Equal Access (26 page)

When he moved in with the Delaneys, Shad was
almost overwhelmed by the abundance of food. It not only grew out
in the garden, it walked around on the farm or nearby farms. It was
gathered from fields and the woods. It was pulled from rivers and
ponds. More amazingly, it was brought into the kitchen and actually
prepared into aromatic and filling meals that were provided on a
regular basis. And what couldn’t be eaten immediately was stored in
large freezers or canned or dried for later use.

Shad appreciated food too much to rush
through it, squander it, or eat it in any way without enjoyment.
His only regret about sharing this information with Dulsie at the
restaurant was the fact Shad sort of compromised her own enjoyment
of their meal.

Even now the vegetables Shad ate with his
sandwich were a medley of seasoned okra, beans, tomatoes, onions
and squash from the garden, which soon made Shad feel sufficiently
full because his stomach had shrunk from the past couple of days.
As Shad sipped on his glass of iced tea, Pap, who had allowed the
meal to proceed in silence, leaned back in his chair and stretched
his arms over his head.

“I hate to admit it, but I’m gonna have to
take a nap.” Pap rested his hands on the table. “Maddie wants us to
pick her up this evening. What’re you gonna do until then?”

Shad regarded him a bit blankly. “I haven’t
the foggiest.”

“Well, you’ll come up with something.” Pap
got to his feet and carried his plate and utensils to the kitchen
sink. “Do you mind putting this food away?”

“No. I’ll do it.”

Pap rinsed his dishes and placed them in the
dishwasher. “I should be up in a couple of hours.” The glance he
shot toward Shad was halfway stern. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Shad shook his head, and Pap walked up the
stairs at the side of the kitchen.

He sipped on his tea for a few more minutes,
and then Shad got up from the table to clear away everything they’d
used for lunch. He then wandered over to the kitchen doorway and
stared into the living room, feeling lost.

Yeah, he’d been reviewing divorce cases Shad
had handled throughout his somewhat short career, but as Karl had
pointed out, none of them were obvious. Shad supposed he could
follow up on what became of some of these people, but since Mam and
Pap didn’t have internet access, that wasn’t something he could do
now.

Maybe Pap had some wood that needed
splitting. Or maybe there were some weeds in Mam’s garden that
needed to be pulled. But for some reason the idea of doing these
activities fell flat as soon as Shad thought of them. At first he
blamed the depression, but as Shad tried to come up with other
ideas he realized he was seeking to do something with more ...
purpose. He wanted to do more than just keep busy.

Shad found himself retrieving the pants he
had left on one of the kitchen chairs before climbing up the stairs
and returning to his old bedroom.

He hung his three suits in the closet, and
then gathered the rest of his clothes, most of which qualified as
needing to be washed.

As soon as Shad considered doing some
laundry, he remembered Pap’s bloodied clothes in the sink and
almost changed his mind. But then he gritted his teeth and took a
deep breath, and carried the clothes back down the stairs and into
the laundry room.

Shad opened the lid to the washer, started
the water running, dumped in detergent, and dumped in his own
clothes. Figuring he might as well do some of Mam’s and Pap’s
clothes to top off the load, Shad pulled more laundry from the
hamper before turning to the bloody jeans and shirt in the utility
sink.

With a deep breath and a desire to shudder,
Shad started scrubbing the material of Pap’s shirt together. The
mixture of water and blood flowed over his hands, and Shad found
himself scrubbing more slowly until he finally stopped and simply
stared at Dulsie’s blood.

Her blood was literally on his hands. No,
somebody else had done this. Shad had his part in it, but somebody
else had almost taken Dulsie’s life. Who?

The rage stirred again. Shad’s grip on the
material tightened. More watered-down blood trickled over his
knuckles.

It was true he should have been home last
night. Shad had withdrawn to give Dulsie space and time to come to
grips with what she’d married.
What
she’d married. Shad
remembered that distant look in her eyes when he arrived at the
hospital. This wasn’t fair. Of all the disorders he had to be
stricken with, why did it have to be this one? Why had he been led
to believe it was gone, only to have it return? He should have been
home last night. He should have taken the bullet. Why did Erin
rescue him from one path of destruction only to have Shad wreak
havoc upon her own family? Somebody shot Dulsie. Maybe it was
because Shad chose to obey divine inspiration and become a lawyer.
Maybe he had been mistaken. That power never spoke to him before or
since – that is, until Shad discovered Wally.

