Most of the men went to the ladies right away found dance partners. DJ Coffee had the place hoping with a dance mix that got the place jumping. The orders came into the bar for drinks for the ladies. Mike was smiling and evil grin.
Chris couldn’t resist the urge to ask. “Mike, why the smile?”
“Well I have a deal with the ladies. Whatever drink they order we are going to make it a virgin. The girls will be paid a buck a drink and the rest goes to the house. This party will be a money maker within an hour.” Mike did his best imitation of the evil Dr Frankstein’s laugh.
Chris laughed and said, “Leave it Mike to find a way to make a buck on an investigation.“
Duff added as he laughed, “If the police operated this way there would be no shortfall in the towns yearly budget.”
“I can’t help it if I have a creative mind.” Mike joined the laughter
The party was a complete success. Everyone had a good time and the three men managed to trim the list down to 5 names. They all felt this was a list they could manage. After the party ended Mike sat down with the boys at a quiet table.
“Chris, Duff you 2 have done well. Out of all the possible suspects we are down to 5. I don’t want to remove anyone permanently from the list. If something happens that makes them interesting to us I want to be able add them again to the active list. Any problems with that?”
Chris said, “No problem at all Mike. I think you are right. What do you think Duff?”
“I’m with you 2. We keep an inactive and active list and we move anyone whose status has changed to the appropriate list.”
“Ok you 2, now that that is settled you need to go home and get some sleep.” Mike was smiling as he pushed them from the table to the door.
“Will do Mike,” was all they got out before the pub door closed on both of them. “Guess we’ve been told.”
“In spades,” Duff said.
CHAPTER 17
Chris was up early the next morning and off to Troy’s office. Troy was not in yet so Chris decided he would catch a bit to eat then come back. While he was sitting in the cafeteria he caught sight of Troy going through the line getting his own breakfast. Chris waved Troy over to the table and invited him to sit.
“I was at your office this morning.” Chris looked at Troy with a smile on your face. I wanted to catch you before Duff was up and moving.
“What’s up Chris?” Troy looked intently at Chris.
“Well first off I wanted to thank you for your non help the other day. Your information put us on the right track. We now have a list of 5 suspects and we need to do some more digging into their lives. I was hoping you would point me in the right direction on where to look on-line. I wanted to ask you without Duff around so you would feel free to say no without the pressure of the whole hockey buddy thing.”
Troy thought for a moment. He smiled and said, “I appreciate that. The hockey team thing can get pretty intense and your right there is a lot of pressure to help each other out. I can’t tell you the number of times I’m asked to “fix” a grade or alter an attendance record. I don’t do it, but it is always awkward and some of the guys think they are entitled. Tell me what you are looking for and I’ll see if I can help.”
“Chris leaned forward and got very quiet. He thought for a few moments and the addressed Troy. “I need to look at things like facebook pages, personal web sites, I would love to peek into their email. Basically I want to peek into their dark secrets. One of them is guilty and we really need to find out which one.”
Troy looked around the room. “I can help you with the facebook and web sites. The email is a different story. I have a program that if you can run it on their computers it will collect every key stroke they type and it will send it to your email every 12 hours whether they are using their computer or not. If they miss a sending time the system will send the email the next time they log on to the internet. If they are like most people they just leave the computer on all the time. If you have a list of names I can send you the info later this morning.”
“Really? Here is the list. Thanks for the help. What do I have to do to get the key logger programs?”
“Well the key to this program is getting it installed without the use knowing that you did it. So the best ploy is to imbed the logger into an image file and get them to open the file on their computer. The trick is to pick a photo and descriptions that will make them want to open the file.”
“Ok so if for the hockey players it was photos of a practice or something that would do it right?”
“Absolutely. Then you can give it a description of Team Pics. Now for the rest of them there is one sure way to get them to open it.”
“How? No wait let me guess. Porn.”
“Porn keeps the internet running. Sorry to say but it is true. There is one thing you can do if we send them the mail from an anonymous server.”
“Tell me.”
“I can create an image that says something like “Shame on You!” when they open it. It will still deliver the key logger but you don’t want them to know it came from you. Some guys take their internet porn very seriously.” Troy laughed and Chris joined in.
“I like it. Can you do it today?”
“I’ll do it in the next hour and send it out to their school accounts. I’ll have to disable the virus scanners for a few minutes while I get them past our primary mail server. Give me a couple of hours to get it all done. You should be receiving logs by the morning. Any that don’t go thru we will have to try something else.”
“This isn’t going to get you into any trouble is it?”
“Only if I get caught. But I don’t get caught. Besides it is worth it. This guy has to be stopped and it looks like you have gotten further than the police have in 2 years.”
“I owe you Troy. If you need anything just give me a call.”
“Well now that you mention it.”
“What?”
“Can I borrow your car this Friday night? There is a girl I am trying to impress and…”
”Say no more. It’s the least I can do. You can get the keys from me anytime Friday. Just return them by noon on Saturday. Is that ok?”
