Beginning - Chapter 6

   Scott Bluedot had around three pages of ideas about what rich college kids had, that regular kids didn't tend to have. It was extensive. It started out at the obvious. Having a car. Having an apartment. Better car. Better or private apartment. Better clothes. Maybe nice jewelry. Watches. Cell phone, and even high end cell phone.

   Another page had attributes he surmised on. Speaking a foreign language. Nicer bars and nicer restaurants. Having the next semester paid up beforehand, so, first crack at scheduling. No problems buying books. A third page had things he just added at the end. One of them was internet savvy.

   Bluedot defended that being on the list, because back when smiley started out? Cell phones were just coming into their own. Internet access was limited until more and more people got internet capable phones. Using the internet was getting more common, but, using it a lot on the phone? Was a techie thing back then.

   Bluedot explained, and Panic enthusiastically got on his side… that internet savvy was limited in that year and time. Smart rich college students were way more likely to both have fast internet at their homes, and to be able to afford it in their apartments at college. Most people online back then? Were using computers at home or apartment. Only certain professionals were online regularly at work.

   Speedy told everyone to shut up, actually a bit curtly. Which was unlike him. So? Panic and Bluedot looked at each other and went silent. When Speedy finally spoke, after having put his index finger up a couple times when it looked like either of them were about to speak? It was slow and low volume.

   "I'm sorry for being rude, I just wanted time to think. You two… find me something that can be stolen out of all this… something no one would think to look for…"

   No one had anything right away. Panic went for a giant mug of coffee. Scott and Speedy both cracked open a beer. Everyone sat and stared at the floor, stared at each other, nothing immediate jumped out of it.

   Panic started brainstorming.

   "The theft… is… well, it's a digital theft."

   Speedy gave him a sour look…

   "No shit. Sheer-luck Holmes stumbles upon yet another crime. Give me an idea…"

   "Uh… D-bay? Someone buys a… 10,000 dollar item. They get the item… then you kill the person that shipped it to you, and, you mark their account as 'Item paid in full. Quick payment, pleasant transaction. Recommend to all sellers.'…"

   "Okay… but… how do you locate the perfect mark?"

   "I don't have that yet… I'm throwing shit at the wall, seeing what sticks."

   Bluedot started smiling.

   "Scott has something you two Luddites do not have… something people would love to steal."

   Both Speedy and Panic wanted to know.

   "What…"

   He drew the tension out. He was enjoying having something to add to the investigation beyond bland water science. He smiled, and wouldn't answer them. He went and got his second beer, and kept grinning mischievously.

   He finally spilled his idea, what he had that everyone would wish they could steal.

   "I own… Bitcoins. It started out, worthless. Just an experiment. They quickly rose in value from speculation. Only smart college kids from rich families would tend to have been into them at first. It started out as a kind of an internet geek thing."

   Panic smiled.

   "He's right, Speedy. Bitcoins are anonymous. If I figure out a way to steal bitcoins? I just stole anonymous shit."

   Bluedot smiled.

   "Most people with bitcoins? Have an app on their phone. On their typically… high end… internet phone."

   Speedy started smiling. It was the other two's turn to get it out of him.

   "There were a few prostitution rings that were operating on Payfriend back in the day."

   Panic added…

   "That would maybe provide the 'dry run' we're looking for…"

   Panic started in…

   "I remember when Bitcoin was a new idea. They started out at one penny per bit coin. My two buddies at the truck stop? Were making fun of me I wanted to buy a hundred dollars worth of Bitcoin."

   Scott observed…

   "Yeah. You're an idiot they told you, right? Every dollar was a hundred bitcoins. About worthless initially. But, you would have had 10,000 worthless bitcoins for your hundred bucks. They trade for over a thousand a couple years later. A thousand…dollars… each…"

   Speedy got excited…

   "10,000 bit coins bought for 100 dollars… they trade for 1,000 each years later… that's fucking ten million dollars. That's a motive…"

   "Well… the gypsy girl stealing bitcoins… she would have been offering to have sex for… lets say 100 dollars of what bitcoins were trading for at that time. Speedy? Hand-job and blowjob worth a hundred bucks? Throw in some face licking, hot kissing, soft neck biting, some saucy talk…"

   "Yeah. College kid? Has money his parent's don't know about? A couple drinks… the right girl comes along… will only take payment in bitcoins… it involves a walk somewhere lonely to complete the transaction…"

   Panic complained.

   "This is so theoretical, it's nothing without… video. Which, I want to remind both of you enthusiastic game cam idea cheerleaders? May I remind you both… that specifically means, that we three, are going to have to watch a murder we knew was coming, on pictures or video. Days later is when any missing guy is seriously looked for, right? That's fucked up."

