Cold Case

by Susan Sleeman

  Is that you again, God?

  Bekah was playing on the floor with Legos. She caught sight of Trey, and her face lit up. She hopped up and came barreling toward Trey. Eryn stepped between them and intercepted her daughter before she slammed into him.

  Eryn knelt down next to Bekah. “Trey hurt his arm today, and you need to be extra careful not to bump him. Or even touch his arm. Okay, sweetie?”

  Bekah looked up at Trey, a serious expression on her face. “I have Disney Band-Aids if you want one.”

  Trey’s soft smile spread across his face. “I would be most honored to have one.”

  She spun and ran toward the bathroom.

  “I need to get going,” Eryn’s mother said. “I have laundry waiting at home.”

  “Thanks, mom.” Eryn turned to Trey and pointed at the couch. “Sit. Now. I’ll get you some juice to start with.”

  He settled on the sofa and gave her a mischievous smile. “Can I have cookies, too?”

  “Me, too, Mommy.” Bekah raced back into the room. “Cookies and juice.”

  “Yes, to both of you, but you have to sit down and not bounce.”

  “I won’t bounce,” Trey promised and grinned.

  Eryn heard her mother chuckling as she stepped out the door.

  “She means me,” Bekah said. “I like to bounce. It will hurt your arm. I don’t want to hurt your arm.” She stared at his bandaged arm. “Hey! No fair! You already have a biggest Band-Aid.”

  “Yes, but it’s not special like yours.” He tweaked Bekah’s nose. “We can put one right at the end of this one.”

  Bekah ripped open the package and looked at Trey’s arm in the same way she did when she mothered her dolls. Eryn knew he was in for a zealous Band-Aid application, and she needed to prevent that.

  “Better let me help with that.” Eryn knelt near Trey and held out her hand for the Band-Aid. She tore off the plastic strips and gently placed it as far to the end of his real bandage as possible, being extra careful not to hurt him.

  He lifted his arm. “There. It’s all better now.”

  Eryn stood. “Remember—no bouncing, Bekah.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Can I sit on your lap if I’m very, very careful, and you can read me a book?”

  Eryn shook her head. “Trey needs to rest.”

  “I don’t need rest,” he replied. “I’m happy to read a book, but you’re going to have to hold it.”

  “Yippee.” She started to launch herself at him, and Eryn took hold of her daughter’s arm to slow her down.

  Trey quickly lifted his injured arm to the back of the sofa, and Bekah settled in place.

  “I’ll get a book,” Eryn said.

  Eryn picked a short one so Trey could move quickly through the story and then rest. She handed it to Bekah who frowned. “Wanted a different one.”

  “Not me,” Trey said and looked at the cover. “Now that I’ve seen this, I have to know everything about Jesus and the Twelve Dudes Who Did.”

  “K.” Bekah slid back on his lap, stretched out her legs, and perched the book on her knees.

  Trey started reading, and the picture of the two of them filled Eryn’s heart with such emotion and longing she had to take a breath. She’d become more than fond of Trey. Without a doubt, this was what she wanted in life. A man she loved and who loved Bekah.

  Shocked, she stood staring as the familiar pain of loss came rushing in. The feel of Trey’s blood on her hands not yet gone. She may know now what she wanted for her future, but her reaction said she wasn’t ready for it.

  Not yet.

  Father, can you help? I feel like you put Trey in our life for a reason. But you also allowed him to be hurt by Coker for a reason. The blood. It was too much. Is Trey here to protect us, or is it more than that? I really want to know. Truly. With my whole heart this time. Please show me, and if I have the chance at a future with Trey, help me to get over this fear of losing him.

  He looked up and caught her gaze. A slow smile slid across his face, and she wanted to stand and look at him forever.

  “Keep reading, Trey,” Bekah said, drawing his attention again.

