“As is also true of the servers,” Kiley said. “They’re not SSD, and they’re using tape backup with storage in an off-site location. Regular backups are done nightly, but Hershel only changes out the tapes every Friday.”
Sean frowned. “So last night’s video has been erased.”
“Can’t we retrieve the old files from the off-site location?” Taylor asked. “So we can at least review video for the day of the hack?”
Kiley shook her head. Her bun, held up by a pencil, came loose and the pencil dropped to the floor. She ignored it. “The intruder knew about the backups, and the tapes are missing. The storage facility has video. I’ve requested those files, but I suspect whoever took the tape knows how to avoid the cameras.”
“We have no video then.” Taylor tried not to sound frustrated, but after the sketch didn’t return a match, she was disappointed and her emotions rode on her words.
“Not unless we can recover them.” Kiley bent to grab her pencil. “Hershel was right. The suspect overwrote the files, which means we won’t likely retrieve much, if anything. At this point, I know he targeted only the video files, but further review might reveal more files.”
“And the WITSEC computer?” Taylor asked.
“Not accessed,” Kiley said.
Taylor took a moment to process all the points mentioned. “I’m the last person who wants to admit this, but we have to be dealing with someone inside the office, right? Only an insider would know about the tape backup location and how to access the video files.”
“Not necessarily.” Sean’s eyes narrowed. “If the intruder knew Hershel was your tech, he could have trailed him to the storage facility. And anyone with computer skills could locate the video files.”
“So you don’t think this is an inside job?” she asked.
“Oh, no, I do.” He looked her directly in the eyes. “In fact, I’m more sure of it than ever. But I have no proof, and we have to consider all possibilities.” He faced Mack. “Let’s canvass the neighborhood and get any CCTV footage in the area.”
Mack widened his stance. “I already have agents going door to door, and I’ve requested traffic-cam footage for last night and the night the database was hacked.”
Taylor was glad to see Mack in charge of the break-in. His time working fugitive apprehension gave him the ability to think like a criminal and better help in the investigation. “What about forensics?” she asked.
“Several sets of prints were lifted, but then we’d expect that in a public office,” Mack replied. “Thankfully, the office employees’ prints are recorded in AFIS, so we can quickly eliminate their prints.”
Taylor remembered very well having her prints taken and entered into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System when she first became a deputy. It was standard protocol for all law enforcement officers for this very reason. “But if one of my coworkers is behind the hack, then their prints will be eliminated.”
Mack frowned. “True, but no one except Hershel should be using the keyboard and mouse in the server room. So any additional prints in that space would be suspicious.”
“Not that we’ll recover the intruder’s prints anyway.” Kiley shoved the pencil back into her hair. “If we’re dealing with Phantom, he would’ve worn gloves.”
“One thing that hasn’t been suggested,” Sean said, “is that Hershel could be our guy.”
“Agreed,” Mack said with a nod. “And that’s why I had him give Kiley the lay of the land before banishing him from the office.”
“Hershel continued to be belligerent with me as we worked,” Kiley added.
“But that’s probably because you’re this super-agent, and he resented your interference,” Taylor said, hoping she was right. “I mean, he’s usually so timid and unassuming.”
“As are many IT people, so that’s not really a reason to eliminate him,” Sean said. “In fact, the IT connection makes him a prime suspect.”
Taylor didn’t like them ganging up on one of her coworkers and wanted to prove his innocence. She looked at Kiley. “What are the odds that you can recover the deleted video?”
“You know I’m one of the best in the country,” she replied. “But I’d still say my odds are slim to none, and Phantom will once again manage to evade us.”
CHAPTER 15
TIME RUSHED PAST in the FBI’s small conference room. Sean struggled to breathe, as if all the air had gradually been used up and not replaced as the clock ticked down on potential murders of vulnerable witnesses. The database contained records for witnesses and their family members entering WITSEC since the program began in the seventies. Thousands of lives were at stake, and Sean desperately needed a strong lead.