   Scott Bluedot and Speedy the retiring state cop both got instantly quiet. It was all too easy to forget about Colonel Panic's well known moral compass. If you called Colonel Panic on his verbose moral lecturing? He would claim that once he said it, he had no choice but to act on the knowledge. That it was a way to prevent him from being unknowingly seduced towards, what he called, 'the dark side.'

   The dark side of what, he was always asked at this point. His answer was always the same.

   "It eliminates whatever dark side situation would entice me over. That's why I'm pointing out that we never forget these things."

   Speedy and Bluedot both eyed each other. They just had to let him go. There was really no other way to handle him on this issue.

   "One? We want yet another murder to occur. Or we got nothing."

   "Two? Without prior knowledge of the day and time and location… we're guaranteed we have to watch it happen, unable to do anything… days later. Happy we finally have… 'evidence'. I'm telling you guys. I feel like… a fucking ghoul. Like, a fucking scumbag bottom feeder news reporter. All happy there's a corpse laying around. Fucking news. It turns my stomach."

   Speedy and Scott went silent for a few seconds. They let Colonel Panic, their friend, just sort of 'go' with his tiny fit he always had.

   "Sorry for the outburst. Speedy… Blue? Sorry. Look, remember when I told you guys, that I go without sleep as I really get going on something. As a technique? I'm usually alone when I get weird from it. Sorry. But? I told you… as I really get going? I have weird emotional highs and lows. It induces a slight insanity… and insanity and ingenuity are twin brothers, historically speaking."

   Scott Bluedot was always the easiest one of the three of their merry little band to get irritated.

   "Oh, that's just great, Speedbump… smart crazy boy here? Is going to have childish emotional outbursts. More often as we go forwards? Fuck me, that there's no other way."

   Speedy, ever in charge if only by default. Decided on the fly, always trying to run on both gut instinct and whatever sound logic he could summon.

   "We need a compromise. Bluedot? You're right to get irritated. Go on and complain and vent it. Panic, do you mind if he bitches back? You're not going to take a swing at him, on account of science rules and all that, right? Open argument, well, that's anything goes?"

   "Sure."

   Speedy finally smiled and made his opinion…

   "I think… our theory. Our planning. It's what I call 'working'. He invented this case with a statistical coup… he's had a lot, hell… most of the best theory ideas. I almost have to let him do his thing. Even if his thing is to cut moral fits."

   Speedy smiled and continued…

   "But… we need a compromise. Panic? We want you on the edge of insanity. Not over the fucking edge. I want you having your little fits, but, I want to put the brakes on you getting any more strung out from lack of sleep. This… artificial artistic temperament thing you talk about…"

   "What's the compromise then, Speedy?"

   Panic wanted to know. Bluedot was curious now as well.

   "You said it yourself, Colonel Panic. You were alone for days at a time, strung out on no sleep… writing on a piece of music… afraid you just had to see it through in three days, or risk losing 'it', whatever 'it' was. Here's my answer. When you have a little fit? You have to go and take a couple hour nap. I want you? Always 'just about' to have a fit… not actually 'having' a fit, okay?"

   Panic agreed it was logical.

   "All right… that sounds like a volume knob… makes sense."

   "So. Why are you still sitting here, Panic? You just agreed it's time to go and take a couple hour nap. Go."

   Colonel Panic had an amused look on his face.

   Scott the Bluedot liked this idea…

   "Yeah. You just been sent to bed, crazy boy… get the fuck moving. Let your elders enjoy a beer…"

   "Okay. Rule… only Speedy can send me to bed. Bluedot can't. He gets irritated too easy. It's like having a kid sister be in charge when Dad is away."

   "If I'm out? Bluedot can call me. You get to hear my own voice telling you to go take a nap. Whether you need it or not. Whether Bluedot is lying on you or not, I don't care. Agreed?"

   Colonel smiled. Nodded his head, agreed. He walked off slowly and went to his bed and laid down and ended up getting three or four hours of sleep. He wasn't well rested after a couple days awake, but, it had recharged his batteries to an obviously low level. He walked slowly and sheepishly… quietly… down the stairs when he returned.

   "I'm in a daze, but it's a soft quiet feeling. Did I miss anything important on the theory?"

   "No, not really. Bluedot here was showing me how bitcoins work, with a couple different apps."

   Colonel Panic had found a mug of instant coffee. Extra sugar and extra dry creamer. Sat down near the other two.

   "Okay. How hard is it to steal one, then. Can it be traced?"

