by R A Wallace
“I agree. It would have to be something they really trust.” She looked over at Michael. “So what do we do now?”
He closed his computer and picked it up as he stood. “We need to talk to the sponsors.”
Sierra followed him out of the room. “They’re using a room near the front entrance for an office during the event.”
The door was open when they reached it. They found Javier Walker and Tammy Nguyen inside speaking with several students. They waited until the conversations wrapped up and the students left.
Tammy smiled a greeting. “Sorry about that. Well, in a way. I have to be honest. Talking with the students is my favorite part of the event.”
Sierra smiled back. “I can understand that.”
“Is there something we can help you with?” Javier asked.
Michael glanced at the door. Sierra took the hint and closed it. As Tammy and Javier shared a concerned look, Michael motioned to some chairs. “You might want to sit down for this.”
Several minutes later, Javier was holding his head in his hands. Tammy steepled her fingers with her chin propped on them as she considered the options.
“Well, there’s nothing else to be done for it,” she said finally.
Javier lifted his head and looked at her with raised brows.
She gave him a half shrug. “We need help with this. Two of the most qualified people in the world are sitting in our office.”
Javier looked at Michael and Sierra and offered a tired-looking smile. “We’d like to hire you to handle this security breach.”
Tammy was quick to correct him. “We’d like to hire all of Indigo Investigations. We don’t yet know the intent of the bad actor or actors involved in this. We’re going to need all the security we can get. There are hundreds of young people here this week for the boot camp. Next week, that number swells to nearly a thousand with hundreds more of their club advisors. We must take every necessary precaution to protect all of them.”
“What if we need to bring in someone at the state, or even federal, level?” Javier asked.
Sierra glanced at Michael. He nodded his agreement. “We have people on staff with those kinds of connections,” she said.
***
“You have got to be kidding me.” Greyson pointed at the image on the screen. “There’s no way that’s a real person. It has to be a computer-generated image.”
Callie tilted her head as she studied the web page in front of them. “Probably. Either way, that isn’t the point.”
“You still haven’t gotten anyone who seems interested in you?” Greyson opened the bottle of water in his hand. He was standing near the table in the small conference room where Ariana and Callie were seated.
“Not anyone, not at all.” Callie clicked back to web page for her new persona. “Maybe I don’t look sexy enough?”
“I think the photo is fine. Whoever that is.” Ariana read the text on the page. “Your profile sounds okay. Maybe a little on the naïve side, but okay.”
“Michael wrote it. We figured naïve was good.”
“What did you post for comments?” Ariana asked.
Callie clicked to another page. Everyone was quiet as they read.
“Hmm,” Greyson said.
“Hmm, what?” Callie turned to look up at him.
“Maybe I should give it a try?” Ariana suggested.
Callie turned the other way to focus on her young sibling. “Please tell me you don’t have any experience with this.”
Ariana laughed. “I don’t. I mean, not really. I’ve never posted anything on an actual online dating service. But posting comments are like common knowledge, right? Everyone has social media web pages.”
“I don’t,” Callie said.
Ariana tilted her head and made a face. “Exactly my point.” She held her hands out.
Callie slid the keyboard over.
Ariana immediately began typing. “Okay, I’m going to delete the comments that you made.”
“Hey!” Callie watched as the words disappeared with a keystroke.
“And post some new ones.” Ariana continued typing.
Greyson nodded after the first posting. “Looks good.”
Callie looked up at him. “What? You’re saying you would be interested in this fake person we’ve created?”
Greyson grinned at her. “No. I’m saying that what Ariana has written may yield results. You want to catch whoever is catfishing, right? Eye on the prize here.”
Callie sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t feel like I’m unloved and unwanted just because no one finds my new persona appealing.”
“There.” Ariana pushed the keyboard away and she stood. “If that doesn’t work, I can try something else.”
“I think it will work,” Greyson said. “Thanks.”
“Yeah,” Callie added as she stood. “Thanks.”
Ariana was smiling as she walked back to her desk. She found Mrs. Brzeski working with documents at the printer scanner.
“I didn’t know you’d returned,” Ariana said.
“I got bored again, then remembered that you still wanted to get through this folder today.” Clara flashed her an apologetic smile. “I hope you don’t mind. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re not. I really mean that.” Ariana thought about how much she’d like to do field work with the others. “Listen. If I can convince the others to let me work with them outside of the office, would you be interested in covering for me here?”
Clara beamed at her. “Oh, that would be wonderful!”
Chapter Nine
The relative quiet in the hallway outside of the interrogation room early Friday morning was a nice respite from the typical chaos in the main office. Jo leaned back against the wall and began counting the number of tiles in the ceiling.
“Hey, what do you think of my new shirt?” Mack looked down at the polo he was wearing and tried to brush away a drop of coffee.
One corner of Jo’s mouth kicked up. “Looks just like all of your old shirts now.”
Mack scowled as he rubbed harder. “I’m gonna get in trouble for that.”
