Chapter 10
STT-X had a futuristic office building not far from the beach on the north side of the island. As one would imagine, the compound was highly secure. A chain-link fence topped with concertina wire surrounded the facility, and a guard booth with a candy cane gate kept unwanted visitors at bay.
Jack pulled up to the booth and flashed his badge.
The guard stepped out of the booth and approached the window. His name tag read Reggie Johnson. "Your names, please."
"Deputies Jack Donovan and Tyson Wild," JD said.
The guard scanned his tablet. "I don't see you on the list.”
Jack smiled. "This is more of an impromptu visit.”
"I'll need to get clearance. What is your visit regarding?”
"The untimely death of one of your employees. Preston Stewart."
The guard frowned. "Preston's dead?”
Jack nodded.
The guard frowned and shook his head. "Damn shame. I liked Preston. Let me make a phone call and see what I can do."
He stepped back into the booth and contacted headquarters. After a little back-and-forth, he grabbed visitor badges and a parking pass for the car and handed them to JD. "Visitor parking is near the building to the right,” he said, pointing. “You’ll need to check in with the front desk.”
The gate lifted, and we pulled into the lot and headed toward the main building. The parking lot was full of luxury SUVs and a few high-end sports cars. Most people at this company were doing pretty well for themselves.
Jack parked, and we hopped out of the Porsche and made our way inside. We climbed the steps and walked into the impressive lobby that was a modern architectural masterpiece. Futuristic and geometric. Skylights allowed copious amounts of Florida sun to beam in.
As with any facility that handled top-secret government contracts, there were metal detectors and baggage screeners. The security here would put an airport terminal to shame.
JD and I made our way to the front desk, which was located before the security measures. It was almost 5:00 PM.
A cheery blonde receptionist greeted us with a smile. "Good afternoon. You must be Deputies Wild and Donovan.”
We smiled and nodded.
"I'll need you two gentlemen to sign in.” She handed a clipboard across the counter, and JD and I scribbled our autographs.
"Gentlemen, you can have a seat in the lounge, and someone will be with you shortly."
She motioned to a side area with leather couches, a coffee table stacked with magazines, and a mini fridge with bottled water, soda, and snacks. A coffee maker sat atop a counter.
Jack and I took a seat and made ourselves at home.
I called Isabella and told her I needed another favor. I gave her the details about Preston Stewart’s passing and asked her to check cellular data.
Jack grimaced, looking uncomfortable.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“That Diablo Burger may have been a little too devilish.”
“Are you sure you’re not having a heart attack?”
He glared at me. “I’m not having a heart attack.”
We waited for about 15 minutes. Two men and a woman approached.
They all wore navy suits and looked rather stiff.
The blonde forced a smile as she drew near and extended her hand as we stood to greet them.
She had tawny eyes and a narrow face. "Deputies Wild, Donovan, I'm Dana Baker with public relations. This is Douglas Gordon, the head of our in-house legal department, and Julian Ashby, our CFO.”
We shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
Douglas was approaching 50, with a bald head and curly brown hair on the sides. He wore a three-piece suit and carried a stylish briefcase with him. His keen eyes sized us up quickly. We didn’t look like your average cops.
Julian was mid-30s, tall and slim, with short blond hair, a narrow face, and blue eyes.
"As I'm sure Reggie told you, Preston Stewart is deceased,” I said.
Dana frowned, but somehow looked insincere. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I really liked Preston. He was such a nice guy until... Can you elaborate on the cause of his death? Was this some kind of accident? Did he have a heart attack or anything?"
"I can't discuss specifics at this time," I said.
"Sure. I understand.” After a momentary pause, she said, "What can we do for you?"
I flashed a disarming smile. "I just have a few questions. Standard procedural stuff."
"Of course."
"Mrs. Stewart said there were two company security personnel who visited her house earlier today. They mentioned something about a security issue. I'm hoping you might be able to elaborate on that.”
Dana's face tightened. Douglas remained stoic.
"It was an internal security breach. That's all I can really say at this time. Classified information. You understand.”
"Of course," I said. "What exactly did Preston do here for the company?"
Dana frowned. "I wish I could go into detail. But again, most of what we do here is classified. I can tell you, however, that Preston was a fundamental part of this team until today, overseeing various compliance and cost analysis issues."
"Can you tell me if he expressed any symptoms of depression?”
Dana cringed. She shared a glance with Douglas, and he gave a subtle nod. "Preston has been exhibiting… disturbing behavior lately.”
"Disturbing?"
"Manic-depressive episodes. Volatile outbursts. Verbal abuse. He became aggressive, for lack of a better term.”
"Physically violent?"
She shook her head. "No. But that was a growing concern. As such, we terminated his position here at the company this morning."
I lifted a surprised brow.
"It was a difficult decision, but he became a disruptive presence in the office, and we didn't want to take the risk. You know how it is these days.”
"Did he make any direct threats against employees or the company?"
Dana hesitated and shared another glance with Douglas. “Not in so many words. But we felt that given his current trajectory, and the sensitive nature of our work, he posed a security threat to the company.”
"So, you're saying that Preston was the security issue.”
After a hesitation, she said, "That would be one way to describe it.”
"And that's the reason you sent the security team to his house?"
Dana took a deep breath. "We do care about all of our employees, as well as our former employees, including Mr. Stewart. Out of concern and an abundance of caution, we thought it best to send someone to his house to check on him and his wife to make sure everything was okay. Sometimes with a major life change, situations can become volatile.”
"You thought he might become a threat to his wife," I surmised.
"In situations like this, a career change creates uncertainty and stress. Given Preston's recent disruptive behavior, we thought it best to check on the family to ensure their safety.”
It sounded reasonable and prudent given the situation.
"You mentioned an internal security breach.”
Dana cringed and shared another glance with Douglas. He gave her a nod. "We believe Preston may have been disseminating classified information.”
That hung there for a moment.
"To whom?”
"We are unsure at this time. Our internal team is doing a full forensic audit as we speak. We hope to have the results of that shortly.” She paused for a moment, then continued.
"Our internal security department found evidence to suggest Preston was having an affair. Anytime an employee sends up red flags like Preston did with his unusual behavior, we dig in. We are talking about national security after all. We believe Preston’s acquaintance was working for a foreign intel agency, acquiring classified information from Preston in exchange for…
Well, I don't need to spell it out for you. "
"Has your internal security team determined her name?”