Shadow of Suspicion

by Christy Barritt

  He didn’t wait for Laney to give an opinion. They ran toward the back fence, careful to stay in the shadows. They slipped out the back gate, ran through the woods until they came to his car. It wasn’t until they were inside, both panting and expelling frosty breaths, that either relaxed.

  “That was close,” Laney said, leaning her head back against the seat, her lungs rising and falling rapidly.

  “You don’t have to tell me that.”

  She turned her head to face him better. “Did you recognize the language?”

  He shook his head. “No. How about you?”

  “No. No idea. I didn’t realize he could speak another language so fluently. I always heard he was from Detroit. And what about those driver’s licenses? Why would he have those?”

  “I have no idea, Laney. But I intend to find out. If it’s the last thing I do.”

  TWELVE

  Laney’s thoughts continued to turn over all of the new developments they’d learned today as Mark drove her to Trent and Tessa’s house. Both were quiet on the drive, and Laney wondered if Mark’s thoughts mirrored her own. So much had happened in such a short amount of time.

  Back at the house, his friends were still not home. Apparently Tessa worked at an art museum and they had a big show this weekend that was keeping her busy. Trent had been along to help her. That was just as well with Laney. She could use some quiet time.

  As soon as they walked in, Mark’s phone rang. He excused himself as he put the phone to his ear and disappeared into the hallway.

  Laney dropped onto the sofa, wanting desperately to process everything she knew. But all the information was almost too much to swallow. What did everything mean? How did the pieces fit together? She curled into the corner, longing for comfy pj’s and a cat. She’d always wanted a cat. As soon as this nightmare ended, she was going to get one.

  When Mark walked back into the room, his expression was grim. Was he about to chew her out again for sneaking into Sol’s house? She couldn’t blame him. It had been a risky idea. Yet, if she hadn’t, she would have never seen the licenses. She would have never heard Sol speaking in an unknown language. Those two things had to mean something.

  “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Mark sat across from her and they locked gazes.

  Here we go again. How many times did they have to go through this? “I thought I already explained everything to you. I’m just trying to find some answers—”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about. You’re not telling me the truth about your job, are you, Laney?”

  Her stomach clenched. “Why would you say that?”

  “One of my guys just went to the address where the company is meant to be. There is no office there, Laney.”

  “What? What are you talking about? That’s crazy. Of course there is.” Her mind began racing. Was he telling the truth? What was going on?

  “Laney, the building is empty. It’s like the company never existed.”

  “That’s impossible.” Or was it? She’d been told that people actually worked in the office there, even though the company itself was a cover. Had she been mistaken?

  Details flooded back to her. She’d only spoken with one person at the company, and she only had one phone number. All of her other interactions had been via the web. Nicholas was her only contact there, and he’d never had her up to the office for any special training or workshops.

  “Laney, what are you thinking?”

  She stood and began pacing, trying to make peace with her thoughts. She had to be off track here. The conclusions she was drawing...they were crazy. Out there. There was no way any of that was true.

  “Laney?”

  Mark’s voice sounded right behind her. She turned and nearly collided with him. He caught her arms and stared her down.

  “Talk to me,” he urged.

  That’s when she realized her hands were trembling. She could hardly breathe. And this had nothing to do with her auto accident or any of the other attempts on her life.

  She was beginning to see the bigger picture here, and it chilled her to the bone.

  “I need a computer,” she whispered.

  Before she could look for one here at the house, Mark held her tighter. “Laney, I need you to talk to me.”

  Her gaze flickered up toward his. His blue eyes looked steady. They begged for her trust. Pleaded for the truth.

  Could she trust him? Could she tell him everything? At best, he might feel sorry for her. At worst, he’d think she was an idiot.

  But they might not ever find the answers unless she shared her realization.

  “I work for the CIA,” she muttered, her mouth feeling like sawdust as the words left her lips.

  His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What?”

  She nodded halfheartedly. “I was recruited three years ago to help them test various protocols for breaking through firewalls. Basically, we ran through scenarios together—what would happen if China tried to hack into the US treasury? Or how would we handle it if the personal information on our country’s leaders was leaked? We just finished a big project where we set up programs and safeguards.”

  They both sat down on the couch and faced each other. It was a good thing because her knees had started to shake.

  “Tell me more,” he urged.

  “A man named Nicholas recruited me. He’d been following my work with Blueleaf software and said he thought I was one of the best. He offered me a chance to serve my country, to work from home. You have to understand that I didn’t want to leave my home for the longest time after Nate...”

  “I understand.”

  “This job gave me the opportunity to do that. I said yes and began working for them. Nicholas was my contact.”

  “Did you ever go to the CIA headquarters?”

  She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I was told that I was a contractor for them, but that my job was classified. That’s why they set up a cover organization that I worked for. They gave me a special computer. Every week they sent me my job schedule, and we mostly communicated via email.”

