Undue Competition

by R A Wallace

  “I don’t know the beginning. All I know is that your father found someone dead in a swimming pool yesterday when he went out to a job site.”

  “He did?” How did she not know that? “Does Ariana know?”

  Leslie shook her head. “I think he would have kept it from me, if possible.”

  “Did he know the person?”

  Leslie took a deep breath. “It was a competitor.”

  “Someone else in the business?”

  Leslie’s eyes locked with Callie’s “Could you talk to him? Please? Maybe he’ll tell you something that he hasn’t told me.”

  Callie couldn’t imagine that. The relationship between her father and Leslie had always been rock solid. She found herself nodding anyway. Whatever was going on, she wanted to know what it was.

  Chapter Four

  They smelled them coming. Michael noticed it first. One moment he was completely focused on the computer in front of him. Music leaked from the buds in his ears as his fingers danced over the keys on the keyboard. The next moment he was out of his chair as though shot from a cannon. He pulled the buds from his ears as he crossed the room to follow the enticing smell of lunch.

  Sierra finished a line of code before joining him. They met in the conference room. It had become a habit. Although they’d included a small kitchen in the new office design, their conversations over lunch often turned toward cases they were working. Inevitably, someone wanted the use of technology to illustrate a point or demonstrate a technique that might be more successful at finding the information they needed.

  Callie and Ariana were just setting the last of the bags on the large conference table when Sierra entered the room. Michael was already emptying one bag. A few short minutes later, the four of them were joined by Greyson.

  Michael pushed a bag toward Greyson. “Babysitting duties over for the day?”

  “I never knew one person could shop for so long without ever buying anything.” Greyson opened the bag and began emptying it.

  Ariana and Sierra shared a smile.

  “Makayla likes to shop, does she?” Sierra asked.

  “She’d better. As often as she’s photographed, she wouldn’t want to be seen wearing the same thing twice.” Ariana added more dressing to her salad.

  “Still doesn’t explain why she didn’t buy anything,” Greyson grumbled.

  “She probably already owned everything she saw,” Sierra guessed.

  Greyson looked up from his food. They watched as the disbelief on his face changed to uncertainty as he considered it. “You might be right.”

  “We’ll probably be in and out a lot these next couple of weeks.” Michael balled up the empty wrapper of his sandwich and reached for a container of potato salad.

  Callie’s eyes went from Michael to Sierra. It took her a moment to figure out why. “The competition? I can’t believe it’s that time of the year again already.”

  “What competition goes on for two weeks?” Ariana reached for her sweet tea.

  “The competition itself isn’t two weeks. There’s a boot camp the first week where students take classes. The competition runs the second week,” Michael explained.

  “Can we assume it deals with computers?” Greyson reached for a napkin and passed it over to Callie before taking another one for himself.

  “It does. Michael and I are teaching a couple of the sessions during the boot camp. Then next week, we’re two of the judges.”

  “How big is this thing?” Ariana asked.

  “I’d say we had around a thousand students competing last year.” Sierra glanced at Michael for confirmation.

  He nodded his head. “That’s not counting the chapter leaders of the organization that sponsors it all. They number almost as many, if not more.”

  “Not all of those students come the first week for the boot camp,” Sierra added.

  “They really compete for a whole week?” Ariana asked.

  “Yes and no. The students also put on presentations. It’s a great opportunity for them to showcase the research they’ve done over the past year.” Sierra pushed the other half of her sandwich toward Michael.

  He picked it up quickly. “It looks good on their resumes when they’re job hunting. The fact that they already have presentations and publications under their belt gives them an extra edge.”

  “The sponsors publish their work at the national level,” Sierra said.

  “These are college students, I take it?” Greyson was watching Ariana.

  Callie’s gaze shifted from Greyson to her sister. Ariana looked interested. She was completely focused on what Michael and Sierra were saying.

  “That sounds really interesting,” Callie said. She watched Ariana push her salad away.

  “The students don’t have to stay the whole time, either. It’s just when they’ve signed up to compete for a specific event.” Sierra sat back with her sweet tea. “Most are from out of state so they do some sightseeing, sit in on the presentations of the other students, that sort of thing.”

  “When do you start?” Ariana glanced down at her salad. She’d barely touched it.

  “We give our first class tomorrow.” Michael started clearing away his lunch debris.

  “Sounds like fun, don’t you think?” Greyson asked Ariana.

  “Yeah. Yeah, it does.”

  ***

  Callie drove to her father’s office in the afternoon. He kept a small staff in the office to handle the phones and the billing. All of his other employees were out on jobs.

  “Got a minute?” Callie stood at the open door to his office. Her father was staring at his computer.

  Wade seemed to shake himself. “Callie? What are you doing here?”

  Callie stepped into his office and took a seat. “I heard you had some trouble the other day.”

  The confusion on his face cleared. “Did Leslie talk to you?”

  “She’s worried.”

  Wade smiled. “There’s nothing to worry about. Honest.”

  Callie tilted her head. “Tell me what happened.”