Wally
. Shad wadded another section of
the shirt in his hands, squeezing out more bloody water.

This began with Wally. There was no such
thing as coincidence. Shad had been maneuvered by unseen forces to
discover Wally that day. But Shad was just a pawn. Why couldn’t he
press criminal charges and be done with it? Why did he have to try
to investigate Wally, to dig up evidence before he could have one
more predator removed from some of society’s most helpless victims?
Why did he have to meet with Wally only to have all the stress and
frustration pry his disorder back out of latency? Shad was trying
his best with all the limitations he had, yet apparently that
wasn’t good enough. He had to be punished with something that
pushed Dulsie away, and then she was shot. The sheriff would soon
obtain that warrant to search Shad’s computer. How was he supposed
to figure out who might try to kill him? Why did he have to find
Wally?

A chill settled over Shad.

Wouldn’t it make sense that Wally would want
him silenced? And speaking of silence, Wally was sitting awfully
tight over there in St. Louis, apparently content with just waiting
to see what Shad decided to do about him.

Or maybe Wally figured the best way to avoid
any attention from the police if Shad wound up murdered would be to
stay out of the picture altogether. Wally was a liar, but Shad was
also convinced that Wally wasn’t a killer, at least with his own
hands. It would take a few days to arrange a hit, especially since
Wally most likely didn’t hang out with mobsters. This assailant was
no pro, Pap said. What was the gunman’s motivation to accept this
job? He wanted the money obviously, but did he need it to support a
drug habit or gambling debts?

Only it had been Dulsie who was caught in the
line of fire. Shad’s grip on the shirt became its tightest yet.

Shad couldn’t prosecute for child
molestation, but he would be just as satisfied to put Wally away
for attempted murder.

Ironically, his situation hadn’t changed
much. Shad still couldn’t just go to the sheriff because he had
nothing but conjecture. He still had to investigate Wally. But the
main change Shad was noticing was in his determination to have the
man put away. Any quarter he had been willing to grant to Wally was
now completely nonexistent. Wally almost got Dulsie killed. Wally
was going to pay for this. By the time Shad was done with him,
Wally was going to wish he’d only had his arm ripped off and been
beaten with it.

Shad stared at the blood and water slowly
dripping from his hands. The washer had finished filling some time
ago and shut off. He had a target. He had somebody to focus on. He
was going to get the man who hurt Dulsie.

Shad finished scrubbing out the shirt and
jeans with intensive vigor. He sprayed the clothes down with a
stain remover before tossing them into the washer and nearly
slammed the lid shut. Then Shad strode through the house and out
the front door. He stopped at the white railing, gripped it in his
hands, and gazed across the landscape of the farm.

As much as he relished the thought of hanging
Wally upside down and naked from a honey locust tree, Shad had to
figure out a plan to turn the man over to the police. When Pap said
not to go anywhere, Shad knew that didn’t include hiking around on
the farm. He needed to do some of his best thinking.

For it is not My desire that anyone shall die –
declares the LORD God. Repent, therefore, and live!

--Ezekiel 18:32

When Pap was ready to go to the hospital to
pick up Mam, Shad requested to be dropped off at the bookstore. As
he expected, Pap scrutinized him with a furrowed brow as they stood
in the living room.

“Don’t you want to see Dulsie?”

“What I want and what needs to be done aren’t
exactly the same.” Shad steadily returned Pap’s gaze. “Except for
the part about tracking down what happened to her last night.”

Pap’s frown deepened. “Back up the buggy a
minute.” He briefly glanced at the carrying case hanging from
Shad’s shoulder. “How is the computer gonna help figure that
out?”

Shad drew a deep, calm breath before
responding. “I finally determined who would want to see me
terminated right now.”

Pap arched an eyebrow. “Sounds like you
should be having a chat with the sheriff.”

