* Mailing lists
* "Buddies" on e-mail accounts
* Internet Relay Chat participation
* Web browsing and search engine requests/results * Keyboarding technique profile
* Search engine grammar, syntax and punctuation profile * Package delivery service history
* Postal boxes
* Express Mail/Registered/Certified USPS activity
LIFESTYLE ACTIVITIES
* Purchases today
Threat-oriented items or commodities Clothing
Vehicles and vehicle related Food
Liquor
Household items
Appliances
Other
* Purchases in past 7 days
Threat-oriented items or commodities Clothing
Vehicles and vehicle related Food
Liquor
Household items
Appliances
Other
* Purchases in past thirty days
Threat-oriented items or commodities Clothing
Vehicles and vehicle related Food
Liquor
Household items
Appliances
Other
* Purchases in past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) Threat-oriented items or commodities Clothing
Vehicles and vehicle related Food
Liquor
Household items
Appliances
Other
* Books/magazines purchased online
Suspicious/subversive
Others of interest
* Books/magazines purchased in retail stores
Suspicious/subversive
Others of interest
* Books/magazines checked out from libraries
Suspicious/subversive
Others of interest
* Books/magazines observed by airport/airline personnel Suspicious/subversive
Others of interest
* Other library activities
* Bridal/shower/anniversary gift registries
* Theatrical films
* Cable television programs/pay-per-view watched, past thirty days * Cable television programs/pay-per-view watched, past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) * Subscription radio stations
* Travel
Automotive
Owned vehicles
Rental
Public transportation
Taxis/limos
Bus
Trains Airplanes, commercial
Domestic
International
Airplanes, private
Domestic
International
TSA security screens
Appearance on no-fly lists
* Presence in Locations of Interest (LOI)
Local
Mosques
Other locations--U.S.
Mosques
Other locations--international * Presence in or transit through Red Flag Locations (RFL): Cuba, Uganda, Libya, South Yemen, Liberia, Ghana, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, Philippines, North Korea, Azerbaijan, Chile.
GEOGRAPHIC POSITIONING OF SUBJECT
* GPS devices (all positions today)
Vehicular
Handheld
Mobile phones
* GPS devices (all positions past seven days)
Vehicular
Handheld
Mobile phones
* GPS devices (all positions past thirty days) Vehicular
Handheld
Mobile phones
* GPS devices (all positions past year) (archived, may be delay in accessing) Vehicular
Handheld
Mobile phones
* Biometric observations
Today
Past seven days Past thirty days
Past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) * RFID reports, other than highway toll readers
Today
Past seven days
Past thirty days
Past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) * RFID reports, highway toll readers
Today
Past seven days
Past thirty days
Past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) * Traffic violation photos/video
* CCTV photos/video
* Warranted surveillance photos/video
* Collateral surveillance photos/video
* In-person financial transaction hits
Today
Past seven days
Past thirty days
Past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) * Mobile phone/PDA/telecommunications hits
Today
Past seven days
Past thirty days
Past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) * Incidents of proximity to security targets
Today
Past seven days
Past thirty days
Past year (archived, may be delay in accessing) LEGAL
* Criminal history--U.S.
Detention/questioning
Arrests
Convictions
* Criminal history--foreign
Detention/questioning
Arrests
Convictions
* Watch lists
* Surveillance
* Civil litigation
* Restraining orders
* Whistleblower history
ADDITIONAL DOSSIERS
* Federal Bureau of Investigation
* Central Intelligence Agency
* National Security Agency
* National Reconnaissance Organization
* NPIA
* U.S. Military Intelligence Agencies
Army
Navy
Air Force
Marines
* State and local police intelligence departments THREAT ASSESSMENT
* Assessment as security risk
Private sector
Public sector
And this was just the table of contents. Amelia Sachs's dossier itself was close to five hundred pages long.
Rhyme scrolled through the list and clicked on various topics. The entries were dense as wood. He whispered, "SSD has this information? On everyone in America?"
"No," Whitcomb said. "For children under five there's very little, obviously. And with many adults, there're a lot of gaps. But SSD does the best they can. They're improving it every day."
Improving? Rhyme wondered.
Pulaski nodded at the sales brochure Mel Cooper had downloaded. "Four hundred million people?"
"That's right. And growing."
"And it's updated hourly?" Rhyme asked.
"Often in real time."
"So your government agency, Whitcomb, this Compliance Division . . . it isn't about guarding the data; you're using it, right? To find terrorists?"
Whitcomb paused. But since he'd already sent the dossier to somebody who didn't have an A-18 clearance, whatever the hell that was, he must have figured that sharing a bit more wasn't going to make the consequences any worse. "That's right. And it's not just terrorists. It's other criminals too. SSD uses predictive software to figure out who's going to commit crimes and when and how. A lot of the tips that go to police officials and intelligence departments come from what look like anonymous concerned citizens. They're actually avatars. Fictions. Created by Watchtower and innerCircle. Sometimes they even collect the rewards, which are then sent back to the government to be used again."
It was Mel Cooper who asked, "But if you're a government agency, why are you giving the job to a private company? Why not do it yourself?"
