They sent it to the FBI. SID had it right. The Feds couldn't get anything off the disk, either.

The letter was from the FBI's lab in San Francisco and was addressed to Deputy Chief Thomas Marx. It confirmed what Pike had just told me.

But why send it at all? If Marx thought it would clear Byrd or implicate Wilts, why not just destroy it?

Pike grunted again, and we went on with the files.

The Trinh murder book was also missing material, though not as much as Frostokovich, but the Repko book had been looted. Most of the documents and large sections of each report were missing.

I put the murder books aside and picked out a thin file marked REPKO-PDA/PHONE LOG. The first page was a letter from the president of a cellular service provider addressed to Marx regarding Debra Repko's missing PDA.

Dear Chief Marx,

Per your personal request today and with the understanding that this communication is off the record until such time as our attomeys receive the proper court instruction, please find the call record covering the prior sixty-day period for the above referenced cell number, which is held in contract by Leverage Associates. As discussed, I am trusting in your good word and discretion that our cooperation will remain undisclosed.

If I can be of further assistance in this matter, please do not hesitate to call my personal line.

Sincerely.Paulette Brennert, President

The date indicated that Marx had requested the call log almost a week before Byrd's body was found.

I said, Get this Marx knew about Debra Repko's PDA. Darcy and Maddux didn't even know about it, but Marx knew and requested the call history.

Didn't you ask Bastilla about it?

This is from before that. Bastilla must have been pretending.

Pike moved closer and turned the page.

The next five sheets were the call logs listing the numbers to and from Debra's PDA during the period prior to her death. Handwritten notes in blue or black ink were by each call and most of the calls were identified as being to or from Leverage employees. A few of the calls were simply marked as family, but six of the calls were highlighted in yellow marker. The six highlighted calls had all been made in the ten days prior to her death, and all were to or from the same number. The highlighted number had not been identified. I kept reading.

The next page was a spec sheet showing a picture of a simple basic cell phone manufactured by Kyoto Electronics. It was an inexpensive model that did not fold or take pictures, and likely offered very few features. An accompanying letter was attached to the spec sheet.

Detective C. Bastilla,

The cellular number in question is a prepaid number assigned to a cell phone (Model AKL-1500) manufactured by Kyoto Electronics. (See enclosed picture.) Our records indicate that the phone unit, cell-service activation, and additional talk-time minutes were purchased by cash. For this reason, we are unable to provide information about the purchaser.