BA Hammer Mary Ch. 04

B.A. HAMMER MARY CH 4

The next morning, I went to my office. I decided to call on Randal Binghamton. I found his company's address and decided to call on him cold. His company looked like an armed Amazon distribution center. There was security everywhere. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

I walked into the building and stopped at the security checkpoint. They patted me down and allowed me to continue to the receptionist.

"I wish to speak to Mr. Binghamton."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but I think he will see me." I took out a card and wrote Unique Computing Opportunities on the back. Let's see if he will take the bait. He did. Within a few minutes, a young man came up and told me to follow him. He led me to the top floor where he told me to wait. Binghamton came in a couple of minutes later.

"Mr. Hammer, how may I help you?" He didn't mention UCO. That was all I needed to know. He is scared.

"I am investigating the coin theft that put Liz Besson in prison."

"Liz Besson. Who is that?"

"The young girl you and Rutherford sent to prison ten years ago." The color drained out of his face.

"Let's go into my office."

"I don't think so. I just wanted to ask you if you had anything to do with sending her to prison. I am working on getting her conviction overturned. I hope you didn't." I turned and left. I called Brick to warn him and ask him if he knew who Plummer's boss was. He told me he would check. I warned him I might hear from Plummer again after what I said to Binghamton.

I told him what I said. "Are you nuts? Of course, he's going to come after you. If I can't get ahold of you this afternoon, I will come looking for you."

Brick called me to tell me Christopher Carter was the head of the New York field office of the FBI. I thanked him and he wished me luck. It didn't take long. I called Mary to tell her I was going undercover for a day or so, and not to worry. I was ready for them. I knew they were coming, and I wasn't disappointed. Around noon my office was rushed by half a dozen FBI men dressed in swat attire. I put up my hands, but they threw me down on the floor anyway and handcuffed me. Plummer came in after the dust had settled. Always the brave one.

"Mr. Hammer, you are coming with us for questioning."

"Am I under arrest?" They had picked me up and I was looking him in the face.

"No, just some questioning."

"Do you always gang rush someone for questioning?"

"If they are armed and dangerous, we do." He smiled as they led me away. As I left, I saw them begin to tear my office apart.

It wasn't long before I was sitting in the proverbial interview room with a large one-way window. I figured I would be in here awhile. They like to soften up people before they start on them. I was right. I sat there for two hours before anyone came in.

It was Plummer. "I tried to warn you Hammer. You have crossed into national security. There are no rules here. I can do whatever I want to you, and no one will ever know. What do you think of that?"

"I think you are full of shit, and you know it. I know those two are dirty. My only question is, is he in on it?" I looked directly at the window as I said that and pointed at Plummer. Whoever was watching and recording had to perk up at that.

"Nice try Hammer. You are risking the security of our country with this investigation. There are people who will die if you continue with this investigation."

"You know that is bullshit. The technology you stole will still be used by our troops and security forces. They won't lose it just because the rightful owners are restored. And you know that, don't you Plummer? You need me to just go away quietly. Just like you did to Liz Besson ten years ago." His phone buzzed and he went out of the room.

I sat there for another hour. I had now been there three hours. Another agent came in and sat down.

"Mr. Hammer, I need you to tell me specifics about what you are talking about."

"You know you have the agreement you took out of my office. By the way, I want to see the warrant you obtained to detain me and search my office." He just sat there. After a while, he began talking again, but I ignored him. He talked for nearly another hour, but I didn't say a word. He finally gave up and left.

I sat there another hour waiting for someone else to come into the room. It had now been five hours. This time the new guy came in waving the agreement they had taken out of my office. He spent another half an hour threatening me unless I tell him where the original was. I said nothing.

As I approached the sixth hour, I figured I had seen everything except the good cop. He eventually came in, trying to convince me he could help me if I helped him. I stared at him for another half an hour until he finally gave up and left. It was obvious none of these men had ever sat in a foxhole for an entire night in Afghanistan before. I hadn't even broken a sweat. They finally gave up and put me in a cell. I quickly went to sleep. I was counting on Brick to eventually get me out of here. There was nothing I could do about now.

