Night Watch

by Susan Sleeman

  “Whoever set this up knew what they were doing, then,” Aiden stated. “If Nick can’t find anything, no one can.”

  “Exactly,” Erik said as he gave it some thought. “I’ll give the info to Detective Johnson and encourage him to get a court order for the domain registration information.”

  Erik thanked his brothers and ended the call. At Kennedy’s deep frown, he wanted to share something positive for once. “Your background check came back clean.”

  “That’s not a surprise.” Her forehead remained furrowed.

  “I’m just about to start on your mother’s older bank records. Would you like to go through them with me, or would you rather I take my things and head over to Drake’s condo?”

  Her finger started spinning in her hair, twirling a strand tight. “I don’t want to go through her finances. Not at all. But I don’t want to be alone either. So stay. Please.”

  He’d offered to work with her, but should he really stay? What with her emotional state and all? He should probably head over to Drake’s place before he found other ways to comfort her, ways that weren’t in their best interest.

  He started to get up, but she pleaded with those gorgeous brown eyes. No way he could go, so he dropped back down onto the cushion.

  About time he realized that he was powerless to refuse her anything. A fact he was certain would be his downfall again.

  11

  Kennedy crossed the large room to Erik. He’d come over from Drake’s condo an hour before, bringing bagels for breakfast. She hadn’t showered, so she’d gone back to his room to get ready and put a fresh bandage on her hand while he continued to work at the table, Pong resting at his feet.

  Erik looked fresh in his work polo shirt and cargo pants. The dark black shirt highlighted his lighter hair. He glanced up from his computer, and with just one look, her pulse slipped into warp speed. She could too easily imagine waking up in the morning with him at her side. She’d often pictured it in the past, but now it seemed even more personal. Maybe because they weren’t a couple anymore.

  He smiled and lifted a large mug with big letters that read, NO I WILL NOT FIX YOUR COMPUTER. “There’s coffee in the kitchen. I put a mug out for you. Help yourself to the bagels.”

  “Thanks.” After a rough night filled with pain from her hand and bad dreams that kept her tossing and turning, she could use a gallon of the stuff. She hurried to the kitchen to fill a mug. She chose a plain bagel and slathered strawberry cream cheese over the surface. She hadn’t eaten much of the pizza, and the scent of strawberries had her mouth watering as she took her plate and mug to the table.

  She closely looked Erik over. “Any symptoms?”

  “I feel perfectly fine.” His gaze was earnest, and she believed him.

  “It’s likely too early for symptoms to occur anyway, but keep an eye out for anything unusual.” She set down her mug and tapped his pill bottle sitting by his computer. “And keep taking these antibiotics.”

  “Yes, Mom.” He laughed.

  She settled in a chair and grinned back at him, but his eyes smoldered with an intensity that kicked up her heart rate. No. Not good. Keeping up this flirting—or whatever it was—would only lead them in the wrong direction.

  He pointed at her bandage. “How’s the hand?”

  “Sore but manageable,” she said, though the pain was bad enough that she’d been tempted to take the pain meds the doctor prescribed. She didn’t. Not when she needed a clear brain.

  “And you’re feeling—?”

  “Fine. No sign of illness.” And no reason to linger on her health. “Have we learned anything about the DNA from my mom’s place?”

  “A text from Emory said the DNA from the print on the drawer matched my shirt, so the intruder definitely bumped into me. Too bad I didn’t know that and stop him.”

  “You couldn’t have known.”

  “I knew something was wrong.” He leaned back and frowned. “Should’ve followed my gut. His DNA didn’t match anyone in the Veritas database, so Emory will have to get Detective Johnson to run it through law enforcement databases.”

  “Speaking of Johnson, any word from him yet?”

  “Not a peep, which is surprising, but maybe he’s running down more promising leads.” Erik sat forward and took a sip of his coffee. “I finished reviewing your mom’s computer files last night and printed out a contact list from her phone.” He slid a piece of paper across the table that held names, phone numbers, and emails. “Recognize any names?”

  Kennedy scanned the list. “Mine, of course, and Finley’s and Nora’s, but otherwise? None.” She reviewed the list again and looked up. “The email addresses could help. Since my mom only used it for work, they would all be work related. College and lab both. They’re the people most likely to have access to biotoxins.”

  “Then I’ll have the guys look into them.”

  “Sounds like a good way to start.”

  Erik set his cup down. “Do you know if PSU would have access to anthrax? Should we be ramping up our investigation into her fellow professors?”

  She shook her head. “Most college labs aren’t equipped to handle the list of Select Agents and toxins monitored by the feds. To be approved, they’d need a biosafety level 3 lab, and most colleges don’t exceed BSL-2. I do know OHSU and OSU both have or at least had level three labs, but the last I’d heard, they didn’t deal with Select Agent research. My mom’s lab is a level two, but she insisted on several of the requirements for a level three for added safety, which is why I was wearing the right kind of PPE.”

  “But the scientists who work in these college labs might know how to get a sample of anthrax, right?”

  “Yeah. It’s not a bad idea to look in that direction.”

  “Let’s talk about it at our next meeting and get my brothers’ take on it.”

