Scrabble Spells Murder

Chapter 6

6.1

Ironside finished shaving, wiped the excess shaving cream from his chin and left the bathroom. He was met on the other side of the door by Katherine. "Is it alright if I take a shower before I leave," Katherine asked him.

He smiled at her and replied, "Of course, but I insist you stay for breakfast before you head back to the vineyards."

Katherine returned the smile, bent down and allowed him to pull her into a kiss.

Ironside broke it when he heard Mark clear his throat behind them. He looked at his aide who was grinning at his boss. It did not take a detective to know what Mark was thinking that brought on the grin as both he and Katherine were in their bathrobes.

"What do you want?" Ironside growled.

"We are out of oatmeal and waffles. I know I fixed eggs yesterday but unless you will settle for box cereal, it is going to be eggs this morning."

The detective looked up at Katherine. She could read the question on his face without him expressing it. "Eggs are fine, Robert."

Ironside turned his head to address Mark. "Well, what are you still standing there for? You can't cook them here."

Mark turned and left them, the grin still on his face. Ironside shook his head. "I apologize for..."

Katherine put a finger on his lips. "Don't apologize. Mark simply drew a conclusion from what he saw. I am not offended. I better take that shower if I am going to be ready by the time breakfast is put on the table."

"I had hopes for him to become a cop but if that is an example of his detective work, he better become a lawyer."

Katherine chuckled. "You better get dressed before Ed, Eve and Carl arrive or they will be joining Mark in that conclusion. I would not want you to lose confidence in your officer's deductive abilities" She smiled and then disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door.

Ironside wheeled down the ramp and into the kitchen. His intention was to verbally reprimand Mark but then he thought better of it. It probably would only re-enforce what Mark thought he saw. He wheeled past the kitchen and headed for his bedroom to get dressed.

The door to the office opened. Ed, Eve, Carl and Commissioner Randall all entered the office. With the same idea in mind, they grabbed mugs from the cupboard and Mark poured each of them a cup of coffee. As they walked toward the main table, Randall asked, "Where's the boss?"

"Getting dressed. Breakfast will be ready shortly" Mark answered.

Ironside finished putting on his suit coat. Wheeling over to the closet, he pulled out a matching tie, put it around his neck and tied it. He looked into the mirror to make sure it was straight. He thought about what Mark had concluded when he saw both him and Katherine in front of the bathroom in robes. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. Thinking of Katherine, he knew they were both innocent of what Mark thought. But then again, how innocent was he really? It is not as if he had not already been thinking about... Ironside shook his head. He would have time to think about this later. As much as Katherine was constantly invading his thoughts, he could not consider advancing their relationship until the Hacker was found.

This case was special and needed special attention. Katherine did as well. So he would give that attention to the case, solve it and then discuss with Katherine if she was ready to move to the next plateau. He would not wait until she approached him as Barbara had. Yet, he knew that was different. Though some of the memories of Barbara still held some regret and a bit of pain, he at least had her to thank for having gotten him through his insecurities regarding exploring a relationship with a woman while being confined to a wheelchair.

Ironside had enjoyed having a woman in his life. When it ended, he had been devastated.. at least as much as the detective was willing to admit to. Katherine had become an important part of his life. He knew this was right. She was a much stronger woman than Barbara. She would stand by him no matter what his job might bring.

He checked his appearance one last time and wheeled out of his bedroom. Glancing at the table, Ironside saw that his staff had arrived along with Dennis. He was ready to reveal to his staff what he and Katherine had discovered last night and what they were going to do about it. He wheeled over to the table and looked at each member of his staff as they waited for him to take the lead.

"Mark, put breakfast on the table," Ironside called out to the young man.

Sanger brought bacon and eggs to the table and serve them to everyone. Katherine had taken a seat beside Ironside. He reached for the carton of orange juice and poured it into both his and her glasses. Ironside glanced up at everyone who was still staring directly at him. "Eat before it gets cold," he barked gruffly.

Everyone ate in silence as they waited for Ironside to lay out the strategy for figuring out the latest clue. They had no idea that the wheelchair-bound detective already knew who the next victim was to be.

Commissioner Randall could not wait any longer. "Bob, I am sure, while we all appreciate breakfast, I think it is time you figure out who the next victim is."

Ironside finished the last of his eggs. After wiping his mouth with a napkin, he looked up at Randall. "I already know who the next victim is."

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. "You know?" Carl questioned.

"That is what I said, isn't it?"

"Who is it?" Randall asked impatiently.

"BOAT, GOLD, HEAL. What does that mean to all of you?"

"It could mean a number of places, people and times," Carl said.

"But it doesn't," Ironside said with authority. "BOAT stands for Stern, the Coast Guard ship."

"Ben Stern!" Eve said excitedly.

"GOLD stands for San Francisco State University."

Carl frowned. "I don't see the connection."

"Tell him, Ed," Ironside told his detective, knowing he would see the connection. "Gold is one of the university's school colors."

"Exactly," Ironside agreed.

"Then all that leaves is the time," Eve remarked.

