victim’s face.
“Okay,” Esa said, “let it run.”
The video then showed that the center man was talking to the man sitting against the wall; then the camera swung away. When it came back they could see the four men that had been killed lying on the sidewalk. The man sitting against the wall was in the same position the camera saw before it moved.
Esa stared intently at the video until the camera swung away. He could see what Major Daniels was describing; at no point was any part of the victim’s face visible. He watched as the video came back and the man against the wall and the big man were gone. The only ones left were the four dead men.
“Major Daniels,” Colonel Ortiz asked, “how can someone get to this wall and leave without any of your surveillance equipment seeing them?”
“It’s not possible,” Major Daniels replied. “That’s why I think this person has a way to become invisible. Before the alarm came in I was working with Sergeant Garcia on another impossible situation. I’d like for him to explain what happened at Bill Clinton School today.”
Sergeant Garcia stood up and introduced himself, and then told the assembled investigators about the missing text booklet. He described how the test administrators had processed the materials and how the chief test administrator was feeding them into the computer.
“We have a truth field scheduled for delivery at the school in the morning. However, I think it’s going to find that the three who handled the test materials are telling the truth,” Sergeant Garcia stated. “I also checked all the cameras, and no one other than the test administrator appeared entering his office on the tapes from the time the two administrators entered to deposit them into the safe until the test administrator entered and removed them.”
“How does that relate to what happened here tonight?” Esa asked.
“Before I left the school I had an idea. I used my hand computer to connect to the climate control of the building. While I was in the test administrator’s office, I asked the climate control what the temperature was in the hallway outside the office. It was 72.00 degrees. I then stepped out into the hallway and asked what the temperature was again. It was 72.03 degrees. I went back into the office, waited ten seconds, and then asked again what the temperature was. It was 72.00 degrees. You know how fast those climate systems react.”
“Then I asked the computer to show me the temperature in the hallway from the time that the test administrator entered the building until he left. Major Daniels, if you don’t mind I’m going to download that information into your display.”
“Go right ahead, Sergeant Garcia,” Major Daniels said.
They all gathered around the display screen to see where the sergeant was going.
“I want you to notice this point on the graph. Right here,” he said as he pointed to a spot on the line, “is where Mr. Graham entered the building. Notice just before he entered the temperature was 72.00 degrees. Upon entering the hallway, notice how the temperature changes to 72.09 degrees, then goes back to 72.00 degrees when he enters his office.”
“Wait a minute,” Danielle said. “When you were in the hall the temperature increase was only. 03 degrees above 72. The test administrator raised it three times that amount.”
“Very good, Miss Ash, which makes me think that there was more than just the test administrator in that hallway. Here’s where it gets interesting. Mr. Graham said that he thought he heard a sound at his door twice while he was processing the tests. On the second sound Mr. Graham says he got up and went into the hall to look around. Notice on the graph that the temperature went to 72.09 degrees right about here, which is where Mr. Graham went to check the hall. He says he didn’t see anything so he went back into his office. Notice what happened after that.”
They all looked at the graph. The temperature stayed at 72.04 for thirty minutes, and then it jumped to 72.11 degrees. “This is where the two test administrators and I entered the building. As I walked into the building I heard a sound by the lockers on the left-hand side of the hall. I went over to see what it was and found a small rock. At that time I assumed that one of the administrators had kicked it when they walked in and it hit the locker when they entered the building. However, when I entered Mr. Graham’s office I saw two more pebbles in his doorway. I also want you to notice before we leave the graph that once we entered Mr. Graham’s office the temperature returned to 72.00 degrees and remained there until we came out.”
Danielle said, “Someone followed Mr. Graham in, went into his office with him, distracted him to remove the text booklet, distracted him again to leave the office. This person then waited in the hallway until you and the two administrators showed up, then distracted you with the rock, and made their exit. Is that what you’re trying to say, Sergeant Garcia?”
Esa looked at Danielle and was amazed at how quick she had processed the information. She actually understood it faster than he did, and she was right. That was the only possible explanation for the temperature changes. Then he said, “Sergeant Garcia, you’re also telling me that Mr. Graham, the two test administrators, you, and all the cameras in the building didn’t see anyone while this was taking place.”
“That’s right, Inspector Connor. None of us saw anyone. I called Major Daniels and sent him the temperature data and asked him if it was possible for someone to avoid being seen by his cameras. We were discussing this when the alarms went off. He called me and asked me to come here after he looked at the videos from this crime scene.”
“I was going to tell Sergeant Garcia,” Major Daniels said, “that there was no way for anyone to avoid our surveillance until the events of tonight, which now forces me to seriously consider that there is someone out there that can avoid being seen by our system.”
Colonel Ortiz said, “Are you trying to say that someone has the ability to become invisible?”
“Yes, I guess I am,” Major Daniels replied.
“He’s not invisible,” Danielle mumbled as she stared at the display.
“How could she know that?” Esa wondered to himself.
“How else would you explain what happened tonight, Miss Ash?” Major Daniels asked sharply.
Danielle looked up from the screen with a startled expression, then looked at Major Daniels and said, “I’m thinking about that, but the evidence suggests that he’s not invisible.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?” Esa asked.
“Major Daniels, will you go back to the video you showed us of the five men as they approached the wall?” Danielle asked.
Major Daniels pressed a button on his display, and the screen began showing each of the five men as they moved towards the wall.
Danielle said, “I want you to notice that each of these men is looking at the wall as they’re moving. They see their victim; notice right here that one of them is pointing at the front attacker to hurry to get ahead of the victim. Notice that all of them arrive at the same time, surrounding the person they selected to attack. They have to be able to see him to do that. I also think that if you go back a little further in the tape you’ll see that they followed him when he passed the buildings south of here. There’s no doubt in my mind: they see him but your cameras don’t. One more thing, isn’t the Bill Clinton School south of here?”
Esa just stared at Danielle for a long moment. Major Daniels was surprised by her memory of the previous videos. Major Daniels looked at the video again and had to agree that the attackers had to be seeing the person they were following. Then Esa said, “Miss Ash, who is your general department head?”
Danielle looked nervous, wondering what she had done wrong. “Larry Wharton has overall command of my division.”
“Hold on just a moment, Miss Ash,” Esa said. He lifted his communicator and said, “Julie, get Larry Wharton on the communicator immediately.”
“Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb!” Danielle thought. “When am I going to learn to keep my big mouth shut? I just told a department head that he was wrong. I’m so stupid! People don’t want to hear the truth.”
She then heard Inspector Connor say, “Larry, Esa Connor here. I’m head of the Continental Security Enforcement Committee. I’m going to send you some directives in the morning, and I’m going to date them retroactively to tonight. I am going to transfer, just a moment…” He lowered his communicator and said, “Miss Ash, what did you say your first name was?”
“Danielle,” she said meekly.
“Right,” he said. He raised his communicator and continued, “I’m going to transfer a Danielle Ash out of your
