of cars because of a bad accident when she was a child.”
“Dig deeper,” Luke advised the other agent. “What about Gary Simpson?”
“One thing popped up. He recently had a rather large amount of money deposited into his bank account. I can’t find a source for it.”
“Maybe a payoff,” Luke suggested.
“That’s what I thought, too. He’s certainly one to watch, especially since he’s a former Army Ranger. He was discharged because he failed a personal reliability exam. In others words, he had some issues that made the army think he was no longer a suitable candidate to carry combat weapons.”
Elaina knew none of that about Gary. Odd. Why wouldn’t he have mentioned his military career, especially since he believed she had an MIA husband? Or maybe Gary hadn’t bought her lie at all.
“See if you can access his military records,” Luke continued. “And while you’re at it, do a more thorough background on Carrie Saunders. It’s possible one of them is working for a person known only as T. This T was involved with Elaina’s ex-fiancé.”
Well, that got her mind off his body. Luke actually suspected Carrie of something so devious? Elaina might be able to believe that about the other two, especially Gary, but not Carrie.
“The exterior security equipment is installed,” Rusty continued. “It basically works like this. If anyone comes into the wooded area behind Elaina’s house, then the motion detector will trigger a silent alarm, which will then send a signal to your cell phone. It’ll sound as if you’re getting a text message, and on your phone screen, you’ll see the numbers 911. In this case, 911 means a trespasser.”
“Thanks, Rusty. Let me know as soon as you have those background checks.”
Luke ended the call and he placed his phone on the sink so he could give his towel a much needed adjustment. It was a little towel, and Luke was a big guy. Not a good combination. Well, not good unless she wanted another cheap thrill. She didn’t.
Really.
Disgusted with herself, Elaina forced her snail-pace feet to get out of there. She went back into her room and sat on the edge of the bed. Luke closed the door, but not all the way, while he dressed. Unfortunately, she could see his reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Sheez. She didn’t think her body could handle more of this, so Elaina forced herself to look away. She also forced her attention back on the issue at hand. And there was a huge issue at hand.
“Carrie isn’t behind any of this,” she informed him.
“ Everyone is a suspect,” Luke countered. “If T wants the software modifications badly enough, then he or she would have paid big bucks for someone to find them.”
Elaina couldn’t argue with that, but she could argue with the overall logic. “Then why wait until now? If it’s Brenda, Gary or Carrie, why wouldn’t they have started looking months ago?”
“Maybe they’ve been doing just that.”
That sent a chill through her blood, but she couldn’t completely discount it. Gary had been inside her house dozens of times, and she remembered that he’d used her bathroom once or twice. He’d also replaced a burned-out bulb when she’d mentioned that she didn’t have a step ladder. Elaina hadn’t stayed with him while he did it, and he could have easily gone through the things in her room. Or worse. With his training, he might have been able to sneak in while she wasn’t even there.
“Okay, suppose one of them is our culprit,” Elaina said. “Why step up the search now? Why risk rummaging through the house while both of us are here?”
“Maybe your security system prevented other searches when you were away from the house. And as for the timing, maybe that has something to do with me. The person could have gotten suspicious of my arrival. If he or she has some computer expertise, it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out that I’m a federal agent.”
Elaina gave that some thought and couldn’t argue
“Dig deeper,” Luke advised the other agent. “What about Gary Simpson?”
“One thing popped up. He recently had a rather large amount of money deposited into his bank account. I can’t find a source for it.”
“Maybe a payoff,” Luke suggested.
“That’s what I thought, too. He’s certainly one to watch, especially since he’s a former Army Ranger. He was discharged because he failed a personal reliability exam. In others words, he had some issues that made the army think he was no longer a suitable candidate to carry combat weapons.”
Elaina knew none of that about Gary. Odd. Why wouldn’t he have mentioned his military career, especially since he believed she had an MIA husband? Or maybe Gary hadn’t bought her lie at all.
“See if you can access his military records,” Luke continued. “And while you’re at it, do a more thorough background on Carrie Saunders. It’s possible one of them is working for a person known only as T. This T was involved with Elaina’s ex-fiancé.”
Well, that got her mind off his body. Luke actually suspected Carrie of something so devious? Elaina might be able to believe that about the other two, especially Gary, but not Carrie.
“The exterior security equipment is installed,” Rusty continued. “It basically works like this. If anyone comes into the wooded area behind Elaina’s house, then the motion detector will trigger a silent alarm, which will then send a signal to your cell phone. It’ll sound as if you’re getting a text message, and on your phone screen, you’ll see the numbers 911. In this case, 911 means a trespasser.”
“Thanks, Rusty. Let me know as soon as you have those background checks.”
Luke ended the call and he placed his phone on the sink so he could give his towel a much needed adjustment. It was a little towel, and Luke was a big guy. Not a good combination. Well, not good unless she wanted another cheap thrill. She didn’t.
Really.
Disgusted with herself, Elaina forced her snail-pace feet to get out of there. She went back into her room and sat on the edge of the bed. Luke closed the door, but not all the way, while he dressed. Unfortunately, she could see his reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Sheez. She didn’t think her body could handle more of this, so Elaina forced herself to look away. She also forced her attention back on the issue at hand. And there was a huge issue at hand.
“Carrie isn’t behind any of this,” she informed him.
“ Everyone is a suspect,” Luke countered. “If T wants the software modifications badly enough, then he or she would have paid big bucks for someone to find them.”
Elaina couldn’t argue with that, but she could argue with the overall logic. “Then why wait until now? If it’s Brenda, Gary or Carrie, why wouldn’t they have started looking months ago?”
“Maybe they’ve been doing just that.”
That sent a chill through her blood, but she couldn’t completely discount it. Gary had been inside her house dozens of times, and she remembered that he’d used her bathroom once or twice. He’d also replaced a burned-out bulb when she’d mentioned that she didn’t have a step ladder. Elaina hadn’t stayed with him while he did it, and he could have easily gone through the things in her room. Or worse. With his training, he might have been able to sneak in while she wasn’t even there.
“Okay, suppose one of them is our culprit,” Elaina said. “Why step up the search now? Why risk rummaging through the house while both of us are here?”
“Maybe your security system prevented other searches when you were away from the house. And as for the timing, maybe that has something to do with me. The person could have gotten suspicious of my arrival. If he or she has some computer expertise, it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out that I’m a federal agent.”
Elaina gave that some thought and couldn’t argue
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