He smiled at the receptionist and took a seat as Nora began to grill the professor. He’d ascertained since working with her that Nora had two interrogation styles. When she thought it was beneficial, she could be subtle and gently lead suspects to the corner they’d box themselves into. Then there was her other style, which more resembled a demolition expert with a very big sledgehammer.
“We know your plans to destroy the Lower Snake River dams.”
“Perhaps you’re confusing me with someone else.”
“I rather doubt it. You do understand that you’ll go to jail for the rest of your life.”
“Those dams are a hazard to the wildlife. That water provides a lifeline to the Orca population, but of course I’m not admitting to anything.”
“We also spoke with Jonathan Coleman.”
“I don’t believe I know that person.”
“And Kathryn Waters...”
“Ah, Kathryn.”
Randall heard the squeak of Dresden’s chair as she leaned back. It took him three attempts to guess the password for the school’s network. WashingtonBears? Their mascot? These people needed a new network director. Now that he was on the secure side, not the public one, he’d have quicker access to her data there once he managed to piggy-back onto her device.
“So you admit you know her?”
“Of course. Kathryn attends several of my classes.”
“She’s a high school student.”
“Yes. Like most universities, we’re accepting students at an increasingly younger age. There are advantages and disadvantages to that.”
“How would you characterize your relationship with Kathryn?”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to label it a relationship, though I pride myself in taking a personal interest in my students. Kathryn is...special...as I’m sure you realize if you’ve made her acquaintance.”
“And her coding skills no doubt served you quite well.”
Dresden actually laughed. It sent a chill down Randall’s spine. Sometimes they dealt with people who were mentally or emotionally unbalanced. Other times the perps they apprehended struck Randall as callously evil. Dresden was quickly falling into the latter category.
“Kathryn and I share a passion for protecting the environment, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
“Can you tell me where you were three evenings ago at approximately nine forty in the evening?”
There was a slight pause. He could practically hear Nora smile. “Feel free to check your cell phone’s calendar if that’ll help.”
“Why should I?”
“Because you can either answer my questions here, now, or I can have the Department of Homeland Security pull you in, and you can provide your answers at their facility.”
“My. You must be very important if you have that sort of pull.”
Nora didn’t rise to the bait. Of course she didn’t.
The program Randall was accessing allowed him to see all mobile devices within a predetermined range. He’d set it to ten feet—so far all he saw was his, Nora’s, and the receptionist’s. Dresden’s was there, but not active at the moment. She was apparently careful enough to turn it off when she wasn’t using it.
There was a sigh, and then he heard her rustle in a bag. The dot turned green when she turned the cell phone on, and that was as good as a GO sign for Randall.
As Nora quizzed her on various dates—some relevant, others not so much—Randall downloaded her calendar, contacts, app activity including GPS, texts, and phone records. The director had managed to obtain a search warrant for the information. Nora could have simply demanded the phone, but they didn’t want to just stop Dresden, they wanted to prevent whatever she had planned. To do that, they needed to give her a little rope.
The entire download took less than three minutes. He buzzed Nora to indicate he had all the information they needed. She quickly ended the interrogation and strode out of the office, never bothering to look back at Randall. She wanted Dresden to believe they were a dysfunctional team. She wanted Dresden to believe she still had a way out of this.
Randall smiled at the receptionist. “Have a good day.”
“You too.” The girl must have been a student at the university. She nodded toward the direction Nora had gone. “That can’t be too easy.”
“No...easy isn’t a word I’d use in regard to my job.”
He jogged to catch up with her at the end of the hall. She flashed him a smile, and they strode back out into the sunshine. Five minutes later they were on the road headed back to the hotel.
“Why the hotel?”
“Because you need sleep.”
“I’m good—honest.” Unfortunately, at the mention of sleep he yawned.
“I need you at your best, Randall. Take a couple of hours.”
He glanced at the clock on the rental’s dashboard. Ten minutes after two. Then he looked back down at the data he’d retrieved. He was almost disappointed it was so easy to find. In fact, it made him a little suspicious.
“She rented a boat.”
“A boat?”
“For tonight. Well, the rental agreement that’s in a hidden file in her email—”
“Not hidden well enough, apparently.”
“It specifies that she has it for a period of twenty-four hours beginning at six p.m. Even gives the location of the boat and the code to get through the gate.” He glanced at Nora, as he attempted to stifle another yawn. “Think this is a set-up?”
“I do not. If I had to pick one word to describe Samantha Dresden, it would be arrogant.”
“She certainly didn’t sound rattled by your interrogation, which I would have been. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would have been.”
“I think Professor Dresden sees it more as a chess match, and she’s quite certain it’s a match she will win.”
“So what’s she going to do with the boat?”
“I have no idea, but we’ll be there to see firsthand.”
She punched the speaker phone on her mobile and told the device to call the director. He picked up on the second ring. She succinctly described the meeting, assured him Randall would forward everything he’d found, and outlined her plan.
All that was left was to wait until six p.m. Oh, and apparently Randall was supposed to take a nap, which at the moment didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Security Breach Page 15