Dead in a Week (Forensic Instincts 7)

“Before that half hour,” Terri qualified. “What I have in mind will take place in two parts—the first, before Jia li goes out, and the second, while she’s gone. The text will come last.”

“Fine. What will happen before that half hour?” Aidan amended.

“An unexpected visit to Stanford Business School. And an equally unexpected visit to Jia li’s apartment.”

“Explain.”

“If you recall, I included a few other items when I overnighted you the specialized computer for Vance. One of those things is an IMSI-catcher, complete with some special software I added. It’s a black metal box with a plug. I labeled it Windsor, after my dog. Once it’s been appropriately planted in the right room at the Business School, it will be near enough to Jia li for me to embargo her incoming text messages and calls.”

“Preventing any surprise communications from Xu Wei that would screw up your plan.”

“Uh-huh.” Aidan could hear Terri frowning through the phone. “It’s not foolproof. Once Jia li leaves the building, there’ll be a twenty-to-thirty-minute period of time when Xu can reach her. We have to take that risk. His calls to her aren’t that frequent.”

“And during that twenty-to-thirty-minute period of time, you—as Xu—will be texting her about the emergency meeting.”

“Yes. That’s why I’m capping it at a half hour. Less time, less risk.”

“And the break-in at her apartment?”

“Another device I sent you is an electronic bug Ryan designed— one that needs to be planted in Jia li’s apartment. Quite impressive, it looks like an electronic key fob, so that, even if Jia li were to find it, she’d merely assume that one of her friends left it there. In reality, it’s a one-way microphone that will transmit the conversation in the apartment over an encrypted channel linked to one of our cell phones that’s in close range. Using the Donovan app that I’ve installed on every team member’s cell phone, I’ll be able to listen in on the conversation and record it for evidentiary purposes.”

“By one of our cell phones being in close proximity, you mean Simone’s,” Aidan deduced aloud. “You want Simone to carry out these assignments.”

“Yes. I know what you’re thinking. Unfortunately, there’s no time to call in one of our experienced operatives and bring them up to speed. Plus, I don’t think it’s necessary. The Stanford part will be easy and low risk. The apartment break-in will obviously be a little trickier, but Simone is well-trained to handle it. And that’s where the major impasse lies—if you stick to your decision about her remaining with the Penningtons.”

“I’ll talk to her—and to Vance,” Aidan responded. “They’ll be flying into Santa Clara from Tahoe in an hour or two. It’ll be my job to make Vance realize that babysitting him won’t accomplish what we need to in the next twenty-four hours. Knowing that we’re about to choke off the head of the monster who ordered Lauren’s kidnapping might even pump him up about the imminent success of our mission.”

With that, Aidan paused, mentally assessing the delicate timing taking place in both Silicon Valley and Croatia. “Terri, do the physical setups. But wait to hear from me before you send the text and set the wheels in motion. I’ll tell the same to Simone. I know that will cause you angst because it potentially lengthens the vulnerable time frame when Xu and Jia li could be in contact. But once this arranged meeting happens and Xu doesn’t show up, Jia li and her Nano co-conspirator will realize they’ve been set up, which will set off alarm bells reaching from Santa Clara to Shenzhen. That can’t occur until we’ve pulled off our direct attack and Lauren is safe. She’s our number one priority.”

“Understood. I’ll delay things any way I need to, even if it means filling up Jia li’s voice mailbox and flooding her with junk texts. No matter what, I’ll wait for the go-ahead from you.”

Nodding, Aidan shifted his gaze to Marc. “Any news from Philip?”

“He’s in Ðakovo with Ellie and the couple the CI put them in touch with. Recon is well underway.”

“Good. Because regardless of how well I manage Vance, there’s no way we can count on him getting through another videoconference with Lauren, not after what just happened and not when he’s painfully aware that he’ll be down to the final day. Between that and Terri’s plan, we’ve got to move now and get Lauren out of there and headed home before dawn.”

Marc didn’t flinch. “Philip is checking in with me in a matter of hours, after doing as much static recon as he can manage, given our urgent time frame. You and I will use the information he gives us to devise a tactical plan. How long before you land in Osijek?”

“About seven hours.”

“I’ll be waiting at the airport. Ðakovo is a quick drive from there. What else did you need to fill me in on?”

“Actually, Terri covered the David Cheng angle for me. The rest—Ethan Gallagher is now in our sights as a potential piece of the puzzle.” Aidan gave Marc a quick rundown on the data that was leading them in that direction, reminding him of the fact that, on top of all the other hints of his involvement, Ethan also spoke fluent Mandarin. “Oh, and I’ll be giving Casey a call later to thank her.”

“You lost me.”

Aidan explained Emma’s role in Operation Bluejack.

Marc began to chuckle. “She must have loved every minute of that. Oh, man, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Yeah, well, my jaw was hanging when she brought me the cell phone that fast, together with incriminating info on Gallagher.”

“Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that Emma is a rookie. She’s quite the pro, in her own way.”

“Let’s get back to the message Vance just got from the Chinese.” Aidan brought a close to the brief moment of levity. “With this new verbal threat comes a new possibility. Do the Chinese suspect Ethan of aiding Vance? Is that the close associate they’re referring to? He certainly has the skills to send those photos. We know he didn’t, but they don’t. And based on what Simone reported, he’s certainly living a lifestyle that would suggest he’s getting some extra income. Maybe that’s why Cheng was with him, not to collaborate but to probe. And if that’s the case, then he’s not being paid by the Chinese and he’s definitely not our mole. Simone doesn’t believe that Zoe is either, and I tend to agree with her.”

“And Blockman is clean,” Terri added. “I ran his expense data through the prison algorithm. The only thing he’s guilty of is cheating on his wife by having a girlfriend on the side.”