A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan #19)(83)
Frustrated, I packed up, and we left.
And discovered where the entire population of Charlotte was spending its hot and steamy Friday the thirteenth.
28
The Apple Store at SouthPark Mall was elbow-to-earlobe. Ryan’s idea of a cure for my needs, not further afternoon delight. While I was cutting bone, he’d called ahead to the Genius Bar.
I gave my name to the lady in the official blue shirt. A screen listed my queue position as twenty-seven. That number was called, or projected, an hour after our arrival.
Twenty minutes of discussion, then I headed out with a spanking new MacBook Air and the latest-model iPhone, each equipped with every innovation known to the cyber-mind.
God bless credit cards.
Back home, with phone coaching from Apple Support and from Ryan, I downloaded all the old files and photos I had stored in the cloud, most of which were personal, and reinstalled several essential apps. Then I initiated my new phone, which deactivated the old one.
Two hours after starting, woefully lacking in content but functional, I was good to go.
The onward march of civilization.
First off, I left a message for Slidell. I am home. I have news. Call me.
“Now,” Ryan encouraged. “Open a new dossier on the faceless man.”
“What’s the point?” Sounding like a sulky kid. “I’ve got nothing to put in it.”
“Yes. You do.”
I just looked at him.
“Enter everything that’s in your head.”
Grudgingly, I had to admit the logic of his suggestion. But not out loud.
“What will you do?” I asked.
“I have a long list of calls to make.”
“To a man about a horse?”
“Something like that.”
I opened a blank document on the laptop, titled it Timeline. Then, working from memory, I began entering data.
TIMELINE
June 22: Midnight. Temperance Brennan observes a trench-coated man at Sharon Hall.
June 29: An anonymous source texts Brennan images of a Cleveland County corpse.
June 30: Brennan reviews her criticism of Margot Heavner. Heavner calls a press conference re ME 304-18 (the faceless man from Cleveland County), erroneously suggests ME 304-18 is of Asian ancestry. Brennan takes pics and a DNA sample from ME 304-18. Joe Hawkins provides Brennan photocopies of docs. Lizzie Griesser agrees to perform an off-the-books phenotype analysis of ME 304-18.
July 1: Brennan finds errors in Heavner’s notes (age, ancestry), observes bruising on corpse missed by Heavner. Brennan deciphers coded note found on ME 304-18.
July 2: Brennan learns that back of scrap found on faceless man has reference to sinking of ferry Estonia/biochemical weapons. Skinny Slidell and Brennan find Hyundai at Art’s Affordable Garage, near creek where ME 304-18 was discovered, duffel in trunk. Duffel contains: (a) more Russian and Latvian notations, some regarding Estonia/biochemical weapons; (b) names Felix Vodyanov and John Ito; (c) thumb drive labeled in Russian. Slidell determines John Ito is an alias, Hyundai registered to nonexistent West Virginia address. Slidell spots indented writing, delivers torn page to Mittie Peppers at CMPD forensics lab for QD analysis. Analysis reveals: (a) Brennan mobile phone number; (b) second phone number, local 704; (c) reference to missing child Jahaan Cole. Brennan and Slidell determine Vodyanov had tried to contact Brennan shortly before his death.
July 6: Brennan and Slidell learn Vodyanov is absent from all databases, has zero profile on internet. Brennan gets phenotype sketch from Griesser. Slidell obtains name of physician and ashram from thumb drive. Slidell and Brennan go to Sparkling Waters Ashram. Aryan Yuriev is uncooperative. Receptionist E. Desai IDs Vodyanov from sketch, says Vodyanov was registered under name F. Vance. Brennan interviews Vodyanov/Vance caretaker, Asia Barrow. Barrow says Vodyanov/Vance suffered from taphophobia. Barrow reveals Vodyanov/Vance researched kiddie porn, missing kids using her laptop. Barrow says Vodyanov was a Russian operative. Brennan interviews Vodyanov/Vance landlady, Marguerite Ramos. Ramos IDs Vodyanov/Vance, says he was terrified government was out to kill him.
July 7: Brennan finds items in coat taken from antiseptically clean Vodyanov/Vance apartment: list of codes, info on Project MKUltra, receipt that leads to fenced Cleveland County property. Brennan goes to property, unable to enter. Brennan interviews neighbor, Duncan Keesing. Keesing IDs Vodyanov, says he was crazy. Says when high, Vodyanov talked about MKUltra, other covert ops. Keesing witnessed frightened child being driven onto fenced property. Brennan learns more about MKUltra from Andrew Ryan. Brennan emails Heavner. Brennan visits websites, reads Body conspiracy theory blogs, listens to podcasts.
July 8: Brennan visits deep/dark web, site DeepUnder (a) old info and photos about conspiracy theories; (b) photo of Vodyanov with Body and Yates Timmer. Brennan visits site Homes at the End of the World. Brennan returns to fenced property, finds: (a) file with clippings about missing kids; (b) reference to DeepHaven (pic viewed later); (c) child dentition; (d) bone fragments. Attacked. Slidell runs name Holly Kimrey. Sex trade/drug dealer.
July 9: Brennan and Slidell go to DeepHaven (Lake Wylie). Realtor office/club. Meet Bing, Timmer. Learn: (a) Felix Vodyanov is older brother of Nick Body; (b) Vodyanov fought with Vince Aiello, aka Twist, was banned from DeepHaven; (c) Aiello has reputation for kiddie porn.
July 10: Fire at Brennan condo. B&E? Arson? Accidental? Laptop and all materials pertaining to Vodyanov investigation destroyed.