Jason Archer’s e-mail name, his last name and initials. Then ArchieKW2
was the person the message had initially gone to. Jason Archer had hit
the K instead of the J, that seemed clear enough. ArchieKW2 had sent
the message back to the sender with a message about the mistake, but in
doing so had actually delivered it to the intended destination: Sidney
Archer.
The reference to the Seattle warehouse made sense. Jason had evidently
run into some serious trouble with whomever he was meeting.
The exchange had somehow gone bad. All wrong? Obviously, Sidney had
pounced on it as proof of her husband’s innocence.
Sawyer wasn’t so sure about that. All backwards? That seemed to be an
awkward phrase. Next, Sawyer stared at the password. Jesus, Jason was
truly a brain if he could pull that long a password off the top of his
head. Sawyer could make no sense out of it. He squinted and parked his
face closer to the paper. Jason obviously had not had the opportunity
to finish the message.
Sawyer stretched his kinked neck from side to side and leaned back in
his chair. The disk. They had to get the disk. Or, more accurately,
Sidney Archer would have to get it. His thoughts were interrupted by
the ringing phone. Certain it was Sidney calling back, he snatched it
up.
“Yeah?”
“Lee, it’s Frank.”
“Christ, Frank, can’t you ever call during normal business hours?”
“It’s bad, Lee. Real bad. Law firm of Tyler, Stone. The under ground
garage.”
“What is it?”
“Triple homicide. You better get down here.”
Sawyer put the phone down. Sidney’s last words to him had just taken on
real meaning. Sonofabitch.f The street leading into the underground
parking garage was a sea of red and blue lights as police and emergency
vehicles parked everywhere.
Sawyer and Jackson flashed their badges at the security line.
A concerned-looking Frank Hardy met them just inside the entrance and
led them to the lowest level of the garage, four stories underground,
where’ the temperature in the garage was well below freezing.
“Looks like the murders took place very early this morning, so the
trail’s reasonably fresh. The bodies are in good shape, too, except for
some extra holes in them,” Hardy said.
“How did you find out about it, Frank?”
“The firm’s managing partner, Henry Wharton, was notified by the police
in Florida, where he’s on firm business. He called Nathan Gamble;
Gamble, in turn, immediately informed me.”
“So I take it whoever got bumped was affiliated with the law firm?”
Sawyer asked.
“You can see for yourself, Lee. Everybody’s still here. But let’s say
Triton has a particular interest in these murders. That’s why Warton
called Gamble so fast. We also just found our that the security guard
at Tyler, Stone’s office in New York was murdered early this morning.”
Sawyer stared at him. “New York?”
Hardy nodded.
“Anything else on it?”
“Not yet. But there were reports of a woman running out of the building
about an hour before the body was discovered.”
Sawyer digested this new development as the men walked through the
throng of police and forensics personnel to the driver’s side of the
sleek limo. Both doors were open. Sawyer observed the print
technicians completing their dusting of the limo’s exterior. A crime
scene photographer was snapping away, while another technician was
filming the area with a video camera. The medical examiner, a
middle-aged man wearing a white dress shirt with shirtsleeves rolled up,
tie tucked inside the shirt, and sporting plastic gloves and a surgical
mask, was consulting with two men wearing dark blue trench coats. Then
the two men walked over to join Hardy and the FBI agents.
Hardy introduced Sawyer and Jackson to Royce and Holman, a pair of D.C.
homicide detectives. “I’ve briefed them on the bureau’s interest in the
case, Lee.”
“Who found the bodies?” Jackson asked Royce.
“Accountant who worked in the building. Arrived a little before six.
His parking space is down here. He thought it was odd to see a limo
here at this hour, particularly since it was blocking a bunch of other
parking spaces. The glass on the vehicle is all tinted, as you can see.