The next morning, I was awakened by another agent. He took me to their offices. There stood Brick. He was not happy. One of the agents started talking to me, but Brick interrupted him.

"You've had all the time you are going to have with him. He has been released. You will give him everything you took from him when you invaded his office. NOW." They brought me everything they had taken, including the agreement copy. Brick led me out of the building.

When we were in his car, he exploded on me. "You have any idea what I had to do to get you out of there? They wanted to charge you. I had to get a court order to make them release you. They don't actually have anything on you, and they know it. Why did you have to accuse Plummer? You have put them on the defensive. Carter would not even speak to me, and we are on a couple of charity boards together."

"I am sorry about that. I wanted them uncomfortable. I wanted to put the idea into Carter's head that maybe he had a rogue agent. Whatever else happened, he now must have some doubts."

He dropped me off at my office. It was a mess. I took a bunch of pictures, just to remind everyone. I then went home to see Mary. She told me they had been there yesterday. They searched our home but left with nothing. I told her where I was yesterday. She was not happy. "I'm okay. I am now sure the FBI agent that threatened you ten years ago is in on it. We are going to bust this entire thing wide open. Brick is working on getting Liz released early. He will then move to have her conviction overturned. If he is successful, we can think about her suing the state."

For now, I just wanted to be with Mary. We spent the rest of the day and night together.

The next morning Brick called and asked me to meet him at his office. When I got there, he met me at the door. "You know you are being followed, right?"

"I assumed so, yes."

"I must meet the man checking into what the program Rutherford wrote does. He says he needs to see me now. I can't have the FBI follow us there. You will have to stay here."

"How about this? You tell me where it is, and I will go it alone. After I am gone, you can go there. I will lose them before I come there." He reluctantly agreed and gave me the address. I got in my car and pulled away from the building. A car pulled out behind me. It is hard to follow someone in the busy New York traffic. It only took running a red light and a couple of sudden turns to lose them. Once I was sure they were gone, I pulled into a parking garage and hid my car. I went out, hailed a cab, and had him take me to the address.

Brick was waiting for me when I arrived. He introduced me to Homer Arthur. He runs a small computer analysis company. Brick told me this is the go-to man for computer programs. I am very glad to find one. I know next to nothing about them.

"Okay, Mr. Blackstone. This is a ruff version of a security program that the government uses in almost every computer in their systems. There are millions of computers with this protection. After 9-11 every company was trying to come up with security programs. Whoever wrote this one was a genius. His would have been the choice of the government."

"Now we know why they stole it. But why did they involve Liz Besson? Why muddy up the waters?" I was stumped. Brick thanked Homer and we walked out. "Has Ms. Morris had the diary checked for her grandfather's handwriting?"

"She is doing that now. Once we have everything in order, her company will file the lawsuit against Computerized Defense and the two partners who own it. It will make her mother a very rich woman."

"Now we just need to work on the criminal side of this. Has Christopher Carter returned your calls yet?" Brick shook his head. "I guess we will have to give them some incentive." Brick just shook his head and left. I took a cab back to my car and went home. Mary was still at the theater, so I got a beer and sat in my favorite chair to think.

Binghamton and Harper definitely stole the computer program and killed Rutherford to hide it. It was worth millions.

Why include the girl?

Was Plummer really involved? I felt sure, but I don't have any proof.

Why had he threatened Mary so long ago? Was he involved with framing Liz also?

I fell asleep in my chair. Mary woke me up again, and we went to bed.

I went back to see Brick the next morning. I have a couple of ideas how to put pressure on them.

"Brick, I am going to try and find someone who worked with Rutherford but didn't move to Computerized Defense. There must be programmers out there who knows the truth. We just need to find one that will tell us what happened. I am sure Plummer is too smart to have his name on any records for CD. He must be getting his money through another way. Can you check the records of CD to see if we can find any company receiving large amounts. I'll bet there will be one where he is behind the shell companies."

