Chapter 16 #2
Frazer’s face was pink, but he didn’t argue.
He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Here’s the thing,” he said.
“Ronald Nancarrow hasn’t used his company-issued laptop in months.
I have a sneaky suspicion he lost it or had it stolen.
He didn’t even log out, you know? He got swept out of the system. ”
Gareth knew about the program that cut off any user who stayed logged on too long. “And did he log back in after that?”
“No.”
“When exactly did he last use it?”
“At the November shareholder meeting.”
And three months later, their projects had competition. “You think this is our leak.”
“It’s possible. I’m checking through the backups to see what was on the machine at the time it was last used,” Frazer said.
“Keep doing that. And Janet, keep after the money. I’m now doubly curious about the competition.”
Gareth was done with the week. Daniel and Nico had six weeks of holidays to look forward to, and the weather was perfect for dinner in the garden.
Gareth had come home to a tray of steaks marinading in a mix of sliced onion, beer, and spices alongside tubs of coleslaw and potato salad from Rachel’s deli—and the sight had cheered him no end.
While Nico and Daniel played badminton on the lawn, Gareth watched over the glowing coals, brushed soot off the grill tray, and wiped down the bars, enjoying a near-perfect start to the weekend.
When his phone rang, he picked it up with the very tips of his fingers. “Hi.”
“You sound funny.” Jack’s voice came from the tiny speaker.
“My hands are filthy,” Gareth mumbled, trying for diction while he balanced the phone between cheek and shoulder. Fortunately, Jack got it in one. His breathy chuckle sent heat down Gareth’s back.
“Thanks for that visual. Don’t hurt your back contorting yourself. We don’t need both of us to be cranky.”
“Then wait a mo.” Gareth found the dishcloth where he’d dropped it earlier and wiped his dirty hands. Then he clapped the phone back to his ear. “You’re cranky? What’s wrong?”
“I wanna duct tape Conrad’s nuts to the fridge,” Jack told him. “Come to think of it, I’d be just as happy if you did it for me.”
“Revenge by proxy isn’t your thing.”
“It is today. I ran into someone I know. Two someones, but the hacker is a friend.”
Gareth checked his phone, relieved when he saw they were on a secure line.
Not that Jack would be so careless. He waited, let Jack work out how best to vent his spleen.
They did that for each other without thought these days, a level of intimacy that had crept up on them while they settled into their new house.
“Are you in danger?” Gareth asked, when the silence on the line suggested Jack didn’t know where to start or what to say. “Physical or otherwise?”
“Could be. Last time we met, I was stuck on a fucking roof with a rifle, in a country where that’s severely frowned upon. I mind that.”
“And so you should.” Gareth made his voice deep and soothing, glad when the performance drew a tiny huff of a laugh. “Need me to come over there and kick arse?”
“Nah. I just needed to vent. And get my head on straight. I can’t even guess why Conrad thought sending me here was a good idea.”
“Was it a bad idea?”
“Don’t know that either.”
Jack sounded more like himself, and Gareth relaxed. “Then you’d better find out.”
“I will.”
“What is it over there now? Midnight?”
“Gone one. No use trying to sleep, though, since I’m still on English summertime. You getting the grill ready?”
“I am.”
“Wish I was there.”
Two years ago, Jack wouldn’t have said that. Now it seemed to come as easily as the text he’d sent that morning. “Work out why Conrad sent you, get it sorted, and come back home. Preferably before your birthday, or you’ll have to face the boys.”
“I told them I don’t want a party.”
“You may not have a choice in the matter.”
“I do. I can make sure I’m not there.”
“That’d be unkind.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
Jack sounded resigned, and that wasn’t the mood Gareth wanted to send him off in. “I asked Janet and Frazer to update me on progress,” he said before Jack could decide he was done with the conversation. “Guess what?”
“What? They got something?”
“Ronald Nancarrow hasn’t used his company-issued laptop in months. Not since the late November shareholder meeting, in fact. He got swept from the system and hasn’t logged on again.”
“He didn’t have a laptop with him when he came for last month’s meeting,” Jack said.
“That’s what I thought. If we run with the assumption that he lost the thing or had it stolen—”
“Then we may have our leak. Depends what he had on the laptop when he lost it, of course.”
“Frazer’s checking the backups. He says nobody tried to access the network using Ronald’s credentials.”
“Frazer would know. If Ronald had the shareholder reports saved, whoever grabbed the laptop wouldn’t have needed to log in. The relevant project data was right there.” Glass clinked and Jack swallowed. “Damn the man for failing to report the loss.”
Gareth stared at the glowing coals, mind spinning. “Failing to? Is there a requirement to—”
“He’s a non-executive director.”
“So he is. And I could kiss you,” Gareth said, when the ramifications of Jack’s comment hit him full force.
“I’d even let you.”
“Trust you to make my day even when you’re hundreds of miles away.”
“Thousands. Five thousand nine hundred and change.”
Gareth’s heart clenched, and he swallowed the comment on the tip of his tongue. “Keep it short,” he said instead. “We’re missing you.”
“Same,” Jack said and hung up without another word.
Gareth called Aidan. “I have steaks on the grill and an idea for shrinking the board of directors,” he said. “Want to come over?”