The Carma Klown 9

Chapter 9

© 2013 by the author

Wednesday, ca. 4:30 p.m., June 9, 2010

“Mike, you said you have something?” Altmann stood in the passageway outside Michael’s cubicle. He couldn’t enter because the small space was already crowded. Besides Michael, two other detectives sat on chairs with laptops balanced on their legs. Four other people were sitting in the passageway between the rows of cubicles working on their computers. “You guys need a room to work in. Dawson, go see Sergeant Ryan and tell him I said for him to find a room with a table that will hold all of you. That room next to my office with the AV hook-up should work. Now, Mike, what have you got for me? Were you able to process the images from the reflections?”

“Not yet. We’re working on that. We’ve isolated the images, but each one is too small and too blurred to be of much help. Jim Mitchell is doing the math and computing the angles and the distance from the source. Once we have that, we’ll combine the images and superimpose them on one another to get a richer picture. We’re hoping we can sharpen that and use it to ID the location. We found a couple of things. First—about the money. Ellen took a closer look at the videos and discovered something.” Michael signaled to the detective seated to his right to speak.

Ellen Corwin had only recently resurfaced at Midtown after several months undercover at a brokerage firm suspected of laundering drug money. With her inside information, the DA had recently been able to indict several officers of the firm. She was perfect for undercover work in businesses because of her accounting skills and her appearance. When she put on a business suit and sensible heels, she looked like the MBA she was. Her specialty was fraud and financial crimes.

“Well, it was really Michael’s idea. He noticed that when each victim counts out the money, he holds the first bill so that the camera can see that it’s a $100 bill, but that all the subsequent bills are turned away from the camera. He suggested that maybe only the first bill was real and the rest were bogus or smaller denominations. So I took a look. You can’t see it in the first and fourth videos, but in the other four of them, the $100 bill you see first is the same bill. Look. I’ll show you.” She called up several images on her laptop and turned it so that Altmann could see them. “If you look closely, you can see that the same corner is torn off at the same place in each picture. The picture’s not good enough to check the serial number, but it would be stretching coincidence if there just happened to be four $100 bills all with the same corner missing. And Michael’s right. You can’t really see the other bills. They could be any denomination, maybe just ones, or they could just be pieces of paper of the right size. The victims count out the money in the shadows cast by their bodies, and it impossible to get a good look at them. The only time you see them again is when the vic pushes the stack across the floor to the Klown. And then the same $100 bill is on top of the stack.”

“Guys, this is great,” said Altmann. “See if you can find any further evidence. It would explain why we couldn’t find any unusual large cash withdrawals from Rossiter’s bank accounts. It would also rule out the theory that this is some sort of humiliation for hire or sex club thing. Pros would want real money. Good work, you two.”

“Captain, it also means that the Klown isn’t interested in the money,” Corwin spoke up. “The videos are public dramas. He’s delivering a message. We knew that all along, but as long as we thought the money was real, then there was a financial angle. The Carma Klown was reimbursing himself for his expenses, maybe even making a profit. If the money’s fake, then he’s interested only in the scene he’s creating and making the victims pay is just another way to humiliate them. They’re all big money guys, so make them appear to pay big sums of money. It’s an insight into his motives and psychology.”

“Yeah, maybe.”Altmann’s face said that he didn’t much care for this line of argument. “Michael, you said ‘first’—do you have something else for me?”

“Milowski’s watch. The time is 3:10. We checked, and he was at work during the day. So it’s got to be 3:10 a.m.”

“That confirms what we suspected.”

“The most important thing, Captain, is about how the alert got posted. We thought that the Klown had to have hacked into the system, and we were looking for unauthorized intrusions from outside around the time of the alert. But there weren’t any. The alert came from within the system.”

“You’re saying the Klown is a cop?”Altmann’s disbelief was apparent. “I can’t believe that, not after what he did to Reilly and Milowski.”

“No, no. Let me explain,” Michael spoke in a rush.“There are only a few people with access to the alert system. You need special codes to activate it. I’m guessing the thinking was that you don’t want just anyone to be able to post an alert. So there are two levels of security. The chief and the deputy chiefs who can authorize an alert get a new code each day. That code is randomly generated by computer, and it’s available only to them. It’s emailed to them every morning. But they can’t access the system directly. They have to contact the head or the deputy head of the communications system on duty at the time—there are three shifts—give that person the code and the text of the alert and then that person has to enter that day’s authorization code along with his own access code for the day, which only he—or she—knows. So there’s only a limited number of people who could have sent out the alert this morning. But none of them did. All the contacts with the communications system are logged through the computer, and there’s no record that the chief or any of the deputy chiefs contacted them, and there’s no record of either the head or the deputy head of the communications accessing the system.”

Altmann held up a hand to stop the explanation. “Mike, I’ll take your word for this. So if none of the authorized people sent out the alert, then who did?”

