Chapter 26
Almost as soon asCassie left his office, Jesse got a call from his dad saying he was needed in IT. There was a problem with the newest software update and his dad had been called away by one of their largest clients.
It took him over an hour to get things sorted. Someone had buried a bogus code into the old software. When they’d upgraded it, the new system didn’t know what to do with the code and kept trying to merge it with the new software.
The kicker was the code was tied to his department. It was possible it was being used to skim money through a customer’s account. Jesse was willing to bet, if that was in fact what was happening, it was somehow connected to the missing contract.
He wasn’t sure how yet, but the best news of the day was now they had a trail to follow. Even if they couldn’t find the missing contract, they might be able to find who entered the code and where the money was being funneled. Grayson Hyde, the head of IT, just needed time to flush it out.
When Jesse returned to his desk, Stephanie was typing away. She looked up from her keyboard as he approached. “Craig Allen came by to see you. He asked that you give him a call as soon as you returned.”
Jesse nodded and went into his office, closing the door behind him. Taking a seat behind his desk, he dialed Craig as he began logging into his computer.
“We have a problem,” Craig said in greeting.
Jesse stopped typing. “What kind of a problem?”
“I’ve been researching Crystal and Sandy’s history. Crystal’s dad married Sandy’s mom when the girls were young. They lived together for two years, then the couple split. There was nothing in either of their files to suggest they’d stayed in touch, until I found they were both sent to a summer camp as pre-teens.”
“They stayed in touch after that, I’m assuming.”
“It appears so,” Craig said. “I’ve found some social media posts where one commented on the other’s photos. Nothing crazy, but one can assume they were communicating through private messages.”
“Can you get access to those?” Jesse asked.
“Legally?”
Jesse shook his head. “Okay, I won’t ask. Plausible deniability.”
“Good call.”
Jesse wasn’t sure how this new information constituted a problem. “But we already knew they were communicating. They worked together.”
“While scrolling through the pictures, I came across some of Crystal and a man.”
The first person who came to mind was Travers. Was that why Sandy had been in on the gossip regarding him and Cassie? “Was it Travers?”
“No.” Craig paused, and the suspense was killing him. “It was Grayson Hyde.”
Jesse’s eyes almost popped out of his head. He was on his feet faster than he thought possible. “We have to get to IT. Now.”
“We don’t have any proof?—”
“Trust me, we do. And if we don’t get down there right now, he’s going to make it disappear.”
Jesse didn’t bother hanging up the phone as he raced out of his office. He headed for the stairwell. It was only one floor down and the stairs were closer.
As he entered the stairwell, there was a noise above him, but he barely registered it as he bounded down the stairs to the second floor.
The IT department was humming with a weird energy that only rooms full of computers seem to generate. Jesse scanned the floor, looking for Grayson, but he didn’t seem him.
The elevator dinged and Craig appeared. He saw Jesse and nodded in the opposite direction. Jesse hadn’t had time to explain why they had to get to Grayson quickly, but to his credit, Craig was willing to give Jesse the benefit of the doubt.
They each made their way across the large room, coming from opposite directions. Grayson’s office was in the back along the wall. Jesse didn’t want to spook him, but he also didn’t want to give him time to destroy evidence.
Jesse reached his office door first with Craig hot on his heels. They shared another look before Jesse knocked twice on Grayson’s partially closed door.
“Hey,” Jesse said, a fake smile on his face as he peeked his head into the office.
Grayson looked up from his computer. “Hey. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
Jesse stepped into the room, Craig following behind him. “I wanted you to show Craig what your team found.”
Grayson hesitated. “Sure. I was just working on it now.”
Luckily, Craig took over. He strode toward Grayson’s desk, rounded it, and stood towering over the much leaner man. “I’m not a computer expert, but I’d like to see what you found.” Although Craig had made it sound like a request, it was obvious by his posture it wasn’t.
Sweat began to bead on Grayson’s forehead. Any doubts Jesse had been harboring disappeared. Craig was being assertive, but he wasn’t acting threatening. There was no need for Grayson to be nervous unless he was guilty of something.
Before Grayson could bring up the file, there was another knock at the door. The person didn’t wait to be given permission to enter. He walked right in.
