detective.”
“Bring them. What are you meant to do now?”
“I’m just packing a change of clothes.”
“OK. Do that.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll stay here until you’ve gone and then I’ll slip out.”
“Will this be over soon?”
“I hope so. With your help, I can guarantee it.”
Hayden emerged from the house with his overnight bag. Beckerman was still hiding inside. Hayden did his best not to look ruffled. He slipped into the car alongside Rebecca, leaned in close, and whispered, “There’s been a change in plans.”
Santiago missed the surreptitious remark. Rebecca fixed Hayden with a nervous glance, but she knew better than to ask questions. They’d snatch a private moment later.
Santiago called Rice on his cell and they talked game plan. Santiago made no effort to disguise his call. Hayden guessed he wanted to show him and Rebecca that everything was under control.
Poor bastard.
Arrangements had already been made to destroy the detective’s plans. Hayden felt like telling Santiago, since he’d put his neck out for them, but he knew he couldn’t. As much as he hated to dance to Lockhart’s tune, Lockhart held the answers.