  He shrugged. “I went out to a job site. I was supposed to give a quote on a pool cover. You know, those screened rooms around the pool?”

  Callie nodded.

  “I started measuring as soon as I got there. When I finally looked down at the pool, I saw someone inside. I tried pulling them out. It was too late.”

  Callie watched her father for a moment before speaking. His eyes dropped under her gaze. “What else?”

  “Nothing else. You can report back to Leslie that I’m fine.”

  “The guy that you found. He was from that other outfit, right?”

  Wade wiped his hand across his chin. “Yeah. The owner. Guy Gallagher.”

  “The one that does his own commercials?”

  Wade sighed. “Yeah. That one.”

  “He looks like he’s around your age. Did you know him?”

  Wade shrugged. “Sure. I know a lot of people.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “How well did you know him?”

  “We went to school together.” Wade watched her brows go up. “It was a long time ago. We didn’t keep in touch.”

  “Why not?”

  Wade shook his head. “Guy moved away. He just came back to the area not that long ago really.”

  “That’s why he advertised so much? He was trying to build up his business?”

  Wade shrugged. “I guess. Makes sense, right?”

  “How close were you two in school? I don’t ever remember hearing you mention his name.”

  “We were friends. You know how it is in high school. You see the same people every day for over twelve years. You think you always will but it just doesn’t work out that way.”

  Callie wondered what he wasn’t telling her. “I’m assuming you spoke to the police?”

  “More than once,” he said.

  “Yeah? Why?”

  “The first officers on the scene were just uniforms. They got some basic inform
ation and then it was turned over to some investigators.”

  Callie mentally crossed her fingers. “Do you remember their names?”

  Wade started to shake his head then reached into his pocket and pulled a card out. He pushed it across the desk toward Callie.

  When she first saw the names, she was relieved. Then it occurred to her that they might not speak to her anyway since her father was involved.

  “Is there anything else I should know?” Callie asked.

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  Callie noticed that his eyes shifted away from her quickly.

  ***

  Simon pulled away from the office at the retirement community in his golf cart. Having Kevin to watch the office made it a lot easier when he needed to go out to follow up on things. In this case, he was checking in with the maintenance crew to make sure they’d fertilized the golf course as promised. Some of the residents had mentioned more than once that the greens weren’t as green and smooth as they should be.

  Simon found the crew in the maintenance building by the golf course. He was happy to see that they were prepping their equipment to do exactly what he was there to ask about. Instead of bringing it up, he chose to spend a few minutes talking with them about nothing in particular. He ended the conversation on a pleasant note and left shortly after, happy to have avoided a confrontation about the golf course with them. His eyes were drawn to a message board near the exit door. The workers kept a running to-do list written on it. There was a note that said the office called about fertilizing the golf course. He assumed the call must have come from Kevin.

  As he pulled away from the maintenance building in his golf cart, he got behind a car that he recognized immediately. He followed it through the retirement community as the driver found her way to her mother’s house. He pulled in behind her when she parked.

  “Callie, hi. I haven’t seen you in a while.” Simon set the break on his golf cart and walked over to join Callie under Margaret’s carport.

  “Oh, hi Simon. You must have been busy the last few times I was here.” Callie opened the back of her car to get the groceries.

  “Need help?” Simon moved to take the bags from her.

  “No, thanks. I’m good. There’s only the few bags and they’re light.” Callie looked past Simon as another cart stopped. “Hello, Howard.”

  “Hey, Callie. I got my new antenna up. The spot Kevin suggested I put it in gives me even better reception that I was hoping for.”

  “Who is Kevin?” Callie looked at Simon.

  “He’s an old friend of mine. I haven’t seen him in years. He stopped by unexpectedly to visit me and has been staying ever since,” Simon explained.

  “If Simon isn’t careful, Kevin might take his job,” Howard said with a laugh.

  Callie smiled and nodded before Howard drove away. “I should get this in the house.”

  “Oh, yeah. If you’re sure you don’t need help?” Simon asked.

  “Nope. I’m good, thanks.” Callie went in through the sunroom. Given the time of day and the heat, she knew her mother wouldn’t be sitting there. She entered the house and put the grocery bags on the counter next to the fridge.

  “Darling, what a nice surprise,” Margaret called from the dining room table. She had a computer in front of her and several folders scattered around.

  “Working on a new project for Elliot?” Callie began putting the groceries away.

  “I am. There’s tea in there if you need it.”

  “I do.” Callie pulled the pitcher out and got a glass. After filling hers, she topped her mother’s glass off.

  “What brings you here in the middle of the day?” Margaret gathered the folders together to make room on the table.

  Callie sat across from her. “I have some questions about dad.”

  Margaret pulled her brows together as she waited for Callie’s questions.

  “Did you see the news about a man named Guy Gallagher being found in a pool?” Callie asked.

  Margaret’s eyes closed briefly before opening again. “Please tell me that wasn’t your father that found him.”

  “I knew he was hiding something from me,” Callie said. “What is it?”