He looked down the table at his team, all of them focused on their work. He couldn’t ask for better associates. They’d finished processing the Marshals’ office, boarded up the entrance, and turned it over to Inman. Returning the office to Taylor’s supervisor had gone a long way in getting her to forgive Sean for his earlier mistake, which she did before going to check in with Inman. She needed to find out if he was upset with her for bringing the team to the office.
Kiley leaned back in her chair and stretched. Her blouse was rumpled, and she looked exhausted after their all-nighter.
Sean took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Find anything in the deleted video files yet?”
“Don’t you think I’d tell you if I did?” Kiley rubbed her forehead. Right. She was just as stressed as Sean. “You of all people know how this is nearly impossible. I’m looking at remapped sectors now. That’s our best hope. Shoot, our only hope.”
“Not much hope then.” Sean hated how down he sounded. As lead on the investigation, the team would reflect his attitude. “And you, Cam? Are you anywhere nearer to giving me a list of compromised witnesses?”
Cam scratched his jaw, looking like he’d rather do anything but answer the question. “Closer, but not there.”
“Before you ask me anything,” Mack said, “I have only bad news. No Paul Jackson on flight manifests or any other transportation records we’ve searched. Sorry.”
Sean had hoped for better news and wanted to let his frustration fly, but he refused to infect the team with his attitude. He had to get out of this room and blow off some steam. “I’m gonna get some air. Be right back.”
Kiley nodded and looked thankful for his departure, confirming his need to improve his mood.
He stepped into the hallway and paced the carpeted floor. Thankfully, Snow wasn’t back yet from escorting Taylor to the small conference room. It was going on seven o’clock in the evening and they’d learned nothing today to move the investigation forward. Sure, they were now fairly certain of Phantom’s physical description so that someone could possibly spot him. The tattoo might lead to something significant, but right now it was too vague. Without any solid references, figuring out the three letters’ meaning wasn’t feasible.
Footsteps sounded in the distance, and Snow rounded the corner, Taylor behind him. Sean continued to pace.
She stepped into his path, forcing him to stop. “What’s going on?”
Should he say something about his frustration or keep his big trap shut? She was his friend and a good sounding board. Or at least she had been until he’d broken his promise.
“You can tell me,” she encouraged.
Was this an olive branch? Her way of saying they were back on solid footing?
He could talk to her. Make it casual, unimportant, not letting her know how much he feared failing at this assignment. How he was letting the investigation get to him and doing things he didn’t want to be doing. Like push her. Be demanding. Break a promise.
Yeah, he wanted to talk to his friend. Alone. He fired a look at Snow.
“I get it.” Snow nodded. “I’ll make myself scarce.” He made a precise pivot on squeaky soles and headed back down the hall.
When he was out of earshot, Sean faced Taylor but didn’t want to start with his i
ssues and bring her down. “Everything okay with Inman?”
“Yeah. He doesn’t seem mad at all, and there’s no sign of anyone targeting my witnesses. Thank God for that.” A luminous smile crossed her face. “So, what’s going on with you?”
“It’s no biggie. I’m just frustrated with the lack of progress. I’ll be over it by morning.” He hoped. “I didn’t want to take it out on everyone so I came out here to walk it off.”
“I wish I could help by giving you the TriMet video. My contact just called. She’s working on getting the files, but she’s held up by a technical issue. Still, she promised them in the morning.”
Par for the course. “I hate having to wait. Because if we can find out where Phantom got on that bus, it could lead us to him.”
“You know . . .” Her eyes narrowed. “Everyone’s tired and hungry. Why don’t we call it a night here? Head over to the safe house. We can grab some pizza on the way and take an hour or so to relax and unwind a little. Then get back at it. The downtime will do wonders for everyone.”
