“Something’s wrong with this picture.” Lowell held up the chart to Mort.
“What the problem?” Mort looked up from the second computer Lowell had brought in so Mort could work the hard drive full time.
It was a little before noon and they were in the downstairs office in the townhouse.
“The judge’s clerk.”
“Rosen?”
Lowell nodded. “He gave me his birth date as April 17, 1968.”
“And you think that’s wrong?”
“Let me give you a brief interpretation of the personality associated with this chart and you tell me if it sounds like the man you met the other day. This is an Aries Sun in trine to a Sagittarius Moon on one side and Jupiter on the other, creating a grand trine in fire. Mercury and Venus are also in Aries. This would be someone with a quick, open mind, an optimistic outlook and most likely, a more liberal attitude. It shows an active imagination that would continue to explore new ideas throughout his life. This person would also be apt to speak freely without hesitation and make decisions quickly.”
Mort laughed. “That’s certainly not the person I met.”
“I know. Either he’s a better actor than I think he is…”
“Or he lied about his birthday.”
“I never gave it a second thought. There was no reason to doubt it. I mean why would he lie about something I could easily check? So I just assumed he had told me the truth. But the other day when we visited him, the chart just didn’t jell. I’ve just been too busy to think about it. But I reexamined it last night.”
“Don’t you sleep?”
“I’ll have plenty of time for that soon enough.”
“Of course the question is why would he lie?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out. But first I need to know his real birth date.”
“I’ll get on it.”
The phone rang. Lowell picked it up. “Starlight Detective Agency.”
“Roland.”
“Lieutenant, what can I do for you this morning?”
“It’s more what I can do for you. I’ve got the report on the bomb that killed Judge Winston.”
“What did they find?”
“It was a very sophisticated piece of equipment set off, as we assumed, by remote control.”
“When you say very sophisticated, what do you mean?”
“The boys tell me the bomb itself was something that could only be put together by an expert. Whoever it was used Semtex, an older type of plastique explosive invented in the 1950s in the Czech Republic and first commercially manufactured in 1964. Apparently Semtex is the same product that was used in Pan Am103. The bomb and wiring were state of the art, but interestingly the detonation device was crude. Or rather, old-fashioned.”
“Why would someone choose that particular type of explosive?”
“Because it is soft and malleable and works well in almost any temperature, making it safer and more versatile than other types that can be more temperamental.”
“I see. Would you say this is something your everyday run-of-the-mill criminal would know about?”
“I doubt it. This stuff is primarily used in the military.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“They were able to trace the explosives. They were part of a shipment sold from a French firm to our military two years ago. We’ve been in touch with your client’s commanding officer, a Colonel Eugene Marshal. He’s ordered a complete inventory of supplies at the camp to see if anything is missing.”
“Just one more question, Lieutenant. Could it have been set off via a cell phone?”
“I see you’ve met the charming Mr. Milford. Well, we thought of that ourselves, but according to our experts the detonator was too outdated for any digital device and had to be set off by someone right in the vicinity.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant, I appreciate the call.”
When he hung up Mort turned his chair around and dropped a piece of paper on Lowell’s desk.
“The birth information of one Larry Rosen, compliments of Yearbook dot com. According to this he graduated from Glen Cove High School in 1987. They list his birthday as April 17th.”
“That’s the date he gave me,” said Lowell.
“Ah,” relied Mort, “but his year of birth is 1969, not 1968.”
“Interesting. How reliable is this information?”
“It’s on the Internet, so what do you think?”
“I think you better double-check it.”
“I already did. He was born on Long Island at North Shore Hospital April 17, 1969, at 5:59 a.m., according to their records.”
Lowell punched the revised birth data into his computer and picked up the new chart.
“This shows a much different person. There is a Sun – Saturn conjunct in Aries in the 12th House, which shows a restrictive and probably more conservative personality than Mr. Rosen’s first chart. This aspect can be frustrating at times and tends to restrain and limit the person’s growth, at least until middle age. Often there is a difficult relationship with the father. Mercury is in Taurus, a fixed sign, showing a slow and meticulous mind. Mercury conjuncts the Moon, which makes it rather difficult for him to separate his thoughts and emotions. And since the aspect is in a fixed sign he would be stubborn and inflexible, possibly even fanatical. Uranus conjuncts his South Node, which shows an explosive side to his personality that is usually kept hidden.”
“That sounds like our boy.”
“This chart also shows that he can be manipulated and easily frightened, which may prove to be useful information.”
“So why did he lie?”
“Theoretically there could be dozens of reasons.”
“Maybe,” said Mort, “I bet he used that date since he was seventeen and bought his first phony I.D. so he could buy booze, and he got so used to quoting it that it just stuck in his mind.”
“Why would you think of that?”
“Because that’s what I did.”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I believe there is only one reasonable explanation. I think that knowing I am an astrologer his instincts kicked in and he lied.”
“Just to confuse you?”
Lowell nodded. “Misdirection is a powerful tool when used properly.”
“It didn’t work, did it?”
“Not for very long.”
***
That evening after dinner, Lowell asked to speak to Sarah for a moment.
“Tomorrow I want you to take Johnny to get her hair cleaned up and styled and then take her shopping for some new clothes. Andy will go with you. We need her to have a mature look for the jury.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up. “Sure! Everyone’s having huge sales now. We’ll go to Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.”
“Conservative outfits.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And Sarah,”
“Yes, boss?”
“Only one pair of shoes.”
“Yes, boss,” she said, with obvious disappointment.