The crowd was picking up, and as she looked around she recognized several familiar faces, mostly CSA members, including Tom and his wife, Elsie. They smiled, nodded, or waved to her.
Brynn’s gaze fell on a young woman. Smiling and beautiful. It was Chelsea, standing at the edge of the concert area. Behind her was Roy, whose arm slipped casually across her shoulder.
Roy and Chelsea? That was quite a pair—the young woman who was dating every available man in the county and the young man who was a hacker. Lovely.
Brynn watched as they walked away, behind the stage area.
She stood. “I’d like to go and see Tillie for a minute.”
“Now wait,” Becky said, standing. “Why? What’s the point?”
“I want to wish her luck,” Brynn replied. “Or to break a leg or whatever.”
Becky followed Brynn, snaking through the crowd. When they reached backstage, Tillie was nowhere to be found.
Neither were Roy and Chelsea.
“Tillie likes to take a walk before performances. I’m sorry you missed her,” Miriam, Tillie’s mom, said. “I’ll let her know you stopped.”
“Thanks,” Brynn said, but seeing Tillie was just one reason she’d come backstage. She was curious about what Roy and Chelsea were up to. And it looked like they were already gone. Long gone.
* * *
Soon enough, the concert started and Brynn’s mind was on nothing but the music. Tillie’s voice had a soothing effect on her. By the end of the show, Brynn was ready for bed.
“What are you doing here?” Tillie said as Brynn approached her to tell her what a great job she’d done.
“I couldn’t miss it. You were . . . amazing,” Brynn said.
“Completely,” Becky agreed.
“Thank you. But your head. How are you?”
“Tired. We need to go, but it was so worth it,” Brynn said, and hugged her.
As Becky, Brynn, Max, and Nathaniel walked through the crowd, finding their way to the edge of it, she took in the sights of the fair as it was closing for the night. An almost empty promenade. The ride lights were off, with strings of lights and lamps from food vendors brightening their way. The scent of cotton candy filled the air.
Brynn’s head pounded. Her thoughts had become muddled again. But the thought of Roy and Chelsea was lodged in her mind. She’d need to talk with Wes about them. She hoped he’d get out of jail tomorrow and the worst part of all this would be over. Poor Wes! Shot at the cheese contest, then carted off to jail for a murder he didn’t commit.
“I can see why you didn’t want to miss the concert. She’s an amazing singer,” Nathaniel said on the ride home.
Everybody agreed.
“I’m sure you’re exhausted,” Becky said. “We’ll get you home and to bed. You can rest all day tomorrow.”
Brynn was too tired to even speak. She watched the silhouetted trees go by as they rode along on the darkened country roads, the farmhouses lit in the distance. The mountain behind them. The sky with its bright half-moon and twinkling stars. She closed her eyes.
* * *
Brynn awakened the next day in her own bed with the sun streaming in. It took her a moment to remember getting there in her sleepy haze from the car. Her headache subsided, though it was on the edge of being a full-blown one. She supposed she need more medicine. She untangled herself from her quilt and made her way downstairs. Becky was in the kitchen, making coffee. “Good morning,” she said. “Your medicine is right there.”
“I need it,” Brynn said. “Along with the other medicine. Coffee.”
“It’ll be ready soon.”
Brynn looked at the calendar, realizing it was Friday. The days had blurred together. Her friends were taking care of her life and she hated that. She missed the daily visits with her cows, making cheese, and well, the rhythm of her normal life. She could at least check out the online orders for cheese today.
“What smells so good?” Brynn asked.
“Blackberry breakfast bread. I needed to use these berries before they went bad. I noticed there’s more to be picked over on the far edge of your property, toward the church.”
“Blackberry bread? Oh my God, it smells heavenly.” But Brynn’s stomach was queasy. She hoped it settled by the time the bread was ready.