He didn’t want to waste even a second, but she was right. At this pace they were liable to burn out, and in the long run it could cost them even more. It would also be easier to talk to Taylor once he was in a better frame of mind. “Good idea. Except I won’t stop for pizza with Dustee in the car. I’ll have Snow pick up the food and let him eat with us as a reward for his help.”
“He’s gonna love that.” She chuckled.
Sean smiled. “Why don’t you get everyone packed up, and I’ll send him for the pizza?”
She reached out to squeeze his arm. “We’ll figure this out, Sean. I know we will.”
He couldn’t help but compare the woman standing before him to the sterner deputy he’d seen since he arrived. This woman had emailed and chatted with him so many times. This woman supported him and was honestly his best friend. Sure, the other team members were his brothers and sister, but they rarely talked about personal struggles. Certainly no conversations like the deep discussions he’d had with Taylor. Discussions of faith. Life’s hurts. Disappointments.
“I’ve missed this, Taylor.” He was surprised he could vocalize it.
Her forehead furrowed. “I’m not following you.”
“The Taylor who’s so supportive and doesn’t argue with me about everything has been missing since I got here.”
She tilted her head and eyed him. “I could say the same thing about you.”
“Yeah, you could.”
She stood watching him for the longest time, and he had no idea what she was thinking. Then she seemed to shake off whatever was consuming her mind. “Maybe we need to consciously agree to be more supportive and less contentious.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
She frowned, and it hit him how face-to-face communication was so much better than chatting online. Here, he could see her facial expressions. Read what she wasn’t saying, as much as seeing how she was responding.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I was just thinking about the conversation we keep having about seeing evil win way too often in our jobs. Phantom is the epitome of that evil. Looking at the pictures of his former partner again reminded me of that.” She took a breath and slowly released it, all the while looking Sean in the eye. “He’s like the killers my witnesses are hiding from. Now Phantom wants to give away their info to these butchers. It’s not fair. Not fair at all.”
“No, it’s not.”
“And there’s no good explanation for any of it or reason why it happened.”
Even though Sean agreed with her, he thought he should say something that would lift her spirits, because he suspected he was the one who’d brought them down. “God has a purpose, you know. A reason. And we need to trust that He’s in charge and has a plan here.”
He spouted off the words like a robot on autopilot when he wasn’t sure he even believed them anymore. At least he hadn’t seen much evidence of the good lately. Where was the good in the three teens still missing in Montgomery? Those families had no closure. Just pain and anguish. And his team? They were suffering too.
Taylor cocked an eyebrow. “And all this pacing and frustration out here in the hall means you’re trusting Him?”
It was just like her to call him on his struggle. He dug deep for the right thing to say in response. Another platitude maybe. Anything to get them moving on. “Nah, I’m failing, but tomorrow’s another day.”
She nodded. “Trust even when you don’t feel like it, and maybe you’ll soon feel like it.”
He thought back over their numerous conversations and the times he’d reminded her of that. Other times she’d reminded him. But they kept each other honest, and it worked. Most of the time anyway. But this was different. “It’s so odd for us to be working the same investigation and both be in this position at the same time, isn’t it? I’m glad we’re here for each other.”
“Me too.” The smile he’d expected when he first saw her yesterday lit up her face. The smile that had filled his mind for the last few months whenever he imagined her face.
He’d been so tempted to Google her, but they’d agreed not to, and he didn’t want to violate that agreement. Mostly he didn’t want to see her because that would’ve made their relationship real and would’ve had the potential to hurt him. And, man, now he knew how much it would have done exactly that.
He sucked in a long breath, then another. He felt as if he were drowning in a lake of carbon dioxide.
“I’m glad we’re friends,” she said, and tightened her hand.
He nodded and resisted pulling her into his arms where he desperately wanted her to be. “I have a feeling this is going to get very ugly before it ends, and we’ll need friends more than ever.”