  “Those two competed for everything including their next breath of air.” Margaret sighed audibly as she looked up at the ceiling. “I knew as soon as I saw it on the news that Wade was somehow messed up in that.”

  “Why do you say that? What made them so competitive?” Callie’s eyes widened. “You? They competed over you?”

  Margaret didn’t deny it. “Young fools, the both of them.”

  So many questions flashed through Callie’s head she didn’t know where to start.

  “I know this isn’t any of my business, but did Guy Gallagher have reason to think he should compete against dad for you?”

  “You’re right, it isn’t any of your business. It was long before you were born,” Margaret said. “But for the record, the answer is no.”

  Chapter Five

  Jo remained standing in the hall outside of the small room they’d used to ask their questions. As usual, her blonde hair was neatly pinned back in a French twist. Her preferred choice of work clothes included dark slacks and a white button-down shirt. Mack walked out of the room and joined her. In contrast, he wore khakis and a polo that stretched a little tight across his middle. It was still early in the morning. Other than a single drop of coffee on the placket of the polo, he hadn’t yet had a chance to get much else on it. Together, they watched the man they’d just spent another hour with walk away from them.

  “Do you believe what he told us?” Jo asked.

  “Which part?”

  “Good question. I meant the part about him not worrying about the competition Gallagher Aluminum and Roofing was giving him with all of that advertising.” Jo began walking back to her desk.

  “A fool and his money are soon lost,” Mack said from behind her.

  “Parted. A fool and his money are soon parted.” She paused to let someone else go in front of her. “Besides, what does that have to do with it?”

  “He’s a fool if he thinks competition like that isn’t going to get his pocket burnt,” Mack said.

  “Fingers burnt. He’s going to get his fingers burnt.” She wondered why she bothered. “The point is, I think he’s hiding something.”

  “Oh, I could have told you that,” Mack said. “Every time you asked him about his history with the victim, he couldn’t look you in the eye when he answered.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that too.” Jo sighed as she turned to her computer. “You know what this means, right?”

  “I’ll flip a donut to see which one of us has to tell Callie when she shows up here,” he said.

  ***

  Ariana closed the drawer to the filing cabinet a little harder than she had to. It made a solid clicking sound when she did that was oddly comforting.

  “Everything okay?”

  Ariana jumped at the unexpected voice. She turned to find Mrs. Brzeski.

  “Oh, I didn’t know you were here.” She moved around the older woman to return to her desk.

  “I just stopped by to see how you were doing.” Clara followed the younger girl to the front of the office. She pointed at the empty desks they passed along the way. “Are you here on your own?”

  “Michael and Sierra are teaching a class. They’ll be out a lot for a couple of weeks at some competition they’re involved in. Greyson and Callie are out on cases.”

  “And you’re here holding down the fort.”

  Ariana slumped into her desk chair. “Yeah. Everyone else has somewhere else to be.”

  Clara’s eyes narrowed at Ariana as she took a seat in the open space reception area in front of her desk. “Sounds like you wouldn’t mind having someplace to go yourself?”

  Ariana didn’t try to deny it. As near as she could tell, Clara seemed to notice a lot of things.

  “I wouldn’t mind working in the field the wa
y the others do.” Her eyes dropped to the computer screen in front of her. “I know I have a lot to learn before that happens.”

  “Sometimes you get the best experience while doing,” Clara said.

  “Yeah, I guess,” Ariana said as the phone rang.

  ***

  Michael looked over at Sierra and smiled. She didn’t notice. He knew from past experience that she was in her zone. In his case, that typically happened when he was sitting in front of a computer writing code. In her case, it was most likely to happen when she was sharing her knowledge with others who were interested. They were nearly at the end of their first class. So far, it had gone well.

  Michael looked out across the room of faces. They were a great group. They looked so young. He knew that he had been that young when he had participated in the contests held by the same organization in past years. About a decade later, he felt worlds apart from that naive young kid he had once been. He knew a big reason for that was standing next to him.

  It was Sierra who had managed to find a way into the shell he’d built around himself to keep the rest of the world out. Once that had happened, he’d eventually begun letting a few others in as well, like Callie and Greyson. As he looked around the room now, images in his mind about the many times he had sat in the audience as a young student were slowly replaced with the expectant faces in front of him.

  “Michael?” Sierra said. “Would you say that was correct?”

  Michael’s eyes shot to Sierra’s. She smiled her understanding.

  “He’s always had a special interest in secure programming, even before it was considered a requirement for the environment that we find ourselves in now,” Sierra said to the room.

  Michael nodded his agreement. “That’s true. I never understood how anyone could ignore that aspect of programming. Think about it. Nearly everything we do in society now relies on programming. That’s because nearly everything we use has a computer in it. When you pump gas into your car, when you buy groceries, the school systems we attend, all rely on computers to run. The tiny box you use to watch movies. The box you use to play games. The one you use to communicate, read books or to cook your food quickly. Yes, that’s right. Even appliances have computers now. Once we connect those devices to a network, we become vulnerable to attack. And you know we’re going to connect everything. Playing a game is more fun when there’s someone else to play with, right?”