The Inside Man Page 11

  With Mei hugging him tightly and not letting go, Levi glanced at Alicia. “Miss Lucy?”

  “The lady that was just here.” Alicia patted at Mei’s back. “Mei said Miss Lucy snuck her candies when her … well, when the bad man wasn’t looking.”

  Mei’s sobs began to subside, and Levi felt her shuddering breath on his neck.

  There were times when Levi felt like coming here and never leaving. He could almost imagine himself with the kids, almost like a real father … but that wasn’t going to happen. He could do more good out there, in the real world. To him, this place was like a cheat—an escape from reality. He could never bury his head in the sand again. He was done running from his problems.

  Mei finally pushed back from Levi, and with her eyes downcast, she said something in Cantonese.

  Alicia covered her mouth and giggled. “Mei wants to know if she’s allowed to have a second cookie.”

  Levi burst out laughing, hugged both kids to him, and led them to the door. “Let’s all visit Grandma Yoder for another cookie.”

  ###

  When he’d first asked Mom if she’d be willing to look after a child he’d rescued from the streets, she didn’t hesitate. His mom was a deeply religious woman, and she felt strongly that it was a commandment from God to do things for others, especially those less fortunate than ourselves. The Jews had a name for this—they called such an act a mitzvah. But upon seeing Mom with the kids, Levi could tell she wasn’t just doing it because it was the right thing: she loved those kids. And more importantly, those kids knew it and returned her affection.

  It was a bit gut-wrenching for Levi to leave the kids behind, but they were where they belonged. And he had other demands on his time. He had only ten days until the kidnapper’s deadline. Ten days for him to unravel the mystery of the kidnapping while somehow managing to keep O’Connor off his ass and stay out of jail.

  As he walked into Gerard’s, Denny called from behind the bar. “Hey, Levi.”

  It was midday, and there weren’t any customers in the bar, but the place was full of activity. Woodworkers had begun hanging cabinets, and stonemasons were busy marking off a new countertop for the expanded eating area. Rosie, the brown-haired Puerto Rican woman who worked for Denny, was wiping the bar clean of the dust coming from the work area. She gave Levi that frustrated look she always did when he showed up. Probably because more often than not, it left her with one less set of hands to deal with customers.

  “We won’t be long,” Levi promised.

  She shook her head, and rolled her eyes. Rosie was a realist, and knew better.

  Levi and Denny went to the secret room in the back, and as the door sealed shut behind them, the noise from the front room vanished.

  Denny wiped his hands on his pants. “I’ve got some stuff you’ll really want to see.”

  At the back of the workshop, past the rows of the metal shelves, sat a plain table with several packages on it. Beside it stood a mannequin wearing what looked like a wet suit.

  “What the hell is that?” Levi asked, looking at the mannequin.

  Denny ripped open a Fedex package and glanced at the wet suit. “Oh, you mean Henry? I’ll introduce you to him in a second. But first, let me show you this.” He pulled from the package what looked like a plastic contact lens container.

  He picked it up, shook it lightly, and heard water sloshing inside. Yup, contact solution. “Why the heck do you think I need this?” Levi had never worn glasses—in fact his vision was a notch or two better than normal.

  Denny smiled. “Humor me. Open it and put that contact in your right eye. If you’ve never done it before, I can do it for you.”

  Levi felt a tingle of excited anticipation … almost like unwrapping a present. Denny fancied himself a real-life version of Q, the gadget-master for James Bond. And though Levi was certainly no James Bond, the electronics whiz was pretty remarkable when he set his mind on doing something new and creative.

  Levi unscrewed the cap and examined the contact submerged in what looked like standard contact solution. “Why does this thing look like it has little silver stripes running through it?”

  “Those are fiber-optic channels. Actually, it’s a bit more than that, they’re bundled arrays of carbon nanotubes, but let’s just keep things simple. Trust me, you won’t even see them when you put it on.”

  Levi looked at his hands. “Shouldn’t I wash my hands or something?”

  “Really?” Denny gave him an amused look and pulled out a bottle of contact solution. “Show me your right hand.”