“It’s not that easy. This person is in a
different jurisdiction and will be regarded as a low priority
there. Time is of the essence.”

“Attempted murder is a low priority?”

Shad fixed his gaze on Pap’s. “Trust me.
Until the police have more to go on than my word, they’ll consider
the other person to be a low priority.” Shad stepped toward the
door. “I’ll explain more in the car.”

Shad knew his explanation wasn’t going to be
entirely to Pap’s satisfaction, but his goal right now was just to
make it to the bookstore so Shad could have the internet access he
needed. Pap didn’t take long once they got into the maroon Toyota
to follow up with his questions.

“So who became your prime suspect?”

“Someone from my past.” Shad already had
determined just what information he was willing to release.

Pap glanced at him as he steered the car
toward the road. “Why would they be after you
now
?”

“I had a chance encounter with him about a
week and a half ago. I know from my past he was involved in
criminal activity. I have knowledge but not evidence he’s still
involved. In order to obtain that evidence as quickly as it needs
to be done, I’m gonna have to get it myself. If you’ll drop me off
at the bookstore I’ll be able to begin that process. This is the
best thing I can do for Dulsie right now.”

“How is the computer gonna help you?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Pap frowned. “Aren’t there legal issues about
obtaining evidence illegally?”

“Why do you assume I’ll be hacking?”

“Why do I assume the bear takes a dump in the
woods?” Pap glanced at him again. “In your current situation maybe
you shouldn’t be flirting so much with law breaking.”

“You realize I know this is coming from a man
who risked being prosecuted on a felony to keep me out of the state
system.”

“That was different.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Yes, it is.” Pap’s frown deepened. “Your mom
and I had a choice to obey man’s law or to obey ... why ever it had
to be us to take you in.”

“My encounter with this person really wasn’t
chance.”

“Come again?”

“It’s not for my own sake I need to turn him
in. It’s not even just for Dulsie’s sake. This guy needs to be
removed from society. I was meant to find him.”

Shad watched Pap during the seconds that
passed. Pap stared at the road and the furrow in his brow seemed to
vacillate between increasing and decreasing. A good half minute
elapsed before he finally replied.

“Great,” Pap grumbled. “Now you’re starting
to sound like Maddie.”

Shad felt a smile creep upon his lips
entirely of its own volition. “I knew you’d see things my way.”

Pap didn’t give up trying to wrestle more
information from Shad, but he did agree to swing by the bookstore.
Once there Shad strode directly to the little café established in
the corner of the building and ordered an iced tea. He then set the
beverage and his incriminating laptop on a small, white table and
seated himself in one of the two imitation wrought-iron chairs
around it.

Phase one of his plan involved gaining access
to Wally’s computer. There were several ways this could be
accomplished, but Shad chose to try what could get him in the
fastest. A Remote-Access Trojan, otherwise known as a RAT, had been
an almost natural evolution from the earlier Trojan horse programs
used to sneak into computer systems. But such programs, thank God,
didn’t work until they were activated, which was why they had to
masquerade as games or in attached files. So if Shad wanted the RAT
he sent to Wally to start work right away, he had to deliver it
under a guise Wally wouldn’t suspect.

Shad also had to assume Wally would be up to
date on such security as virus detection and firewalls. Both the
man’s business and his personal interests, especially the prurient
ones, implied Wally would be very “computer savvy.” But the mind of
a hacker was a different animal from that of someone simply
proficient in technology. The particular little rodent Shad planned
on using was one of his own creations, used only once before to
show Nolan what vulnerabilities were actually in the office system.
Its unique signature should get it by the virus scans and remain
unnoticed by the firewall. But Wally would still have to activate
it.

Shad’s exploratory hacking over a week ago
had already gotten him into the intranet used by Wally’s business.
During that perusal Shad did notice employees sending email that
included proposed improvements and new gaming technology. And a
look at Wally’s mailbox had revealed he sometimes forwarded such
postings to his home computer. One store manager in particular came
across as an efficient and communicative woman who kept abreast of
the latest trends. Shad used her email address to bundle up his RAT
as an attachment so he could launch it as a forward from Wally’s
work computer.