Chapter Twenty-one
“That went okay, I guess,” Mia said once they were back in their SUV and driving home.
“Sure. You realize if they hadn’t wanted us to stay on the case, we’d have had to keep going regardless. No way we can let someone like Eliza chase us off.”
“So now it’s a pissing contest?” Mia said with a laugh.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Roman shook his head. “The whole thing makes me mad. The nerve of her coming after you like that.”
“Babe, you don’t need to worry. I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah. I mostly know you can. But still. It irks me.”
“Well, I guess that’ll give you plenty of inspiration to get digging and find us some more clues,” Mia said.
“You can bet on it. As soon as we get home, I’ll start calling former Darby students from Maryanne’s dorm. Maybe someone remembers something now that more time has passed. Something that didn’t seem important when it happened. I’ll use every interrogation trick in the book to try and squeeze it out of them.”
“Or we could go in person. I might sense something.”
“For sure. But they’re probably scattered all over the state if not the country by now. I’d need to cull out the most likely to have info and plot out a sensible interview route. I’m also going to attempt to nail down the source of the fentanyl from Maryanne’s overdose. Someone bought it and if I can figure out who, that could turn the suicide into a murder case and maybe point the finger straight at Eliza,” Roman said.
“It’s a bit like finding a needle in a haystack though, isn’t it?”
Roman clenched his jaw. “Doesn’t mean it’s impossible. And since those are the only threads I have to tug on right now, I might as well get down to it.”
“I wish you so much luck. And I’m ready to help with anything. Just say the word. You should also check in with the police and see if they’ve made progress on the stolen card Eliza used to pay for the bracelet order.”
“Of course. But I’m not expecting any miracles there. Since it was an online order, she didn’t even need the physical card, just the number. It’s doubtful there’ll be any tie to her.”
“Yeah. I know.” She sighed “Something tells me I’m not getting paid. I still have one of the bracelets, but it pisses me off all over again just thinking about it.”
He steered the Escape to a stop in front of their log house. “Don’t let her get in your head.”
“I won’t. Aw, look. The dogs are sunning themselves on the deck. They’re so adorable I can barely stand it. See how Layla and Tucker are lying back to back?” When Roman remained silent, she glanced over and saw his expression was serious. “What?”
“Nothing exactly. I was just remembering last night and how we batted around whether Eliza would come after us physically.”
“And you thought of that right now because you think I should keep the dogs inside?”
He shrugged. “I wish I knew for sure. My gut tells me we’re safe at the moment but it’s not something I want to be wrong about. Still, we have this place wired up with cameras. It’d be damn tricky to get on the property.”
“Best money I ever spent. You should check the camera behind the shed. I noticed some vines have grown over and blocked part of the view.”
“I’m on it,” Roman said, opening the door and stepping out.
“And I’m gonna eat. Some of us didn’t scarf down three cookies.”
“Too bad for you, because they were excellent.”
Inside the house, the dogs rushed her in the foyer as if she’d been gone for days. As always, it brightened her mood. By the time she’d said hello to each of the canines and thrown a salad together, she was feeling much better about life.
She wandered into the workroom at the front of the house and found Sheryl frowning at the laptop.
“Hey. Everything okay?”
The older woman jerked and patted a hand over her heart. “You scared the bejesus out of me. I knew you were home but sometimes you move through this house like a ghost.”
Mia glanced at the dogs by her feet. “Even with these guys on my tail?”
“Oh. Well. I guess I was concentrating harder than I thought. It’s been a weird day.”
Mia’s heart plummeted. “How so?”
“I know you told me to watch over the orders after what happened with that girl yesterday. Make sure nothing looked suspicious. I don’t know if it’s my sinister mind or not but now everything looks off.”
“Okay.” She set the bowl of salad on her worktable and pulled a chair up beside Sheryl. “Show me.”
“First off, we’ve had a lot of orders. Like the most we’ve ever had in one day, at least since I started working for you.”
“I see that.” Mia squinted at the screen. “I don’t think I’ve ever had thirty-seven in only a few hours. Even right after Melinda Frost gave me a shout out on that talk show, my biggest day was in the high teens.”
Sheryl used the mouse to scroll down the list. “I know at least two of them are legit. This one here, Kate Moses, I’ve been emailing back and forth with her since last week. And Ester Robinson is a repeat customer. You made moonstone earrings for her a few months ago. As for the rest, I don’t know.”
Mia wanted to punch the screen but instead she crossed her arms over her chest. “I think, given the circumstances, we’re going to have to assume the rest are fraudulent until proven otherwise.”