Jesse recognized the man but didn’t know him by name. He was Craig’s computer guy and Jesse got the impression he could find anything if it was on the web.
“Oh, good, Adian. You’re here.” Craig didn’t relax his stance, still hovering over Grayson. “Hyde was about to show me the code his team found.”
The new arrival stood on the other side of Grayson, waiting. When the man didn’t move, it was Adian who took the lead. He twisted the keyboard toward him and began typing.
“What are you doing?” Grayson asked. Jesse could hear a slight tremble in his voice as he spoke.
Adian didn’t respond until he’d found what he was looking for. “I think I found it.”
Jesse moved to look, although he had no clue what he was looking at. Numbers he could do in his sleep. Computer code was something else entirely.
“I was about to begin tracing its origins,” Grayson said, puffing out his chest with what little bravado he could muster.
Adian began typing again. “I’ll take it from here.”
“But—”
Standing tall, Adian looked at his boss. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have something.”
Craig nodded and Adian left, closing the door behind him.
“Tell me about your relationship with Crystal Carter,” Craig said, going right to the heart of the issue.
“Who?”
“We found pictures of you on her social media, so drop the act.”
Grayson looked at Jesse as if he’d somehow save him from being interrogated by Craig.
Instead, Jesse asked a question of his own. “Were you two seeing each other? Romantically?”
The man didn’t say anything, but his body language spoke volumes.
“Right now, my man is backtracking that code. Is it going to lead him to Crystal or to you?” Craig paused. “Or is this all about Sandy?”
“Sandy?” Grayson asked in surprise.
Not missing a beat, Craig continued pressing. “Okay, not Sandy then. Where’s Crystal?”
“I don’t know.”
Craig raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t.” Grayson glanced at his computer screen, then something in him changed. He pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not saying anything else to either of you.”
“Very well.” Craig wrapped his hand around Grayson’s forearm and lifted him from his chair. “You can make yourself comfortable in my office until my guy has time to do his thing.”
“Stop manhandling me.”
Craig ignored his protests. “Walk.”
Jesse thought Grayson might be stupid enough to resist, but he must have thought better of it.
Figuring Craig could handle Grayson, Jesse parted ways with them at the elevator and headed back to his office. He had no idea how long it would take for Adian to trace the code.
A part of him wanted to call Cassie and give her an update on what was going on, but what did he know really? Grayson and Crystal knew each other. They were possibly in a relationship. And Sandy and Crystal were stepsiblings for two years when they were in elementary school.
It wasn’t exactly news to write home about.
Stephanie was still at her desk when he returned. She studied him. “Everything all right? You took off like your office was on fire.”
“Yeah. I just realized something needed my immediate attention.” He could tell by the look on her face she didn’t believe him, but he wasn’t ready to share. Not yet. Not until they knew something for certain. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”
* * *
Cassie’s head felt like it was going to explode and there was a ringing in her ears. She had no idea what happened. One minute, she was trying to find where the knocking noise was coming from. The next, she felt like she’d been hit by a wrecking ball.
She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t see anything. Something was covering her eyes.
Her first instinct was to remove whatever it was, but as she tried to bring her hand to her face, she met resistance. Her hands were tied behind her back.
Tightness gripped her chest at the thought of being restrained. She tested her legs to see if her feet were bound, but they moved freely.
Not that it helped her much. She didn’t know where she was or even if she was alone. Who had done this to her and why?
The pounding of her heart wasn’t helping the weight on her chest. With every pump of blood through her veins, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her skull. Had someone hit her over the head?
It was the only explanation that made sense.
Panic was building inside her. Memories of being restrained against her will and what had happened to her. She couldn’t go through it again. Couldn’t let someone take from her like that.
Thoughts of Jesse replaced her fear. How long would it take before he noticed she was gone?
She knew he’d look for her, but that wouldn’t be until five o’clock. What time was it? How long had she been unconscious?
Cassie had no answers.
If someone came, she had to buy time. Time for Jesse to find her…to realize she was missing.
Time passed and still no one came. Cassie was alone as far as she could tell, so she began trying to focus on details. She knew from all those movies she and Brie had watched over the years that sometimes it was the little things that solved the case. Or in this case, might save her life.
It was then she realized it wasn’t quiet. In fact, there was a hum all around her. A mechanical hum.
