Thread of Suspicion. Susan Sleeman
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of odd for a guy who owns a technology company not to have a computer.”
He lifted a shoulder in the briefest of shrugs. “The world needs computers, but I’d rather my life was free from things I can’t control.”
So he was a control freak like her twin brother, Derrick. Not the only one in her family, but he was the worst when it came to her. Balking anytime she did anything the least bit risky and if he didn’t get his way, losing his temper. As a result, she pushed harder. Even going into law enforcement when a career in information technology was her first dream.
She dropped onto the desk chair as Luke grabbed a straight-back chair. He turned it around and straddled the seat. “Will this take long?”
“Depends on what I find.” She booted up the computer and the laptop.
As she worked, she could feel his eyes on her. She didn’t look at him but watched the screen wake up, then called up the needed information. She ran through several screens but found she couldn’t concentrate with his piercing eyes tracking her every move.
She looked at him. “This would be a lot easier if you didn’t stare at me like that.”
“Sorry,” he said, looking sheepish. “It’s just you’re nothing like I expected for a computer guru.”
“Is that so?” She appraised him.
“I expected someone like Tim and the rest of my programming staff. You know...kinda geeky. Wearing a T-shirt with an odd saying that only computer professionals understand. Shy, not real good with people. Not someone like you with your...your...well, you know.” His face turned the color of a ripe tomato, so out of character for the charmer she’d seen so far.
She’d had this same discussion a hundred times with other people and knew he meant she was fashionably dressed and attractive. Not that she was conceited, but she’d been told enough times that God had blessed her with above-average looks. But the big, bad military man was too embarrassed to say it. Oddly this more than anything else he’d said or done since she’d met him made her believe in his innocence and made her want to put him at ease.
“Minus the T-shirts, I am that person,” she offered. “I just don’t look the part. I work hard to overcome the shyness, and trust me, if you saw my Star Wars collection, you’d know I’m a real geek at heart.”
For a moment, he didn’t seem to know how to take her response, but then he tipped back his head and laughed, an altogether pleasant sound.
When his laughter stilled, she said, “So can I get back to work without you watching my every move now?”
“I could stand to get cleaned up, I suppose.” He stood and she saw the pain light in his eyes for a moment before he cleared it. This guy didn’t want anyone to see he was weak, and yet it was his weakness that made him seem human to her.
As he left the room, she dug into his computer files. Thirty minutes later, she knew without a doubt that even an inexperienced hacker could have used his home network to access Crypton on the night in question. But what she found next threw her a curveball.
“Interesting,” she whispered as she wondered what her findings meant.
She heard footsteps heading her way, and she looked up to see Luke returning. She didn’t want to stare at him, but how could she not? He wore pressed tactical pants in a dark brown, a light tan T-shirt that molded to his toned physique and his damp hair was even darker and brought out the penetrating blue of his eyes. He was the complete physical package, and she was more attracted to him than she’d first thought. Something that hadn’t happened since Paul’s reign of terror.
Why now, God? Why him?
“Have you found anything?” he asked, oblivious to the battle raging inside her.
She forced her mind back to the job. “Yes, but I don’t know what to make of it yet.”
“Can you explain it in simple terms that I can follow?”
She swiveled the monitor so he could see it, then tapped the screen. “These entries are from your and Natalie’s computers. The entry shows you both used your wireless router to connect to the internet the day before SatCom was hacked. Notice the two IDs.”
He nodded. “Since the IDs are different, does that mean each computer has a different ID?”
“Exactly, and that lets me see who accessed the internet the night in question.” She opened another log. “This is the day SatCom was hacked. You can see one computer logged on to the internet, and the ID is different from the first two I showed you.”
He leaned closer to look at the screen, his fresh minty scent filling the air. “I don’t understand how that can be. We only have the two computers you see here.”
“What about a visitor? Did you or Natalie have a friend over that night?”
“Not at three in the morning.”
“Then the only thing that makes sense is that someone used your wireless network from outside your home. To do that your network would need to be unsecured.”
“Nat takes care of all of that stuff,” he said quickly—maybe too quickly in hopes of covering himself. “At least she did until her computer crashed a few days ago. She had to call in a friend to help her. He found a virus on her computer.” He shook his head. “Another reason I don’t like computers much. I prefer to be able to see my enemies.”
“Did the friend access your network with his computer?”
“I don’t know. Can’t you tell by looking at the logs you’ve been reviewing?”
“I can tell a computer other than your laptop or your sister’s desktop accessed your network, but without seeing the friend’s computer, I can’t tell if it was his.”
“I can call Nat and ask him to bring it over.”
“That would be great.”
As he made the call, Dani tuned him out and pondered the puzzle before her. What motive might the friend have for sabotaging SatCom? For that matter, what motive might Luke’s sister have?
Dani would need to run a background check on both of them and prove a connection to SatCom before considering them strong suspects. At this point, Luke still held top spot on her list.
Assuming his guilt, had he used another laptop to do his dirty work, then hidden or disposed of it? But then why log into SatCom from his home, where it could be traced?
Made no sense. The only other explanation was that the network wasn’t secure on the day SatCom was accessed. That she could check easily enough.
She pulled up the wireless router log and scanned the data. The settings had been altered a few days ago, well after SatCom’s hack. Maybe the friend who fixed Natalie’s computer had changed the settings to block other viruses. If Dani had been called in to fix Natalie’s computer issues, she would’ve secured the network, and she guessed the friend had done the same thing.
Luke’s conversation was coming to a close, but Dani signaled to him not to hang up yet.
“Hold on, sis,” he said, turning his attention to Dani.
“Will you ask Natalie if her friend altered the network security settings?”
Luke asked the question. A few moments later, he said, “She says he didn’t connect to the network with his computer that night, and he said something about making things more secure, but Nat doesn’t know exactly what he did.”
“Thanks,” Dani replied. “As long as he drops by with his computer tonight, that’s all I need for now.”
Luke said goodbye to his sister and stowed his phone.
She waited for him to look at her again. “When did this friend work on Natalie’s computer?”
“I