Page 64 of Deadly Sacrifice

“What if it’s for your own protection?” Pono said. “Way I see it, you’re lucky to be out of the killer’s crosshairs. But okay. Do you have representation?”

“I called him before.” Noble picked at the grubby cuffs of his shirt. “Get me a phone.”

Lei stood up. “We’re not done with you, Noble. Lawyer or no lawyer.” She headed for the door. Once in the hall, she asked a uniformed guard to bring a phone in for Noble to use. She then instructed the guard. “Once Mr. Noble has called his lawyer, escort him back to his cell. Then call me as soon as he’s released.”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

Lei reconvened with Pono once they were out of earshot. “I was hoping we’d get a little further with him.”

“Me too. We can arrest him for the blackmail and fraud on the construction project,” Pono said. “Weak sauce, though. We’ve about used up our time holding him.”

“So let’s use him as bait. Track what happens when his lawyer gets him out, then surveil his place and see if the killer shows up to finish him off. If not, that says something too.” Lei pushed off from the wall. “Let’s go back to the station and see if Katie has rustled up anything new for us, before our time is tied up in a stakeout of Noble’s place.” She took off down the hall with Pono in pursuit.

38

LEI

Lei steppedinto Katie’s Cave that afternoon and found her intern staring intently at a computer monitor. As was often the case, the young woman’s outfit caught Lei’s attention. “Now that’s a different look,” she said. “What’s the occasion?”

Katie wore black military-style cargo pants, shiny patent leather combat boots, and a formfitting short-sleeved Under Armour tee. Her hair was sleeked back in a French braid, and today her glasses were horn rims trimmed in rhinestones.

“Hi, boss.” Katie smiled at Lei; her full lips were fire-engine red and the only color in today’s fashion palette. “I’m a ninja. Strong like a warrior, dressing the part.”

“Looks good on you,” Lei said. “I hope that means you’re kicking bad guy ass online.”

“And in person if I can get ‘em,” Katie said. “What’s up?”

Lei caught Katie up with what she and Pono had discovered in their raid on Mank’s house. “So whatever this guy was up to, he’s gone now. What are you working on?” Lei asked.

“I’m trying out some new software. Playing around to see if we can clean up the original pictures that Brian shot of the killer.”

“Did any of this software come through the Bureau?” Lei frowned. “Hoping for a little interagency cooperation, I guess.”

“Nah, cooperation isn’t real high on their agenda, at least when it comes to their secret toys. This stuff is proprietary commercial. I have an online friend who knew about some facial recognition software and made a few phone calls. I was able to get hold of a sample program that uses some of the algorithms that companies like Google use to identify people in pictures.”

“I thought the original pictures weren’t clear enough,” Lei said.

“Can’t hurt to try. It’s better than anything else I’ve got. And you’re right about the pictures. They were taken from too far away.” She grinned and continued. “But then—ta-da!—I remembered that one of my college buddies does CGI for the movies!”

“CGI? What are you talking about?”

“Computer Generated Imagery. It’s what they use in movies to create special effects, like dinosaurs, spaceships, alien worlds, kids flying around on brooms. A company named Industrial Light & Magic probably worked on almost any movie you’ve seen in the last twenty years. ThinkJurassic Park,Avatar,Harry Potter. All those parts of the movie that weren’t ‘real’ were done with CGI.”

“That’s interesting, but how can that help with some blurry real photographs?” Lei walked over to the wall and helped herself to a cup emblazoned withNSFW IS GR8 ICYMI.She filled the mug at the coffeemaker and held it up. “Interpret, please.”

“Not Safe For Work is Great In Case You Missed It.” Katie rolled her eyes. “Get with the lingo, boss. Anyway, since we’re kind of stuck at the moment I thought, why not try some CGI expansion parameters with the facial recognition software and see if those photos can help us find this butt wipe.”

“Is there a downside?” Lei asked.

“Are you kidding? If this works, we’ll have the governor declare ‘CGI and AI Appreciation Day.’” Katie tapped on, her fingers moving too fast to follow.

“Okay, but what if the identification is wrong?”

“That’s where boots on the ground, like you and Pono, can follow up. Verify alibis and such. I mean, using this experimental software to nail a suspect probably isn’t admissible in court, but if we could get an ID on this guy, it could give a direction.”

“I guess.” Lei sighed as she sat down next to her protégée. “We’re currently waiting for Beck Noble to get released from jail so we can tail him and see if the killer goes after him, or if he communicates with Mank. Pono’s working on a warrant for Noble’s cell phone so we can tap his calls. So your plan is just about as solid as ours, which isn’t saying much.” Lei leaned over to look at Katie’s monitor, but all she saw were lines of code on a black background. “Is that what the computer is working on now?”

“Yup. I opened two of Jeff Brian’s photos in the software, and it’s performing its digital magic right now, trying to render a cleaner image that matches a real human in our database. I’ll let you know if I get anything.”

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