The Delta Chain (42 page)

‘I
’
m okay, James. Really.
’
She felt better, sitting here with Reardon in his office. The men in Stephen
’
s office didn
’
t know she
’
d been listening. It was business as usual as far as they were concerned. She didn
’
t feel normal but she had to pretend she did.

‘I know how you must be feeling, but Kate, you really need time-
’

‘No, James, I
’
m sorry, you don
’
t have any idea how I
’
m feeling-
’

‘Okay, but-
’

‘No buts. And if you think I
’
m not acting myself, then you
’
re right…because it
’
s not like me to come in here, on impulse, to log onto your PC and retrace the steps you would
’
ve taken tracking the PING for that virus hacker.
’

He started forward.
‘
Why…?
’
His voice trailed off, his eyes levelling on hers.

‘Like you said, not acting myself. Something about this whole Melanie Cail thing didn
’
t …gel. Maybe I thought I
’
d come across something new, something you missed, I don
’
t know. It was an impulse, and as you know, I
do
impulse, don
’
t I?
’

Reardon leaned back, relaxed. If he
’
d been startled it was only momentary.
‘
You sure do.
’

‘It was a different IP to the one you said. Not Melanie Cail
’
s at all. You see, while it made sense for her journalistic ambition to leak those documents, the computer hacking just didn
’
t fit…when I followed the electronic trail back through the “hole” it bounced right back to A.B.C.S. itself. Your IP. Your laptop.
’

‘Kate - I know lying about that IP number wasn
’
t ethical. But it
’
s also not as sinister as you might be thinking.
’

‘It
’
s not?
’

‘No.
’

‘Do you actually understand what ethical means, James?
’

‘Let me explain
–
from the beginning.
’
He leaned back in his chair. Kate had never seen her boss look so serious.
‘
Before Rhonda died she
’
d mentioned feeling uneasy. Something not right about the terminals brought to her for repair, and not linked to the network as we
’
d set it up. And there was activity she believed was sometimes going on at night, at the building
’
s rear, in an area supposed to be dormant. She mentioned these things in passing, she wasn
’
t certain about it. We were going to discuss it further if her feelings continued. After her death my own suspicions were aroused. I went into Rhonda
’
s files and read her diary for further info.
’

Realisation dawned on Kate.
‘
You were the one who deleted her diary from her Institute PC.
’

‘I didn
’
t want anyone out there stumbling on those entries. If they did, and they thought others at A.B.C.S. had seen them, then any of us could have been in danger. By now I was sure something was wrong, that Rhonda
’
s death hadn
’
t been an accident. But I had nothing substantial to go on, nothing to go to the police with. I needed another link to the Institute, so I
’
d know what was going on here.

‘With Rhonda dead and her set-up work nearly as good as complete, there was no further reason for Westmeyer to have an A.B.C.S. consultant on site. His admin people had the necessary basic IT knowledge. But I needed someone here, someone to be our eyes and ears.
’

‘Me.
’

‘Yes. To create an opportunity I hacked into the network and created the “hole” through which the virus could be sent and re-sent.
’

‘And of course you knew exactly how to manoeuvre around the very “firewalls” that you originally built.
’

‘It gave me a legitimate reason to deploy another consultant for an indefinite period.
’

‘And you didn
’
t even let Betty in on any of this?
’

‘No one else knew. It ensured everyone and everything played out naturally.
’

‘So you sent me in to troubleshoot. I was part of your devious little plan.
’

‘You
’
re the savviest person I
’
ve got, Kate. I knew you
’
d smell a rat and make enquiries of your own, which in turn would help me. And ultimately avenge Rhonda. And I know you
’
re cautious. And you
’
ve got that sunny disposition. No one was going to suspect you of snooping around…
’

‘I suppose you monitored all my calls to Betty.
’

‘I know you
’
re offended, Kate, but I
’
m going to ask you to be bigger than that. It may sound totally immoral right now but I did this, all of this, to get to the bottom of Rhonda
’
s death, so that I
’
d have something to take to the police.
’

‘And Melanie Cail?
’

‘Institute security, and the police, knew Melanie leaked that lab document and were close to proving it. Like everyone else, I was shocked by her murder. I
’
ve no idea what happened. But she was gone, Kate. I had to come up with a solution to the virus, I
’
d kept it going as long as was feasible. As you know, Westmeyer was about to call in someone else to deal with it. I saw an opportunity to “solve” the problem,
‘
fix
’
it and lay the blame on Melanie. She was no longer around to be harmed by it, and she
’
d be accepted as a likely offender, given that she
’
d already played saboteur.
’

‘Okay. But even so, you still don
’
t have any leads about the real cause of Rhonda
’
s accident.
’

‘Not yet. But there
’
s far more going on here than any of us suspected. Once one of these dominoes falls, Kate, they
all
will, including Rhonda's murderer.
’

Yes, Reardon was right. There was far more going on than he knew, but she couldn
’
t reveal to him the full extent of what she knew. The Task Force investigation had to be kept under wraps.