“I doubt it. Your wife has the right idea. She only buys you polos and they all look alike.” Jo watched as two officers escorted someone at the other end of the hall.
“Yeah. She says that takes all the thinking out of it. Makes it easier on me to never have to worry about what I’m going to wear.”
Jo glanced at the door to the interrogation room. “You know, I didn’t really think we’d get the Guy Gallagher case wrapped up so quickly.”
“You and me both. Maybe it’s like my uncle Arnie always said.”
“What’s that?” Jo settled her back against the wall. The uncle Arnie stories could be pretty convoluted at times.
“Birds that fly together usually have feathers,” Mack said.
Jo narrowed her eyes. “That’s birds of a feather flock together. I’m not sure it pertains here.”
Mack scratched his chin. “Maybe it was ‘if you want fleas, you should run with a dog’?”
“Nah. I’m pretty sure that’s the one that says if you lay down with a dog, you’ll get up with fleas.”
“I’m just saying, sometimes when a person looks guilty, it’s because they really are.” Mack glanced at the door to the interrogation room.
“Maybe we’re just more cynical than most people?” Jo pushed away from the wall.
“I don’t know about all that.” Mack pointed at the door to the interrogation room. “His red hands were all over it.”
“Caught red handed,” Jo corrected him absently. “Well, we should probably get this over with. Wade Indigo has been stewing in there long enough. It’s time to get him talking about how he did it and why.”
***
Callie parked her car downtown near the courthouse. One of the legal firms had asked her to research some details from previous cases. The documented facts that she would unearth for them would be used to
support their current cases. It was the kind of work she enjoyed doing. No doubt considered tedious by many she was sure. But she found chasing down details an interesting challenge. There were times when the truly elusive facts could only be found by using the most innovative methods. Today, the chase would begin with a lengthy session researching official records within the courthouse. Once that was completed, she would take what she learned and look for anything she could find online.
She heard her phone ring as she crossed the street on her way to the building. Normally, she would have ignored it and let it go to message but she recognized the ringtone. She wondered why her stepmother was calling her at this time of day. Leslie should have been at the bank where she worked as the manager.
“Leslie? What’s up?” Callie stood next to the building to stay out of the foot traffic of people using the sidewalks. The noise she heard on the other end of the phone was indiscernible. She held the phone closer to her ear. “What’s that? We must have a bad connection.”
That was when she realized that Leslie was sobbing. She couldn’t ever remember hearing Leslie cry. Callie felt her heart pound against her chest.
“Leslie? Where are you? What’s wrong?”
“Office. I’m in my office.”
“Did something happen? Are you hurt?” Was she being held hostage?
“It’s your father. The police have him.”
“What? Why?” Callie heard Leslie take a ragged breath.
“Where are you? I need to talk to you.”
Callie began moving toward her car. “Don’t drive. You aren’t in any condition. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
By the time Callie opened the door to Leslie’s office and stepped inside, her stepmother was more in control of herself.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost it like that when you answered the phone. It wasn’t fair of me.”
Callie crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Leslie. “I’m old enough now to let you use my shoulder. It’s my turn to be the supportive one.”
Leslie gently pushed Callie away. “Don’t get me started all over again.”
Callie nodded toward Leslie’s chair and watched as she took it. “Start at the beginning.”
Leslie took a deep breath first. “I don’t know much. I just know that your father was going out to a site to give an estimate.”
“He was alone?”
Leslie nodded. “That’s another thing. Blake and Ariana don’t know about this yet. I’d like to keep it that way until we know what’s going on.”
Callie wasn’t quick to make any promises. “I need to hear what happened first.”
“The police picked him up. Said that they have reason to believe Wade is the one who killed Guy Gallagher.”
“Reason? What reason?”
“Evidence. They said evidence.”
“What evidence?”
Leslie shook her head quickly. Her hands rose and dropped. “I don’t know. That’s when the phone went dead.” Her voice was unsteady again.
“You were on the phone with him when it happened?”
Leslie nodded and wiped her face with a tissue. The sound of a cell phone ringing made her jump but her hands reached for it on her desk automatically.
“Wade? That’s Wade.” Leslie’s hands were shaking so badly, she nearly dropped the phone. “Wade?”
Callie heard her father’s voice on the other end.
“Are you alright? Where are you?”
Callie listened as her father tried to calm Leslie down.
“Yes. I’ll leave work and meet you at home.” Leslie disconnected and stood.
Callie held up her hand. “You are not driving. I’ll drop you off.”
***
Simon stopped his golf cart when two of the residents hailed him. He knew that Trudy and Elaine were two of Margaret Milne’s closest friends.
“We heard you had trouble with your cart,” Trudy said with a friendly smile.
Simon felt himself smile back. Talking with the residents was actually his favorite part of the job.
“I did. The batteries died. I had to have them replaced.” Simon waved as a couple in another cart went by.