  “Do you have that computer?”

  “No, you do. Or the police department does. I went back to get it.”

  “I see.” He sounded skeptical.

  As he should be. Now that she was voicing the story aloud, she realized it sounded outlandish. Because her job was classified, she’d never said any of this out loud before.

  “Did you ever meet Nicholas face-to-face? Maybe when they gave you the computer for your job?”

  “No, I never did. Everything was done by delivery or email. I didn’t think anything of it...”

  “But?”

  She forced herself to meet his gaze. “I’m beginning to realize that I was duped.”

  A knot formed between his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean—what if none of that was real? Even worse—what if the people who hired me weren’t the CIA at all? What if they were the opposite? If they’re people who hate the US, and I’m helping them bring down the government I thought I was working for and ruin our country?”

  * * *

  Mark tried to process everything Laney had just told him. The CIA? He would have never in a million years guessed the conversation would go there. But now some of the vague answers she’d given him about her job made sense. That’s what she’d been hiding.

  He leaned over her, watching as she tapped at Trent’s computer. She’d managed to find her way onto the server she’d used in her previous position with the CIA—or whatever company it really was—and she was attempting to disable it. He couldn’t begin to understand everything she was typing and doing at the moment, but she almost looked frantic.

  “Explain to me again what this might do in the wrong hands?”


  She continued to face the computer, not slowing a bit as she talked. “It would open up a wormhole into US accounts. The US Treasury. The stock markets. The Department of Defense. Homeland Security. Think of the most secure computer systems possible. This program I created could give the wrong person access to that information and what they could do with it...it could be deadly, devastating.”

  Tension grew between his shoulders. It sounded like the invention of the atom bomb—only for the computer. It had the potential to be catastrophic. “Are you sure you can disable it?”

  “I’m doing my best. I created it. I only fear these guys have already begun using it for the wrong reasons.”

  His mind continued to race, trying to think through each detail. “If you’re able to do this, they’ll know that you’re on to them, right?”

  She grimaced but continued to type. “Possibly. But it’s a risk I have to take.”

  Mark straightened and rubbed his eyes a moment. Did this somehow tie in with Sarah? How? Why would these terrorists kidnap Laney’s neighbor’s daughter?

  Unless... Sol was a part of this somehow. He had the driver’s license of one of the supposed kidnappers. He spoke a different language.

  Still, why would he kidnap his own daughter?

  Mark was going to have to call his captain soon and fill him in on everything he’d learned. The situation would have to be handled delicately, though.

  “There.” Laney leaned back, her fingers leaving the keyboard for the first time in an hour. “I did it. The program is disabled. I think I was able to reroute my location. Under ordinary circumstances, they’d be able to trace where the server breach came from, but I made the signal ping from different locations, so we should be safe. For now.”

  He pressed his lips together before asking, “Laney, do you think Sol could be involved in this?”

  “I think it’s a strong possibility.” She shifted. “Is there a way to look into his background, Mark? To see if he has any ties with foreign nationals or terrorists?”

  “I can probably arrange that. But we’ll have to be very discreet.”

  * * *

  Laney was able to borrow some clothes from Tessa. She forced herself to take a long, hot shower and change into fresh jeans and a flannel T-shirt.

  Earlier she’d met the gracious couple who’d opened up their home. Both had seemed affable and concerned. The two had just gotten married a couple of months ago and seemed over-the-moon happy together.

  As Laney dried her hair, she thought once more about how everything was starting to catch up with her—the accident, the overdose, the upheaval of her life. It was playing on her both mentally and physically. She even looked tired, she realized as she stared in the foggy mirror. She didn’t want to take any pain medication, but she did it anyway. She wouldn’t be worth anything tomorrow if she didn’t get some rest.

  After she felt more presentable, she went downstairs, following the aroma of something savory. When she walked into the dining room, everyone was seated, eating lasagna, bread and a salad.

  Mark stood, his eyes widening for a moment—widening enough that she felt her face grow hot.

  It’s not because he’s attracted to you, she rationalized. He’s just being polite.

  “Excuse us one minute,” he mumbled. He pulled Laney into the other room and plopped something into her hands. “This is your new phone. It’s untraceable.”

  “What...? When...? Why?”

  “It’s in case these kidnappers try to contact you. We switched your old number onto this one and transferred all your contacts. Someone from the department dropped it off for me while you were in the shower. I wanted to give it to you immediately.”

  She slid it into her pocket. “Thank you.”

  She already felt better. At least she had a means of communicating now if she needed it—and the likelihood that she would need it was high.

  Together they walked back toward the table.

  “You did join us!” Tessa stood. “I’m so glad.”

  The woman was thin with blond curly hair to her shoulders. She had an easy smile, and beamed every time she looked at her husband. Laney already liked her, and they’d just met less than two hours ago.

