“Damn right, anything I say. Glad to see you’re finally getting the message.”
• • •
The full team was at the meeting — Jeff, the Portland Police Bureau contingent, the FBI, the two other cops from Long Beach and Seattle. But increasing the number of people involved in the conversation hadn’t gotten them anywhere. They reviewed the results from the two crime labs taking Jameson’s and Nixon’s briefcases apart. Nothing. The Redmond, Washington police had gone back to Nixon’s home and searched it again. They’d done the same at Jameson’s house. Experts had searched the computers of both victims twice. Nil. Nada. Bupkis.
Sam had scrubbed his hand over his face in frustration so many times while the information was being presented, Margo was sure he had abraded the surface layer of his skin.
Jeff Wyatt, who was running the meeting, said, “We have exactly forty-eight hours to come up with what he wants or we’re sending Margo to Beaverton with nothing. And we can’t cancel. That runs the risk he hunts her down. Either way … ” He didn’t finish the sentence but everyone in the room knew what he meant.
Danny said, “How did Viktor know that what he wanted wasn’t on the flash drive?”
“Yeah, I keep coming back to that, too, Danny,” Sam said. “He only saw it. He didn’t have to pull it up on a computer. So how did he know it wasn’t what he had bought?”
“Have we run the information on those two programs by our Microsoft contact?” Tony asked.
“What’s that have to do with it?” Wyatt asked.
“Have we?” Tony persisted.
“I told them what was on the flash drive and they confirmed that both Jameson and Nixon had access to the programs and the information’s worth a bundle,” Danny answered.
“No, I mean, have we downloaded and emailed what’s on that flash drive to them?” Tony asked.
Sam frowned. “What would that accomplish?”
“I’m no computer genius, but I’m wondering if a flash drive with that capacity could really hold all the programming it would take to create a new body-sensitive game and a new version of Microsoft Office with all the bells and whistles.”
“But we know that’s what’s on that flash drive,” one of the FBI agents said.
“No, we know there are two files on there with those labels,” Tony said, “and we’ve looked at some of it. But do we know it’s the whole program?”
“What are you suggesting?” Jeff Wyatt asked.
“The Genentec scientist in Long Beach — he said something about Viktor demanding a sample of what was for sale before he’d agree to a price. Could that be what Jameson had on the flash drive?”
“Christ,” Sam said. “That would explain it. Viktor had already seen the sample. He was expecting the rest of it. Danny, call that guy at Microsoft. Tell him Tony’s theory. See what he says.”
Twenty minutes later, Danny returned. “Tony was right. I sent him what we have and he says it’s just a portion of the program. We’re looking for something more like a couple high capacity external hard drives.”
“There was nothing like that in either briefcase,” Tony said.