Randall watched his top detective. "And have you figured out when?"

"I have. There is a medical conference at the university. Ben is the guest speaker."

Randall waited for Ironside to reveal the time but his patience was wearing thin. "Is it to much to ask you to tell us when this conference is taking place?" The irritation in his voice apparent.

"Next Saturday," Ironside finally answered.

"That doesn't give us a lot of time," Ed said.

"It is more warning then we got on the commissioner," Mark pointed out.

"We are going to do exactly what the Hacker wants," Ironside told them, knowing he would get an argument from everyone in the room.

"Chief!" Mark, Ed, Eve and Carl complained at the same time.

The chief put up his hand. "There will be no discussion. I will not take the chance of the Hacker finding out we did not follow the rules. So none of you are going to the medical seminar."

Carl looked at Commissioner Randall waiting for him to intervene but Randall sat quietly studying Ironside. He did not like this anymore then Carl or any other member of Ironside's staff. He understood the chief's position. He was trying to protect a yet unknown victim that could lose their life if the detective chose to deviate from the Hacker's demands.

"Commissioner, You can't possibly allow the chief to go in there alone," Carl complained.

Ironside knew this would be voiced by Carl. His own staff would only voice it to him personally but Carl was not on his regular staff and felt more compelled too try to get the Commissioner to overrule him.

With regret, Randall replied, "We don't really have a choice. Suppose this Hacker is someone who has a line to the Police Department. If we put plain- clothed officers in that building, he might recognize them. Then we will receive no clue for the next murder."

A frustrated lieutenant knew the commissioner was right but complained loudly. "We can't just let him go in there like a sitting duck!"

Even though the statement stung a bit, Ironside kept his poker face and said to Reese, "I will be armed, Carl. Maybe by being alone, he will let his guard down."

"Chief, maybe there is a way you don't have to be alone without alerting him," Eve suddenly said.

All eyes were on her. At that point they were looking for anyway to keep the chief from going alone.

"What do you have in mind, Eve?" Randall asked.

"All universities have campus police, don't they?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

Carl, who had been excited the moment Eve spoke up, snorted. "You have to be kidding? What good would they be?"

Ed raised a hand. "Just a minute, Carl. Quite often colleges use retired cops as security officers. We could have several experienced people on that team."

"Ed's right," Mark added. "We should start by finding out who the security officers are and how many have police experience."

"It is not good enough. We need real cops in there," Carl insisted.

"The chief won't allow it," Eve said. "This is the next best thing."

Ironside had been unusually quiet. Taking in all that his officers had been discussing, he liked Eve's idea. He had no intention of offering himself up as a sacrificial lamb. "This could work. Ed, find out how many of the security personnel have served on police forces. I want to talk to them."

"Will you actually be able to do that, Chief?" Mark asked. "If the Hacker is watching you and I suspect he is, then he will know if you meet with them."

"He's right," Eve said.

"We will have to find a way to communicate with them without alerting the Hacker," Ed agreed.

"But how? We certainly can't do it either," Carl interjected. "He probably will be watching us as well as at least have some way of following our activities."

"What about texting them," Commissioner Randall suggested.

Ironside shook his head. "No. Somehow he found a way to text me and there are very few that have that phone number. We can't take the chance of communicating that way."

"He would not have any reason to suspect me," Katherine said.

"No!" Ironside said immediately.

"Robert, don't be so quick to dismiss me," Katherine scolded. "I have already been to see Ben Stern twice this month. I am on the board of the medical center and I would be the perfect go between. I could relay your instructions to Ben and his progress to you. The Hacker would never suspect a thing."

"No! You are not a police officer. I will not involved you."

"Just a minute Bob," Randall interrupted. "Mark is not a police officer either and how many times have you used him?"

"Chief, Katherine is right. The Hacker would never suspect her. If he has done his homework, he will know that Katherine is on the board." Eve agreed with Randall.

"We would not have to have any contact with Dr. Stern. That way the Hacker will not find out that we know who his target is," Ed said.

Ironside was shaking his head. He wanted no part of this. He was reminded of how his job had endangered Barbara's life and that was without him directly involving her. He did not want Katherine touched by the criminal element. His instincts were to keep her as far away as possible. He was not going to make the same mistake. He intended to see that Katherine was protected and kept away from his job. He did not want to lose her because he failed to protect her.

Katherine put her hand over Ironside's. "Robert, I know you are just trying to protect me and it is sweet. If you can think of a better way, I will back off. I will not be in any danger. I want to do this to help you. Please do not reject it out of hand just because it is me. If it had been another woman you did not know and she would be in very little danger, I think you would not only consider it but would push her to help you." Katherine squeezed his hand and smiled at the man she now loved. His fierce protection of her only endeared him to her that much more. If she could help him understand, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She would not do anything to jeopardize that.

The room became quiet as everyone gave him the space and time he needed to come to a decision. All of them had come to realize what Katherine meant to him. They knew Barbara's near death because of his job had to be on his mind.