  Her husband, on the other hand, was tall and broad with a square jaw and an intense gaze. He had close-cropped, curly blond hair with a tint of red. When he’d first introduced himself, he’d joked with her, apologizing that she had to be paired with Mark. His lighthearted banter had made him seem approachable.

  “I’m not sure how long I’ll last,” Laney muttered. “I took some extra-strength pain reliever, and it’s probably going to knock me out.”

  “Understood. Nothing like sleeping with a full stomach, though.”

  Mark pulled out a chair for her. She muttered thanks, thinking about the last time someone had done that for her.

  It had been Nate. She hadn’t dated since then. She’d hardly been social. By most people’s standards, she hadn’t been social.

  Her stomach fluttered. Mark was just being polite. There was nothing else behind the action. But for some reason it still made her feel special.

  “So we hear you’re a computer genius,” Trent said.

  Laney exchanged a glance with Mark. He was careful. She knew he had been. And she too had to be cautious with how much information she shared. “I know a thing or two about how to get around online.”

  “We saw the news story on TV about the missing girl,” Tessa said. “I’m sorry to hear that. I understand you two were close.”

  She nodded, laying a napkin in her lap. “It’s true. She’s a special girl. I just pray she’s okay.”

  “We’ll pray with you.”

  Thankfully, the rest of the dinner conversation turned from Laney to general chitchat. Apparently, Mark and Trent went way back. They’d gone to the police academy together. They had another friend named Zach Davis who’d been a part of their trio, and apparently Zach had recently gotten engaged himself.

  Laney’s mind drifted from the conversation as she fought to remain lucid. Had she done everything to shut down that program she created? She knew she had.

  But how could she have been so naive? How could she have really thought she’d been working for the CIA? She’d always been smart. She’d gotten straight As and a perfect GPA. But when Nicholas had called her, she’d been reeling for the loss of Nate. She’d been secluded and had lost her sense of purpose. That job offer had been like a lifeline to her.

  Just then, her cell phone rang.

  Panic raced through her.

  She glanced at the screen.

  It was Nicholas! She showed his name to Mark, realizing her hands were trembling so badly that it would be hard for him to read the screen. “What should I do?”

  His hand covered hers until her limb stopped shaking. As he read the screen, his jaw clenched. “You should answer.”

  Drawing in a deep breath, she put the phone to her ear and stepped out of the room. Mark followed her, staying close and leaning in to hear better.

  “Hello?” Her voice trembled slightly as she answered.

  “Laney? Where have you been? I’ve been emailing you.”

  She decided to play along, to act like she didn’t know what was going on. Nicholas wasn’t stupid, though. He was playing some kind of game right now also.

  “I haven’t been able to access my emails,” she finally said.

  “Then how were you able to work on the program? I just got on, and it appears you changed something.”

  She closed her eyes, praying that she’d handle this correctly. “I was just working on a few things. Trying to keep my mind occupied. A lot has happened. I’ve been trying to call you. You haven’t answered.”

  “Haven’t answered? You know I’m alw
ays there for you. You must have dialed the wrong number.”

  She fought the outrage that welled in her. He must think she was an idiot. She had no doubt she’d dialed the right number.

  She took a deep breath before saying, “I didn’t. I also know that the front organization you set up to cover who I was really working for is gone. You told me there was a physical office space in case someone got suspicious. What’s going on? I feel like you’ve hung me out to dry.”

  “Don’t be silly. Can’t you see we’re being set up? Someone discovered what we’re doing and they’re trying to wreak havoc for us.”

  “Who do you work for, Nicolas?” Anger burned in her as she asked the question. She may have been fooled once, but it wouldn’t happen again.

  “I told you. The US government.”

  “Stop lying to me. Who do you really work for?” Her brain felt fuzzy, possibly from the high dosage of pain medication she’d taken. But she couldn’t let that stop her. “Besides, listen to yourself. At first you said I should have been able to reach you and then you acknowledged that the cover we set up for this job is gone. Which is it?”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Laney, what kind of lies are those people feeding you?”

  She tensed and glanced at Mark. “Those people? What are you talking about?”

  Something suddenly didn’t feel right. How had he known she was with other people? Working with other people?

  “Laney, you need to let me through that firewall.” His voice turned from friendly and concerned to a low, menacing growl.

  She raised her chin, more determined than ever. “No. Not until you tell me who you’re working for.”

  “Laney, this isn’t your property. We hired you to do a job.”

  Mark gave her a nod of affirmation, the action giving her just enough courage to continue. “I thought I was working for my country. That’s not the case.”

  “This is your last warning, Laney.” His voice went beyond a growl now. It was downright threatening.

  “Or what?” Just as she said the words, the front window broke.

  Shots filled the night air.