The Last Day

FORTY-TWO

Mayes took samples of liquids away with him in a plastic shopping bag, promising Ward and Todd he'd have them analyzed by the FBI lab. Based solely on Firman's attitude, a speedy response by the lab seemed unlikely to Ward.

Thanks to the tinted windows in Todd's Denali, Natasha and Ward were able to sit up in the backseat without being visible to the few remaining members of the media milling about outside their vans on the road. Nolan and his partner, arms crossed and wearing sidearms and frowns, were keeping them at bay.

“Gizmo,” Natasha said. “I keep thinking I've heard that nickname somewhere before.”

“So have I,” Ward said. “There was a kid in high school who was always building electronic equipment. His nickname was Gizmo. He died our senior year, from leukemia. He won our science fair with a listening device he made from metallic tubes of varying lengths bundled together. The Army actually bought the device from him.”

“Him dying pretty much rules him out,” Todd said. “Ghosts don't dig holes in the ground and carve their own nicknames into the walls.”

In downtown Charlotte, Todd parked in the lot underneath the building where Wiggins amp; Associates took up half of the fifth floor. Gene was waiting for them in the reception area when they arrived, and he led them back to Tom Wiggins's office. Lawyer Wiggins greeted them warmly and shook everybody's hands. He and Natasha made small talk about the fund- raising for the children's cancer center. Wiggins was involved because he'd lost a granddaughter to bone cancer four years earlier.

“First off,” he told them, “they haven't got anything to hang their hats on but theories. What they have might get them an indictment, but I doubt they'll go for one on hunches alone. That doesn't mean they won't arrest Ward if they get him indicted, but for the moment I seriously doubt it. In order for them to convict, they have to prove that you knowingly had the illegal material in your possession, and that you disseminated it.”

“Gene's filled me in on the stalker and the possible drugging. Obviously, someone released this virus on purpose, and it appears they set you up to take the blame. Mr. Hartman can verify the facts, and based on his expertise and reputation, his word should carry weight.”

Todd, seated to one side, nodded.

“Computer experts are going over the virus and we should have everything figured out except for whoever planted it. Someone has been accessing porn sites using your office computer for over a year. From what I have been able to put together using what the prosecutor shared with me, someone used your computer many times over the past ten months to visit unsavory sites. Usually when you were there, according to the receptionist's time sheets.”

“How is that possible?” Ward asked.

Todd said, “It can be done remotely using spy-ware programs.”

“Todd probably knows more about this than I do, but I am told the program can be tracked back to the originator,” Wiggins said.

“Good,” Natasha said.

Todd nodded his agreement.

“Your son Barney died, what, about a year ago?” Wiggins asked.

Natasha said, “Today is the one- year anniversary.”

The meeting lasted less than thirty minutes, but Gene assured Ward and Natasha on the way out that they'd be billed for an hour.