  Eryn felt lighter inside as she went into the kitchen for their snacks. She almost felt like humming. She’d forgotten how wonderful it was to cast her cares on God. To stop trying to do things on her own and be open for His leading. How blessed she was that despite her distance since Rich died, God was still there. His arms open. Waiting. Welcoming her back.

  She poured two glasses of juice, one in a covered container for Bekah, and seeing them together on the tray brought back her newfound wishes. Could they really have a future? She suddenly hoped it was possible. Hoped more than she could imagine.

  She grabbed a container of peanut butter cookies her mother had baked and plated them, then carried the tray into the living room. Trey was just reaching the end of the book. She set the snack on the coffee table.

  Bekah closed the book and spotted the cookies. “Gammy made the cookies. Peanut butter is my favorite.”

  “One of mine, too,” Trey said.

  She pushed off his lap and looked up at Eryn. “Can I eat in here, Mommy? Can I?”

  Bekah was never allowed to eat anywhere but at the dining table or kitchen island, but today, Eryn would make an exception. “If you sit nice and quiet and hold your cookie over your plate.”

  “Yippee,” she said and grabbed her cookie to start munching.

  Trey leaned forward, and Eryn held up a hand. “Relax, I’ll get yours for you.”

  He frowned.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t need to be babied. I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine, but you’re right. You are more than capable of getting your own snack.” She handed it to him and sat on the sofa. “This is my way of saying thank you.”

  “No thanks needed.” He met her gaze. “You know that, right? I would move heaven and earth to keep you safe.”

  His tone was urgent and forceful, and she felt his commitment to her bones. What had she done to deserve this man wanting to protect her so fiercely?

  Thank you, Father.

  She peered at Trey’s bandage where blood had seeped through. Panic assailed her. She swallowed it down and said another prayer. Forced the panic to subside. Could she really overcome this? She certainly had a reason to.

  They ate their snacks in silence.

  Bekah brushed the crumbs from her chin onto the plate. “Can I play in my room?”

  “Sorry, pumpkin. It’s way past your bedtime.”

  “Wanna play with Trey.”

  “He needs to go to bed, too,” Eryn said. “Now scoot and get your jammies on and I’ll be in to brush your teeth soon.”

  Bekah scampered away, her lip still protruding.

  “Looks like I’m the world’s worst mother today.” Eryn’s phone dinged with a text. She glanced to see a message from Gage. “That’s odd. Gage says to turn on the Portland news right away.”

  She grabbed the remote and clicked on the TV. A reporter was standing outside PPB’s central precinct, a picture of Petrov in the upper right corner. She turned up the volume.

  “In a startling discovery today,” the female reporter said. “Twenty-five-year veteran of the police force, Detective Ivan Petrov has been arrested and charged with ignoring evidence in a child pornography investigation and using that evidence to blackmail Councilman Avery Olson.”

  Eryn gawked at the screen. “Oh my gosh. We were right.”

  “And Rudd must’ve found a way to prove it,” Trey said, looking equally stunned.

  Eryn grabbed her phone and dialed Detective Rudd. The call went to voicemail. “Detective Rudd, it’s Eryn Calloway. I saw that Petrov has been arrested for blackmail. How did that happen? And did you find anything in the files about ShadowPrince? Call me as soon as you can.”

  Eryn hung up and looked at Trey. “If Petrov is behind the hacking, then with him in jail, it could mean this is all over.
”

  “Could,” he said, but didn’t sound enthusiastic.

  “Why the gloomy face? We can get on with life again. Go back to the way things were,” she said before she remembered that wasn’t actually what she wanted anymore.

  His body stiffened. “Trust me, I’m all for you being safe again. But my old life without you? I’m not sure I can go back to that ever again.”

  23

  Hours later, Trey shifted on the couch and finally sat up. The house was quiet. Way too quiet. Bekah had gone to bed three hours ago, and Eryn had taken her laptop to her room to work. He’d hoped she would stay in the living room with him, but she said she wanted him to rest. She was more than likely running from his declaration that he didn’t want to go back to his old life without her.