Brynn sat down at the table and swallowed her pills. She looked out the window at her cows grazing. Jewel was still off by herself. Would the sweet Highland cow ever fit in with her cows? Wait. It really didn’t matter because she was fostering her. Schuyler was looking for a home for her, wasn’t she?
Becky set a cup of coffee in front of her.
“Thanks,” Brynn said. “I’ve been watching my girls.”
“It’s a great window,” Becky said. “I talked with Lily this morning. She sends her love.”
“Is she having fun at camp?” Brynn imagined her sweet niece loving horse camp, bonding with new friends, learning new things.
“She’s a bit homesick, but she’ll be fine.” Becky opened the oven door and checked the bread. “I think this is done.” The smell filled the room. Hot blackberries, sweet bread. Cinnamon. Heavenly. She pulled it out and placed it on the counter. “We need to let it cool a bit.”
Brynn’s stomach growled. Cinnamon was good for a sick stomach, right? “I’m not sure how long I can wait.”
Becky grinned.
“Is Wes home yet?”
“It’s still early, Brynn. I doubt the courts have been open long.”
“Right.” Her brain still wasn’t firing 100 percent. “It’s Friday. I need to check the online orders.” She started to stand.
“Sit down. I’ll bring you the laptop.”
“Okay.” Brynn did not usually like being catered to, but she loved having her sister around—and she knew there was no arguing with her.
Becky brought the laptop over and put it on the table. Brynn opened it and booted it up.
“Hmmm. Maybe it’s safe to cut the bread,” Becky said more to herself than Brynn.
“Perhaps,” Brynn said, and watched her laptop screen come on. “Do you mind helping me with the computer? I’m not supposed to be looking at it.” She clicked on the website order program and a pop-up came on: “Pay $100,000 to enter this website.”
She tried getting it off the screen. “Jesus! What’s this?”
Becky rushed over and looked. “I have no idea. Just restart it. That’s what they always say to do, right?”
“Yes, but this is strange.”
“It is. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Becky fussed over the bread while Brynn restarted the computer.
The same thing happened. She had no idea what to do. Wes was her IT guy. Who else could she call?
She dialed Willow.
“Hey, Brynn. How are you feeling?”
“Not so good. Something’s going on with my computer.” She explained what was happening.
“I can’t help you. I’m sorry. If it was an art program, like an Adobe thing, I could help. But that sounds like ransom ware.”
“Ransom ware? What’s that?”
“It’s a hacking thing. Someone might have hacked into your computer and won’t let you have access until you pay the money.”
Panic tore through Brynn. “Why would someone imagine I have that kind of money?”
“I have no idea. But a lot of businesses end up paying it. And now they’ve made it illegal to pay them. I recently read an article about that.”
“So what do I do? I have orders to access and to fill.”
“There’s a guy in Staunton who works on computers. I’ll text you his name and number.”
“Thanks.”
After they clicked off from the call, Becky set a plate of sliced blackberry bread on the table, along with fresh cream cheese and butter.
“What’s going on? You’re as white as a ghost,” Becky said.
“Someone hacked my computer and they are trying to get money from me,” Brynn said. “I need to call t
his guy to service it.”
“I’ve heard of that! But I’ve never known anybody it’s happened to!” She looked over Brynn’s shoulders. “One hundred thousand dollars?” Becky laughed. “That’s too much. Why would they think you’ve got that sort of money?”
“I have no idea.” She shut the computer off, closed it. Dread came over her. “I need to call this IT guy in Staunton.”
“Why don’t you eat first? Who wants to talk computers on an empty stomach?”
Brynn mulled it over, and between the scent of the bread, her sister’s caring words, and her stomach growling she decided Becky was right. She’d eat first and then call the IT guy.
Chapter 26
Charlie, the IT expert, said he’d stop by in the afternoon. Brynn shut off the computer, took a shower, and set off to visit her girls, under the watchful eye of Becky.
Petunia and her best friend, Freckles, greeted Brynn as usual. She rubbed Petunia behind the ears and stooped down to pet the dog. “Oh, Petunia, we’ve been hacked.”