In the SUV’s back seat now, Taylor rested her forehead against the cool window. Dustee sat next to her, trying to engage Cam in a conversation, but he replied from the front seat with single-word answers only, clearly not into it. Taylor wished they weren’t just leaving the parking garage and didn’t have a thirty-minute drive to the house and that pizza. She was starving and beyond tired. She didn’t do well without regular meals, and she’d skipped dinner.
She looked at Dustee. “Maybe Cam wants to reflect on his day or think about the files he reviewed.”
Dustee swung her focus to Taylor and rolled her eyes. “What’s there to think about? He was looking at logs. Either they had the data he needed or not.”
“He could be planning his work for tomorrow.”
“You could ask me.” Cam swiveled. “I’m right here.”
Dustee pulled off her seat belt and slid closer to Cam.
Sean turned onto the street, and Dustee lost her balance, tipping to the side and falling over Taylor’s lap. She started to push Dustee back into place.
A rifle report boomed. The window above Dustee’s head exploded. Glass peppered the space. Pain razored through Taylor’s arm, but she didn’t care.
“Go! Go! Go!” Taylor ripped off her seat belt to throw herself over Dustee. “Are you okay, Dustee?”
“Y-y-yes.”
Thank you.
“Be alert for another threat!” Sean shouted. “Call 911, Cam. Tell them we’re coming in hot.”
Taylor heard Cam make the call, but she wouldn’t move. Not until Sean drove them to the nearest police precinct. They’d planned for this scenario. She’d marked out every precinct on the route and made Sean memorize them, never really thinking she would need the plan. They could go back to the FBI parking lot, but it would take too much time to lower the security barrier, leaving Dustee exposed.
Taylor held Dustee down, her body trembling as the miles melted beneath the speeding tires. Their vehicle swerved. Horns sounded, frantic, warning. They swerved again.
Sean was dodging in and out of traffic. “Brace yourself!”
Tires shrieked, and he took a hard corner. Taylor’s head slammed into the door.
Cam’s phone rang. “It’s Mack
in the other vehicle. They’re in pursuit of the shooter.”
The SUV slowed a fraction.
“Everyone all right back there?” Tension laced Sean’s voice, but underneath it a solid strength told Taylor they would be okay.
“We’re good,” she replied, though pain shot up her arm.
Glass wouldn’t have cut her flesh like a razor, and something had to have broken the window in the first place. Clearly the bullet had sliced through her arm. Hopefully she’d sustained only a minor wound, but blood continued to seep into her jacket, sticky and wet.
“ETA two minutes,” Sean announced. “Hang in there.”
“Can you get off me now?” Dustee whined.
“No,” Taylor replied. “Not until we’re safely inside a police precinct.”
“Then at least shift a bit.” Dustee grabbed Taylor’s injured arm.
Pain coursed up her arm, and her vision faded. Stars floated before her eyes. She clamped down on her lips and managed not to cry out.
“Your arm!” Dustee cried out. “It’s bleeding. You’ve been shot!”
“Taylor?” Sean’s panicked voice rose from the front seat.
Tears suddenly pricked Taylor’s eyes, and she wanted his arms around her. Tight and secure. Reassuring her that she would be fine. That her arm would be fine. That might be what she wanted as a woman, but as a deputy she wanted to look back on this day and say she did her best to protect Dustee, no matter the consequences. And that meant staying strong and continuing to assess threats.
“Taylor.” Sean’s voice rose even higher. “Talk to me.”
“I’m okay . . . just a scratch,” she got out between measured breaths to keep him from knowing how the gunshot had shaken her.
“Call dispatch back, Cam,” Sean demanded. “Make sure a medic is waiting for us.”
“It’s not nec—”
“I’ll decide what’s necessary,” Sean interrupted, his tone brooking no argument.
The minute they arrived at the precinct, she would remind him that she was in charge of Dustee’s safety. Not him. And Taylor wasn’t going to sit down for a medic to examine her. Not as long as a gunman was hunting Dustee.
Seconds to Live Page 14