“This is where it gets interesting. The company that set up the system for the department—it’s called Syswide Technology—left a backdoor into the system. Vince found it with a little digging.” Michael pointed to the other person sitting in his cubicle. “This is standard procedure. If the system needs troubleshooting or servicing, the company can get in from their own offices. That way, if it’s a software problem or if they’re updating the system, they don’t need to be on site. They can open the backdoor and get into the system that way. Communications says that the standard procedure calls for Syswide to notify the department two or three days in advance when they do this, since the system might have to be down temporarily. Most of the time, there’s no interruption though, and the system just keeps on operating while Syswide does what it has to do. A couple of times there’s been an emergency and Syswide telephoned the department a few minutes ahead of time, but that didn’t happen this morning. But the backdoor was opened just before 9:00 am and remained open for 96 seconds. That’s how the alert and the video were uploaded into the system. No one noticed at the time because the shift was changing and no one was expecting Syswide to access the system. It wasn’t until all of us received the notice that Communications realized that an unauthorized alert was going out. Once an alert is loaded into the system, there’s no way to stop it. Nobody ever thought that would be necessary. Communications is checking its logs to see if they can come up with something more that will be of use.”

“And so someone from this company sent the alert? How do we find out who?”

“Well, the alert came through Syswide. Someone may have hacked their computers and used them to access the system. But we’ll know more once we get to their local office. I’m thinking maybe we could get a warrant to search their computers. Syswide will probably be worried that they’re going to get sued because the breach came from them, and they won’t want to cooperate. So a warrant would help. Can we show ADA White what we have and ask her? And can I head up the search team? I’ll know what to look for. And can I have Ellen and the rest of the people who have been helping join in. That way, I won’t have to brief them what to look for.”

“Slow down, Mike. First things first. I’ll contact White and have her call you. You need to put together a list of what you’re looking for so that the search warrant can be specific. No judge is going to give us carte blanche to shut down an entire company over what may be a small part of its business. Plus the company will probably be more cooperative if they realize that only certain of their records have to be released to us. Explain to White what you need to know to narrow the search to Syswide’s interactions with the police alert system. Then we can send you and your team in. It’s late, and it will take time to get the warrant. So plan on tomorrow morning first thing. If someone at Syswide is doing this, then they must work mornings. So if you go out in the morning, there’s a good chance they may be in the building. This is good work, Mike. Let’s hope it’s the break we need.”

Michael tried to hide his glee at hearing “you and your team.” He couldn’t help smiling as he said, “Thanks, Captain.”

*****

Wednesday, ca. 7:30 p.m., June 9, 2010

“That was Leah. She said it’s okay for us to offer Mikey a chance to work on the new version of Five Worlds. Sorry, I didn’t see you come in, or I would have kept her on the phone so that you could say hi.” Jeff was putting his phone away when Michael saw him and came over to the booth. As Michael had suggested that morning as he left their apartment, they met after work at Blanca’s, the Mexican restaurant near their place.

“Don’t worry about it. I can talk to her later.” They were frequent customers at Blanca’s. As Michael was sitting down, a waitress put a bottle of Bohemia dark, his favorite Mexican beer, in front of him. He nodded his thanks and took a long drink of it. When he sat the bottle down, about a third of the contents was gone. “Ah, that tastes good. How is my sister?” He stretched out his legs beneath the table and closed them around Jeff’s ankles. He grabbed a tortilla chip from the basket, scooped up a generous helping of salsa, and put the whole thing in his mouth.

“I guess she’s okay. She didn’t say anything. Incidentally Mikey has decided he’s old enough to be known as Mike. Leah said he won’t answer if you call him Mikey now. I also mentioned that we might want your mother to do the green-screen shots for this new character.”

“What does Leah think about that? Does she think Mom will agree?”

“She suggested another subterfuge. Mikey—Mike—it’s going to take me a while to get used to that. Anyway, Mike thinks he’s old enough to ride the subway by himself now. He won’t want to be chaperoned by your mother. So Leah thought maybe if we let Mike in on the plot, he would agree to have your mother on the set. Legally he’s still too young to be on the set by himself. So there has to be some adult relation with him. So Leah’s idea is that we can tell Mikey that it’s a way to persuade your mother to appear in the video and tell your mom that Mikey doesn’t want her and that the only way to make him like it is for her to ‘pretend’ that she’s only along to be in the video herself.”

“There’s got to be a simpler way to do this.”

“Well, I thought Leah’s idea was very clever. Both Mike and your mother will think they’re the one doing the other the favor. Anyway, that’s the current thinking. We’ll see what happens. Carson is planning to call Mike tonight and offer him the job but tell him that his parents have to sign off on the arrangement. So he’ll ask Mike to put your sister on the phone. They’ll chat for a while, like he’s explaining something to her. When he hangs up, that’s when your sister will tell Mike that they want your mom and get him to agree. She’ll make it sound like a plot. We’ll find out what happens later. Your sister will call us. You seem happy this evening. Did something happen at work?” And thanks for asking about my day, thought Jeff. You might at least have asked how the interview with Arlecchini went.