Brick nodded. "I have some ways of checking financial records. I'll see if I can find any unexplained money around this company."

I left and called Cynthia Morris. I had some questions for her. She told me to come to her office at 2 pm.

I arrived at 2 and was shown into her office. "How's the preparation coming for your mother's lawsuit?"

"We are making progress."

"I am trying to find you a witness. That should help. I need to ask you a couple of questions."

"Ok, go ahead."

"Why did you never look inside the envelope for ten years?"

"It came in a couple of boxes grandfather gave me before the coin thing happened. He had been giving me boxes of things every few months for a year. I stopped looking in them after two or three were just memorabilia. I had no reason to believe he wanted to hide something with me. Randal Binghamton actually brought me a couple of them earlier. He helped me look through them. Those boxes were only pictures and things when grandfather was younger. Binghamton told me I could have his memories and stopped asking about the boxes."

"When did they stop hounding your mother? I wonder why they didn't do something more drastic?"

"I think I can answer that. They had the formula, and they didn't know about grandfather's application for a patent. They filed one of their own and it was granted. They had no reason to believe they had a problem. Especially after grandfather died and no one said anything." It made sense. Now I had to find that witness.

"Do you remember any of the other men that worked with your grandfather? You were around the company some, correct?"

"Funny you should ask that. When you two showed up, it made me start to think about my time there. I have come up with two names. Both were programmers that worked with grandfather. One is with CD now, but the other wouldn't go with them."

"Good, I will start with the man who wouldn't go with them. What is his name?"

"His name is Jerry Arnold. He was the man who worked for grandfather for years and helped him write the code. If anyone knows anything, it would be him."

"And the other man, just in case."

"Corey Simpson. I believe he still works for CD."

"Ok, maybe I can get you a witness to help your case. It would be dangerous. Be very careful who you tell about this. We have the FBI crawling all over us, and I am sure they are following me. One more question. Would you have any way of getting the old companies' books?"

"I am sure William Harper has all the old books and tax returns."

"Was your mother listed as an officer of the company? If she was..."

Cindy interrupted me. "She would have a right to them. I wonder how much concern it would cause them if I sent a letter to them as her attorney requesting to see them?"

She decided to at least send the letter, and she agreed to be discreet about who she talked to about this. I thanked her and left.

I saw my "friends" when I got into my car. I let them follow me the hall of records. While I was there, I used a burner phone to call Lenny and ask him to get as much as he could about the two names Cyndi had given me. I assumed my phone was tapped now. I check for the officers for Computer Defenses. As I thought, Plummer's name wasn't anywhere around. Two names I was aware of, but the third was a surprise. Corey Simpson was listed at VP of Development. I guess I won't be talking to him.

Lenny called me back on the burner phone about Jerry Arnold. He told me what I already knew about the other guy, but Arnold was working for Apple right here in New York. He had found the department and a phone number for him. I thanked him.

I went to my office to think. I had a couple of other burner phones, and I used a different one to call Arnold. It took a couple of tries before I actually got him on the phone.

"Mr. Arnold, my name is BA Hammer. I am a PI, working on your old boss, Rutherford's death. I have reason to believe he was murdered. I was wondering if I could speak to you about it?" The line was silent for so long I was afraid he had just left. Just when I was about to give up, he spoke up.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. He died of a heart attack."

"I know that's the story. But, before he died, he ruined the life of a young woman. She didn't steal anything from him, but he sent her to prison anyway."

"I will talk to you about that because that has always bothered me."

"We will need to be careful. I don't want to wake up old dogs yet. Are you a fan of the Knicks?"

"Not really. I'm not much of a sports fan."

"They are playing tonight. I will leave a ticket at will call under your name. Go to your seat and wait for me to call you. Understand?" He said he would and hung up. I used to work security for the Knicks before I left for the military, and I still know the head of security for the Knicks. He owes me a couple of favors. I called him and he set up a place for me to talk to Arnold. He also got me a couple of tickets and left one at will call under Arnold's name. I was ready.