"We have to use a private company. The Defense Department tried to do something like this themselves after nine-eleven: the Total Information Awareness program. It was run by former National Security Adviser John Poindexter and an executive from SAIC. But it got closed down--violations of the Priv
acy Act. And the public thought it was too Big Brother. But SSD isn't subject to the same legal restrictions that the government is."
Whitcomb gave a cynical laugh. "Also, with all respect to my employer, Washington wasn't very talented. SSD is. The two main words in Andrew Sterling's vocabulary are 'knowledge' and 'efficiency.' And nobody combines those better than him."
"It's not illegal?" Mel Cooper asked.
"We're in some gray areas," Whitcomb conceded.
"Well, can it help us? That's all I want to know."
"Maybe."
"How?"
Whitcomb explained, "We'll run Detective Sachs's geographic-positioning profile for today. I'll take over the keyboarding." He began to type. "You'll see what I do on your screen in the box at the bottom."
"How long will that take?"
A laugh, muted thanks to the broken nose. "Not very long. It's pretty speedy."
He hadn't finished speaking before text filled the screen.
GEOGRAPHIC POSITIONING PROFILE SUBJECT 7303-4490-7831-3478
Time parameters: Past four hours.
* 1632 hours. Phone call. From subject's mobile phone to landline of Subject 5732-4887-3360-4759 (Lincoln Henry Rhyme) (tethered individual). 52 seconds. Subject was in her Brooklyn, NY, residence.
* 1723 hours. Biometric hit. CCTV, NYPD 84th Precinct, Brooklyn, NY. 95% probability match.
* 1723 hours. Biometric hit. Subject 3865-6453-9902-7221 (Pamela D. Willoughby) (tethered individual). CCTV, NYPD 84th Precinct, Brooklyn, NY. 92.4% probability match.
* 1740 hours. Phone call. From subject's mobile phone to landline of Subject 5732-4887-3360-4759 (Lincoln Henry Rhyme) (tethered Individual). 12 seconds.
* 1827 hours. RFID scan. Manhattan Style Boutique credit card, 9 West Eighth Street. No purchases.
* 1841 hours. Biometric hit. CCTV, Presco Discount Gas and Oil, 546 W. 14th Street, Pump 7, 2001 Honda Civic, NY License Number MDH459, registered to 3865-6453-9902-7221 (Pamela D. Willoughby) (tethered individual).
* 1846 hours. Credit card purchase. Presco Discount Gas and Oil, 546 W. 14th Street. Pump 7. Purchase of 14.6 gallons, regular grade. $43.86 US.
* 1901 hours. License plate scan. CCTV, Avenue of the Americas and 23rd Street, Honda Civic MDH459 northbound.
* 1903 hours. Phone call. From subject's mobile phone to landline of Subject 5732-4887-3360-4759 (Lincoln Henry Rhyme) (tethered individual). Subject was at Avenue of the Americas and 28th Street. 14 seconds.
* 1907 hours. RFID scan, Associated Credit Union credit card, Avenue of the Americas and 34th Street. 4 seconds. No purchase.
"Okay, she's in Pam's car. Why's that? Where's hers?"
"What's the license?" Whitcomb asked. "Never mind, it's faster just to use her code. Let's see. . . ."
A window popped up and they could see a report that her Camaro had been impounded and towed from in front of her house. Nobody had any information on the pound it was destined for.
"Five Twenty-Two did that," Rhyme whispered. "He must have. Like your wife, Pulaski. And the electricity here. He's going after all of us, however he can."
Whitcomb typed and the automobile information was replaced with a map, showing the hits on the geographic-positioning profile. It revealed Sachs's movement from Brooklyn to Midtown. But then the trail stopped.
"The last one?" Rhyme asked. "The RFID scan. What was that?"
Whitcomb said, "A store read the chip in one of her credit cards. But it was brief. Probably she was in the car. She'd have to be walking pretty fast for that short a reading."
"Did she keep going north?" Rhyme mused.
"That's all the information we have. It'll update soon."
Mel Cooper said, "She might've taken Thirty-fourth Street to the West Side Highway. And gone north, out of the city."
"There's a toll bridge," Whitcomb said. "If she crosses it we'll get a hit on the license plate number. The girl whose car it is--Pam Willoughby--doesn't have an E-ZPass. innerCircle would tell us if she did."
At Rhyme's instruction, Mel Cooper--the senior police officer among them--had an emergency vehicle locator sent out on Pam's license number and car make.
Rhyme called the precinct house in Brooklyn, where he learned only that Sachs's Camaro had indeed been towed. Sachs and Pam had been there briefly but had left quickly and hadn't said where they were going. Rhyme called the girl on her mobile. She was in the city with a girlfriend. Pam confirmed that Sachs had discovered a lead after the break-in at her town house in Brooklyn but hadn't mentioned what it was or where she was going.
Rhyme disconnected.
Whitcomb said, "We'll feed the geopositioning hits and everything we've got about her and the case through FORT, the obscure relationship program, then Xpectation. That's the predictive software. If there's any way to find out where she's gone, this'll do it."