“We’re serving a warrant on a computer company tomorrow morning, and Altmann has put me in charge.”

“So you’re finally going to lead a raid.” Jeff lifted his bottle of beer, reached across the table, and clinked its neck against Michael’s bottle. “That’s great.”

“Yeah. It will be the first time I get to be in charge. Before I’ve always just been part of the team.”

“When I saw you walk in, I knew you were excited about something. What company is it? Can you tell me that much?”

“As long as you don’t get on your phone and warn them we’re coming.” Michael squeezed Jeff’s ankles even tighter between his feet and smiled. “But I guess I can trust you. It’s a place called Syswide Technology.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of them. In fact, Carson and Will both used to work for them. Years ago.”

“Jeez, I hope that’s not going to be a complication for me.”

 “Nah. They were just temps, while they were in college. Syswide hires dozens of contract hourly workers. That’s all Carson and Will were. That’s how they met and discovered that they both wanted to design video games. It must be ten years since they last worked there. Syswide provides tech support to a lot of small companies that don’t want to hire someone to take care of their computers. So they need lots of bodies to go around and hook computers up or troubleshoot problems, do routine maintenance, that sort of thing. They don’t want to hire people permanently and have to pay benefits. So they hire college kids to work for a few hours each week. I don’t think they let anyone work for more than twenty hours a week. They don’t pay very much either. They’ve got a reputation for exploiting their contract workers, but if you need money, you don’t have much choice. I might have ended up working for them or someplace like them if I hadn’t gotten lucky and Carson and Will hadn’t liked my sample video. Are you going to get your usual tonight? You really need to branch out a bit, Michael, and try new things now that you’re finally moving up in the world.”

“I’m a creature of habit. I’ll order the chiles rellenos.”

“Again? At least order the red sauce this time instead of the green. Live a little.”

“Maybe later. If you’re in the mood.”

“I’d better order more then. Just to build up my energy.”

“Put hair on your chest.”

“I’ve already got a lot of hair on my chest.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Yeah, you’ve kinda explored my body a bit.” Jeff smiled to himself. “Quite a bit in fact.”

“You’ve never protested.”

“No, I would never protest. Never.” Jeff laughed. “Anyway, why are you looking at Syswide? I thought you were spending all your time on this Klown thing.”

“That’s why we’re looking at Syswide. A new Carma Klown video was uploaded to the police alert system through a backdoor Syswide put in when they installed the system. The video featured two cops. The alert was sent to everyone in the police force. So pretty much everyone saw it. But the guy made two mistakes. He left a trace that’s leading us to Syswide. And there are reflections of some element in the background. We’re working on rebuilding the image. If we get lucky, we might be able to identify where the video was made.”

“What happens in the video?”

Michael leaned forward so that he couldn’t be overheard and gave Jeff a whispered summary of the contents of the video, omitting the fact that The Carma Klown had mentioned him and the other lead investigators by name. “Altmann had both of the cops brought in and questioned them. But they didn’t remember anything. Word is that they were drugged.”

“Michael, that’s awful. Jesus, those poor guys. They must be so embarrassed.”

“Well, one of them, the older guy, he committed suicide later.”

“Michael, you might have mentioned that at the start.” Jeff sat up straighter and pulled his legs away from Michael’s. He shoved the basket of tortilla chips out of the way. “What if this guy decides to go after you next?”

“That’s not going to happen.” Michael hoped that his face did not betray that this was a real possibility. And he prayed that Jeff would never see the video.

“I thought you were safe.”

“Jeff, let’s not have this argument again.” There was a warning note in Michael’s voice. “I’m tired of hearing you complain about my job. It’s my job. I’m sorry if it bothers you, but I’m not quitting. Change the subject.”

“It’s not an argument. It’s a discussion. You don’t know how much I worried when you had to do that probationary period as an ordinary cop and were out on the streets before they finally came to their senses and put you on computer crimes. At least I don’t have to worry that you’re going to be shot as long as you’re sitting at your computer.”

“Oh, I know how much you worried, you never miss an opportunity to remind me.” Michael tried to keep his voice down, but his anger spilled out. Carlos, Blanca’s son, arrived at the table in time to hear the tail end of his remarks. Michael growled at him, “I’d like another beer and I’ll have the chiles rellenos with the green sauce.”

Carlos made a tick on his pad. He held it so that Michael could see that he had written, “the usual for MC”; to Jeff he said, “And what can I get for you tonight, Mr. Corelli? Mom found some fresh whitefish at the market today, and she’s made fish enchiladas with tomatillos and jicama in a cilantro–pumpkin seed molé. I don’t think you’ve ever had that, but you should give it a try. I think you’ll like it. Another beer for you too?”

“I’m fine. One beer’s enough for me.” Jeff held up his bottle of beer to show that it was still half full. “These enchiladas aren’t too filling, are they?

“No, it’s a very light dish.”

“Good, I need to get to sleep early tonight, and I don’t want anything that’s going to keep me awake.”

Jeff and Michael finished the meal in silence.