   Speedy and Blue looked at one another. Speedy told him…

   "Scott showed me what seems to be similar to an ATM on the coin moving part of the app. The transaction is designed to be anonymous and undetectable. I will 'look into it', from the state cop angle of it? But… I don't hold out high hopes. I won't lie to you, Panic."

   Panic rolled his eyes slowly back and forth. Juggling ideas…

   "So, what are you saying then. You think if a woman with experience who knew the South American ATM scam… could just as easily pull the same scam, here in America, where the crime is virtually unheard of. It's… an anonymous ATM on the college kid's phone."

   "Well… you said you found a lot of phones. Can we look there?"

   "We can, and we will… but, me and Scott think the person running the drugged person to the ATM? Would then take all the bitcoins in the account. With full privileges. They delete the app? They delete all evidence of what was designed to be a digitally anonymous transaction."

   "That would both make a lot of bitcoins. And be untraceable?"

   "Looks like it."

   Speedy was smiling as he continued…

   "Bluedot showed me, a secure text messaging linked up to the app. It's one of your internet bulletin boards, Panic. All text so its fast. Claims to be secure."

   "Okay. So… I'm trying to imagine the novel idea aspect of it… you drop one girl off, in one area. Like a seed. You have a couple other girls, trained the same, you drop them off in other locations. They do their thing. Meet up at the end of the 'smiley season' and do whatever with their loot for the year."

   Panic looked to Speedy for what amounted to a referee call.

   "How does that fit into the calendar for the little string on this river? About… every other year, one comes through this local University. Correct that… every other year, a successful one comes through. Or… one strikes… Maybe they come through and wait for the time to be right, like any single serial killer. They're looking for their chance. The planets have to line up… then bang."

   "What's the city like? I remember some dots in Pittsburgh, every year."

   Speedy took a sip of beer, before he wanly observed…

   "I'm thinking of a small pack of young women. In this area? I'm starting to think they move up the three rivers of Pittsburgh. Then converge in the city for a couple every year. They stop along any college or university they can in the area."

   Scott Bluedot started in, gently…

   "Panic? I don't want to dishearten you, but… the 200 camera plan? It needs… 'more work'. First off, the batteries are going to be an ongoing expense. What are our options electrically. That's your area of expertise."

   Panic was subdued and bleary eyed. Soft and quiet. Sipped his horrible but strong instant coffee with extra sugar and shit dry creamer.

   "Options… we could try for a source of a huge purchase, of the cheapest shittiest Chinese batteries known to man. Like manufacturers use, by the way. But, that's an ongoing expense."

   "Another option? We go rechargeable lithium ions. Or, we go rechargeable Nickle Metal Hydride rechargeable AA batteries. Its an up front cost barrier, but, I could make bulk re-chargers."

   "Yet another option, we investigate going solar for recharging the batteries, no matter what way we go. Lithium or Nickle Metal Hydride. No matter how we look at it? It increases the cost of the cameras per unit."

   "The final thing I can think of? It's a replacement for an SD card, it turns it into a transmitter. We can download and watch videos and save them if we want. That would increase the cost per camera a good bit too."

   "The downside, is the increasing cost per camera, with corresponding more limited blanket coverage. Greater space between cameras in our strategy. The benefit? Less people needed to manage the situation over time. We would have to watch this, like hens watching eggs. Over an extended time. If we could automate it enough? Maybe, just maybe… we could get it down to a guy walking the tracks with a laptop. Sort of like… a water meter reader cruising down the street reading water meters."

   Speedy looked at Bluedot…

   "Can you accomplish that, Panic?"

   "Yes, it's just a question of money and time. We need to order at least 100 cameras, to even think about getting our specs on the cameras and our accessories at cost. Two hundred cameras? Almost guarantees better service in that regard."

   Speedy sipped his beer.

   "Give me a couple days. Maybe, and I mean fucking maybe… I can get my friend at the FBI to put me into contact with someone that might have the juice to authorize a few bucks to throw in on this adventure. Again, maybe I can get someone at the local State Police barracks to get the right phone calls… maybe get some up front seed money that way."

   "That would help, if you can pull it off."

   "Panic? Put together a couple of units. A demonstration. Put together a price list. If we can demonstrate it works, and we have more up front costs but easier manageability? We have a better chance of getting an influx of cash. I'm thinking, I'll authorize 500 bucks, up front, for a couple units and a demo. Another 500 bucks, for a couple more once I see some movement on the project. That's all you, Panic… you're the electronics guy… cool?"

   The newly quiet Panic nodded his head, and slugged down his instant coffee.

   "I'll be a week or two on the initial unit. I want this perfect, see how automated I can get this down to."