  “If terrorists can get Select Agents on the black market, counterfeit drug manufacturers likely could too. Especially the large operations working out of Mexico.” She picked up her bagel and took a bite, the creamy strawberry flavor melting on her tongue.

  “Something else we can’t lose sight of. I should also mention that your mom had one credit card with a very low limit and it was maxed out. All the charges were for dining, which is odd, considering she had plenty of cash in the safe to spend and she only paid the minimum balance due on the card.”

  “That’s odd.” Kennedy washed down her bite with a sip of the strong black coffee. “My mom always preached about saving and money responsibility. I know she kept that credit card for emergency purposes or for the times she was required to have one for car rentals and such. So I don’t know what’s going on here. Or with Finley. I called her after you left last night. She said the only debt she’s carrying is what she’s racked up on her credit cards.”

  Erik held his mug just shy of his mouth. “Did she sound believable?”

  Kennedy chewed another bite of bagel and swallowed it as she considered his question. “I’m not sure. I can tell when she’s lying when I see her, but over the phone it’s hard to do. I’ll ask when I see her again.” She nodded at his computer. “Did you find anything else?”

  “Your mom’s checking account was opened shortly after your father died. The initial deposit was only two hundred dollars. Kind of low, but since then there are monthly deposits of five thousand dollars from PSU.”

  “Her salary,” Kennedy said.

  He nodded. “And just like the twenty K deposits, she didn’t really touch this money, and the balance in her checking account was building.”

  “This all seems off.”

  “Agreed,” Erik said. “Maybe we could learn something from her college things.”

  Kennedy shook her head. “Finley has them at her place.”

  He leaned forward, enthusiasm lighting his eyes. “I think it’s time we review them too.”

  Great. More personal things Kennedy really didn’t want to look through. “The boxes are in Finley’s storage roo
m. I have a key, so we can pick them up whenever we want.”

  “Then let’s get over there after we finish this.” He looked at his computer screen. “Also odd if your mom practiced what she preached, is that she had no savings. Zero. Or at least I can’t find any. Her checking account has been growing with the big deposits, but she wasn’t socking it away in savings.”

  Kennedy shook her head. “My dad was big on saving too, and he should’ve left her well prepared for an emergency.”

  “Well, if he was saving, it would have to be in a separate account in his name, and your mother didn’t inherit it. At least not via electronic transfer or a cashed check.”

  “Could she have cashed out a savings account and put it in the safe?”

  “Sure, but forty K is far less of a balance than recommended for their age, and it sure wouldn’t gain any interest sitting in a safe. But I didn’t see any financial records for your dad at the house. In case I missed them, I’ve asked Brendan and Clay to go through your place today. With your permission, of course.”

  Kennedy didn’t want even more eyes prying into her mother’s past, but they would be discreet. “That’s fine.”

  “Also in the computer files I uploaded from the lab, I found security footage for the past thirty days. I’d like to review the videos before I go get the files from Finley’s place. And then I want to see the logs and any files for a few months before that to see who’s been logging in and out of the lab. Problem is, we don’t have access to those files because the pharma company is paying for it.”

  “Do you think they’d give it to me if I asked?”

  “It’s worth a try.”

  “I’ll do it right now.” She picked up her phone, hoping this time she would actually be able to help move their investigation forward.

  Kennedy was on hold for far longer than it took to make her request and get off the phone. By the time she finished the call, Erik had his face buried in his computer.

  “The lady didn’t even ask why I wanted the information,” Kennedy said. “She can’t do anything without talking to her manager.”

  He frowned. “That’s a start.”

  She nodded at his computer. “Since I can’t work at the lab, I’d like to help review the videos.”

  He took a long swig from his mug and grimaced. “Cold coffee. Yuk. I have hours of footage to go through, so that would be a big help.”

  She got her iPad out of her bag. “This is the only device I have with me. Will it work?”

  “We could make it work, but I have a few machines sitting around that would do a better job.”

  “Just a few?” She grinned at him.

  He smiled broadly, and her pulse responded with a jump. “Okay, maybe a dozen or so in various forms and ages.”

  She worked hard not to keep up the flirtatious tone that had surfaced again. “You never did like to part with a computer, even after you upgraded to a newer one.”

  “What can I say?” He eyed her, his light mood completely gone. “I believe in long-term commitments.”

  She didn’t miss his double meaning but wouldn’t bite and move to anything personal. “Seems like you do the computer work for the team.”

  “For the most part, but the others know their way around a computer for basic research purposes. And speaking of that, my plate is full, so Aiden is running a background check on Nora. Since Harper’s off training, he’s fine with long hours right now.”

  “Being an Olympic downhill skier sounds like an interesting career.”

  “She loves it. I think you’d like her.”

  Didn’t matter. Kennedy wouldn’t be around long enough to meet Harper. “And your other brothers? Married? Single.”

  “Brendan is married. His wife, Jenna, is a stay-at-home mother. She has a five-year-old, Karlie, who Brendan adopted right after he married Jenna. Clay’s getting married in less than two weeks to Toni. She’s an FBI agent, and Drake’s seriously dating Natalie, a social worker. And you know Sierra’s married with a baby.”

