by R A Wallace
“That’s cat. Look what the cat dragged in,” Callie corrected him.
“Whatever. I don’t like cats anyway,” Mack said as he reached for the bag of cookies.
Callie followed him to a large area that resembled chaos. There were people everywhere. Mack’s partner, Jo Seles was working at her desk. When she saw Callie, her hand shot out for the iced coffee.
“Don’t get your hopes up with these,” Mack told Jo as he held the bag of cookies up.
“My hips don’t need the calories,” Jo said with a pointed look at the slight paunch her partner sported. Also forty-something, she wore her blonde hair in a neat French twist. Her choice of dark slacks and a white button-down shirt looked more upscale than her partner’s khakis and polo.
“These are free cookies. Everyone knows free cookies don’t have calories,” Mack said as he leaned against his desk.
“What brings you in?” Jo asked Callie. “Not that I’m complaining. I needed the caffeine and I was tired of listening to his stomach growl.”
Callie took the seat by Jo’s desk. “I was wondering if you could tell me anything about one of your cases.”
Jo motioned to her desk with her iced coffee. “Which one? We have about a dozen new ones just this morning.”
“This one is a little older. Crystal Delaney.” Callie watched Jo and Mack share a look. “What?”
“You know that was a suicide, right?” Jo asked.
“Is that the official word? Or just the one they’re telling the public while you guys track down other leads?” Callie asked.
“There aren’t any other leads.” Mack balled the empty bag up and tossed it into the trash can.
“You really think it was suicide?” Callie directed her question at Jo. She noticed that Jo hadn’t responded as quickly as Mack had.
“Given the evidence at hand and the lack of any other evidence contradicting it, that appears to be the prevailing theory,” Jo said.
Callie considered Jo’s answer. “What was the evidence at hand?”
“There was the note, for one thing,” Mack said as he reached for his iced coffee.
“She left one?” Callie asked. She hoped one of them would give her more details about it.
“She did.” Jo made a face.
“It was a note,” Mack insisted.
“It was,” Jo agreed.
“But?” Callie asked.
Jo half shrugged. “But nothing. The note said she couldn’t go on.”
“Huh,” Callie said.
“Yeah. Pretty text book,” Jo agreed.
“Just like every movie you ever saw,” Callie said.
“The bad ones,” Jo added.
“It was a note,” Mack insisted.
“What else?” Callie asked.
“She did have drugs in her system,” Jo said.
“No doubt to make it easier for her,” Mack said.
“Maybe,” Jo agreed amiably.
Mack scowled at her. “It was around nine at night. She drove the car right into the water. There was no evidence of any attempt to stop, no evidence of hesitation.”
“Any way to tell if she was conscious at the time?” Callie asked.
“No,” Jo said quickly.
Mack made a face but didn’t debate the answer.
***
Ariana walked into Callie’s office shortly after school let out. Although she saw Sierra and Michael, her sister was nowhere around.
Sierra greeted her first. “She’s not back yet, sorry.”
Michael pulled his earbuds out. “We got those files from your school.”
“Really? What did you find out?” Ariana crossed over to his desk.
“It’s going to take a little while to complete the investigation. The school gave us a complete image of the entire computer hard drive. There’s a lot of files on a hard drive,” Sierra said.
“How do you even know where to start?” Ariana asked.
“First, we’re trying to establish the real timestamps of the files in question,” Michael said.
“How do you do that?” Ariana went to Callie’s desk and grabbed her chair. She pushed it closer to Michael’s desk.
“There are different ways, depending on what you’re investigating,” Sierra said. “You can look at the creation dates of individual files by looking at their metadata.”
“Metadata? That’s the data about data, right?” Ariana asked.
Michael rewarded her with a smile. “Exactly. It’s the information about the file. It includes all kinds of information like what fonts were used, what software program was used to create the file, and lots of other things.”
“Why is it important when it was created?” Ariana asked.
“It would be the easiest way to clear your teacher if she couldn’t have created it,” Sierra said. “Let’s say she was in a meeting with the principal at the moment the file was created, for example.”
“That would be really convenient,” Ariana agreed. “How can you figure out the timestamps?”
“I’m going to look at the hex level,” Michael said.
“Michael, not everyone speaks geek.” Sierra cautioned. “He’s going to look at the internal components of the file.”
“Using a hex editor.” Michael looked excited at the thought.
“Mind if I watch?” Ariana asked.
Michael shook his head as the front door opened.
“Good afternoon.” The mail carrier had a bag slung over one shoulder and was carrying a handful of letters.
“Hey, Rosemary. How is your day going?” Sierra asked.
“Not bad for a Thursday. You have a new helper?” Rosemary asked.
Sierra stood to take the mail from her. “This is Ariana. She’s Callie’s sister.”
“Hello,” Ariana said.
“You’re learning from the best with these two,” Rosemary said as she turned to leave.
Ariana turned back to Michael’s computer screen in time to see him point at his monitor.
