A Quarter for a Kiss (12 page)

Looking more like a movie star than a techno-nerd, Tom Bennett has emerged as one of a handful of bright young cryptologists to set the world of internet privacy on its ear. Bennett’s e-mail encryption program allows users to encode computer messages for complete e-mail security. Though Bennett is a hero of privacy advocates and civil rights leaders worldwide, he is also the target of an ongoing FBI criminal investigation regarding the violation of U.S. export restrictions.

Criminal investigation? The FBI?

Hands shaking, I folded the paper, tucked it into my purse, and climbed into the cab that had pulled up in front of me.

“Cape Canaveral Hospital, please,” I said, my head spinning.

Was this Tom’s big secret? That he’d been convicted by the FBI and sent to prison? All sorts of wild scenarios played out in my head. He often alluded to the work he did “for the government.” Maybe he’d been convicted and had negotiated a trade: code breaking for the FBI in exchange for his freedom?

I refused to believe it! Tom, my Tom, my sweet and generous Tom, would not have broken the law, would not have kept from me a secret of this magnitude. As we sped toward the hospital in the darkness, I decided I would give him the benefit of the doubt. I’d show him the article and let him tell me what had really happened.

By the time we reached the hospital, I was convinced it was all a terrible mistake. Whatever connection Eli shared with Tom, it could be explained. Whatever FBI matter this article alluded to had certainly come to naught.

The cab pulled under the portico, and I paid and got out, nearly walking into Jodi and Stella in the lobby.

Stella looked terrible. She was leaning heavily onto Jodi, who wasn’t looking much better herself.

“Hi,” I said, trying not to look flustered. “Looks like I caught you on your way out.”

“Our pastor came and prayed with us,” Stella replied. “The deacons are going to take turns staying through the night. They’re insisting we go home and go to bed. I don’t think I’ve stayed up for this many hours straight since Jodi was a baby.”

I felt a surge of guilt that this afternoon, while Stella was keeping the vigil at her husband’s bedside, Tom and I were napping at the neighbor’s. Still, he and I were pretty much running on empty as well. It had been a long day, long night, and another long day.

“How is Eli?”

“Exactly the same,” said Jodi. “He’s still unconscious, still listed as critical.”

“Do you have any news for me?” Stella asked, leaning toward me. I saw desperation in her eyes, and I wished I could answer her in the affirmative.

“I’m sorry, Stella,” I said. “We’ve been investigating all day, but so far we don’t have any solid theories.” She looked so devastated, I added, “Though we do have some leads.”

“The police are being idiots about the whole thing,” she said. “They’ve been questioning Jodi, questioning my sons—”

“Are your sons in town?”

“No. They can’t get here until tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

“The police refuse to look at the obvious, which is that Eli was working on a case and it got him shot.”

“That’s why Tom and I are here,” I said softly. “To take that theory and run with it.”

The three of us talked for a moment longer, but they were looking so tired I suggested they go on home. Stella insisted that we come and stay there too, and though she was mostly being considerate, I think a part of her was frightened as well and she wanted safety in numbers. After her husband’s shooting and the subsequent looting, I didn’t blame her. I said we would pick up something to eat on the way and meet them back at the condo where we would, indeed, stay the night.

Fortunately, Tom showed up to get me not long after they left.

“How’s Eli?” he asked as soon as I got into the car.

“About the same,” I replied.

Except for a quick stop at a Wendy’s, the rest of the ride was silent.

As we steered across town and then through the maze of the condominium complex, I wondered what he was thinking. Had his secure phone call netted him any sort of information? Was he ready to sit and tell me everything he had learned? As exhausted as I was, I didn’t think I would sleep until I knew where he had gone and what he had found out.

Whether I was willing to tell him the same about myself, I just wasn’t sure.

Twelve

Dinner was a somber affair, with Tom, Stella, and me eating at the table and Jodi nearby at the counter, alternating bites of her food with returning the numerous phone messages that had been left on Stella’s voice mail. Certainly, Stella and Eli were popular, as there must have been at least 20 calls from friends who had heard the news and wondered how he was and if there was anything they could do. Many offered cakes or casseroles, which made me smile. That was the Southern way, I knew: When tragedy strikes and all else fails,
bring food
.

Jodi handled the calls with surprising aplomb, thanking each person for their concern, updating them on Eli’s condition, coordinating meals so there would be something here to eat all week, and conveying her mother’s request for prayers. For their closer friends, Jodi also organized times that each of them could come and sit at the hospital, either with Stella or in her place. By the time all of the calls had been returned, I was exhausted just listening to them.

“That was impressive,” I said when she rejoined us at the table. “You sure know how to get all your ducks in a row.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Stella said, beaming at her daughter with the first smile I’d seen on her face all evening. “We call Jodi the Great Coordinator. She was born to administrate.”

“A weird sort of skill, I’m sure,” Jodi added modestly.

“Don’t be shy,” Stella said. “Jodi was student body secretary in college, not to mention president of her sorority.”

Stella went on to talk about her daughter’s numerous accomplishments, which served to embarrass Jodi and enlighten me. I had to admit, until then I had been thinking of her as a bit of a lightweight.

I was most interested in the work Jodi had done between college and grad school, supervising several large fund-raisers on behalf of some local nonprofits—a golf event, a formal ball, and a few auctions. According to Stella, each event had gone flawlessly and had brought in record-breaking donations. As she talked I was reminded again of Jodi’s desire to give away her trust fund to charity, and I made a mental note to talk to her about it sometime when we were alone. I thought it was a wonderful idea, of course, but I felt I could give her some guidance for choosing the appropriate charity.

“We were so disappointed when Jodi traipsed off to Europe to study fashion design,” Stella said, rolling her eyes. “Forget all that! If ever there was a born MBA, this is the girl.”