Whitcomb looked up at the ceiling again. Grimaced. He rose and walked to the door. Rhyme could see him lock it, then wedge a wooden chair under the knob. He gave a faint smile as he sat down at the computer. He began to type.
"Mark?" Pulaski asked.
"Yes?"
"Thanks. And this time, I mean it."
Chapter Forty-six
Life is a struggle, of course.
My idol--Andrew Sterling--and I share the same passion for data, and we both appreciate their mystery, their allure, their immense power. But until I stepped into his sphere I never appreciated the full extent of using data as a weapon to expand your vision to every corner of the world. Reducing all of life, all of existence to numbers, then watching them billow into something transcendent.
Immortal soul . . .
I was in love with SQL, the workhorse standard for database management, until I was seduced by Andrew and Watchtower. Who wouldn't have been? Its power and elegance are enthralling. And I've come to fully appreciate the world of data, thanks to him--though indirectly. He's never given me more than a pleasant nod in the hall and a query about the weekend, though he knew my name without a glance at the ID on my chest (what a breathtakingly brilliant mind he has). I think of all the late nights I spent in his office, 2:00 A.M. or so, SSD empty, sitting in his chair and feeling his presence as I read through his spine-up library. Not a single one of those pedantic and silly businessman's self-help books, but volumes and volumes revealing a much greater vision: books about the collection of power and geographic territory: the continental U.S. under the Manifest Destiny doctrine in the 1800s, Europe under the Third Reich, mare nostra under the Romans, the entire world under the Catholic Church and Islam. (And they all appreciated the incisive power of data, by the way.)
Ah, the things I've learned just from overhearing Andrew, savoring what he's written in drafts of memos and letters and the book he's working on.
"Mistakes are noise. Noise is contamination. Contamination must be eliminated."
"Only in victory can we afford to be generous."
"Only the weak compromise."
"Either find a solution to your problem, or stop considering it a problem."
"We are born to battle."
"He who understands wins; he who knows understands."
I consider what Andrew would think about what I'm up to, and I believe he'd be pleased.
And now, the battle against Them moves forward.
On the street near my home I press the key fob again and finally a horn gives a muted bleep.
Let's see, let's see. . . . Ah, here we go. Look at this piece of junk, a Honda Civic. Borrowed, of course, since Amelia 7303's car is now sitting in a pound--a coup I'm rather proud of. Never thought of trying that before.
My thoughts stray back to my beautiful redhead. Was she bluffing about what They knew? About Peter Gordon? That's the funny thing about knowledge; such a fine line between truth and a lie. But I can't take the chance. I'll have to hide the car.
My thoughts go back to her.
The woman's wild eyes, her red hair, the body . . . I'm not sure I can wait much longer.
Trophies . . .
A fast examination of the car. Some books, magazines, Kleenex, some empty Vitamin Water bottles, a Starbucks napkin, running shoes shedding rubber, a Seventeen magazine in the backseat and a textbook on poetry . . . And who owns this superb contribution to the world of Japanese technology? The registration tells me it's Pamela Willoughby.
I'll get a little more information on her from innerCircle then I'll pay her a visit. Wonder what she looks like? I'll check DMV to make sure she's worth the trouble.
The car starts up just fine. Ease out carefully, no upsetting other drivers. Don't want to make a scene.
A half block, into the alley.
What does Miss Pam like to listen to? Rock, rock, alternative, hip-hop, talk and NPR. Presets are extremely informative.
I'm already forming a game plan to arrange a transaction with the girl: getting to know her. We'll meet at Amelia 7303's memorial service (no body, no funeral). I'll offer sympathy. I met her during the case she was working on. I really liked her. Oh, don't cry, honey. It's okay. Tell you what. Let's get together. I can tell you all about the stories Amelia shared with me. Her father. And the interesting story of her grandfather's coming to this country. (After I learned she was snooping around, I checked out her dossier. What an interesting history.) We got to be good friends. I'm really devastated. . . . How about coffee? You like Starbucks? I always go there after my run in Central Park every evening. No! You too?
We sure seem to have something in common.
Oh, there's that feeling again, thinking about Pam. How ugly can she be?
It might be a wait to get her into my trunk. . . . I have to take care of Thom Reston first--and a few other things. But at least I have Amelia 7303 for tonight.
I drive into the garage and ditch the car--it'll rest here until I swap plates and it goes to the bottom of the Croton reservoir. But I can't think about that now. I'm pretty consumed, planning out the transaction with my red-haired friend, waiting back home in my Closet, like a wife for her husband after a really tough day at the office.
*
Sorry, no prediction can be made at this time. Please input more data and try your request again.
Despite drawing from the world's largest database, despite the state-of-the-art software examining every detail of Amelia Sachs's life at the speed of light, the program struck out.
"I'm sorry," Mark Whitcomb said, dabbing his nose. The high-def system on the video-conferencing system displayed the nasal injury quite prominently. It looked bad; Ron Pulaski had really slammed him.
The young man continued, sniffing, "There just aren't enough details. What you get out is only as good as what you put in. It works best with a pattern of behaviors. All it tells us is that she's going someplace she's never been before, at least not on that route."
Right to the killer's house, Rhyme reflected in frustration.