   Scott wondered how 'strung out' Panic thought he would get for this phase of the project.

   Panic smiled.

   "It's less 'what the fuck do I do next', and a whole lot more just steady busy work. I can sleep a little more, I'm thinking 12 hours on, 12 hours off at a time. You guys? Will think I'm a little sleepy, a little quiet. I won't get fits. Seeing accomplishment on a long project? Recharges me a little."

   Bluedot offered up…

   "Guys? If your adjusted theory now leans towards digital theft, on cell phones, for bitcoin transactions… and hunting for victims on the apps bulletin board… I have a weird idea."

   Speedy looked at Panic and they both smiled. Speedy used his deadpan voice…

   "Scott? This whole she-bang is fucking weird, from start to middle to finish. We pretty much live in the world of crazy ideas right now. You know my rules… No UFOs. No Sasquatch. No Loch Ness Monster. Just about anything else, you throw it out there."

   "Well. I don't know if you guys know this, but… Bitcoin transactions involve some pretty hefty mathematics and cryptography. It actually takes quite a while to calculate a transaction. And, each transaction takes slightly longer. It seems reasonable here, on my laptop. I have fast internet here at Panic's house. My phone takes a little while."

   "So, what are you saying? Are we looking for someone lugging a laptop around with them?"

   "Well, no. What I'm saying, is that you would need fast internet phone service. You guys know me, I'm all about risk management. Its what I did for industry before I branched out into working for myself and it led to my pond gig. The risk management guy in me? Wants to only hunt where there is fast high speed phone internet."

   "So, if we go with untraceable bitcoin theft… we are also, now married to the idea they only hunt in areas with fast phone internet."

   Panic's face lit up…

   "Guys? There ain't no college, that doesn't have fast internet phone service. No college kid would be caught dead on a campus a phone didn't work well."

   Speedy was deep in thought for several seconds, musing…

   "Okay… maybe that would explain how the smiley shit grows. Like a mold. Follow this logic. You need water. You need a college or university for access to the right kind of victims. Or a city. You need close walking from victim to kill site. Kill site requires a lonely spot on water."

   Bluedot chimed in, when Speedy trailed off.

   "Weather patterns… everyone notices that this shit tends to go down right before a rain. Its a fall/winter/spring phenomenon. Cold water and cold weather muffs up time of death, rain washes evidence away. When it rains in the spring and the fall? The temperature drops steadily."

   Speedy made a sour face…

   "I hate to be logical… but… cold weather ensures the victim dies quicker. Cold water? Hypothermia? You go hypo or drown quick."

   "Speedy? If we're on the right track… then I think I know the relationship between the smiley faces and the locations."

   Speedy furrowed his brow…

   "Panic, that was always one of the famous argument points. We have it on half decent authority, that in at least several kill spots… the smiley face was either there already beforehand the local kids claim, or, it's later on located some distance away."

   Panic came right back…

   "Speedy. You're the one that taught me, that as an investigator… you don't believe in coincidences. If a number of 'weird drownings' that didn't make sense had, I don't know, stick man figures for graffiti there or nearby? This would be the stick killer."

   Panic waited for emphasis, and smiled. He thought he had a good one, obviously.

   "You're thinking like… the lipstick killer in the late 40s, Heirens? You're stuck on what a killer does to leave a calling card. Heirens drew 'catch me before I kill again' and 'help me' in lipstick after he killed women."

   "Yeah… insurance geeks and smiley faces spray painted on overpasses created this case."

   "Based on our newly adjusted theory? It's not a calling card. Its not writing in lipstick after a kill… it's… I call it 'war-driving' and 'war-chalking'…"

   Scott the Bluedot and Speedbump both looked puzzled at each other. Still, Panic was fairly tired and calm… not all discombobulated. He was in his preferred 'zone' for what he thought of as insight.

   Speedy shrugged.

   "Go on, panic. I smell a lecture coming."

   "Okay. The word started out as 'war-dialing'. Back in the early to mid 80s… there were actually comparatively few people that had a home computer and a phone modem. You used to call up the university computer, hell I had an account there in junior high and high school. You also called up BBS bulletin boards. Before the internet? Sites like our own reloading site? Were bulletin boards. The internet just connected them all up, so you didn't have to place phone calls."

   Speedy made a circular motion with his hand, to move along… stopping Panic when he was on a lecture was all but impossible. He would get to a point eventually.

   "Kids like me? Realized I had only two phone exchanges for my town. 483, and 489. That's only 20,000 possible phone numbers to hand out to the residents. Remember, there were no cell phones, and our phone system was still not digital. All mechanical relays still at that point."