“But—” Sheryl shifted in her chair, her face filled with horror, “what if some of them are actual customers and we turn them away? You stand to lose lots of revenue. At least several hundred dollars, if not more.”
“True. Okay, then, I have an idea but it’s going to mean a boatload of extra work and tons of aggravation. I’ll pay you extra, I promise. What I want you to do is call each of the remaining new orders and see if you can verify them. This Eliza person could maybe have a burner phone but no way she has thirty of them. If anyone won’t give out their phone number, you can suggest the order will still go through if they provide a screenshot of their ID to match the credit card on record.”
“Yeah. I could do that. It’s gonna take hours, though. I won’t be able to finish the email automation.”
Mia patted Sheryl’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about the email for now. This is more important. In fact, I’ll split it with you. It’ll go faster that way. And there’s no point in me starting to make any new jewelry until this is sorted out.”
“Except for Kate and Ester. Those are real.”
“Sure. But let’s make a start on this anyway. I’m just going to slip out and let Roman know, then you and I will storm through this list.”
She hurried to the kitchen where she found Roman making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
“I know I said I wasn’t hungry, but I sort of am, so sue me. I’m going to head into my office in town for the rest of the day. You’re okay being here, just you and Sheryl?” He flicked a glance at her then dropped the knife on the counter and whirled around. “What is it? What’s happened?”
She told him about the unusual orders. “This is such a pain. If she keeps this up, it could cripple my business.”
His expression had gone to stone while she told him. Now he bared his teeth and shook his head. “Eliza’s gone way over the line. We should call Kevin in on this, don’t you think?”
Mia rubbed a hand over her face. “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m guessing Dalton PD doesn’t have a crack IT division?”
“Okay. No, they don’t. But it’d still be good to get it on the record.”
“Not if it slows me down. I need to fix this. And fast. How about I screenshot everything? And I obviously won’t delete the orders from my system for now.”
“What if she keeps doing it for days and days? Maybe she’s set up some sort of automation,” he said.
“Thanks for that. Just what I need to hear right now.”
He stepped over and put his arm around her shoulders. “Babes, I’m sorry. This sucks large and wide. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yeah. Bag the bitch.”
“I’m going to get right on it.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Maybe I’ll stick around here. Just in case.”
She flicked a hand in front of her. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter to me either way. In fact, I wish she would take a run at me. I’m so mad I think I could tear her apart with my bare hands.” She sighed and leaned into him for a beat. “I’d better get back out there and help Sheryl. It’s going to be a long afternoon.”
“Good luck.”
“You too.”
Mia barely noticed Roman poking his head into the workroom over the next few hours as she and Sheryl worked furiously to sort out the scam orders from the legitimate ones. It was almost nine o’clock when she finally pushed back from the desk and stood to stretch her arms over her head.
“That’s about the end of it. What’s our tally?” she asked Sheryl.
“Looks like five true orders, thirty fakes, and two outstanding.”
Mia shook her head in disgust. “What a waste of time. And now I’m getting behind again just when I’d caught up.”
“Some people are just evil, plain and simple,” Sheryl said.
“You’ve got that right. Thanks for staying so late. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Of course. Not going to leave you high and dry, am I? But now that we’re done, it’s time for me to get on. Thanks again for dinner. I appreciate you feeding me. See you in the morning?”
“You bet. Let’s hope tomorrow is a better day.”
Once Sheryl had left, Mia pulled out her phone and immediately sent an e-transfer. Her assistant had really come through for her and, in Mia’s opinion, that kind of loyalty deserved to be rewarded.
She gathered up the wrappers from the hastily eaten dinner provided by Roman and Mr. Sub and walked back to the kitchen. The dogs rushed to the sliding door and she let them out then, pausing a second, stepped onto the deck to watch over her pack. Not that she could shield them from bullets, but still, it didn’t feel right leaving them alone, just in case.
Surely Eliza couldn’t be a crack shot as well as a computer hacking mastermind?
She’d been compiling a list of all the credit card numbers used in the scam attempt on her business, and Roman had been feeding the numbers through to someone on the Dalton Police Department. Hopefully it would help the victims to know they’d been hacked before too much damage was done.
Crickets chirped everywhere around her, and the air was pleasantly warm as opposed to the stifling heat she was becoming used to living in Tennessee these past two years. Glancing back at the house, she noted Roman’s office light was shining brightly. In the next instant, he came into view and stared down at her as if he’d somehow sensed she was there.
Maybe he was getting a little bit psychic, too.
He lifted a hand in salute, and though she couldn’t make out his face she felt the restless energy coming off him in waves. Looks like he’d had a crap day, too. She sighed then called the dogs and went back inside.