  Levi extended his hand, and Denny squeezed the solution on Levi’s hand and all over the floor.

  Levi rubbed his fingers together, not sure that they were any cleaner now than before. “What’s this thing do?”

  “Stop being a baby, I’ve never steered you wrong. Just put it in your right eye. That’s the one I measured it for.”

  With a sigh, Levi scooped the contact onto the top of his index finger. As he moved it toward his eyeball, he wondered why anyone would wear contacts. The idea of putting something directly on your eye seemed nuts. Yet here he was doing exactly that.

  “Just press it on gently and it should just suction cup right onto your eye. It’ll automatically orient itself once you blink a few times.”

  Levi did as he was told, and the world turned blurry as he blinked the excess contact solution away. But as he was about to rub his eye, Denny stopped him.

  “No—don’t rub your eyes. Here.” He handed Levi some tissues. “Just dab the wet away.”

  Levi dabbed away the wetness, then looked around. “Okay, now what? I don’t see anything different. Am I supposed to?”

  Denny took a pen from his shirt and handed it to Levi. “Take a look at that.”

  Levi felt that kid-like excitement building within him. He knew this had to be more than just a pen. He gave Denny a hint of a smile.

  He turned the “pen” over in his hands and twisted the cap, revealing a ball-point nib. This was one of those fancy non-disposable pens with black lacquer and gold fittings. Thicker than he’d have expected for a normal pen, but otherwise … just a pen. Levi felt a wave of disappointment.

  “Press the metal clip,” Denny suggested.

  Levi pressed down on one side of the gold clip. It clicked, and the top of the pen flipped open, revealing a clear glass lens. An image flickered into view in Levi’s right eye, almost as if by magic.

  “Oh, shit.”

  Denny laughed.

  The image was confused and blurred. “What am I seeing?” Levi asked. “Oh, wait…” He aimed the pen, and the image hovering in front of his right eye followed the pen’s movement.

  A little to the right, the pen aimed at Denny, focusing on his mischievous smile contrasted with his dark complexion.

  Aiming the pen, up, the image displayed in front of his eye shifted to the ceiling tiles. They needed a fair bit of dusting.

  Denny chuckled as Levi aimed the pen at different targets. “As you can tell, holding the clip down is what activates the video transmitter. While it’s active, if you push or pull the cap, you’ll be able to—”

  “Hah!” Levi laughed as he zoomed in on the far end of the workshop. The image was now clear as day. It was almost like he was looking into a transparent viewfinder. “This is awesome.”

  “That’s not all of it. Give me five minutes, and I’ll link the pen via Bluetooth to your phone and you can stream a video directly to it.”

  Levi let go of the clip, and the image vanished. He shook his head and chuckled. “Denny, you’re always good for a surprise. I can think of all sorts of uses for this. Was this the custom thing you’d talked about?”

  “No, that’s just one of the things I’ve been working on.” Denny motioned for the pen and handed Levi a bottle of contact solution. “Give me your phone and I’ll link it to the pen. You put the contact back into its case.”

  Levi stepped
over to a mirror and tried to figure out how to remove the contact without blinding himself.

  “Just swipe the front of the contact with the tip of your finger,” Denny said. “Once you dislodge the seal, it’ll come right out.”

  Levi pried open his eyelids with one hand and awkwardly removed the contact with the other. He put the contact back into its case and turned toward the mannequin. “Okay, so I can’t help but notice this goofy-looking mannequin…”

  “Hey! That’s Henry.”

  “I’m guessing Henry comes with the custom item you were talking about—the wet suit?”

  “It’s actually a dry suit.”

  “Wet suit, dry suit, whatever. What’s the story with that?”

  “Pretty simple, actually. I had some two-bit second story guy dump a pretty good deposit for something custom, and he ended up not showing up to collect. I figured out he’s doing five to ten years in Sing Sing, so I’m stuck with Henry.” Denny slid Levi’s phone back across the table. “Well, this guy asked me for something that’ll defeat a thermal imaging system. Henry’s wearing the result of that request.”