Was she on the sixth floor?
Their mystery person. Had they been the one to hit her over the head and drag her up here?
But why?
The pounding in her head, while still there, wasn’t as intense as it had been, and she was able to think a little more clearly. The notes that had been left on her desk. Had they been from the person staying on the sixth floor?
They’d made no sense. They still didn’t. But it was the only thing she had to go on.
I know what you did.
You’re wrong.
What did it mean?
Or maybe it didn’t mean anything. Cassie was grasping at straws, and she knew it.
She was deep in thought when something caught her attention. Footsteps. At least, that’s what she thought they were.
Then, a voice.
No. More than one voice.
They were far away, and she couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she thought it was two people.
Cassie tugged at her restraints again, but they were still as tight as they’d been before and without being able to see, she didn’t know if there was anything nearby she could use to set herself free.
Her best option, the only one she had at the moment, was to listen in on the conversation. Maybe if she could figure out who was holding her, she could convince them to let her go.
She knew it was a long shot, but it was her best plan given her current circumstances.
The voices got louder, then faded away again. Whoever it was, they were moving around.
Then the voices stopped completely. All she could hear was the dull hum of the mechanical room.
It felt like forever, but it was probably only a few minutes before she heard footsteps coming toward her. Cassie froze. Should she lie down? Had they already seen she was awake?
Her question was answered a moment later when her captor spoke. “You’re awake.”
It was a woman’s voice. “Crystal?”
“So much for just letting her go.” The second voice confirmed the other person she’d heard was still there. Given the situation and the conversation in Jesse’s office, she was willing to bet the second person was Sandy.
Cassie was having trouble thinking past the throbbing in her head, but she knew she had to. While Jesse would come looking for her eventually, she had no idea how long she’d been unconscious. Nor did she know what Sandy’s statement that they couldn’t just let her go meant.
She decided to play dumb. “What’s going on?”
“This is all your fault,” Sandy said, although Cassie had no idea if she was talking to her or to Crystal.
“Shut up.” Crystal’s response did nothing to help clarify.
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Cassie asked.
“No,” they both said in unison.
Cassie was determined not to give up. If they were talking, it would buy time for Jesse to find her. “I can’t help if I don’t understand what the issue is.”
Sandy’s response was sharp. “You’ve helped enough already. We wouldn’t even be here if you’d kept your nose out of things that didn’t concern you.”
“What did I do?” She had a feeling she knew, but she wanted confirmation.
“Oh, let me count the ways.” It was Sandy who’d answered, although her reply hadn’t really answered anything.
“This isn’t helping.” This time Crystal’s voice came from farther away. “It wasn’t meant to be like this.”
“How was it supposed to be, then?” Sandy asked.
“I just wanted what was mine. Grayson said it would be easy. No one was supposed to get hurt.” Crystal sounded as if she were on the verge of tears.
The whole thing made no sense. The only Grayson she knew was the head of IT. “Grayson Hyde?”
A slap resonated from somewhere nearby. “There you go again. Why don’t you just tell her everything.”
Cassie ignored Sandy’s comment and pressed on. She had to keep Crystal talking. “What did Grayson say would be easy?”
Neither woman spoke for several moments, but Cassie could feel the tension in the room.
“Crystal?” Cassie kept her voice calm even though she felt anything but.
“He said there was a way to skim money from the accounts. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. He said no one would miss it. Blake wouldn’t miss it.”
Blake? What did Jesse’s dad have to do with this?
“But you found it,” Sandy said with a level of disdain Cassie didn’t understand.
Ignoring Sandy, Cassie directed her question to Crystal, who seemed more willing to share information. “Why would you want to take money from Blake?” It felt strange calling her boss by his first name like that, but she decided to go with it.
Again, there was no response for the longest time. So long, in fact, Cassie didn’t think she was going to get an answer. And when she did get an answer, it didn’t come from Crystal. “It’s the least he owes her. Jesse and Beks have had everything in life handed to them.”
It took her muddled brain a moment to make the connection. Jesse and Beks? What…?
Somehow everything began to make sense in a strange sort of way. The missing money. The missing contract. And even Crystal’s part in it all.
Cassie didn’t want to believe it, but whether it was true or not, it was clear Crystal did. “Crystal, is Blake Master’s your father?”