Elaine made a sympathetic face. “That’s sounds like a bother.”
“You know, it actually wasn’t. The guy had batteries on the truck. He got here about an hour after we called and swapped them right out for me.”
“Really?” Trudy shared a surprised look with Elaine. “Now that’s service.”
“Who did you call?” Elaine asked. “That’s my kind of company.”
“I’ve used the same company in the past. I made sure I got a lot of business cards this time to give them out,” Simon promised. “Just stop by the office or give me a call.”
“Hey there.” Paula pulled next to them in her cart.
“Where are you headed?” Trudy asked.
Paula motioned to the other side of the retirement community. “To the office. I need a letter to have my windows replaced.”
“A letter to the city saying the retirement community approves of the renovations?” Simon asked. “I can have that ready for you later if you stop by the office.”
Paula waved her hand. “Not a problem. I stopped there this morning and talked to Kevin about it. He has it all ready for me to pick up.”
“Oh. Good.” Simon nodded and smiled. “That’s great.”
Trudy leaned forward to get a better view of Paula. “Are we going to see you at Margaret’s?”
“Of course. I’ll be there as soon as I get my letter. Save some margaritas for me.” Paula waved before pushing the go pedal to the floor.
Trudy and Elaine waved to Simon before heading off in the other direction. Simon drove away more slowly.
***
Sierra shifted her gaze to Michael. Her brows went up in question.
He shrugged. “She could be right.”
They both turned to look at Ariana.
“You know I am. I’m the right age. I can blend in better.” Ariana blinked. “No offense.”
Sierra hid a smile. “None taken.”
“I’m just saying that I can move around easier than you two could without anyone suspecting me.” Ariana clasped her hands together. This was her chance.
Michael turned to Sierra. “She does look like a college student. Whoever is doing this won’t think twice when they see her with a thousand other kids the same age.”
“We do stand out. Not only are we older, but we’re known in our field,” Sierra said.
“Whoever it is that has hacked into the network there, they’d expect us to be on the lookout for them,” Michael agreed. He pointed at Ariana. “She might be able to hear or see something that we can’t.”
Sierra let out a breath as she considered it. “We’d have to clear it with Callie first.”
Ariana thought about arguing until she looked at their faces. She nodded agreement.
Chapter Ten
“Are you okay?” Greyson leaned against the door between their offices.
Callie held her head in her hands. “I think so.”
“What about your parents?”
“Leslie calmed down as soon as she was able to see for herself that my dad really was okay. Right now, I think they’re both keeping a stiff upper lip and pretending that everything is just fine.”
“What are you going to do?” Greyson pushed away from the door frame.
“I’m going to see if I can learn anything else about what is going on.” Callie lifted her head and looked at him. “Are you headed out for your weekend?”
Greyson huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. Wish me luck.”
Callie shook her head. “Better you than me.”
“I’m not looking forward to it.” He glanced at the time. “But I need to go. Listen, call if you need me.”
She waved him away. “I’ll be fine. Go do your thing. I’ll see you when you get back.”
She stared at the empty doorway l
ong after he left. Sierra’s voice startled her back to the present.
“Hey, come in. What’s up?” Callie focused on her friend. Sierra looked a little pensive.
“Michael and I have been plotting our strategy for the information technology contest next week.” Sierra took the seat across from Callie’s desk.
Callie nodded. “Greyson and I will be on board with you when they start back up on Monday.”
“Yeah, good.” Sierra’s eyes dropped to her hands for a moment. “There’s something else we wanted to run past you.”
Callie lifted her brows and waited.
“We were thinking. Michael and I.” Sierra nodded. “And Ariana, actually. That maybe we could use the help of someone a little more age appropriate.”
“You want Ariana to go in undercover as a college student?” Callie thought about dropping her head into her hands again.
“It was Ariana’s idea, but we both agreed it was a good one. The rest of us stick out like a sore thumb.”
Callie sighed. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“We were just thinking…”
“No. You’re right. It’s a good idea. No one will suspect her. She’ll blend right in.”
Sierra’s eyes narrowed. “You’re really okay with this?”
“No.” Callie laughed. “But I agree it makes sense. As long as there’s no way she could get hurt. I don’t want her involved with anything that could be dangerous.”
“Okay. Good.” Sierra studied her for a moment. “Now that we have that settled, do you want to talk about whatever it is that’s upsetting you?”
Callie grimaced. “I’d really like to, but I can’t. Not until I figure a few more things out. I’d also appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to Ariana about it. It’s best if she not know right away. I don’t like keeping secrets from her, but this wasn’t my call.”
Sierra stood. “Okay, but I’m here if you change your mind and want to talk.”
“Thanks.” Callie remained where she was for a moment longer after Sierra left. She really wasn’t happy with keeping secrets from Ariana. Maybe having her sister involved in the case with Sierra and Michael would be a good distraction for her. At least, long enough until Callie could figure out what was going on with their father.
