“I know my rights. I don’t have to answer any questions unless I speak to a lawyer first.”
“Ordinarily that would be true, but you see Louie, this isn’t an ordinary case. Have you ever heard the term carte blanche? Look it up, if you ever get the chance. You see, Louie, I have the authority to deal with this problem anyway I see fit. I can transfer you to a maximum-security prison in the Aleutians, which, by the way, isn’t on any map, or I can release you and forget your little mistake. It’s all up to me.”
“You can’t do that. That’s not legal.”
Holdren dropped his cigarette to the floor and stomped it out. “True, it is one of those gray areas in the Constitution, but regardless, I am the final authority in your case.”
The dwarf’s eyes hesitated again. He glanced up at Romax as if wanting someone to correct Holdren, to say that he was bound by constitutional constraints, to the rule of law, to morality.
“You see, Louie. This is between just you and me. Either you will provide me with everything I need to know or you won’t. One way you leave this room free to come and go as you please, an honest law abiding citizen, the other way you disappear, never to be seen again. Which will it be, Louie?”
The dwarf couldn’t meet his gaze.
CHAPTER 20
Caitlin awoke to find the room dimly lit by the glow of the morning sun around the thick curtains that shaded the windows. For a second, a heartbeat, she wondered. Full consciousness brought memory. She raised her head and looked around the room. The other bed was unmade but empty.
“Good morning.”
John’s voice came out of the gloom, but then she made out the deeper shadows in the chair.
“What time is it?” Caitlin asked.
“About nine.”
“Goodness. You shouldn’t have let me sleep so late.”
“It’s not late. Louie wasn’t expecting to have anything for several more hours. Besides, you should catch up on your sleep whenever you can. You never can tell when you’ll get an opportunity again.”
“Gees. You sound cheerful.”
“Optimistic.”
“Optimistic?”
“Yeah, I always think I’ll get another chance to sleep, sooner or later.”
That didn’t sound optimistic. It sounded fatalistic. “What’s first?”
“Get dressed while I check on Louie’s progress, then we can get some breakfast.”
“Fine by me.”
Caitlin slipped out from under the covers. She unzipped her suitcase and removed a folded pair of gray slacks, a light cotton sweater, and a pair of charcoal socks. She carried them with her into the bath.
She was zipping up her pants when John knocked.
“Yes?”
“Let’s go. We have to leave, now!”
Caitlin opened the door. John was throwing her toiletries into her suitcase and zipping it shut.
“What? What is it?”
He tossed her Rockports toward her and lifted the case from the bed. Caitlin caught them without dropping her socks.
“Something’s happened to Louie.”
A chill went through her. “What?”
“I don’t know, yet. We have to relocate fast. They may have been able to trace my call.”
He opened the door a crack and glanced out. “It looks safe. Let’s go.”
She followed him to his car. He tossed their bags into the back seat and climbed in. As soon as her door closed, he cranked the engine and shifted the transmission into gear. In a few seconds, they were at the side street. He turned away from Del Mar and drove up the back street into a residential area.
“Wouldn’t we make better time on the main street?”
“Sure, but they got a good look at my car last night. They’re sure to be watching for it. In the dark, it’s one thing, but in broad daylight, it’s too easy to spot.”
In a few blocks, the houses became newer and the neighborhood cleaner.
Caitlin brushed a light layer of grit from her soles and pulled on her socks. “What do you think happened to Louie?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what are you concerned about?”
His condescending tone made her feel like he felt he was dealing with a slow-witted child. “Caitlin, he didn’t answer the phone, and when his computer picked up, it didn’t give the correct recording for his voice mail.”
“His voice mail?”
“Yes. His computer is tied into his security system. I helped him upgrade it last year. If there’s an intrusion, the computer is programmed to use any of several different pre-recordings until it’s reset. It was set up to let him know if an intruder was still in the house and whether or not his computer files had been tampered with and even whether or not his phone line and Web line had been tapped.”
He paused as they stopped at an intersection. He glanced both ways and then turned east.
“And which was it?” Caitlin asked as she laced up the Rockports.
“All.”
“All?”
“Yeah, his computer had been tampered with, the lines bugged, and someone unauthorized was still on the premises.”
“But if the computer was tampered with how could it–”
“How could it still identify that it had been tampered with?”
“Must you do that?” Caitlin asked.
He gave her a curious glance. “Do what?”
“Finish my sentences for me.”
He hesitated then smiled. “Sorry, was I doing that again? It’s an old habit that I thought I’d kicked.”
“It’s all right, but it does get annoying.”
“Yeah, so I’ve been told.”
“Now, as to how the computer could still tell you that the security had been breached?”
“There’s a secure chip inside it, an old e-prom that contains the instructions for answering the phone. The only way to modify it is to take it out and first erase its memory with an ultraviolet light. But once it’s erased you can’t reprogram it unless you know what the original instruction set contained. He kept the old
