The Maltese Cube (Chapter 13)

What happened in Chapter 12

Mac went to Newton’s apartment to try and find him or the whereabouts of the Maltese Cube. While Newton was nowhere to be found, two large men were hanging around to see who might show up. Mac went in through the fire escape and while Newton was not there, he did find some clues as to where he might be.

Chapter 13
Newton’s last stand

Reaching the deli, I scanned the customers. No Newton or even anyone remotely looking like him. I quickly checked the bathrooms and came up empty. Now what?

Walking back outside, I thought about the surrounding neighborhood and what was nearby. Several bars, a few churches, and a large park. Newton wasn’t really a drinker (what Lisa said notwithstanding), nor very religious. That left the park. He had better be there as I was running out of both time and ideas.

If I didn’t have something concrete to give to Pindler and Gassly when I saw them later today, I doubt they would be very happy with me. While their happiness and good will wasn’t one of my major life goals, keeping my head attached to my shoulders was.

I entered the park walking down the main path. All the usual suspects were there. Kids playing at the playground, old men playing chess, old women feeding the ducks, and young couples having picnics.

Near the rear end of the park, I noticed a man hunched over, trying to sit unobtrusively on one of the benches. I walked around to where he could see me. Sure enough, it was Newton.

As soon as he saw me, he got up off the bench and started towards me. I gave him a quick ‘follow me’ sign and began walking away in the direction of a more secluded area. I stopped near a grove of trees that still gave me a good view of most of the open areas of the park. Newton walked up to me and shook my hand. Fear, anxiety, and relief all fought for position on his face.

‘How you doing Newt?’ I asked.

‘Mat 5a goad Moc (Not so good Mac)’ he said. ‘Cpazk re0ple cha51mg me eweryvvy (Crazy people chasing me everywhere)! A11 fqr thi5 5tup1o Kvbe (All for this stupid Cube)!

I had to ask. ‘What is this thing Newton? Why is it so important?’

He took a moment to compose himself. I was glad for that because it would make him easier to understand.

‘It’s a computer Mac.’ He said speaking slowly and carefully. ‘A revolutionary new design. No one else has anything like it.’

‘All this fuss for a computer?’ I said. ‘What’s the big deal? New computers come out everyday.’

‘Not like this one. Most personal computers are large, bulky and noisy. In the PC world it almost has to be that way to allow for air clearances and fans. PCs and even older Apples ran processors and drives that ran hot. Imagine a small, unobtrusive, quiet box, filled with all the hardware and software that almost any user needed. For years the PC world has followed Apple’s innovations. What if a PC maker could get their hands on a new design BEFORE Apple came out with it? What might that be worth to Apple’s competitors?’

I thought about it for a moment. One of the biggest expenditures for large worldwide manufacturers was research and development. R and D could swallow huge chunks of money sometimes for no immediate benefit for the parent company. If a PC maker could grab one of Apple’s newest creations, it could easily save them 6 months of work. Plus, leapfrogging their own competition. It could be worth millions. All the bricks were dropping into place and making a wall that looked like it could fall on me at any moment.

‘Newton, once you had this hot potato, why didn’t you just bring it back to Apple?’

‘I tried! Everywhere I went I was being followed!’ He cried. ‘I tried to give it to the police that night, but they couldn’t understand what I was saying! They looked at it and then handed it back to me. They didn’t know what it was and I couldn’t explain it without my words getting all mixed up. When I called Apple, they didn’t get it either. They thought I was some crank. Believe me Mac, I did all I could! I needed this aggravation like I need a hole in my head.’

Newton suddenly got a surprised look on his face and something that sounded like ‘sphtuupt’ came out from the trees. Newton stumbled forward and fell into the leaves. I saw the outline of someone running through the thick woods maybe thirty to forty yards away.

I was getting ready to sprint after this person when Newton grabbed my leg. I looked down on him and saw a dark stain quickly spreading across his back. As gently as I could, I rolled him over. He was very pale and tired looking.

‘Mac, take this.’ Newton put a key into my hand. ‘Main bus terminal’¦.long term storage’¦.locker 37.’

‘Hold on Newt, I’ll go for help.’

He smiled a little at that. He was past any help a doctor could give and we both knew it.

‘You tried Mac. More than anyone else did. I apprec..appreciate it. Don’t let em get away with this’

His eyes closed and he clenched momentarily and then his whole body relaxed. Newton was dead.