   "What's the point, Panic?"

   "War-dialing. That's what it was called. Out of 20,000 local and free phone calls? Some of them were computers, and a lot of fax machines that answer the phone like a computer modem does. With a 2600 Hz tone. Beeeeeeeeeee. You guys are older than me, you remember the tone."

   "So, you kids sat there dialing and keeping track? With a list?"

   "Fuck that! I wrote a computer program, that would dial each number, and save the last number dialed to a tiny file. So I could do it again next night for a few hours. Overnight was the best time. I made a tiny electronic circuit, that made a little red LED go on, any time it detected a 2600 Hz tone. My computer program, could read that wire to the LED… if a phone answered within 10 rings, and the tone was present… it saved the number as a computer/fax number."

   "Okay, that was war-dialing… how does that apply here?"

   "That's the history of the word. When WiFi started to get popular, there was originally almost no encryption on wireless internet connections. You drove or walked around. Anywhere you picked up fast internet? You made a chalk mark on the sidewalk or the alley… so other computer people knew there was fast, free internet in this spot. We called it 'war-chalking', in memory of the old phone geeks that war-dialed. The act of moving around looking, was called 'war-driving'…"

   "So… you think, that the smiley faces graffiti… is just a indicator of where good cell phone internet has a good signal?"

   "That's my theory. Its just a happy face. Indicating… happy internet service. You walk along the waterfront, and put a smiley face at both ends of the strong signal area. How can we prove it?"

   Scott mused…

   "I doubt we can prove it, but, it makes sense. You drop one girl off, and she knows the spots she's looking for. The smiley faces tell her where reliable internet is fast enough she isn't standing there all night waiting for the transaction to get calculated and go through."

   "In the city or in the country around a campus… this makes a lot of sense. I get a victim. In the city? I might get two or three more, all in pepper spots around that site. Either that year, or, another year. Smiley likes certain spots… it would even explain how smiley grows up the waterways in the research triangle."

   Panic wondered aloud.

   "How so?"

   "As cell phone towers went up on hills in the middle of the triangle, in the heavy woods? The surrounding rich kids universities, and there are several there… they always did hike and camp on weekends and breaks. The expanding phone service with internet, dragged smiley up the water ways, which is all the trails for hiking and camping."

   Speedbump addressed Bluedot…

   "Scott? You're good with topographical maps for your pond job. I want you, to concentrate on getting high speed cellular internet coverage maps. But, I want good maps, not maps that the companies claim. Look for something independent we can trust the color on the map. Also? Once you find a good map, I want you to go digging… get the older maps… I want to see if there's any link between smiley starting and growing, and fast cellular internet coverage. If we find a link, even a slight one? It will help us rule out stretches of railroad tracks. Remember, the cost of the cameras is going up as we add shit to the cams to make it work better. This would help us decide where on the bread to put the butter."

   Then after a short quiet period? Panic started laughing like hell. It took him a while to calm down enough to explain.

   "Speedy? If we're getting anywhere, with all this conjecture? I got another piece of the puzzle that now makes perfect goddamn sense."

   "I'm almost afraid to ask."

   "Well? One of the weird shaped puzzle pieces that don't fit into the puzzle? Why are Gypsies covering their northern stomping grounds, in fall, winter, spring… instead of summer like normal, right?"

   "Well, yeah."

   "I got it. Its so simple. You're gonna shit when I tell you. It fits."

   "Well?!?!"

   He smiled, enjoying his moment.

   "You're looking for college students. When is college in session? Use your noodle."

   Speedy started laughing like a madman as well now.

   "Holy… shit. Starts in fall, goes through winter, into spring."

   Panic smiled.

   "Yep. Smiley's hunting season. The stomping grounds? Their normal gypsy scam areas, the northeast. But… the new victims? Are dictating the hunting season."

   Speedy shook his head, and took another sip of his beer. He volunteered a tidbit.

   "Panic? Anytime you're getting anywhere in an investigation? When you finally get onto the right idea? All the weirdest shit, starts to make logical sense."

   After a short break, Bluedot offered another one up.

   "You guys talk about motive?"

   Speedy was at attention. Motive was one of his things.

   "When you guys see this… smiley shit start? yeah, the one penny bitcoins start to go for a thousand dollars. Speculated up. If you thought that was motive? You should see what bitcoins are trading for now, guys. They kind of cruised from a thousand each? Steadily upwards over time. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand. Each. Still rising like crazy. They're expected to hit 60 thousand each, soon. They're banging back and forth right now, but always rise up out of bounces."

   Speedy just smiled and shook his head.

   "Now. That's motive."