“Fred…Frank…Floyd,” suggested Tank with renewed verve. “Felix…”
–
“Stop,” said Mary. “Let me think.”
“Fulton…Phillip…”
“Phillip starts with a p,” she said sharply, still glued to the image.
“Sorry. Forget I said that.”
“Pardon me?”
“I said, ‘Forget I-’ ”
“That’s it. His name is Fergus.”
“Fergus? You’re sure?”
“I met him once. It was in Sacramento last year. In the fall. Sometime before Joe started going to San Jose. I remember his name because he’s the only Fergus I ever met.”
“Supervisory Special Agent Fergus…”
“We can look him up.”
“Where?”
“The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. It’s a monthly online review. It lists promotions, convictions, any big cases they make. If he’s done anything important in the past ten years, he’ll be in there.”
Mary logged onto the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin’s website and typed “Supervisory Special Agent Fergus” into the search bar.
“I hope your memory is more accurate than mine,” said Tank.
“I didn’t have the concussions.”
Two links appeared. The first read: “Supervisory Special Agent Fergus Keefe assumes post of Assistant Special Agent in Charge, San Jose regional office.” And the second: “Deputy Assistant Director Dylan Walsh and Special Agent Fergus Keefe stand up Bureau’s new Cyber Investigations Division.”
“Fergus Keefe,” said Tank. “Nailed him.”
Mary felt a jolt of excitement. She double-clicked on the first link, bringing up a short article-hardly more than a press release-stating that Keefe had taken over as assistant SAC of the San Jose office in July of last year after working with Dylan Walsh at the Cyber Investigations Division since 2007. His past assignments included stints in Baltimore and New York. Keefe had graduated from the FBI Academy in Quantico in 2002.
Mary double-clicked on the second article, which discussed the founding or “standing up” of the Cyber Investigations Division. “Sid. That’s what it means.”
“I thought his name was Fergus.”
“No, CID-it means Cyber Investigations Division. It’s not someone’s name. Joe said they were the good guys. I thought he was referring to an agent he worked with, but it’s really the team Joe was part of.”
“If Fergus Keefe was still attached to that division, it explains why he was stationed in San Jose.”
“And why Joe was always traveling down to Silicon Valley. The question is, what brought Joe and Keefe all the way out here?”
“Semaphore?”
Mary typed “Keefe” and “FBI” into the Google search bar and hit Return. A dozen hits appeared. The first was from the New York Times and was titled “FBI Terminates Investigation into Claims of Extortion in Merriweather Systems Takeover.”
Dated the past December 10, the article began:
The FBI has terminated an investigation into charges of extortion levied against ONE Technologies and its founder and CEO, Ian Prince, in relation to its recent purchase of Merriweather Systems, a San Jose-based manufacturer of supercomputers and Internet hardware, according to The Smoking Gun, an online investigative site. No charges will be filed.
In November, a lawyer representing William Merriweather, son of Merriweather Systems founder and CEO John Merriweather, informed the FBI that his client had been threatened by unknown parties if he failed to vote his shares in favor of the company’s sale to the Austin, Texas-based tech giant. William Merriweather holds 6 percent of Merriweather Systems’ stock.
Fergus Keefe, a special agent with the FBI’s San Jose office, visited Merriweather Systems’ offices in Sunnyvale, California, as well as other locations. The investigation was led by the FBI office in San Jose, according to a non-public document obtained by The Smoking Gun. A spokesman for the FBI said that, following policy, he could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
Ian Prince, chairman and founder of ONE Technologies, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A ONE Technologies spokeswoman referred all questions to the FBI.
“John Merriweather’s dead,” said Tank.
“The father? To tell you the truth, I’ve never heard of him.”
“His death was a big story. He disappeared after leaving his winter home in northern California to fly to San Jose. They didn’t find him for weeks.”
“What happened?”
“Plane crash. He flew straight into the side of a mountain in bad weather.”
“Do you think Joe might have been working with Fergus Keefe on the extortion investigation?”
“Could be. ONE’s headquarters is here in Austin. They have offices in Silicon Valley, but so does everybody.”
Mary remembered McNair’s words. “Does ONE control the pipe in Cedar Valley?”
“Type in ‘DSL’ and ‘Cedar Valley.’ ”
Mary typed in the keywords and hit Return. Three companies offered DSL service in Cedar Valley: AT &T, Gessler Cable Systems, and ONE Technologies.
“Gessler is a local firm,” said Tank. “They don’t have ops in Silicon Valley. Scratch them off our list.”
“We’re down to two, then. Should we flip a coin?”
“I have something better.” Tank removed a gold wristwatch from his pocket. “Picked this up at my friend Carlos’s house.”
Mary examined the watch. “This is his?”
“Turns out Carlos was a thief. He took stuff from work and sold it. The evidence tag shows that Carlos stole the watch from the morgue two days ago. The day after your husband was killed.”
“You mean he stole personal effects from the deceased?”
“Pretty much.”
“Nice friend.”
Tank pointed at the watch. “Turn it over.”
Mary flipped the watch in her palm and read the inscription. “ ‘To H.S. Thanks, I.’ ”
“My guess is that H.S. is your husband’s informant.”
“And I?”
“I is Ian Prince.”
“The Ian Prince?”
“Only one, as far as I know.”
“So Joe was investigating ONE Technologies?”
“It fits. ONE was the target of Keefe’s investigation last year. He and your husband were investigating wrongdoing in the tech industry, dealing with a company that has offices in Silicon Valley and Austin. ONE controls at least part of the cable systems in Cedar Valley.”
“Then who is H.S?”
“Move over,” said Tank. “You’re not the only one who knows how to find someone.”
Mary scooted her chair to the side as Tank accessed the ONE Technologies website and pulled down the page listing the names and bios of the managers, beginning with Ian Prince. Tank scrolled down the page, past photographs of the executive chairman, the chief business officer, the senior vice president corporate development, and the chief legal counsel. None of the executives’ names bore the initials H.S.
Mary pointed out a secondary tab. “What about ‘Senior Leadership’?”
Tank double-clicked on the tab. More pictures of executives. Senior vice president knowledge, senior vice president advertising and commerce…
“Stop.” She was looking at a head-and-shoulders portrait of a middle-aged man with horn-rimmed glasses and crazed salt-and-pepper hair that stood from his scalp as if he’d just stuck his finger in a socket. “ ‘Harold J. Stark. Senior vice president special projects and infrastructure.’ ”
“H.S.,” said Tank. “Who works for I. Has a ring to it.”