The cow’s eyes squinted pleasure as Brynn rubbed her. “Who would do such a thing?”
“She doesn’t appear to be answering,” Becky said.
“Right, but remember Granny Rose always told us you had to keep your cows informed.” Brynn wiped away sweat from her brow.
“It’s a scorcher,” Becky said.
Brynn made her way through her cows and then to Jewel, who was standing all alone and grazing.
“Hello, girl,” she said. The cow’s ears flicked. “How are you?” Brynn theorized if her other cows saw her with Jewel enough, they’d come to accept her. Even though she wasn’t keeping her, she wanted to make her as comfortable as possible.
Jewel stopped eating and looked at Brynn and Becky. She took a step toward them. Brynn moved closer to her and reached out to pet her. The cow’s hair was wiry and thick.
“Your other cows are watching you,” Becky said.
Brynn sidled up closer to the cow and wrapped an arm around her neck. The gesture seemed to calm Jewel, as she laid her head on Brynn’s shoulder.
“Oh my goodness,” Becky said. “She’s so sweet. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Brynn’s heart broke for the sweetness of the cow snuggling up to her. Jewel’s previous owner must have done this very thing. Jewel probably missed her with all of her little cow heart. Brynn started to move away and the cow snuggled even more. She was not ready for Brynn to leave.
“I’m going to have to go sometime, sweetie. But I’ll be back.” She pulled away and held Jewel’s face in her hand, looked her in the eye. “I’ll be back.” The cow blinked and mooed.
“So sweet,” Becky said.
Brynn turned to see a car coming up the driveway. “Looks like our computer guy is here.”
“Finally,” Becky said. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m ready for a nap, but I need to deal with this first.” One minute Brynn felt strong, as if she was capable of doing her chores, but the next minute she wanted to fall into bed. It was the concussion, but it was hard to be patient with herself. She had so much to do. She loved her work, tending the cows, making cheese, but it was all physical and she knew she’d have to take it easy if she was to get back to top speed.
* * *
After she got Charlie settled in front of her laptop, Brynn sat down at the kitchen table. Becky brought them both a glass of iced tea.
“Thank you,” Charlie said, and took a sip. “Great tea.”
“Thanks,” Becky said.
His fingers clicked quickly over the keyboard. “What is your password?”
“Petunia123,” Brynn said.
“Okay, let’s see what’s going on.” Click. Click. Click. His long fingers seemed to be made for the keyboard—or maybe the piano.
The message came up again.
“Ah-ha,” he said. “Ransom ware.”
“What can we do about it?”
“Depends on how good this hacker is.” He took another drink of tea. “I’m assuming you don’t want to pay.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Good, the FBI is saying you should never pay.” His fingers clicked away again. “Well, this is good. Your files haven’t been encrypted. I can clean this. But you’re going to need some security measures put in place. I can do that today. If you want. But first, you’re going to need to call your credit card companies. Looks like those files have been stolen.”
Brynn’s heart raced. “Which credit cards?”
“There are two here—one under the name of Buttermilk Creek Farms and the other to Wes Scors. Both have been used within the past twenty-four hours.”
Brynn drew in air. They knew about Wes’s card being stolen, but hers?
“Let me be clear,” he said. “This doesn’t mean your actual card has been taken. Thieves don’t even need to do that anymore. They can set it up to use through their phones.”
“What! You mean like Apple Pay?” Becky asked.
“Yes, something like that.” He refocused on the computer. “I’m going to run this software to clean your computer. It’s going to take a few minutes. In the meantime, I suggest you call your credit card company.”
“One is mine,” Brynn said, standing to get her purse, which was on the kitchen counter. “But the other one belongs to my assistant and the police have been watching the card.”
“The other one?”
“Yeah.” Brynn waved him off. “Long story.” She dug in her purse and found her card. He was right. It hadn’t been stolen. The thief had taken everything off of the computer.
