Strong Enough to Die by Jon Land

Author:Jon Land
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

51

HOUSTON, THE PRESENT

“I’m hoping you can help me, Mr. Hollis,” Caitlin said to Charles Hollis. His title listed him as director of Internal Security for MacArthur-Rain Industries. The number dialed yesterday by DynaTech’s receptionist had been to his exchange here at the company’s headquarters in Houston. Caitlin had driven to the airport and flown here, as soon as Captain D. W. Tepper had reached her with the news.

“I’ll do my best, Ranger,” Hollis promised, not seeming anxious or on his guard. He had strawlike hair colored the chalk yellow of a bad dye job, cropped close enough to make him look military. But his blue eyes were weak and shifty, having trouble staying focused on anything for more than an instant. Kind of guy, Caitlin thought, who buys a uniform at an Army-Navy store and wears it to the shooting range, or to play paintball on a corporate outing. “Does this have something to do with one of our employees? Because that’s the primary focus of my office.”

“Corporate espionage, sabotage, that sort of thing?”

“It’s more common than most realize.”

“I’m sure it is, but that’s not why I’m here, Mr. Hollis. I’m here about a company in San Antonio called DynaTech. Used to be known as RevCom.”

Caitlin studied Hollis’s reaction, saw nothing of note.

“And why does that bring you to me?”

“Because someone from DynaTech called you yesterday.”

Still no response, other than a slight flicker of his eyebrows.

“You must be mistaken, Ranger.”

“Would’ve been late morning, early afternoon maybe.”

“I was in a meeting at the time.”

“Which time?”

“Both of them.”

Caitlin studied him briefly. The man wasn’t much of a liar. Of course, he couldn’t have known that she had a videotape of the receptionist addressing him by name. “And it doesn’t strike you as strange that someone from DynaTech would have called you?”

“Or someone in my department? Not really.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because MacArthur-Rain owns DynaTech. We purchased RevCom and managed the transition. I recall running background checks on all our new employees.”

“Since you dumped all the old ones. Why’d you do that, by the way?”

“What?”

“Background checks.”

“A requirement in the post-9/11 age, especially in view of this company’s considerable international business dealings.”

Caitlin eased her chair a bit closer to Hollis’s desk. “When exactly did you swallow up RevCom?”

Hollis’s expression remained etched in stone. “I don’t recall. MacArthur-Rain has any number of subsidiaries and off-sites, hundreds in fact. I deal with background checks and security issues for all of them, far too many to remember the precise details of each.”

“What’s an off-site?”

“Business we contract with to perform specialized services for us.”

“Before you swallow them up, that is, like you did with RevCom?”

Hollis’s face finally cracked. “I’m confused, Ranger. What exactly brought you here again?”

“Accusation made by a former employee of RevCom.”

“And who’s that?”

“Can’t say.”

“Can you tell me the gist of the accusation?”

“Nope. Not at this time.”

“What can you tell me?”

Caitlin pulled from her pocket the black computer chip Cort Wesley Masters had lifted off Peter’s bedcovers the previous night, recognizing it from a facsimile in Mexico. “Know what this is?”

“I’m afraid I don’t.

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