“There you go. Here’s the timestamp,” Michael said.
“That’s when the file was created?” Ariana asked. “That is awesome. It means she couldn’t have created it. You did it.”
Sierra walked up beside them. “How can you tell for sure that she couldn’t have created it?”
“It was during my class. There’s a couple of dozen witnesses who can prove she was teaching during that time,” Ariana said.
Chapter Eight
She read over her notes as she ate breakfast on Friday morning. If she understood what Jo Seles didn’t say, not everyone at the police department was completely convinced that Crystal Delaney’s death was by her own hand.
Mack was convinced. That much was apparent. But Jo’s interpretation of the possibilities gave Callie reason enough to dive deeper into the investigation. Yes, Crystal had drugs in her system. While Mack was convinced that Crystal had taken them to make her task easier, Jo had tossed out the idea that someone else could have given her the drugs to make her more compliant.
Callie didn’t yet know what the answer was. But after a brainstorming session using what little she did know, she had a list of people to speak with. It was a start. She cleaned up the mess from her breakfast and finished dressing. Before leaving the house, she checked on her fish. The large betta reminded her of Greyson. Both seemed to be big fish in a little pond. Both were attractive, in their own ways. And if Callie’s suspicions were correct, she had Greyson to thank for the betta she’d mysteriously found on her desk at work one day.
She left her house and walked down to the end of the drive. A quick glance up and down the street told her that she was late getting her garbage can in. Most of her neighbors had already dragged theirs back to their houses. Callie rolled her can up the drive and set it near her house then walked over and did the same for Ramona.
A short drive later, she parked her car around the corner from her office. Sierra and Michael were already inside. It looked like they w
ere waiting for her.
“Am I late?” Callie asked.
“We just finished the initial investigation of the suspect drive,” Michael said.
“We figured we’d give you the results before we get back to our other work.” Sierra said.
“Yeah, about that. Listen, I’m sorry I got you pulled into this. It sounds like it was pretty involved.” Callie set her purse on her desk.
“Actually, we had a lot of fun with it,” Sierra said.
“Ariana seemed pretty interested too,” Michael added.
“She was here?” Callie pushed her chair over to its normal position without thinking.
“Yesterday. She wanted to know how we were doing. She ended up helping, in a way,” Sierra said.
“She was able to confirm that at least one of the suspect files couldn’t have been created by her teacher,” Michael said.
“Ariana was in class with Inez Chen at the time it was created,” Sierra explained.
“Okay.” Callie thought about it. She wasn’t sure that would be enough to clear the teacher unequivocally. “Anything else?”
Michael motioned toward his computer. “Yes. I found a backdoor.”
Callie moved over to his desk and stood behind him. She had no clue why she bothered. She didn’t understand anything she was seeing on his computer.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“Someone made sure that they could access her computer anytime they wanted to. Like putting in a door that will always open to them, not just when Inez is on an open WiFi,” Sierra explained.
“You’re saying that when Inez was at school, they could still get in?” Callie asked as she hunched over to look more closely at Michael’s monitor. What she saw still didn’t make sense.
“Yes. They’re tunneling in,” Michael said.
He looked pleased that she understood that someone was getting in. She still wasn’t sure it would clear Inez.
Sierra saw her hesitation. “That’s not all. We figured out where they were coming from.”
Callie straightened. “What do you mean? You have their address?”
“Well, the IP address anyway. We know the range and can tell you where it’s coming from,” Sierra said.
Michael pulled up a map of Pomelo Cove.
“It’s coming from inside the network here.” Michael pointed at a spot on the map.
***
Callie rang Inez Chen’s doorbell and waited. It didn’t take long. The woman who answered looked even more distraught than the last time Callie had seen her.
“Did you figure it out?” Inez asked as she opened the door wider.
Callie followed her in and took a seat. “I think we’re going in the right direction. I need to ask you some more questions though.”
Callie explained about the timestamp of the file.
“Ariana said that she was in class with you when the one file in particular was created.”
“That proves that I didn’t do it then, right?” Inez looked hopeful for a fraction of a second, then slumped down in her seat again. “But there was more than one file.”
“Yes, that’s what your principal told me also. But it was this file in particular that could get you fired, she said. We’ve already been able to establish that you didn’t create it. That leaves the door open to suspect the authenticity of the other files. And my team isn’t done investigating yet.”
Callie thought back to what Michael had told her. “They’ll produce a report listing all of the suspect files and the create and modify dates. We’ll need to speak with you again to match up what you were doing at those times.”
“Well, it’s something,” Inez said hesitantly. “Isn’t it?”
Callie smiled confidently. “Yes, it is. There’s something else. Do you know anything about the Pomelo Cove Academy?”
Inez shrugged. “Should I?”
“You’ve never heard of it?” Callie asked.
“Well, sure. It’s a private school. I’ve never taught there.”
“Do you know anyone who does teach there?” Callie asked.