  He’d felt safe in saying it because she’d been so tender and caring. It felt like she crossed some line as if she might want to risk a future with him. Until he’d mentioned that future. Then she shut down. Now he didn’t know how to get back to the easiness before he’d said that.

  He sighed, and he wasn’t a sighing kind of guy. He was a take action kind of guy. A get to the point kind of guy. He’d been so patient. Letting her come to grips with how she was feeling. But he was done tiptoeing around the subject. Time to talk it out once and for all.

  He got up, his arm aching with the movement. Tylenol had dulled the pain a bit, but he still wished he was free to take the pain meds. He wouldn’t. Even with Petrov in jail they didn’t know for sure that he was behind the hacking and Eryn’s attack. And as long as Trey was in charge of watching over Eryn, he wouldn’t let drugs alter his mental state.

  He strode to her room. She sat on her bed piled high with girly type pillows he never expected she would own. She was such a study in contrasts, and he loved everything he was learning about her. She was so wrapped up in staring at the same computer she’d had at the resort that she didn’t even notice him standing there. Another reason he needed to keep an eye on her.

  He tapped on the doorjamb.

  She looked up and a soft smile spread across her face before she quickly erased it. Yeah, she was definitely giving off mixed signals, and he was going to find out why.

  “How’s the arm?” she asked. “Do you need something? Food. A drink. Tylenol.”

  “No.”

  “Then—” Something flashed on her computer screen lighting her face in a red tint. She moved her focus to the screen. She shot straight up, her mouth falling open.

  Trey rushed over to her. “What is it?”

  “More ransomware and another message.”

  He waited for her to show him the message, but when she didn’t, he turned the computer so he could see the screen. He read the bold black letters on the red screen.

  Did you think I wouldn’t know how to find you? How to hack into your network?

  He swallowed hard. “This means Petrov isn’t behind the hack, and whoever is has gotten to your computer again.”

  She snatched up her phone and tapped the screen, then gasped. “Not only my computer. He’s taken control of our entire network.”

  Trey didn’t like the sound of that. “What does that mean exactly?”

  She looked up at him, face white. “With our network down, we have no security system.”

  His gut twisted into a tight knot. “How long to fix it? A couple of hours like when you did the computers at the resort?”

  “I wish,” she said. “He got through security I worked months to develop. It’ll take me all night—if not longer—to restore it and ensure he can’t hack into it again.”

  “I can put on a pot of coffee.”

  “Thanks, but I can’t do this here.” She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “I need to work in our server room at our training building.”

  “Then I’ll make the coffee there.”

  She shook her head. “You stay here. Our weapons arsenal is in that building, and Gage will assign one of the guys to protect it. So I’ll be fine.”

  Trey fisted his hands. “This isn’t up for discussion. I’m coming with you.”

  She closed her computer and stood up, dark eyes flashing. “I need you to stay here with Bekah. She’s my first priority, and I need to know she’s safe so I can work without distraction.”

  “You’re the one who’s in danger. I’m sure someone else can watch her.”

  “She’s in danger, too, by virtue of the fact that she’s in my cabin. If this hacker comes for me, then she’ll be in danger. Or maybe he’ll try to hurt her to get to me. Either way, she shouldn’t be with me, and I can’t be worried about her.”

  “Then we’ll move her to Gage’s house and under his protection. I’m sure he’ll agree.”

  Eryn locked eyes with him. “I still want you with her.”

  He didn’t buy her argument. “Are you sure this isn’t about my injury? That you don’t trust me to be able to protect you?”

  “It’s not that at all.” She yanked her hand through her hair. “Here’s the thing, Trey. Over the last few days I’ve come to care for you more than I want to.”

  His heart soared, but the danger brought it back down to earth. “And that’s a bad thing?”

  “Yeah, because nothing else has changed for me.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, that’s not true. What has changed is that you’re constantly in my thoughts, and when you’re nearby, my mind wanders to you and what might be, and I can’t work.”