Ironside turned his hand up to hold hers. "You are to take no chances. Is that clear? I will not risk your safety. Tell Ben what we need and let us know when it is in place and who the principals are. Understand?" His voice was as stern as a teacher scolding a student.

Katherine smiled. "I understand perfectly. I will see Ben later today as a matter of fact. What do you want me to tell him?"

"We want plain-clothed campus security around Chief Ironside at all times. We will give you a briefing for them on the Hacker." Commissioner Randall informed Katherine.

"I want a complete layout of the building the conference is in as well as one of the floor it is held on. All exits are to be covered by campus police. If we get lucky and are able to identify this Hacker, I do not want him escaping out some unguarded door. If they have to call in the entire staff, I want it done." Ironside ordered.

"Chief, what about Dr. Stern?" Ed asked.

"Put a couple men close by him. I don't want the Hacker spotting them either. They are to move in if Ben is in any danger."

"But Chief, won't the Hacker consider that a breach of his rules?" Eve questioned as she faced her boss directly.

"He will know that there are campus police. He can't hold the chief responsible for their actions. He said the chief could not use the police to help him," Mark pointed out.

"How do we know that?" Carl asked. "How do we know he won't consider it a breach and then decide to kill his next victim without giving us a clue?"

Ironside glared at the lieutenant. "Seems to me you were the one that wanted to place plain-clothed officers at that conference. Now you are worried about plain-clothed campus security officers?"

Carl did not want Ironside to know just how worried he actually was. "I was only worried about you getting bumped off because you have not paid off on the last bet we made. I don't want to lose my money." It turned out to be a tension breaker as everyone in the room laughed.

"Katherine, do you carry a briefcase to your meetings with Ben?" Ironside asked, turning his attention back to her.

"Yes, of course. It is the only way I can carry all the paperwork with me. I have the reports that I must go over with Ben in there as well."

Ironside turned and addressed his sergeant of detectives. "Ed, see that Katherine gets a bullet-proof vest for Ben. One of the lightweight ones that he can wear under his shirt. I don't want it detected."

"Yes, Sir." Ed nodded at his boss.

Randall stood up. "Well, it looks like you are well on the way to having this one under control. I have other work to do. I will leave this in your hands, Bob."

"Under control? Dennis, I am afraid this is nothing more than controlled chaos." Ironside did not want the commissioner to become too complacent.

"Yes... well I have confidence in you." Randall headed up the ramp and out of the office.

Eve stepped over to the computer on her desk and began typing. Ironside looked over at her and said, "What are you doing?"

"I am going to get an aerial view of the campus on the computer. As soon as Katherine lets us know what building and room the conference is in, then we can take a look to see just how close we can put real police officers."

Katherine was bothered by that. "Is that a good idea? After all, the Hacker could be monitoring all of the computers in this office. If someone can hack into one computer, they could hack into them all."

Ironside's face lit up. He turned to Katherine and grinned. "Katherine, you are absolutely right! We have been obsessed with trying to track him through the computer in this office..."

"What other way is there?" Carl asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"By hacking into the computer from the outside. I am willing to bet he is not monitoring the computer from an outside attack. He is more concerned about what we are doing in this office on that computer."

Ed became excited. "Of course! We can get Vincent Mortimer to hack into the chief's computer from outside Headquarters and see if he can trace the breach from the source."

"I don't think we should have that cat do it," Mark disagreed. "The Hacker obviously knows that Vincent is our resident expert. He could be watching him. He might have even hacked into Vincent's home computer.

"Mark's right. Let's get someone from the outside that we can trust," Ironside said.

"How about Benny Dodson?" Eve suggested. "He's a friend of the chief and he is discreet. We have used him before and he was completely trustworthy."

"Call him, Eve," Ironside ordered. "We will stop the Hacker from killing Ben and try to get ahead of him by getting a line on just exactly who he is and why he is doing this."

6.2

The Hacker checked around the parking garage beside the building Dr. Ben Stern was working. He walked slowly down the parking garage. He pulled his San Francisco Giants baseball cap down low over his eyes as another man passed by him, got in a car and drove out of the garage.

The Hacker glanced around. Seeing no one else, he hurried over to the vehicle he knew was owned by the doctor. Approaching the Mercedes-Benz sports car, he became jealous. He could not afford anything like this on his salary. He would not lose any sleep over killing this rich doctor. He wondered how many people were turned down by him because they could not afford to have him operate on them. How many were in a wheelchair because the fat cat could not make a ton of money from them?

Hell, Ironside was in a wheelchair. Stern had operated on him. The Hacker laughed thinking about how he had botched the operation on that cripple. Maybe he should let him live for that very reason. He chuckled at the thought. But no, this would be the first of many people to die. A prominent doctor, killed because of a Scrabble game. It would make for great headline and he would be the first to outsmart the great Robert T. Ironside.

As he reached the Mercedes, the Hacker pulled the bomb from the box he was carrying . He sat down on the ground and attached it to the underside of the vehicle next to the gas tank and set the timer.

Taking one last look around, he left the parking lot.