That night I was waiting in the quiet room he had set up. After the game had started, he went to the seat and brought Arnold to me. I asked him to watch out for anyone acting suspicious around that area. He was an old pro, and I knew we would be okay.

"Thanks for seeing me, Arnold. This thing smells like week old garbage. I am working to get the girl released from prison. You know Rutherford didn't die of a heart attack. Can you tell me anything about what happened during the final days?"

"Look, I don't know you. Why should I trust you? You know those guys have deep connections with the FBI. It was tough those last few months at the company, especially after the Boss died."

"I know about Plumber. I don't need a witness right now. I just need to know what really happened. This thing is about to blow up, and I want to know where not to step to keep from being the one who blows up." He looked at me for several minutes, and then down at his hands. I could tell this was tough on him. He finally spoke.

"Unofficially, I helped the Boss write that program. You must remember, this was just after 9-11, and everyone was trying to help however they could. He and I worked out a program that would be able to encrypt the communications between a series of computers. It was so good; it was almost foolproof. That was ten years ago. I can't even imagine how good it is now. I work for Apple now, and the things we are doing at Apple still aren't as good as that program. The Boss wanted to give it to the government, you know, his bit and all. But Binghamton and Wallace wanted to sell it to them. They had ferocious arguments, but the Boss was adamant. Patriotism above all else at that time. He quoted the guys who invented the internet but refused to patent it. I knew they would stop at nothing to get it for themselves. The Boss and Binghamton were to meet the next morning after the robbery to settle it once and for all. They never had the meeting. The Boss called me that morning to tell me the program was gone from his safe. We both knew who had taken it. He needed to put pressure on them, so he dreamed up this coin robbery thing to get the police involved. He told Binghamton that he would tell the police about the program's theft if he didn't return it. Binghamton called his bluff and told him to do whatever he wanted. They would deny everything, and he had no proof. Binghamton told the Boss they were going to sign a contract with the defense department to sell this program to the government on an exclusive deal. Some FBI guy showed up at the company and met with the Boss. I wasn't there, but I may sure what happened. After that, the Boss was never the same. He had intended to confess to the police that he had the coins and the girl had stolen nothing. The FBI guy told him he had to get rid of the coins and say nothing because of national security. After the trial was over, they left the company and the Boss just sat in his office. He would never talk about it. He may have had a heart attack because he was a defeated old man after that."

"Do you still have a copy of that program?" I was forming an idea, but I needed help.

"Maybe, but that is my insurance. They will know where you got it."

"Not necessarily. Rutherford's granddaughter is now an attorney with a large law firm here in New York. She found a lot of his research, including his diary. They are very worried about that diary. The program is listed, I just don't have time to have someone recreate it if I don't have to."

He smiled." You say Cyndi is now an attorney? Good. Get'em girl. I always knew she was smart."

He sat and looked at the game on the TV for a moment. "Okay, I will do it for Cyndi. But how am I going to get it to you without someone seeing me if everyone you know is being watched?"

"Do you have a car?"

"Sure."

"Good. Give me the description and license plate number. When do you go to work in the mornings?"

"I'm usually there at nine."

"Ok. I am going to have a police friend of mine give you a warning for a burned out taillight. You tell me what day to do it, and he will give you the warning. You can give him the package. You might want to loosen a bulb that morning. No one knows you are involved. This will be normal. His name id Ed O'Sullivan. Is that okay with you?" Ed is going to LOVE this idea.

We agreed to two days from now. He went back to his seat. I told him to stay until the end and walk out with everyone else.

The next morning, I went to see Ed. This was going to be fun. I hadn't bothered him since we had our talk. Now I needed him, and he wasn't going to like it.

"Hey Ed, how's it been without me bothering you?"

"Like a gift from heaven. I guess it is time to pay for the peace and quiet, isn't it?"