  “Which is why you came in here tonight.”

  “Exactly. And I’ve got to fix this—we are in serious danger. So can you take Bekah to Gage’s place and stay with her?” She squeezed his uninjured arm. “Please?”

  How could he say no to her pleading look? He nodded.

  “Good. Thank you.” She smiled but it quickly evaporated. “You should know how dangerous this is. Our business network is so secure only an extremely talented actor could bring it down. We don’t use it for the Internet. We have a separate network for that, so there’s no chance he deployed the ransomware by one of our people inadvertently opening an email or uploading a malware file from a flash drive.”

  “But you do think this is the same hacker from the resort.”

  “Yes, but he didn’t show his true abilities with the earlier hacks. Gave me just enough to lead me on, but he limited my knowledge of his protocols and that kept me from seeing his expertise.”

  “So why reveal it now?”

  “Because it appears he wanted to bring down our network.” She met his gaze, and he didn’t like the look in her eyes. “And that tells me he’s far more dangerous than we ever imagined. If he’s after me—or wants to destroy our systems—we may not be able to stop him. He could be breaking into the compound right now.”

  Eryn notified the team who kicked into high gear with emergency protocols. Trey got Bekah safely to Gage’s house, and Riley escorted Eryn to their main hub. Eryn settled behind the network computer, heart pounding. But the ransomware message vanished.

  Not again. Seriously, what is this guy up to?

  She quickly took the network down before he could do additional damage and went straight to work on locating and reviewing his code. It took almost two hours, but she finally let out a long breath and sat back.

  This actor had skills. Mad skills. In her many year of working cyber crimes, she’d only run across one actor who displayed such complex abilities. Kirill Velichko. She assumed there were other actors with top-notch skills like his, but she had to wonder if Velichko was behind this code and the attack.

  Memories of the day she’d arrested him came rushing back. He’d glared at her, acting all cocky and declaring he’d be released before the day was out. She’d lost it. Snapped at him to take him down a peg. And she had. He’d gone to prison and was still there.

  The door opened behind her, and she turned.

  Riley poked his head in. “Got a text from Trey. He said he hasn’t heard from you in a while, and he didn’t want to bother you
, so asked me to poke my head in to be sure you were okay.”

  “Guess he figured I’d be too wrapped up in my work to notice the time.” She stretched to get the kinks out of her tense muscles, inwardly smiling over Trey’s ongoing attention and how much this simple gesture of kindness impacted her. “You can tell him I’m fine.”

  “I doubt he’ll believe me, but yeah, I’ll tell him.” He pointed at her computer. “Any luck?”

  “Not on getting the network up yet, but I’m getting a déjà vu feeling on this ransomware code.”

  He rested against the doorframe. “How’s that?”

  “When I was at the FBI, I arrested this really crafty actor named Kirill Velichko. He stands out in my mind because he was so talented and could’ve gotten rich from hacking, but in an odd way he hacked for the good of the Internet.”

  Riley leaned closer. “Okay, now you’ve got to explain that to me.”

  “He went by the online name of Gatekeeper and built a malicious botnet.”

  “Botnet?”

  “The term comes from combining robot with network, i.e. a network of robot computers.” He still looked confused so she continued, “When malware is deployed on a computer these days, it’s usually used to take control of the computer, not harm it.”

  “What do you mean by take control?” Riley asked.

  She loved that he was willing to hang in there to figure out how this worked. “If you open malware on your computer, it’s like you’ve given the actor permission to sit down at your keyboard and use your machine. His script gives the computer directions, and it acts on his behalf. Once he has enough computers under his control, he mobilizes them like a zombie army to launch cyberattacks that—in almost all cases—involve making money for him.”

  Riley pushed off the doorjamb. “So let me get this straight. You have this guy who deploys malware and the computer user falls for his tricks. Then he can remotely take control of the computer and make it do things without the user knowing.”