Icy Betrayal by David Keith Page B

nondescript buildings. The sign on the front of the shop was small; it was clearly a destination people sought out, rather than a place people just happened upon.
    “Good to go, Dad?”
    “Yep, I’m ready.”
    “Do you have the cash I gave you?”
    “Got it, no worries. I’ll be fine, Mia.”
    Chuck climbed out of the car and paused momentarily before he closed the door.
    He peered back in at Mia, gave her a big smile and said, “This is kind of fun.”

    Keller stopped at the Mountain Pacific Bank in Castle Springs on his lunch hour. The teller gave him $9,900 in crisp one hundred dollar bills. Under federal law, all withdrawals over ten thousand dollars must be reported to the government. The teller had handled countless transactions for $9,900 in her career and even many in which the customer had withdrawn $9,999. So many, in fact, she’d stopped wondering what sort of illegal activity was afoot. After all, she wasn’t a cop, she just worked in a bank.

    The wiretap, reluctantly authorized by Judge Green, took three days to put into place. His reluctance was evident in the restrictions that came with the tap. The order covered the home, work, and cell phones belonging to Scott Lennox and the cell and home phone for Lisa Sullivan. The judge couldn’t see the justification for a wiretap on Lisa’s work phone. That was a line at Mercy Hospital where she worked as a licensed vocational nurse and dozens of people typically used the phone during the course of the workday. The judge felt it would be too much of an intrusion on people unrelated to the case. The order limited surveillance to ten days.
    A team of six deputies was assigned the task of monitoring all calls coming and going on the five lines authorized under the wiretap order. The team would break into two groups of three, each working a twelve-hour shift. The Electronic Surveillance Unit, or “ESU” as it was known, operated from a remote undercover location a few miles from RCSO headquarters. It was tedious work, but it was their best bet to gather evidence that Sullivan and Lennox conspired to kill George Lombard for financial gain.
    Under the judge’s order, the RCSO was allowed to listen to the first thirty seconds of any and all phone calls that came in or went out on any of the five lines. If conversations weren’t related to the case, deputies were required to end their surveillance.

    Chuck was amazed at how simple the technology was to use. The small store Mia had taken him to reminded him of the old Radio Hut he often visited as a boy. One of Chuck’s many childhood hobbies was building am radios, using nothing but a soldering iron and a Radio Hut kit. Now, for less than $150, he had a fully functional satellite GPS tracking system in his hands. Free software downloaded to his computer and phone would allow him to integrate the data from the GPS device onto a map. Chuck thought back to his early days with WellRock, when the company would contract with the federal government to provide similar technology. That technology was far less efficient, yet cost millions. Times had certainly changed.
    From his workbench in the basement Chuck heard Mia come home from work. The frantic scraping of Sasha’s claws on the hardwood floor was a dead giveaway.
    “I’m down here, Mia!” he called out.
    A minute later, Mia made her way downstairs.
    “Hey, Dad, how’s it going?” Mia asked.
    “Getting the software loaded and just double checking everything to make sure it’s good to go.”
    “Okay, Mr. Rocket Scientist, show me how this thing works.”
    “It’s an interactive GPS. We control the unit and receive data through SMS, or text messages,” he said, showing her the phone. The GPS is in this unit. It gets attached to the car with this magnetic case,” Chuck said, pointing to two small black boxes on the table. “I access it by calling a number and entering the device code. The unit then sends me back the location as a text