It occurred to her, however, that Reardon knew more than he was letting on. She was certain now that he knew about the croc hunters being traced to the Institute.
‘
You enabled remote access, for yourself, to the Landscan 111, didn
’
t you? So you could keep tabs on what I was up to?
’

‘Guilty.
’

‘So you know the croc poachers were tracked as coming here, to the Institute.
’

‘Yes, Kate. As I said, far more going on here than we could have imagined.
’

‘So why
’
d you make it possible for me to get that prototype and go charging off to the Territory when you wanted me here, in Northern Rocks? You didn
’
t know about the link at that stage. None of us did?
’

‘Surely you don
’
t think I
’
m a total monster, Kate. I care about you. I knew how much it meant to you to assist the police in finding your brother
’
s killers. I didn
’
t know you were going to take it all in your own hands and go off into the swamps like that. You scared the shit out of all of us, me included. And you
’
re right, I had no idea the croc gang would be tracked back here. That was pure ass, believe me. Some of this outcome I might
’
ve planned for, Kate, but most of it I didn
’
t. The connection with this place is as much a surprise to me as to anyone.
’

For a moment Kate felt compelled to tell him the full extent of the police investigation
–
the task force mobilising in the town, the connection with the drownings and Westmeyer
’
s boat and the “suspected” religious cult, but O
’
Malley had sworn them all to secrecy. And now she had more pressing matters. She was worried about Adam and she needed to inform O
’
Malley about the conversation she
’
d overheard.

‘At least that explains a few things,
’
Kate said.
‘
Look, James, I
’
ve got to rush, I have to get together with Adam and Brian Markham. But would you do something for me, a favour, without asking any questions?
’

‘You
’
ve got it.
’

‘Leave here now. Don
’
t ask why…
’

‘Leave?
’

‘Go back to your motel room or go to the police station and I
’
ll meet you there later. Just don
’
t stay around here.
’

‘You know something. What…?
’

‘No questions, you promised. Please, will you do it?
’

‘Okay.
’

‘I
’
ll catch up with you later.
’
She was on her way out of his office.
‘
I
’
ll call you on your cell.
’

‘Kate…
’
He was on his feet, concern turning to alarm. But Kate was already gone.

Kate found Markham where she
’
d left him, in the second floor entry area. He was pacing in front of the visitor chairs, talking quietly on his cell phone. He ended the call as Kate approached.

‘Adam…?
’

‘He hasn
’
t been back,
’
Markham said.
‘
I
’
ve just been on the line to O
’
Malley.
’

‘It
’
s longer than planned. I
’
m going down there-
’

‘No, Kate. Leave it to O
’
Malley
’
s men. They
’
re moving in, without delay. Apparently they
’
ve had a report from Kirby about a seemingly unrelated matter, a kidnapped boy that Adam knows something about…
’

‘What
’
s that got to do with this?
’

‘Your friend Jean Farrow phoned it in to the police. The kidnap victim has been brought here.
’

‘Here? Now?
’

‘To the rear dock, just minutes ago.
’

‘Brian, there
’
s more. These visiting investors aren
’
t investors. I
’
ve just overheard them with Stephen and Westmeyer. They
’
re setting up now to demolish the building. They seem to know they
’
re about to be raided.
’

Before Kate had finished the sentence Markham had pressed redial on his phone. On the other end of the line O
’
Malley answered.

Once the order has been signed by a Federal judge, a “seize and arrest” can be undertaken by a police team. They are empowered to move on to the premises of the stated organisation, arrest management, detain staff for questioning, freeze all activities and finances and occupy the building and grounds with guards, restricting movement, arrivals, and departures.

‘Okay, people,
’
O
’
Malley said, slamming down the phone,
‘
our seize and arrest just escalated. We have an officer out of contact and a bombing with imminent flashpoint.
’
The team was a blur of activity as he gave his orders.
‘
Megan, have every available patrol in the region head for the Institute, get Arthur Kirby to help you co-ordinate them. Mike, alert the SES people who are on standby for immediate mobilisation. Wal, get on to Regional HQ for extra backup, including the bomb squad and as many disaster recovery units as they can muster.

‘I
’
ll be damned if I
’
m going to be beaten off now from occupying that Institute and collecting the evidence we need. And I
’
ll be
damned
if I
’
m going to lose Adam Bennett or anyone else in there.
’
He knew, even as he roared, that the clock was ticking out of control and they had no way of knowing exactly how much time they had left to them.

Who in God
’
s name were these “investors” who
’
d arrived, ready and armed to do such damage? It had to be the breakaway U.S military men responsible for funding Westmeyer. How had they known the task force had gathered enough evidence to move in?

But of course he knew.

‘Seems the guys that back Westmeyer have been on to us, Ron,
’
Wal Hester commented.
‘
If they
’
re in town primed for action they must
’
ve had surveillance that alerted them to our progress.
’

‘Which means they
’
ve been infiltrating “secure” police communication systems.
’
O
’
Malley spun in the direction of Mike Stanley
’
s partner, Brian Kavanaugh.
‘
Brian, get us patched through to Canberra. I need the Defence Minister.
’