Her softly spoken words cooled his anger. “Sorry, Uncle Joe. Just tell me what happened.”
The older man took a deep breath. “Malloy and I started from the beginning-the incident in Chicago. While I was off getting my features altered, he used his resources to start to put together what happened on that day I left Argonne National Laboratory. He collected surveillance footage-before and after I left-and captured information on both vehicles seen in the vicinity on several occasions. They must have been tracking my movements. He hunted down vehicle registration, credit-card use, and traffic-cam footage. He even returned to the scene where I was threatened and collected more evidence. From that, we started putting names and companies together to piecemeal the events in Chicago and Seattle.”
“Kane’s name popped up?” Gerrit asked, impatiently.
“Not at first. Once Malloy knew what to look for at your parents’ crime scene, he latched on to the evidence-particularly the videotape and crime-scene log of everyone who arrived on the scene. Several names didn’t match up. He even used facial-recognition software I helped to develop to build these leads.”
Gerrit began to feel irritated again. It seemed like his uncle was drawing out this information way beyond necessary. “So where did it lead?”
“I’m getting there,” Joe said with a twinge of frustration. “You always were impatient.” He shifted on the sofa. “Malloy ran this information through the Department of Homeland Security’s new US-VISIT program and a yet-unreleased program the CIA is using for tracking and identifying terrorists.”
“Got a hit?”
“In a way,” Joe said. “He locked on to a couple of guys who used to work for the CIA and began to run this down when he got a cease-and-desist order from the attorney general’s office.”
“Since when does the AG’s office tell the FBI what to do?”
“Malloy did some checking and learned that a power broker-a consultant with the government and a former spook himself-put pressure on his contact to shut down Malloy’s investigation.”
“Richard Kane.”
“Bingo.” Joe rose and walked to a window near the front door. He peered outside, seeming to gather his thoughts for a moment. “Richard Kane became our focus-scratch that. Became my focus. Malloy, for the time being, had to back away from investigating this case. He has been giving us back-channel help ever since.”
“So when do I meet this Beck Malloy?”
“If you are lucky-never. I think there’s a target on Malloy’s back. Anyone who goes near him will be identified and tracked. We need to stay as far away from Malloy as we can get unless it’s an extreme emergency. If he needs to communicate, he’ll find a way.”
Gerrit was done waiting. “For the last time, how did you endanger me?”
“I thought if I remained out of the picture and kept you in the dark, Kane and his people would think you were not a danger to them. But you joined the police department and started kicking over rocks about your folk’s deaths. That triggered Kane’s interest. He started to build a surveillance net around you-Marilynn Summers and others-to keep tabs on where you went with this case.”
Gerrit’s throat tightened. “So Marilynn was a plant.” Thinking back on everything, this made sense, but it still hurt. “Why did they kill her…Marilynn?”
Joe clasped his hands together. “Because she must have failed in her mission. She was the bait Kane dangled out there to get you to help them. He does not tolerate failure.”
“How long have you been keeping tabs on me?”
Alena edged closer. “Like I told you in San Francisco, we’ve been watching you for years. Ever since you moved to Seattle.”
Joe looked away from the window. “Son, I’ve been watching over you from the very moment I started looking into this mess. One way or another, you have never been out of my sight.”
Gerrit gazed at Alena. “That just leaves you. How did you and my uncle connect?”
Alena and Joe exchanged a glance before Joe spoke up. “We’ll get into all that later. Right now, we need to figure out our next move.”
Gerrit sensed the two were hesitant to bring up the past. He’d leave that alone for now. But sometime soon he’d push for answers. “So, what’s the game plan? How do we take Kane down?”
A look of relief showed on their faces. Joe tipped his head toward the window. “Let’s go outside while I give it some thought. I think Travis and Jessie have dinner plans for all of us.”
Chapter 25
Bone’s wet nose nudged Gerrit’s hand, the dog’s tail waving in the chilly mountain air. Seated at the outside table, Gerrit cut off a piece of steak from his plate and held it out on his open palm. The dog snapped it up in one gulp. Sam wedged between Bones and Gerrit, looking up expectantly.
Gerrit cut another piece for Sam.
A cold, freezing wind started to reach into the canyon as it swept off the mountain above them. Hot coals from the nearby barbeque staved off some of the chill.
Travis peered down at his dog. “Don’t turn him into a beggar, O’Rourke. Sam knows better than to beg at the table.” The others, seated round a pinewood table on the front porch, laughed as the dog tried to beg once again.
“Sorry about that, Travis, but those eyes just made me give in. And Bones…he’s always been a beggar-that’s how we met.”
Gerrit was about to take a bite when a tribal police car pulled up. Frank White Eagle had excused himself a few minutes before, riding the aerial lift across the river where the other vehicles were parked. The police chief talked to the officer in the car, then shook the driver’s hand before the officer sped off. Frank waited until the officer was out of sight before returning to their side of the river.
His uncle followed Frank’s movement, a look of concern on Joe’s face. They both waited for the chief to return. Frank’s features, wrinkled and cracked like weathered leather, were serious as he drew nearer. The wooden steps creaked as Frank climbed the stairs to the front porch.
Frank looked over at Joe. “I arranged for low-key security for your flight out of here at the Lewiston airport tomorrow morning. No questions asked.”
Joe nodded. “Thanks, Frank. Anything else?”
The chief sat before answering. “Maybe…maybe not. My office received an all-points bulletin in connection with the killings in Seattle.” He glanced at Gerrit, then back to Joe. “The FBI and DHS want to know if a person matching your name and date of birth surfaces anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. They want to interview this man as a person of interest in the killings.”
Gerrit’s stomach tightened. “They want to talk to me?”
Frank shook his head. “Not you, Gerrit. They want your uncle.”
Joe’s eyes hardened. “They want to talk to Joe Costello or Joe O’Rourke?”
“Neither. They want to talk to a Joe O’Reilly.” Frank began to fill his plate with a second helping of steak. “The photo that came with the BOLO looked just like you before you changed your looks.”
Joe seemed to relax and then began to chuckle.
Frank raised an eyebrow. “What’s this all about, Joe?”
Joe just shook his head. “That is not the FBI or DHS-this is Kane’s handiwork.”
“Why are they trying to locate you now?” Gerrit patted Sam’s head.
“Kane never gave up looking for me. He must have known I never died, although I don’t know how he found out I survived. He’s using this investigation into your death to try to flush me out.”
“How come they have the wrong information about you?”
“Well, I took that information and reversed everything about my history, right down to my date of birth. Kane never saw me face-to-face and used his data searches for identification purposes. A system I corrupted. I went into every system known to man and changed my photo. I recreated Joseph O’Rourke and became Joseph Costello. I used a face that was close, but not the same. Even my own colleagues might be confused if investigators flashed that photo in their faces.”