Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 8

On his ride home, Alex mused that the best chance they had of closing the stock exchange case was to find Luna Valencia, and quickly. He also knew that Jack and Anna weren't going to realize this until it was too late. Those young cops had graduated the academy so recently their hair was still wet. Tony ought to have known better, but he was more interested in planning retirement trips than working cases these days. That and he loved watching fresh meat squirm—one of the few pleasures of the job left to him after so many years.

It got dark early and was beginning to rain heavily. Alex pulled the cassette from his pocket and shoved it into the car's tape deck, turning up the volume. He'd switched it with a blank tape back at the station. Not like anyone was going to check it soon anyway. It might cost him this paycheck, but he figured it was worth it. He wanted to hear the kid's story again. He pressed rewind, then play, and heard the kid's voice.

"People are dying."

"What people? Where?"

"Everybody. Everywhere."

The idea gave him the creeps. If this kid was right, what could be causing these millions of deaths? How hadn't more people noticed this anomaly? Weren't there government agencies tracking this? The World Health Organization? Someone? How was this not on the news?

Jack and Anna were in way over their heads. These questions only raised more questions. But the biggest one was: why did he care so much? This wasn't his case. Hell, he wasn't even a cop anymore. He'd been forced into early retirement last year. Now he picked up odd jobs as a part-time private investigator or as a part-time consultant for the police department.

He hadn't heard much from his old squad recently. In fact, he'd been pretty surprised to hear from Tony that morning. He wondered now why Tony even called him in. Probably because the kid was black. Maybe he thought a black cop would be able to bond with the kid better or some shit like that.

Then he thought of Simon, his sweet little boy. He couldn't help but wonder if whatever Taye was studying was responsible for Simon's death. Millions of untimely deaths. Had his little boy been one of them? There was only one way to find out, but if he left it up to Jack and Anna, he would never get an answer.

He had to find Luna Valencia. Shouldn't be too hard. People were never too difficult to locate, especially after a traumatic experience. As Alex sat in traffic, he gazed up at the Empire State Building and tried to put himself in her shoes.

Something big had just happened to her, so she would want to go somewhere familiar. He wondered why she hadn't gone straight to her hotel. He mentally recalled the notes that he'd glimpsed before Tony led him to the interrogation room. The police had seen Luna near Taye when they caught him. So Taye must have said something to her. Must have told her something.

It dawned on Alex that Luna was probably sitting at a computer. There were only a few places in New York that a person could sit at a computer for a long time without being noticed. The library was far away from the stock exchange, but she could have caught the subway. No. There was somewhere easier and much more accessible. He made an illegal U-turn and stepped on the gas.