Read Online The Blue Nowhere-SA by Jeffery Deaver - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jeffery Deaver
Tags: Fiction, General, thriller, Suspense, adventure, Action & Adventure, California, Crime & mystery, Technological, Serial Murders, Crime thriller, Computer Hackers, Murder victims, Privacy; Encroachment by computer systems, Crime investigations
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women trying to make their way in the Blue Nowhere. Not only are they hounded out of chat rooms and off bulletin boards but they're often blatantly insulted and even threatened. Teenage girls who want to hack need to be smarter and ten times tougher than their male counterparts.
"What were you saying about Univac?" Tony Mott asked.
Nolan filled in, "March 31, 1951. The first Univac was delivered to the Census Bureau for regular operations."
"What was it?" Bob Shelton asked.
"It stands for Universal Automatic Computer."
Gillette said, "Acronyms're real popular in the Machine World." Nolan said, "Univac is one of the first modern mainframe computers, as we know them. It took up a room as big as this one. Of course nowadays you can buy laptops that're faster and do a hundred times more."
Anderson mused, "The date? Think it's a coincidence?"
Nolan shrugged. "I don't know."
"Maybe our perp's got a theme of some kind," Mott suggested. "I mean, a milestone computer date and a motiveless killing right in the heart of Silicon Valley."
"Let's follow up on it," Anderson said. "Find out if there're any recent unsolved killings in other high-tech areas that fit this M.O. Try Seattle, Portland - they have the Silicon Forest there. Chicago's got the Silicon Prairie. Route 128 outside of Boston."
"Austin, Texas," Miller suggested.
"Good. And the Dulles Toll Road corridor outside of D.C. Start there and let's see what we can find. Send the request to VICAP."
Tony Mott keyed in some information and a few minutes later he got a response. He read from the screen and said, "Got something in Portland. February fifteenth and seventeenth of this year. Two unsolved killings, same M.O. in both of them, and it was similar to here - both victims stabbed to death, died of chest wounds. Perp was believed to be a white male, late twenties. Didn't seem to know the victims and robbery and rape weren't motives. The vics were a wealthy corporate executive - male - and a professional woman athlete."
"February fifteenth?" Gillette asked.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Patricia Nolan glanced at him. "ENIAC?"
"Right," the hacker said then explained: "ENIAC was similar to Univac but earlier. It came online in the forties. The dedication date was February fifteenth."
"What's that acronym?"
Gillette said, "The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator." Like all hackers he was an aficionado of computer history.
"Shit," Shelton muttered, "we've got a pattern doer. Great." Another message arrived from VICAR Gillette glanced at the screen and learned that these letters stood for the Department of Justice's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. It seemed that cops used acronyms as much as hackers.
"Man, here's one more," Mott said, reading the screen.
"More?" Stephen Miller asked, dismayed. He absently organized some of the disks and papers that covered hiA desk six inches deep.
"About eighteen months ago a diplomat and a colonel at the Pentagon - both of them with bodyguards were killed in Herndon, Virginia. That's the Dulles Toll Road high-tech corridor I'm ordering the complete files."
"What were the dates of the Virginia killings?" Anderson asked.
"August twelfth and thirteenth."
He wrote this on the white-board and looked at Gillette with a raised eyebrow. "Any clue?"
"IBM's first PC," the hacker replied. "The release date was August twelfth." Nolan nodded.
"So he's got a theme," Shelton said.
Frank Bishop added, "And that means he's going to keep going." The computer terminal where Mott sat gave a soft beep. The young cop leaned forward, his large automatic pistol clanking loudly against his chair. He frowned. "We've got a problem here." On the screen were the words:
Unable to Download Files
A longer message was beneath it.
Anderson read the text, shook his head. "The case files at VICAP on the Portland and Virginia killings're missing. The note from the sysadmin says they were
"What were you saying about Univac?" Tony Mott asked.
Nolan filled in, "March 31, 1951. The first Univac was delivered to the Census Bureau for regular operations."
"What was it?" Bob Shelton asked.
"It stands for Universal Automatic Computer."
Gillette said, "Acronyms're real popular in the Machine World." Nolan said, "Univac is one of the first modern mainframe computers, as we know them. It took up a room as big as this one. Of course nowadays you can buy laptops that're faster and do a hundred times more."
Anderson mused, "The date? Think it's a coincidence?"
Nolan shrugged. "I don't know."
"Maybe our perp's got a theme of some kind," Mott suggested. "I mean, a milestone computer date and a motiveless killing right in the heart of Silicon Valley."
"Let's follow up on it," Anderson said. "Find out if there're any recent unsolved killings in other high-tech areas that fit this M.O. Try Seattle, Portland - they have the Silicon Forest there. Chicago's got the Silicon Prairie. Route 128 outside of Boston."
"Austin, Texas," Miller suggested.
"Good. And the Dulles Toll Road corridor outside of D.C. Start there and let's see what we can find. Send the request to VICAP."
Tony Mott keyed in some information and a few minutes later he got a response. He read from the screen and said, "Got something in Portland. February fifteenth and seventeenth of this year. Two unsolved killings, same M.O. in both of them, and it was similar to here - both victims stabbed to death, died of chest wounds. Perp was believed to be a white male, late twenties. Didn't seem to know the victims and robbery and rape weren't motives. The vics were a wealthy corporate executive - male - and a professional woman athlete."
"February fifteenth?" Gillette asked.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Patricia Nolan glanced at him. "ENIAC?"
"Right," the hacker said then explained: "ENIAC was similar to Univac but earlier. It came online in the forties. The dedication date was February fifteenth."
"What's that acronym?"
Gillette said, "The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator." Like all hackers he was an aficionado of computer history.
"Shit," Shelton muttered, "we've got a pattern doer. Great." Another message arrived from VICAR Gillette glanced at the screen and learned that these letters stood for the Department of Justice's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. It seemed that cops used acronyms as much as hackers.
"Man, here's one more," Mott said, reading the screen.
"More?" Stephen Miller asked, dismayed. He absently organized some of the disks and papers that covered hiA desk six inches deep.
"About eighteen months ago a diplomat and a colonel at the Pentagon - both of them with bodyguards were killed in Herndon, Virginia. That's the Dulles Toll Road high-tech corridor I'm ordering the complete files."
"What were the dates of the Virginia killings?" Anderson asked.
"August twelfth and thirteenth."
He wrote this on the white-board and looked at Gillette with a raised eyebrow. "Any clue?"
"IBM's first PC," the hacker replied. "The release date was August twelfth." Nolan nodded.
"So he's got a theme," Shelton said.
Frank Bishop added, "And that means he's going to keep going." The computer terminal where Mott sat gave a soft beep. The young cop leaned forward, his large automatic pistol clanking loudly against his chair. He frowned. "We've got a problem here." On the screen were the words:
Unable to Download Files
A longer message was beneath it.
Anderson read the text, shook his head. "The case files at VICAP on the Portland and Virginia killings're missing. The note from the sysadmin says they were
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