  Levi pocketed his phone and examined the suit. On the back was a slight bulge, almost like a thin backpack. “What the thing on the back? And wouldn’t the rubber eventually get warmed up by body heat?”

  Denny hopped out of his chair, flicked a switch on the side of the backpack, and a barely noticeable hum began to emanate from the suit. “This is a three-ply suit with a fine mesh circulator running across every square inch. It’s made of a specially-treated waterproof Cordura that’s tear-resistant, tough as nails, and provides the perfect foil for the recirculation when layered properly.”

  “Ah.” Levi studied the suit with a new appreciation. “I get it. So, is the thing on the back the water reservoir with a heating or cooling element?”

  “Yup. Well, it’s not water, exactly, but you got the idea. And it’s good for both cold and warm. There’s two separate thermostats connected to the two different layers of mesh. So the layer closest to your skin can keep you at a comfortable temperature while the outer one can be set to whatever environment you need. Anywhere from twenty degrees to a hundred and twenty degrees.”

  “Whoa, below freezing? Really?”

  “I told you it’s not water. Anyway, since the guy who requested it isn’t coming back, and you’re about the right size, and you’re always into weird situations … I figured I might pawn this off on you.”

  Levi gave his friend a sidelong glance. “Word of advice, ‘pawning off’ aren’t the words you should use when trying to make a sale.”

  Denny shrugged. “Well, are you interested?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t have a need for it. It’s cool as hell, though.”

  Denny sighed. “Oh well. It was worth a try. C’mon.” He motioned for Levi to follow him. “I’ve got your new baseball cap all fixed up like you asked.”

  Levi’s cap was sitting next to Denny’s computer. Of all the devices Denny had come up with, this was one of Levi’s favorites. By sending out narrow beams of light deep in the infrared spectrum, and monitoring for reflections coming back, it allowed him to detect whenever someone or something was looking at him. It had already saved his life once.

  Denny picked it up. “No more need for a separate battery. The tech is evolving pretty rapidly when it comes to molded lithium-ion batteries. The power’s all hidden within the brim and structural ribs of the cap. Works just the same as before though, and it can charge wirelessly.”

  He pointed at the tiny, nearly-invisible holes surrounding the edge of the cap. “I’ve fixed the bigger problem, too. You said some security cameras were showing you light up like a Christmas tree when you wore it? That won’t happen anymore. I’ve adjusted the wavelength of the light it sends out, so it’s beyond what any surveillance equipment should be looking for.”

  He pointed at a darkened smudge under the bill of the cap. “And this is a pressure switch. Press it once and it’ll kick off a diagnostic, which will tickle all the posts. Press it again to turn it off.”

  “Awesome.” Levi touched the inside of the cap, feeling the tiny metal posts that just barely protruded from its liner.

  “Oh, on a more serious note. You’ll want to see this.” Denny sat at his computer and pulled up what looked like a photograph of someone’s computer screen.

  Levi sat on the stool next to him. “What’s that?”

  “It’s a copy of the forensics report from that Suburban that blew up. You remember, the one I texted you about? Anyway, I looked through it and figured you might want to know about—”

  “How the hell did you … never mind.” Levi focused his attention on the poor-quality photograph of a computer screen. It must have come from one of Denny’s contacts inside the intelligence community. Likely a former classmate of the MIT grad.

  Denny zoomed in on the image. “It looks like the car was doused with an accelerant and set on fire. Nothing accidental about it. I’m not exactly sure why, but the FBI got called into this, and they found a few latent fingerprints. Oh, and check this out.”

  Levi’s attention focused on the section of text that Denny highlighted.

  IAFIS match to a Giancarlo Fiorucci. Known associate of the Marino crime family out of Virginia. Current residence: unknown.

  “Son of a bitch.” Levi realized that his search had taken an unexpected turn. He pressed one of the quick dial buttons on his phone and waited. The phone rang once … twice … and then a loud bout of static erupted from the receiver. The signal was terrible in Denny’s workshop.

