Priority #1: Code Name: Marty

By Elaine J. Anderson

Rose Arroya, former NYPD investigator and founder of RAID, the Rosa Arroya International Detectives group, and her agents have been asked to help the CIA solve a stalled cyberterrorist case. A ruthless criminals attack program threatens to expose classified government data. Worse, he has no compunction about killing anyone who gets in his way.

RAID sets out to develop an invader program to kill the terrorists program. But in an unexpected twist, Rosa discovers that her friend, German spy Ludwig Schmidt, has made contact with the suspected international hacker. Could there be a connection to Ludwigs plan to avenge the murder of his lover? Whatever the reason, Rosa must enlist his help to work with RAID before he spoils their plan to capture the terrorist.

As Rosa hones her plan with the CIA, she finds herself an unsuspecting person of interest in a murder, cover-up, and taxi theft. She needs to get some answers from Ludwigexcept hes missing. Rosas sharp instincts, loyalty to her team, and courage to carry out the plan are paramount in working this case. But untangling herself from suspicion while actively working to bring a ruthless psychopath to justice may be more than she can handle

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9781475966756

Elaine J. Anderson

Elaine J. Anderson is the author of four crime stories available on amazon.com and www.nettisplace.com. She is a retired biology professor emeritus living in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with her spouse and pets.

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Copyright © 2013 by Elaine J. Anderson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-6674-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-6676-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-6675-6 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012924196

iUniverse rev. date: 01/23/2013

Contents

Acknowlegements

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

The RAID Agents

Acknowlegements

Once again I want to recognize and thank Lorraine Kujawa for her attention to detail and thorough editing of Priority #1, Code Name: Marty. The Rosa Arroya Crime Series; Dragonfly (2006), Chameleon (2008), and Invisibility Formula, Code Name: IF(2010), have all been edited with amazing expertise by Lorraine. I am deeply grateful for her loyalty and for the precious time she devotes to the review. Thank you.

I have been previledged to appear on Provincetown Public Television. Each interview explored the Rosa Arroya Crime Series and I thank Christie Harwick (Callings), Ann Maguire (Our Town), and Dian Hamilton(Writer’s Voice Cafe) for taking time to feature the series on their shows.

Thank you to the editorial consultants and art department at iUniverse for their services since my first crime novel in 2006.

Finally, and with graditude, thank you to my faithful readers.

E.J.A.

Chapter 1

It was a bone-chilling, gray day. A north wind blew across the cemetery. Three people clad in dark woolen coats peered down into the freshly dug grave. The undertaker made the first move to spread earth on the pine box in the open gravesite. Next, Rosa Arroya took the undertaker’s shovel and lifted some of the soft soil, neatly lying by the gravesite, and let it fall gently on the box resting beneath them. Ludwig Schmidt, noticeably upset by the finality of it all, threw some soil onto the box and sobbed, I’m so sorry.

The body of Karen Sapinsky had been returned from Mexico. She was buried with no honors, no fanfare, and no family members present.

Leaving the gravesite to the undertaker and his crew, Rosa took Ludwig’s arm and walked with him toward her car.

No one should die like that, he whispered, wiping his moist eyes with the back of his hands.

You’re right, Ludwig. The photos of her tortured body sent chills up my spine. Do you know who could do such a thing?

Yes, and I will get even. I plan to kill the son of a bitch, he told her with passion and conviction in his voice.

You do? Do you have reliable sources? How will you get to him? Rosa, stunned at his language, asked her friend, knowing he had been a German spy, and had many resources.

The best! Getting to him is my business, he answered as he held the car door for Rosa to slide in behind the wheel. He walked around the car to the passenger’s side, and removed his Stetson cowboy hat, glancing back at the backhoe filling in the gravesite. He got into the car, and turned to Rosa.

Thank you for supporting my request to be here for this day. I needed to go through it for closure to this sad story. I believe I loved her, he told Rosa. I never meant to get involved with my best friend’s lover, but she was so alluring, I was involved before I knew it.

Rosa studied Ludwig’s drawn, stressed face and said, I know that this hasn’t been easy for you. She hesitated, and said, Remember, revenge is a dangerous business.

Let’s drop it. I need to try to enjoy a week’s diversion. Are you ready to be my tour guide of Washington? he said, getting himself composed.

Rosa saw the depth of Ludwig’s resolve. It worried her.

I’m ready, even if it seems odd to begin a holiday at a cemetery, she told him. She drove the car away from the burial site, out of the cemetery, toward the tourist stops on the National Mall and Memorial Parks with the Lincoln Memorial at one end, the Capitol building at the other end, and enough museums in between to keep a tourist busy for a week.

The traffic was light and the sun was beginning to break through the cloud cover on this chilly day.

I wonder if you could eat a little something for lunch? she asked him.

I think that’s a great idea. Do you have a place in mind? he asked.

I do. It is a small restaurant just off DuPont Circle. Have you ever heard of the Obelisk? Rosa asked.

No, but whatever you choose is good for me, he responded as he watched the road and traffic from his window.

Rosa used her voice-activated car phone to call in their reservations.

Hello. Two for lunch at noon, please. After a short silence, she said, Reservations for Schmidt.

Good. They will expect us at noon, she told Ludwig, who nodded his approval.

Rosa glanced at her watch and stepped on the accelerator. They headed for DuPont Circle.

Ludwig smiled a wry smile to himself, feeling a sense of relief for the ordeal that was behind him today, but the story was not over in any stretch of the imagination. He wanted to get even. His sense of loyalty for his deceased lover, and his strong belief in right and wrong was driving him to avenge her death. It had all turned out so wrong. Love had a way of complicating life, he thought. He wondered if he was the only one suffering such emotional pain.

It had been years since Rosa had been to the Obelisk. It brought back memories of Jack Bucco and their cat-and-mouse game so long ago. She had fallen in love with him and his masterful disguises. Rosa remembered that he was Jake Baker when they had dinner at the Obelisk. He was the most charismatic man she had ever met. Her recovery from his death had taken a long time. She felt ready to move on. Still, she was curious to see if the restaurant had the same intimate charm she remembered.

Although the two had each experienced deep emotional losses, they hid their deepest personal feelings of these times from each other.

They arrived at noon in time for their reservation. As they approached the door of the restaurant, Ludwig opened it and held it for Rosa. A friendly young host welcomed them with a slight bow and big smile.

Do you have reservations?

Yes. It is under the name Schmidt, she told him.

The young man checked the register.

Of course you do, for a table for two. Follow me, please.

They were led into a tiny room with a half-dozen small tables covered with white cloth. He seated them by the only window in the room; its sill covered with assorted types and sizes of leafy plants, and placed a single menu on the table for them to share.

Jonathan will be your waiter, the host told them, and then swiftly went back to the door to