Read Online The Inner Sanctum by Stephen Frey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Stephen Frey
Tags: Fiction, General, Espionage, Mystery Fiction, New York (N.Y.), Business, Washington (D.C.), Bankers, Investment Banking, Securities Industry
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seat onto which she had ducked only an instant before the figure standing in the road had begun firing. She was covered with glass but ignored the sharp slivers and the tiny cuts on her forearms. She gripped the steering wheel hard with her left hand as the wind whipped through her hair and reached down with her right to turn the lights back on. As her head sank back she suddenly realized the headrest was gone. One of the bullets had blown it out through the shattered back window.
Roth spat out the dust and dirt in his mouth, then sat up and rubbed his throbbing leg. Blood from a cut over his left eye trickled down the side of his face, but for some moments he remained oblivious to it. He stared through the darkness at the sound of the fleeing car, then nodded his head as the lights came on too far away for him to discern the numbers and letters of the license plate. Whoever was driving that car was a formidable enemy, someone he had to seek out and destroy if the mission was going to remain on track. But the trail was quickly growing cold as the car raced away.
Roth reached inside his windbreaker and pulled out the leather glove he had found on the leaves. This would be all he needed to pick up the trail again.
"What do you have?" The man's voice was calm.
"A leather glove. Judging by the small size and design, I'd say the glove was worn by a female." Roth's leg was still killing him, but his expression gave away no hint of pain. He had endured much worse. "Inside the glove was a hair. A long hair. Again, I'd say female. Maybe the person ran her fingers through her hair before putting on the glove."
"So at least we have something."
"Yes."
"What is your plan?" the man asked.
"We were lucky. The hair had a follicle, and we can pull a DNA sample from the cells in the follicle. We know the person I chased tonight is one of twenty-two people in the department. If I can collect hair samples from those people, say from their brushes or coat collars, we might be able to get a match using DNA analysis."
"It will take time to collect the samples," the man pointed out.
"I'm fast," Roth assured the man.
"But even if you could get the samples quickly, it's still a long process in the laboratory using a hair follicle. Two to three weeks, probably. Using blood would be different, but that's out of the question. And we don't have two or three weeks." The man was becoming anxious.
"So we come at it another way."
"What do you mean?"
"In this case we have a limited pool of twenty-two people. We're almost certain our target is one of them."
"Yes."
"The lab can eliminate people from suspicion by examining the samples I collect and comparing them to the hair in the glove in terms of color and texture. Plus, if the lab finds certain chemicals on the hair from the glove, say chemicals found in specific dyes or shampoos, and the same chemicals on just one of the samples I collect, we can be reasonably sure we've got the right person. I think 'reasonably sure' isn't a bad thing in this case."
"I couldn't agree more."
"There's still another way to come at this thing," Roth offered.
"What's that?"
"The glove has a tag sewn on the inside. The name of the store from which it was purchased, I assume. It's an exclusive leather goods shop in the Galleria in downtown Baltimore. Maybe people at the store could give me information. With the scanners and automatic reorder entry systems retail stores employ these days, they should be able to give me a list of names of those who purchased this exact type of glove from the store in the past year or so. At least those who purchased by credit card. If that list contains a name from the department, I think we should move on that person immediately."
"Absolutely." Suddenly the man was feeling much better.
"Is it all right if I use the Justice Department badge for that? I'd probably get results faster."
"Use anything you have to. Just find the person who took that file from Robinson's house."
**
Roth spat out the dust and dirt in his mouth, then sat up and rubbed his throbbing leg. Blood from a cut over his left eye trickled down the side of his face, but for some moments he remained oblivious to it. He stared through the darkness at the sound of the fleeing car, then nodded his head as the lights came on too far away for him to discern the numbers and letters of the license plate. Whoever was driving that car was a formidable enemy, someone he had to seek out and destroy if the mission was going to remain on track. But the trail was quickly growing cold as the car raced away.
Roth reached inside his windbreaker and pulled out the leather glove he had found on the leaves. This would be all he needed to pick up the trail again.
"What do you have?" The man's voice was calm.
"A leather glove. Judging by the small size and design, I'd say the glove was worn by a female." Roth's leg was still killing him, but his expression gave away no hint of pain. He had endured much worse. "Inside the glove was a hair. A long hair. Again, I'd say female. Maybe the person ran her fingers through her hair before putting on the glove."
"So at least we have something."
"Yes."
"What is your plan?" the man asked.
"We were lucky. The hair had a follicle, and we can pull a DNA sample from the cells in the follicle. We know the person I chased tonight is one of twenty-two people in the department. If I can collect hair samples from those people, say from their brushes or coat collars, we might be able to get a match using DNA analysis."
"It will take time to collect the samples," the man pointed out.
"I'm fast," Roth assured the man.
"But even if you could get the samples quickly, it's still a long process in the laboratory using a hair follicle. Two to three weeks, probably. Using blood would be different, but that's out of the question. And we don't have two or three weeks." The man was becoming anxious.
"So we come at it another way."
"What do you mean?"
"In this case we have a limited pool of twenty-two people. We're almost certain our target is one of them."
"Yes."
"The lab can eliminate people from suspicion by examining the samples I collect and comparing them to the hair in the glove in terms of color and texture. Plus, if the lab finds certain chemicals on the hair from the glove, say chemicals found in specific dyes or shampoos, and the same chemicals on just one of the samples I collect, we can be reasonably sure we've got the right person. I think 'reasonably sure' isn't a bad thing in this case."
"I couldn't agree more."
"There's still another way to come at this thing," Roth offered.
"What's that?"
"The glove has a tag sewn on the inside. The name of the store from which it was purchased, I assume. It's an exclusive leather goods shop in the Galleria in downtown Baltimore. Maybe people at the store could give me information. With the scanners and automatic reorder entry systems retail stores employ these days, they should be able to give me a list of names of those who purchased this exact type of glove from the store in the past year or so. At least those who purchased by credit card. If that list contains a name from the department, I think we should move on that person immediately."
"Absolutely." Suddenly the man was feeling much better.
"Is it all right if I use the Justice Department badge for that? I'd probably get results faster."
"Use anything you have to. Just find the person who took that file from Robinson's house."
**
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