Part 37 (1/2)
He turned quickly to the evidence charts and stared for a long moment. He was vaguely aware that people were saying things to him. He paid no attention, muttering to himself.
Then he called over his shoulder, ”Sachs, Sachs! Fast! I need you to take a drive.”
CHAPTER 60.
THE BUSINESS OF WAR WAS winding down around the world and some of the buildings in the New Jersey headquarters of Walker Defense Systems were shuttered.
But Sachs observed that there must be some market left for weapons of ma.s.s-and personal-destruction; dozens of high-end Mercedeses and Audis and BMWs dotted the parking lot.
And an Aston Martin.
Man, Sachs thought. I would love to take that Vanquish for a spin-and she fantasized about letting the horses loose on the company's private drive.
Inside the fifties-style building, she checked with reception and was led to a waiting area.
”Sterile” was the word that came to mind and that was true in two senses: The decor was minimal and austere, a few gray and black paintings, some ads for products whose purpose she couldn't quite figure out. And sterile in another sense: She felt she was a virus that researchers didn't quite trust and were keeping isolated until they knew more.
Rather than a People or a Wall Street Journal with last week's news, for waiting-room reading she chose a glossy company brochure, detailing its divisions, including missile guidance, gyroscopic navigation, armor, ammunition...all sorts of items.
Yes, maybe the company was downsizing but the literature showed impressive facilities in Florida, Texas and California, in addition to the headquarters. Overseas, they had operations in Abu Dhabi, So Paulo, Singapore, Munich and Mumbai. She walked to the window and studied the expansive grounds.
Soon a thirtyish man in a suit stepped into the lobby and greeted her. He was clearly surprised to see that an NYPD detective came in such a package and couldn't quite restrain the flirt as he led her through the labyrinthine and equally sterile halls to the CEO's office. He charmingly asked her about her job-what it was like to be a cop in New York, what were her most interesting cases, did she watch CSI or The Mentalist, what kind of gun did she have?
Which reminded her of the inked manager of Java Hut.
Men...
When it was clear that this theme of conversation wasn't working, he took to telling her about the company's achievements. She nodded politely and immediately forgot all of the factoids. With a frown he glanced at her leg; she realized she'd been limping and instantly forced herself into a normal gait.
After a trek they came to a corner office in the one-story building, Mr. Walker's. A spray-haired brunette at an impressive desk looked up, defensive, probably because her boss was being visited by the NYPD. Sachs noticed that many of the shelves here were occupied by a collection of plastic and lead soldiers. Whole armies. Sachs's first thought: Dusting would be a b.i.t.c.h.
The flirter who'd escorted her seemed to try to think of some way to ask her out on a date but nothing occurred to him. He turned and left.
”He'll see you now,” the PA said.
As Sachs stepped into Harry Walker's office, she couldn't help but smile.
A weapons manufacturer had to be narrow of face, unsmiling and suspicious, if not s.a.d.i.s.tic, right? Plotting ways to sell ammunition to Russia while simultaneously s.h.i.+pping to Chechnyan separatists. The head of Walker Defense, however, was a pudgy and cherubic sixty-five-year-old, who happened to be sitting cross-legged on the floor, putting together a pink tricycle.
Walker wore a white s.h.i.+rt, which bulged at the belly over tan dress slacks. His tie was striped, red and blue. He offered a casual smile and rose-with some difficulty; a screwdriver was clutched in one hand and a set of a.s.sembly instructions in the other. ”Detective Sachs. Amanda?”
”Amelia.”
”I'm Harry.”
She nodded.
”My granddaughter.” He glanced at the bike. ”I have a degree from MIT. I have two hundred patents for advanced weapons systems. But can I put together a h.e.l.lo Kitty trike? Apparently only with great difficulty.”
Every part was carefully laid out on the floor, labeled by Post-it Notes.
Sachs said, ”I work on cars. I always end up with an extra bolt or nut or strut. But things seem to run fine without them.”
He set the tool and instructions on his desk and sat behind it. Sachs took the chair he gestured at.
”So, now, what can I do for you?” He was smiling still-just like the middle manager who'd escorted her from the lobby but in Walker's case the expression wasn't a flirt. His grin hid both curiosity and caution.
”You're one of the oldest manufacturers of bullets and weapons systems in the country.”
”Well, thanks to Wikipedia, why deny it?”
Sachs settled back into the comfortable chair, also leather, beige. She glanced at the pictures on the wall, some men at a rifle range, probably around the time of the First World War.
He told her, ”We were founded by my great-granddad. Quite an amazing man. I say that like I knew him. But he died before I was born. He invented the recoil system of automatic weapons loading. Of course, there were a half dozen other inventors who did the same and he didn't get to the patent office first. But he made the best, the most efficient models.”
Sachs hadn't known about Walker Senior's contribution but was impressed. There were several ways to get a weapon to fire repeatedly but the recoil system had won out as the most popular. A talented shooter can get off a bullet every few seconds with a bolt-action rifle. A modern automatic weapon can spit nine hundred rounds a minute, some esoteric types even more.
”You're familiar with firearms?” he asked.
”I shoot as a hobby.”
He eyed her carefully. ”How do you feel about the Second Amendment?” A provocative question wearing a gown of mere curiosity.
She didn't hesitate. ”Open to interpretation-the militia versus personal rights.”
The brief Second Amendment of the Const.i.tution guaranteed the right of militias to keep and bear arms. It didn't specifically say that all citizens had that right.
Sachs continued, ”I've read George Mason's notes, and personally I think his intent was that he was referring exclusively to militias.” She held up a hand as Walker was about to interrupt. ”But then he added, 'Who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers.' That means the right applies to everybody-back then every citizen was potentially militia.”
”I'm with you!” Walker beamed. ”That's nearly a direct quote, by the way. So, don't trammel our rights.” He nodded.
”Not quite so fast,” Sachs added coyly. ”It's not the end of the argument.”
”No?”
”The Const.i.tution gives us a lot of rights but it also lets Congress regulate us in a thousand different ways. You need a license to drive a car or fly a plane or sell liquor. You can't vote until you're eighteen. Why shouldn't you have a license to own or shoot a gun? I have no problem with that. And it doesn't conflict with the Second Amendment at all.”
Walker responded happily, enjoying their argument, ”Ah, but of course if we get licenses, then Was.h.i.+ngton knows where the guns are and they'll come in the middle of the night and take them away. Don't we need our weapons to stop them from doing that?”
Sachs riposted, ”Was.h.i.+ngton has nukes. If they want our guns they'll take our guns.”
Walker nodded. ”True, there is that. Now, we've been digressing. How can I help you?”
”We recovered a bullet at a crime scene.”