  “Hey, Levi.” Frankie’s voice crackled across the line. “Vinnie wants to talk to you about this Costanza thing and where you’ve been.”

  “Perfect, I just got back and I need to talk to him too. When is he available?”

  “Come by for dinner. I’m sure you remember that it’s Michael and Vanessa’s birthday tomorrow, and the family is having a big party at the Waldorf, but tonight’s just us.”

  Levi winced as he realized he hadn’t gotten anything for Vinnie’s kids.

  “Hey, Frankie. How’s our relations with the Marino family out of Virginia?”

  “The Marinos? Those guys are nothing but a bunch of momos with big chips on their shoulders ‘cause they own some of the DC politicians and lobbyists. We’ve got a cousin over there who’s one of the boss’s capos. Why are you asking?”

  “I might need some introductions. Let’s talk after dinner.”

  “All right, man. Five o’clock is when Vinnie’s wife gets back with the kids from school. If you’re not around for their party tomorrow, you might want to do something nice tonight, if you know what I mean. Dinner’s at six.”

  “Okay, Frankie. See you then.”

  Levi hung up and glanced at his watch. He needed to get something for the kids.

  “Hey, Denny, out of curiosity, does it say on that report who did the on-scene forensics?”

  “Hang on.” Denny started scanning through the images he’d been sent and just about when Levi was going to tell him it didn’t really matter, Denny smiled and zoomed in on the image displayed on the screen. The monitor was suddenly filled by a small section of the report.

  Crime Scene Analysis completed by: Nick Anspach

  “Well, I guess he ended up following up on that lead for me. I probably owe that guy a beer.”

  Chapter Nine

  A bell chimed as Levi opened the door to Rosen’s Sporting Goods. A pimply-faced teen was scanning a woman’s purchases at the counter, and the woman’s toddler was swinging a pair of snow boots into the back of her legs.

  The cashier looked up and nodded at Levi. “My grandmother’s in the back with someone. I’ll let her know you’re here.”

  “Thanks, Ira.”

  “Ira is the other one. I’m Moishe.” The teen rolled his eyes as he scanned the next item.

  Levi chuckled. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever call
ed one of the Rosen twins by the right name on the first shot.

  As he waited, a line formed at the checkout. Everyone seemed to be buying all sorts of snow gear. Snowshoes, parkas, bibs, skis. The weather forecast had warned of a blizzard. Levi fully intended to be down in DC and would be happy to avoid the disaster that the New York City streets would turn into this weekend.

  “Moishe!” A woman’s voice erupted from somewhere in the back. All Levi could see was a gray-haired bun bobbing up and down as she walked past a tall sales rack.

  An Asian man also emerged from the back of the store, heading straight for the exit. He didn’t look familiar to Levi, certainly nobody he’d seen in Chinatown before, but judging by his clothes and the way he carried himself, the guy was almost certainly in Levi’s line of work.

  Not a surprise. Esther was not what she seemed to be. Under that grandmotherly façade was a shrewd businesswoman who had no reluctance about dealing in anything she could profit from—including things that weren’t exactly legal to purchase.

  “Bubbaleh, you should have called your brother in from the back. I don’t like such long lines.” Esther apologized to the customers for their wait and helped her grandson speed up their checkouts. Soon the line had died down, and Esther came over to Levi.

  He held up a small shopping bag and smiled. “I come bearing gifts.”

  Esther gave him a suspicious look and peeked inside the grocery bag. “Oy, you wicked man. Entenmann’s, and this time, it’s the black and white cookies you bring me. Now I know you want something.” She motioned for him to follow as she waddled toward the back.

  “Wait,” Levi said. “Something I need might be in the front. Or at least, I hope so.”

  Esther stopped and cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh, really?” She walked over to him, smoothed out his suit jacket and patted him on the chest. “So, what can I do you for, boychik?”

  “Well, I’ve got a set of nine-year-olds that I need a last-minute birthday gift for.”

  Esther gave him a disapproving stare. “You forgot the birthday for Don Bianchi’s twins?”