“It’s getting pretty scary. Everything is on the computer these days,” Becky said.
“True, and that’s why I’m so busy. I can’t keep up. Suddenly this virus is ramped in the valley. Someone seems to be targeting people in this community.”
Brynn leaned closer to him. “How can you tell?”
“It’s the same code. The hacker has been using the same code everywhere. It’s almost like his signature. A couple of people have even tried to pay.”
“How did it happen?” Brynn asked.
“It’s hard to say, really. But usually it comes through e-mail. You click on the wrong link and, um, you’ve got a virus. These guys are getting really good at posing as a legit business,” he said.
Brynn’s mind was reeling. Technology was supposed to make your life easier, not make you more vulnerable. Recalling the credit cards, Brynn wondered where Wes was. Surely he was home from jail by now. And if he was home, he’d have finally stopped by here. Where was he? She needed to tell him it didn’t have to be a stolen card. His numbers could have been lifted from the computer.
As soon as Charlie left, she’d call Wes and see what was going on. He needed to be aware of all this—he was the man in charge of the computers.
“You’re not the first local to have this same exact virus. I wonder what’s going on.”
“Is someone trying to get money out of other people the same exact way?” Becky asked.
He nodded. “Yes. I’d say there’s a sophisticated hacker among us. But he or she doesn’t have to be anywhere nearby. Could be in India or China. But since this is so specific . . . I’ve got a few ideas. I’m going to work on this, try to find the root of this virus. But I don’t have much time, running from person to person who already has the darn thing.”
The more Brynn knew about how all records now were online—medical, financial, and so on—the more it made her want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over her head.
Chapter 27
Brynn wasn’t alone in her ransom ware attack, but it didn’t make her feel any better. What was happening in this community? First Josh was still in jail for manslaughter, Wes was still in jail for murder, after being shot, and now this. Some hacker had been trying to get money from Brynn and her friends and neighbors.
She hadn’t been in Shenandoah Springs a year yet. Shortly after she moved here, her friend Nancy died and odd t
hings started happening to her. Now this. Becky had urged her to move then, and Brynn was certain she’d want her to move now. But she couldn’t imagine another place to go where land was as cheap. She wouldn’t leave her girls—or her dream. Her ex-fiancé would love to hear of her failure and she was bound and determined to succeed.
This was supposed to be their place, but he’d cheated on her and she told him to pack his bags. She’d never forget the sneer on his face: “You think you can do it alone? Well, you can’t.”
“That remains to be seen,” she said out loud in her bedroom. She was lying in her bed, there from the exhaustion of the morning. Just lying down helped. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
She awakened to voices downstairs. She untangled herself from her quilts and sat up, rubbing her eyes, yawning. Who was here?
She marched downstairs and saw Schuyler and Willow sitting with her sister drinking tea and eating the last of the blackberry breakfast bread.
“There she is!” Becky said.
“Still alive, I see,” Schuyler said.
“Yeah,” Brynn muttered, sitting down at the table.
“Good news,” Willow said. “Josh is home!”
Brynn grinned. “This is good news. What happened?”
“Well, they found a problem with the tractor. He really did lose control of it, but it wasn’t his fault. There’s going to be a huge lawsuit.”
“I can imagine. What on earth could happen to a tractor like that? It’s so sophisticated. The sales guy was telling me how slick and techie tractors are now.”
“That’s the problem,” Willow said. “The computer inside of it. Something to do with the Wi-Fi signal—”
“It was sonar signals,” Schuyler said.
“Okay. But he lost control and was able to prove it.”
Brynn’s brain felt a bit cottony, but she now considered technology the big bad wolf. She wanted to change the subject. “How is the fair?”
“Rained out today.”
“What?” Brynn said.
“You slept through the storm, but it was a doozie. It’s still raining.”
“Yeah, there’s no electricity in half the county. The fair is down. I’m kind of glad. It’s not been a good year,” Willow said.
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