The Re-Election Plot

By Thomas P Hopp

When University of Washington computer-graphics Professor Kyle Smith is gunned down in cold blood, the police are mystified as to the motive. But when Peyton McKean accesses the dead man's computer, he finds a clue that is impossible to ignore—a video tape of Osama bin Laden released just before the 2004 election that may have altered its outcome. But this video is an unfinished, early version of the final faked product. Noting that the file was created by one of Smith's students, Ali Yamani, McKean and his sidekick Fin Morton are surprised when Yamani's wife Fatima arrives at McKean's office and tearfully confesses on behalf of her husband, who has gone into hiding. She pleads for McKean's help, believing the hired killer who murdered Smith will come for his student next. McKean and Morton agree to meet with Yamani, unaware that the killer has been watching McKean's lab closely.

A chain of events has begun that will propel McKean and Morton down one of the most treacherous paths they have ever taken. Behind the scenes are corrupt politicians, organized crime, and a hitman whose singleminded purpose is to wipe out any and all people who are aware of the fake video's origins.

This taut political thriller is a page turner, start-to-finish.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas P Hopp
• Release date: Oct 29, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452494807

Thomas P Hopp

Thomas Patrick Hopp routinely imagines the unimaginable. He writes science fiction and mystery thriller novels that draw on his background as a scientist and scholar of the natural world in all its glory and terror. His stories have won multiple literary awards and garnered him a worldwide following. He is a member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and served for several years as President of the Northwest Chapter of MWA. Tom is also an internationally recognized molecular biologist. He discovered powerful immune-system hormones and helped found the multi-billion-dollar Seattle biotechnology company Immunex Corporation. He advised the team that created Immunex’s blockbuster arthritis drug Enbrel. He developed the first commercially successful nanotechnology device, a molecular handle for manipulating proteins at the atomic level, which is used by medical researchers around the world to study human cells and every major microbe known to science.Tom’s NORTHWEST TALES are thrillers set against backdrops of disaster, whether natural or man-made. Earthquakes, eruptions, and epidemics are grist for these gripping adventures. Tom’s mystery stories follow Dr. Peyton McKean, a super-intelligent sleuth known as “The Greatest Mind Since Sherlock Holmes.” Viruses, microbes, and evil geniuses form the core of his opposition. Tom’s DINOSAUR WARS science fiction stories read like “Star Wars meets Jurassic Park.” Featuring laser-blasting space invaders and huge beasts from the past, they follow Yellowstone Park naturalist Chase Armstrong and Montana rancher’s daughter Kit Daniels, who struggle to survive in a world where dinosaurs live again. Most of Tom’s tumultuous adventures are suitable for readers young and old.

Book preview

THE RE-ELECTION PLOT

By Thomas P. Hopp

A Peyton McKean Mystery

First Edition copyright 2010 Thomas P. Hopp

Second Edition copyright 2011 Thomas P. Hopp

Smashwords Edition copyright 2011 Thomas P. Hopp

http://thomas-hopp.com

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient at Smashwords.com or other ebook outlet.

Author’s note: When I watch computer-animated movies, I wonder if governments or terrorists could use Hollywood techniques to confuse, intimidate, or lead us somewhere we wouldn’t otherwise want to go.

Kyle Smith’s body lay sprawled along the gutter in front of Immune Corporation when I came out the front doors into the cold Seattle drizzle. Two cops, freshly arrived at the scene, had yet to cordon off the area or control anything. Blood running from Kyle’s cracked cranium mingled with the rainwater on the pavement and the sight of it oozing toward a storm drain made my stomach flip flop. I got on my cell as frantically as my worst day in Baghdad and phoned upstairs to Peyton McKean like I was calling for air support.

Get down here, quick! I shouted. Smith’s been shot, just like he said would happen.

McKean hurried down from the third floor, still in his white lab coat, arriving just as a second police car pulled up with its lights flashing. We got a close look at Smith before the officers pressed back the crowd, which at first was just us and the woman who made the 911 call but soon swelled to dozens of people attracted by the squad car lights. Tourists and businesspeople walking along the piers of the waterfront spilled across Alaskan Way, over the trolley tracks and under the concrete span of the viaduct with its roaring traffic overhead, drawn by morbid curiosity.

Kyle Smith had fallen facedown in a splayed-out posture like he was dead before he hit the ground. A small gunshot entry wound penetrated his skull behind his left ear. He lay in the gap between two parked cars, one of which was my Ford Mustang. The midnight blue paint on its right front fender and hood was spattered with Smith’s blood.