The smile on Troy’s face told the whole story. “Thanks Chris, everybody on campus knows about your cool car. Jennifer is going to just be blown away.” Troy stood up and headed toward his office. “I’ve got work to do. I’ll E you later.”
“Thanks,” Chris called after Troy who was out the door in a flash.
CHAPTER 18
It took Troy the better part of the day, which is not unusual as IT guys are notorious for not being able to estimate time required, to complete the project. Chris waited in his room most of the day for the email to arrive. At 4:30 PM his inbox announced that he had a message. He opened the mail and downloaded the attachments. Reading the instructions he created a bogus email account on one of the thousand of free servers on the web. He started a new email and at Amy and how she hated emails. “I know you don’t like to use email but I think this time it will be ok,” Chris said to no one in the room. The DogHouseMail.com did its job and sent out the emails as if they came from someone else.
Within 24 hours the logs started coming in. It took a while for Chris and Duff to make sense of the log files but after a few hours they had it down to where they could filter out important information in just a few minutes.
“This is amazing,” Duff said. “It’s like looking over their shoulder. I can’t believe the information we are collecting.”
“Me either,” Chris smiled at Duff. “At this rate we should have something soon.”
“I hope so Chris, I feel kinda bad about spying on these guys. I mean I understand why we are doing it but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
“I know pal. We just have to keep our eyes on the prize. We are going to find Amy’s killer. We have come so far. It doesn’t make sense
to quit now.”
“I’m not suggesting we quit. I am just saying I feel weird about it.”
The two continued to poor over the logs for the next two weeks. After class on a Friday Duff found something that really upset him. He printed out the log file and started highlighting the pages. One he was done he left the dorm and headed to Mikes knowing Chris would be there.
Duff entered the bar and walked over to Chris’s booth in the back. He waved at Mike who poured a beer and walked it over to their booth and sat down. Sliding the beer toward Duff he said, “You look like the cat that ate the mouse. What’s up?”
Duff took the pages out of his backpack and passed them to Chris. “Read this,” Duff said.
Chris started reading the highlighted portions of the pages. As he finished one page he would hand it over to Mike. Mike pulled a set of reading glasses out of his pocket and read intently.
The quiet was uncomfortable for Duff and he had to fight the urge to say anything to break the silence. He wanted Chris and Mike to read the transcript without interruption.
It felt like forever before Chris handed the last page to Mike. He shook his head as Mike finished the last page. Mike put the last page down. Duff was the first to speak.
“I think we have our man.”
Chris added, “I didn’t know there were people like that in the world.”
“I did,” said Mike. “I just didn’t know they lived so close to me. Duff who is this guy? I’m going to pay him a visit tonight.”
Chris looked up at Mike surprised. “You can’t Mike.”
“I’m not asking your permission Chris. This animal killed my little girl. Payback is due…NOW!” Mike slammed his fists into the table. Every eye in the bar turned to look at Mike. “What? What the hell are you looking at?” Everyone returned to their drinks and slowly the conversation volume grew to its normal level.
“Mike I know how you feel.” Chris placed his hand on the big man’s shoulders. He squeezed and said, “If we do that we are no better than him. Besides that isn’t what Amy would want. She wouldn’t want you to throw away the rest of your life on that piece of crap.”
“Let’s be smart about this,” Duff added. We don’t have enough yet to prove it was him but we know where to dig.”
“Mike I’m going to take this to Troy and have him get into this guys blog and look for more proof. My bet is that if he wrote about this he must have written about the murders. Once we have that information we’ll have him wrapped up for the police.”
“It doesn’t change how I feel Chris. I want to strangle this guy with my bare hands.”
“We all do Mike.” Chris slapped Mike on the back. “We all do. But we are going to do this right for Amy, the way she would have wanted it to go down.” Chris and Duff walked out of the pub worried what Mike might due but glad that they had not given him the name of their primary suspect.
Chris alone had the name that matched the log number. Mat Matlack.
CHAPTER 19
Troy was relaxing with his laptop in the quad when Chris and Duff found him. “Hey guys, how goes the investigation?”
Chris and Duff smiled and sat on the grass facing Troy. “Good. In fact that is why we are here. We have a log that really bothered us. We think it might be our guy. But we need to get a look at his log. Can you get us in?”
“Did you bring the log with you?” The look on Troy’s face was all business.
“Ya we printed it out. Here it is,” Chris handed the file folder to Troy.
Troy took the file opened it and started reading. “This is messed up.”
“No kidding,” Duff replied.
As Troy continued to read a pained look came across his face. As he finished he took the file and opened his computer and started typing. “Damn…oh no you don’t…yes my kung foo is stronger than yours.”
“Troy, are you ok,” Chris asked?
“Ya I’m fine. This guy is a mess. He thinks he has rock solid security. He is a “Foolish Boy.” I have his login and password.”