  Kennedy remembered the large Sunday family dinners with his parents. How did so many fit in their dining room now? But it was just what his mom had always wanted and not so subtly hinted at. “Your mom’s dreams are coming true.”

  He chuckled. “I’m her only holdout. Means she’s focusing a lot of attention my way. When she isn’t spoiling the baby or Karlie or the three kids she and Dad are fostering.”

  “Three more kids?” Kennedy couldn’t even fathom it. “Even more people for Sunday dinner. If you all still do that.”

  “We do,” he said, his tone reserved now.

  Maybe he thought she was going to ask for an invite. Not a chance. She wouldn’t want to insert herself into his family any more than she already had.

  He lurched to his feet. “Let me grab a computer you can use.”

  Yeah. He was acting strangely, all right. Gone was the earlier companionship.

  He headed for the doorway to his second bedroom that he’d set up as an office. Or more like computer central. If not for eating breakfast out here, she suspected he would be tucked in there working and not come out until he found something or lunchtime, whichever came first. She’d often had to pull him away from his computers in college, but the nice thing was that once she broke through, he gave her his full attention.

  Not something she wanted now, thank you very much. She focused on finishing her bagel, barely tasting the strawberry cream cheese. She was swallowing the last bite when he returned with a laptop.

  He plugged it in but set the machine in front of his spot at the table. “I’ll get you logged into our network and queue up the next video for you.”

  She watched him for a moment, loving the sideways quirk of his mouth. She’d seen it more times than she could count when he was working on computers or homework. She’d often wondered why he didn’t go into computers as a professional, but he said it would no longer be fun for him. Plus, he loved law enforcement even more. He claimed it ran in his blood.

  “Why did you leave law enforcement?” she asked.

  His head popped up. “For Aiden. Dad needed a kidney transplant, and Aiden donated one of his. At the time, he was an ATF agent. We were worried he would get into a shoot-out or confrontation and lose his only remaining kidney. So we formed the agency to keep him safer.”

  Ah, family trumped everything in Erik’s life. Which was why he’d often taken her home on weekends for family dinner and why he frequently talked about getting married after they graduated. Oh, if that had only been a possibility, she would have his and his family’s loving arms surrounding her after the loss of her mother and their kindness and wisdom supporting her.

  He brought the laptop to her. “I’ve got it all queued up. Happy viewing.”

  She caught a whiff of his masculine scent, a mix of musk and mint. The same basic scent as he’d had in college, and her mind traveled back there again. Back to him holding her. For that moment, every problem receded and she believed she could overcome all obstacles.

  “Something wrong?” he asked from the chair across from her.

  She hadn’t even noticed him move back to his seat. She had to do a better job of letting the past go.

  “I’m good.” She started a video and cupped her hand at the side of her eyes to keep her focus pointed at the computer. The big white bandage on her hand helped, and she managed to review file after file until she was tired from sitting. She was about to get up for a glass of water when, on her screen, a guy ran furtively across the lab parking lot in the dark and stopped in front of the lab door.

  She paused it. “Look at this!”

  Erik rushed around the table, but she kept her eyes pinned to the man, noting details. He wore dark clothes—maybe black. Heavy boots and a stocking cap. “He fits the build of the intruder at my mom’s place.”

  “He sure does.” Erik moved closer to the screen.

  She looked at the date stamp. “Nine-fourteen p.m. on the night before my mom’s f
uneral. During her visitation at the funeral home.”

  The man produced a key from his pocket and slipped into the lab’s door.

  “Who is he, and why does he have a key?” Kennedy waited to hear the alarm go off, but it didn’t. “She would never give a key to a counterfeit drug maker. If he works for them, he would’ve had to steal it.”

  “Let’s keep watching.” Erik leaned over her, and for once, she barely noticed how close he’d come to her, but she did see Pong slink off and settle in his kennel. He kept an eye on them though, so maybe he was picking up on the tension.

  The video played for nearly an hour without any action and finally the man exited.

  “He’s not carrying anything so if he took something it must be small,” Kennedy said.

  “He had to have the security code too, or there would’ve been a police response.” Erik’s voice came from close behind.

  “Look.” She tapped the screen on the main warehouse entrance, where a uniformed guard stepped out. He yelled something and ran toward the intruder.

  The intruder bolted back through the lot toward the river and out of camera range.

  “The main warehouse has their own cameras,” Erik stated. “They could’ve captured additional footage. Rewind and zoom in on the guard’s uniform so I can see which company he works for.”

  She rewound the video. “Shouldn’t we just go straight to the warehouse manager?”

  “If it’s the company I think it is, I have contacts there. I should be able to get the video.”

  She zoomed in and froze the screen on the guard’s chest. The patch read Steele Guardians.

  “Perfect.” Erik stood back. “I know Londyn Steele, and her family owns Steele Guardians. She should be able to get us a copy of the video and do it far faster than going through the warehouse manager.”

  He pulled out his phone and stabbed the buttons, then lifted it to his ear. “Londyn. Good. It’s Erik Byrd. I have a favor to ask.”