Murder by Numbers

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MURDER BY NUMBERS

IN SILICON VALLEY, DEATH HAS AN ALGORITHM.

R.S. Vaisbort

First Kindle Edition, February 2014 

© Copyright 2014 by R.S. Vaisbort. All Rights Reserved.

"THE PROBLEM WITH PUTTING TWO AND TWO TOGETHER IS THAT SOMETIMES YOU GET FOUR, AND SOMETIMES YOU GET TWENTY-TWO." 

-Dashiell Hammett, The Thin Man

CHAPTER ONE

February, 2001 

The San Francisco Bay Area 

Darren Park kept one eye on the road while he glanced at the dashboard clock with the other. Early evening filtered through the rain-splattered windows. "Jesus," he yawned. Only six p.m., and he was ready for bed.  

He'd felt pretty good since arriving home from Korea ten hours earlier. He'd hit the ground running and hadn't stopped. In fact, he'd felt particularly good when he left the office. He hadn't thought about coffee then. It was all about getting on the road, beating traffic, and  

getting to dinner. But jet lag was setting in. An oversight he was now regretting.

Darren looked down at the empty cup holder forlornly. "Where's that grande latte when you need it?" He craved a java fix. "Those damn Starbucks are everywhere, except where you really need them." He stared at the dark road stretching ahead.

He rubbed his eyes. Darren needed caffeine. He'd just have to run on empty until he got to Half Moon Bay - another half hour at least.

"Goddamn Bay Area weather," he muttered, leaning forward and peering through the rain hitting the windshield. He drove slower than he cared to, but he still made good time. "My Clark Kent to Superman move was pretty slick," he thought. A faint smile crossed his face.

Instead of going home to change his clothes, he'd gone from jeans and a tee shirt to his best suit while sitting in the front seat of his car. All this while parked in a remote corner of Synergy's parking lot. It hadn't been particularly comfortable or easy. But it beat going all the way home. And he sure as hell wasn't going to wear a suit to work all day. Suits, ties and technology companies didn't mix. Wearing one would inevitably provoke a thousand questions. He could just hear the comments: "Job interview, Darren?" "Going to a funeral, dude?"  

Questions he didn't feel like dealing with. Changing clothes in the car was a smart move.

But he wasn't sure he'd gotten everything together quite right. He tugged at his shirtfront,fingering each button. Somehow he'd managed to match the proper button to the proper buttonhole. He couldn't afford to be wrong and walk in looking like a slob...or an amateur. Not tonight. He turned on the car's interior dome light and flipped down the vanity mirror to double check. 

"You are looking good Mr. Park," he said with a smile. He looked sharp: dark gray wool jacket and slacks with a sky blue dress shirt. And, of course, the wristwatch. His favorite - a Rolex Daytona.

The watch said it all. Style. Success. Edge. If it were up to him, he'd wear it to work every day. That would make a statement. A jeans-and-tee-shirt-wearing Silicon Valley drone sporting a five-thousand-dollar watch for all to see. But for now it would have to make a statement on rare occasions well outside the office, when worn with a stylish business suit. Occasions like the present.