“What was with the kung foo thing?” Duff looked at Troy concerned he had a screw loose.
“Oh that. It’s a reference to an old Bruce Lee movie. If you are a better hacker than your competition you are said to have stronger kung foo. Duff just so you know…my kung foo is very strong.” Troy handed a piece of paper to Chris and said, “You can log in and get all the information you need. Let me know if I can do any more for you. This is wicked fun. I feel like all those years of learning to hack computer systems have just paid off.”
“It has Troy, more than you know.” Chris and Duff headed back to the dorm to begin work on Mat’s blog.
“I’m in Duff. I’m just going to print everything. We can go through it and pull what we need. Are you cool with that?”
“I’m cool but we are going to need more paper and ink. I’ll go pick some up. You keep feeding the printer till I get back.”
“Good plan Duff. See you in a while.” Chris went back to the computer and printed page after page.
30 minutes later Duff returned with 2 black ink cartridges and a ream of paper. “How you doing?”
“I just ran out of ink. Slap in a new one. I’ve got about 500 pages in the que.”
Duff opened the ink and placed it in the printer. He filled the paper try. “This is going to take a while. This stupid tray only holds 100 sheets. You should have bought the laser printer with the twin 500 sheet trays. We wouldn’t have to keep reloading this old thing.”
Chris smiled at Duff, “I’m sorry my mom’s old ink jet printer does not meet your requirements. I’ll give her a call and tell her what you need for next semester.”
Duff just stared at Chris, “Well it’s too late now! I don’t expect to be solving murders every semester. Unless you know something I don’t.”
Chris broke out laughing. “At the rate we are going this may turn into a new career for us.”
“God I hope not. This whole thing is really creepy. I just want to stop this guy and forget all about him.”
“Me too Duff.”
CHAPTER 20
The boy read the pages as they spit out from the printer until 3:00 AM. Both had blood shot eyes from the relentless reading. Duff was crying as he read the account of Amy’s murder.
“Chris, I’ve got the proof we need,” Duff said wiping his eyes on his sweatshirt sleeve.
“Really?” Chris was in shock. This was what they were both working toward and here is was and he froze afraid to touch the pages in Duff hands. “Let me read it.”
“I don’t think that is such a great idea.” Duff pulled the paper closer to his chest. “I mean it buddy you don’t want to read this.”
“You’re right I don’t but I have too. So hand it over dude. I’m ready for it.”
“You think you are but you’re not I promise you. Let’s just leave it at that. I’ll tell the cops what we found. You can keep the image of a loving Amy in your head. Please Chris I beg you.”
“Duff I have never known you to talk like this. What’s on those pages? You better give them to me. I need to read them. Thanks for trying to protect me but I intend to see this whole thing through.”
Duff handed the stack of pages to Chris reluctantly. “The last 4 pages are what you want to read.”
Chris took the pages and thumbed to the end. He started reading as Duff kept a close eye on him. By the end of the third page Chris was wiping tears from his eyes. Duff tried to stay strong but failed and cried along with him. As Chris was reading the last page Duff went over to his bed reached beneath it and took out a bottle of Jameson. He grabbed a couple of paper cups and poured three fingers into each glass. As Chris put the last page down Duff handed him one of the glasses.
“To Amy,” Duff said as he gulped down the warm golden liquid and felt the burn down his throat. When he finished he
looked at Chris who was sitting there looking blankly into space. “Dude, drink up.”
Chris snapped out of his head and returned to the real world. He tipped the cup back and swallowed hard as the drink burned its way down his throat to his stomach. “To Amy.”
CHAPTER 21
The two woke the next morning still feeling the effects of the Jameson.
“I think we have enough to go to the police,” Chris told Duff.
Duff agreed and they settled for going to the police station after classes for the day. It was just after 2:00 PM when they met at Chris’s car. Chris had the folder all organized for the detective.
“I called the station and they told me Detective Barnes would be in the office all afternoon. He will see us when we get there.” Chris smiled at Duff and asked, “You ready?”
“As I ever will be, I guess. Let’s get this ship out of port and see how she sails.”
They climbed in to the car and drove downtown. They arrived at 2:20 PM and were told to take a seat on the benches and the detective would come out for them. Chris and Duff complied and sat on the hard benches with cuff hooks on the arms so there was no real place to put their arms. During the first hour three drunks came and went from the bench. One was kind enough to show the boys what he had for lunch. The stench was no better when a prisoner appeared from behind the electrically locked steel door next to the officer’s desk and mopped up the mess with a cheap pine cleaner and a dirty mop.
Chris leaned over to Duff and said, “I think it was better before the mop.” Duff chuckled and shook his head in agreement.
During the second hour of sitting on the bench the police brought in a couple of prostitutes. They both asked Duff and Chris wanted a date. Chris blushed and looked down at the floor shaking his head no. Duff was more inquisitive and asked how much. The women just smiled and told him not in a police station. The three of them laughed.