Inez shook her head. “Sorry, no. Is it important?”
Callie didn’t want to get her hopes up until she had a chance to check it all out. She stood from her chair.
“I’ll let you know when I learn more.”
***
This time when she walked to the principal’s office, her stomach wasn’t in knots. She waited for fifteen minutes before a couple of young girls came out of the principal’s office. They looked like whatever their disagreement was, it wasn’t over yet.
Liz Torres walked out of her office and watched as the two girls walked away. She shook her head at Callie.
“Sometimes, it takes more than one visit to get them to see things my way,” Liz said. “Right now, they’re so focused on their petty disputes that they haven’t seen the big picture. In some cases, it doesn’t sink in until they find themselves repeating a grade because of it. Come on in.”
Callie sat across the desk from the principal. She hadn’t noticed anything else about the office the first time she’d been there. Now she took in the photos on the credenza behind the principal. They showed a smiling Liz surrounded by what Callie assumed was her family.
“I’m hoping that you’re here because you’ve found something helpful,” Liz said.
Callie explained about the timestamp on the file.
Liz made a face.
Callie held up her hands. “I know. It’s just a start. My team is still investigating the hard drive. They’ll have detailed information on the rest of the files soon. With luck, those timestamps will also be in our favor.”
“Well, it’s something,” Liz said.
“But not everything. My team also figured out how the laptop was being remotely accessed. They’ve even figured out the location of the person who is doing it,” Callie said. “It’s local.”
Liz sat back in her chair. “Now you’re talking. Who is it?”
“That’s the thing. They’ve got the location, but not the actual name yet.”
“Does having the location help to narrow it down?” Liz asked.
“Are you familiar with the Pomelo Cove Academy?”
“Of course. It’s a private school. Are you saying that someone from the Academy is involved in this?” Liz tapped her hand on her desk.
Callie watched as the other woman looked away from her for a moment before her eyes snapped back.
“Did you think of something?” Callie asked.
“Not a name, no. I’m sorry. I remember that someone applied for a job here. I’ll ask my secretary to check.” Liz gave Callie an apologetic smile. “It may mean nothing.”
“Someone from the Academy applied for a job here?” Callie asked.
“Yes, but it was quite some time ago. It may take a little while to figure out which applicant it was.”
“It could be important,” Callie said. “In the meantime, I believe it’s possible to say that Inez Chen did not create the most incriminating file that was found on her laptop.”
***
Her next stop brought her to the country club on the edge of town. Callie enjoyed the lush tropical view as she drove up the long drive. Based on what she had learned, the man she wanted to speak with was a frequent visitor, especially on Fridays.
She parked her car in the lot near the restaurant and glanced out at the golf course as she approached the front door. The air temperature inside was the coolest she had felt in a while. She looked around the massive structure and wondered what it took to keep something so large at a near sub-arctic temperature.
She bypassed the main restaurant area and entered the lounge. There were comfortable chairs in groupings around the room, large booths, tables and chairs, and high stools at the bar. She found the man she was looking for seated in one of the comfortable chairs looking out a glass wall toward the golf course.
“Nice view,” she said as she stopped next to Manny Alvarez.<
br />
He held a cut-glass tumbler full of an amber-colored liquid in one hand. He turned slowly to look at her.
“Have we met?” he asked.
Callie took the seat next to him. It was even more comfortable than it looked. A waiter appeared silently next to her. She smiled as she declined a drink.
“I’m Callie Indigo from Indigo Investigations. I’d like to ask you a few questions about Crystal,” she said.
“Ah, yes. Geoff called and warned me that you might be stopping by.”
She noted that he didn’t appear particularly put out by the prospect.
“I’m speaking to anyone who had contact with Crystal before her death,” Callie said.
“Poor Spencer. He’s grasping at straws, is he?” Manny took another drink and focused his attention on the view outside.
“I believe he would just like to have some answers,” Callie said. “You used to date Crystal, from what I’ve been told. You should have known her better than many.”
She heard him laugh. It was a humorless sound and short-lived.
“I never knew her. Then again, maybe I knew her too well,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
He gave a half shrug. “Crystal liked my family connections. She liked all this.” He waved his glass vaguely to indicate the country club. “She had zero interest in me, I assure you.”
“What was in it for you?” Callie asked.
He turned to her quickly, a small light of surprise in his eyes before he turned away.
“She wasn’t who she seemed, you know. She was all heart when the camera was running. Everyone loved Crystal. Once the light went off, so did her feelings. It was all a pretense. Once she walked away from them, she ridiculed the people she’d just been interviewing.”
Callie wasn’t surprised to hear it. “She had a loyal audience. Sounds to me like she had everything to live for.”
He turned to her again. “Do you believe that?”
She held his gaze. “Don’t you?”
He dropped his eyes and turned away. “You know who you should talk to?”
“Who?”
“The camera guy. She never let up on him,” he said.
“What do you mean? Never let up on him?”
