Silent Witness: Heather Chase FBI Series Book 1 by A.W. Kaylen

Author:A.W. Kaylen [Kaylen, A.W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A.W. Kaylen
Published: 2023-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Chase walked in that morning to find Bob sleeping on his desk, 10 monitors in front of him playing camera footage of varying quality.

The SET program, or Significant Event Tracking, was the black sheep of the New York Field Office. The basic way it worked was by aggregating various sources of video data from traffic cams, ATMs, road-facing buildings, and more into a panopticon of mass surveillance. Since all of the data was gathered and collated legally under the Patriot Act, it meant that its results could be used for any investigation without warrant.

While such unlimited data could prove a boon for those who knew how to work it, as far most agents were concerned, it was only good for a Hail Mary. They had no idea how to incorporate the vast quantities of data into their investigations.

But being a data addict, Bob had familiarized himself with the intricacies of SET. When used correctly, the AI could hone in on a filtered subset of data, automatically following certain entities—that is, suspects—and constructing an activity graph of their day-to-day events, who they met with, where they went, and so on. It would take a new generation of agents to more fully incorporate the technology into the day-to-day of law enforcement, but the more savvy agents could still make use of it if they knew where to look.

Bob had pointed the thing directly at the Weifeng building. If any of the people coming in and out had shady dealings, he reasoned, the AI would be able to detect the anomaly and give them a push in the right direction.

Bob sleepily sat up in his seat, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and took a hit of cold coffee. “Lee is squeakier clean than a middle schooler. I thought I’d at least catch him on something—zoning violations, unpaid taxes, charges of sexual harassment, anything. Hell, the guy’s never even had a parking ticket.”

“What do you expect, Bob? He’s got a zillion dollars and probably two dozen high-profile shysters on retainer. They all walk behind him picking up the trash he drops. We already knew Lee himself would be a dead end. Even if he was involved in Deborah’s murder, we’d never tie it to him directly.”

Bob rubbed his eyes again, checked his phone.

“Your wife—” Chase began to say. “Never mind. Tell me what you got on Lee’s employees.”

“So far, the program hasn’t turned up much in particular—just reams of dirt on Weifeng personnel outside of work hours. Random sex, illicit underground gambling, and some have even taken to the age-old pastime of getting high.”

“Not surprising. Just part of living in a modern city. Getting a foot wet in depravity now and again doesn’t make you guilty of murder.”

“Let’s assume Lee did use someone to do the hit,” Bob said, his face lined down the side as if he’d been sleeping on his reports. “How would we go about narrowing down said henchman?”

“We hit the streets for that. Not ourselves, though. We hit the people who hit the streets.

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