Jodi shrugged, looking down at her plate.

“I didn’t get very far with it anyway,” she said. “So it doesn’t matter now.”

Sensing a minefield between mother and daughter, I feigned a yawn and steered the conversation toward sleeping arrangements. This was only a two-bedroom condo, so I suggested that either Tom or I sleep over at the neighbor’s place.

“That sounds good,” Tom said, jumping into the conversation for the first time since dinner began. “I’ll stay there.”

I didn’t blame him, as I’m sure he wasn’t all that comfortable sharing a bathroom with three women, two of whom he hardly knew. Stella offered me the guest room, but I insisted on taking the couch. I had a feeling Jodi might be here a while, and she might as well get settled into the spare room from the beginning.

“I
told
Eli we needed a three- or four-bedroom unit for when company comes,” Stella said, looking as if she might tear up. “But there wasn’t much available at the time, and we had to choose between the extra bedrooms or the ocean view. We took the view.”

I realized I hadn’t even peeked out of the window. I had heard the waves and felt the ocean breezes, but I hadn’t had the time to step out on the deck and take a look. As a real water person, that was quite unusual for me.

A little while later, after Jodi and Stella had turned in for the night, I asked Tom if we could go for a walk on the beach.

I took a deep breath as we stepped out through the sliding glass door. Even in the dark, I could smell the water and hear the waves. Tom pulled the door shut behind us, and we crossed the deck and let ourselves out through the gate to the beach. We kicked off our shoes and left them there as we stepped out onto the sand.

Oh, it was wonderful!

The warm air was so inviting, the wide sand so smooth and cool under my toes. I walked toward the water, looking up at the moon that was nearly full.

The light illuminated the small white tops of the gentle waves, looking like tufts of frosting on the black water. To my surprise, after a moment Tom took my hand in his. I had felt far from him for the last few hours. In contrast, this simple gesture spoke volumes. We strolled for a bit along the firmer sand of the shoreline, the warm waves teasing at our feet.

“I know why you brought me out here and I’ll tell you what I can,” he said finally, out of the blue. I kept my mouth shut, willing him to talk. “First of all, you need to know why I’m here, why Eli told Stella to send for me.”

As that was the question of the hour, I was eager to hear his answer.

“It’s because of my contacts,” he continued, “and not any previous involvement with this case or any of these people. Until we read the file, I didn’t know a thing about what was going on, and I couldn’t understand why Eli wanted my help. Once we read it, I understood. Eli knows I can get answers where others can’t. He knows I have some knowledge and some connections that could be of use.”

I thought about this afternoon, when we were going over the papers in Eli’s file. Tom had stiffened up at about the time the notes mentioned the NSA.

Was that where his connections were?

“What about your phone call today?” I asked. “Were your connections able to tell you what’s going on here?”

“No,” he said. “After all the trouble of finding a secure line and tracking down the people I needed, I don’t have anything new to add. I’m stumped.”

Suddenly, it felt as though I could take this conversation further in the direction it needed to go if I were completely honest in return. I let go of his hand as we continued walking.

“I have to tell you something,” I said.

“Sure.”

“This evening, while you were making your phone call, I didn’t go into the hospital. I went to the library and did some internet research.”

“You did? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was researching you.”

That seemed to leave him speechless for a moment. I looked out at the dark horizon, at the endless series of waves that washed the shore.

“Years ago,” I continued, “you told me I could work for you or I could investigate you, but I couldn’t do both.”

“I remember that conversation.”

“I have honored your request for three years, Tom. Today, after you dumped me off to go make your secret phone call, I decided the time had come to do some digging. I didn’t access any secret files. I didn’t talk to anyone or ask any questions. I only did some simple internet searches using your name, and I only turned up information that is fully in the public domain.”

“And what did you learn?”

“For one, that you’re a cryptologist.”

“What else?”

“That you were investigated by the FBI.”

“What else?”

“That’s about it. My time was up.”

He nodded and looked away, his chin set. I decided not to speak again but simply let that sit between us until he had formed a response. When he did reply, he didn’t sound angry, much to my relief. If anything, he just sounded tired.

“I wasn’t convicted, if that’s your question,” he said finally. “It’s a long and complicated story, but in the end I was exonerated.”

“Good,” I whispered, knowing that was the answer I had fully expected to hear.

“One of my partners, however, wasn’t so innocent,” Tom continued. “He’s still in prison, though the charges ended up going way beyond a simple violation of export restrictions. Again, it’s a long story.”

“Is it a story you can tell me?” I asked. Though we had wandered far off track from Eli and his situation, I knew all of this had to be resolved before we could proceed with our investigation. I needed to know what Eli knew, both to help with this investigation and also to give me peace of mind.

“No. I’m sorry, but I can’t go into it.”

I nodded and looked back out at the water. I supposed that would have to do. For now.

“Now that you know, I might as well tell you that today at the restaurant, when we were reading Eli’s notes, one thing jumped out at me. Nadine may have been a mathematician back in the sixties, but I’d be willing to bet that she was a cryptologist too.”

“How do you know that?”

“Her dogs.” I pressed my toes into the warm sand.

“Her
dogs?
”

“Alice, Bob, and Eve. I knew right away. Those are cryptology terms. I don’t need to bore you with details, but whenever someone discusses encryption, they usually put it in terms of Alice, Bob, and Eve. For example, ‘If Alice wants to send Bob a secure message, but Eve wants to intercept it and read what it says…’ It’s a simple method for making complicated terms more clear. If you ever hear someone refer to Alice, Bob, and Eve, they are talking about cryptology, encryption, security, or something similar. It was actually pretty nervy of Nadine to give those names to her dogs. It’s something I would never do. She might as well hang up a sign.”