“No.”
“Need some help?”
“Only if you can fix me. I think I’m broken.”
“Can I come in?”
“Why not? I’m not going anywhere.” She sounded defeated.
Derry stepped back into the room. Seeing one leg hanging out of bed and her clothes lying on the floor, he went for the clothes. Picking them up, he set them the other side of the bed.
“Need some help?” He nodded to the dangling leg.
“It hurts when I move it.”
Her eyes were moist. Derry bent over and carefully placed her leg under the sheets. Her skin was soft.
“I guess you’ll be holding me hostage a while longer.” She was breathing hard.
“I’m only trying to help.”
She eyed him. “Thanks, I guess.”
“Hungry?”
“Yeah, some.”
She looked helpless, fragile.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
Sara nodded toward the nightstand. “Can you hand it to me?”
Derry didn’t realize he was gawking at her.
“Sorry.” He reached for the bowl. “Need some more painkillers, too?”
“Absolutely. Got anything to numb the whole body?” She received the bowl and looked at its contents. “What is this?”
“Canned vegetable soup. Natalie said to start you off on something easy. It’s all I had.”
“Canned? I see you’re going all out.”
Her comment hurt. “I can get you something else, if you don’t want that.”
She shifted her attention to him and smiled. “It’ll be fine, thanks.”
Derry walked over to the dresser on the other side of the bed. Retrieving a bottle, he dumped out two pills. Returning, he handed them to Sara.
“Just two? Can’t I have more?” She gave him the smile again.
“Don’t want to turn you into a druggie.”
“How do you know I’m not already?”
He didn’t.
“Don’t worry, I’m not.” She carefully placed the two pills into her mouth.
He handed her the glass of water.
After setting the water back down, Derry took a seat in the chair while Sara ate.
Her conversation was very guarded. Every time it started to get personal, she changed the subject. She didn’t trust him. Why should she?
***
Sara handed the half finished bowl of soup to Derry. “You wouldn’t happen to have a laptop I could use, would you?” She was very tired but needed to check her email. Two full days wasted.
“Yes, but are you sure you feel up to it?” He got up and headed for the door. “Need the Internet?”
“Of course.” Sara slid down a little in bed. Her head was pounding. The painkillers were beginning to make her drowsy.
Derry returned in a few minutes, setting the computer on the bed next to her. She opened it, and pressed the power button. “Password?”
“Don’t have one. I’m the only one who ever uses it.”
“No password? What about on your router?”
“It came with one.”
Was this guy for real? No passwords. No security. She knew people like this were out there, but Derry seemed like a smart guy. Not the type to leave his system wide open for anyone to hack into.
“Sure hope you don’t have anything important on here?”
“I just use it for emails and banking stuff. You know, to pay bills.”
Sara dropped her hand on the keyboard. She slowly turned her head toward him. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Something wrong with the way I do things?”
“Absolutely. Okay, before I do anything else, I’m putting a password on your computer. And a new one on your router.”
“What if I forget them?”
“I’ll write them down. Just don’t keep them on your computer. Okay?”
“Sure.”
Sara gave Derry’s computer one level of security. Not much, but more than he had before. Within minutes, he left the room. Good.
First things first, my email.
She logged in.
Something’s wrong. It’s empty. Two days ago, I had hundreds of messages.
Levy!
My passport email was in here. Was my PO box with it?
***
Over the last two days, Kai learned to hate her job, and her feelings for Mike weren’t far behind.
Levy paced behind her, just as he’d done every few hours for the past two days.
“Have you tapped into her bank account?”
“I’m close. I’ll be in within the next few minutes.” The sweat and grime clung to her face and body. She couldn’t decide which was worse: the lack of sleep and no showers for the last two days, or the work Levy had thrust upon her. The project worked, so why was he so upset about Sara leaving?
“Hurry it up. We need to get there before she has time to move it.”
“I’m going as fast as I can.” Her tone reflected more hatred than she meant to show. She waited for another hit from Levy. A regular occurrence during the past forty-eight hours.
None came.
Mike entered the room.
“What have you got for me?” Levy’s irritation was now directed toward Mike.
Kai had forwarded all of Sara’s emails to him for review.
“She ordered a passport. It came in last week.”
“What name did she use?”
“It wasn’t in the emails.”
“Anything else?” Levy’s rage increased.
“A couple of weeks ago, she was sending very strongly worded emails to a Betty. No last name, but I have her email address.”
“And what were the emails about?” The rage increased.
“The ones left in her inbox didn’t say anything usable other than setting up a meeting at a restaurant. But I could tell there were other emails that had been deleted.”
Levy turned to Kai. “Where are her deleted emails?”
“There were none. She kept her trash directories empty.”
Back to Mike. “See what you can learn about this Betty. What about Sara’s apartment?”
“Jarred found her phone on the counter, and a destroyed hard drive behind her refrigerator.”
Kai looked over her shoulder. Mike was holding a cardboard box.
Levy glared down at Kai. “Find out what’s on the disk.”
Great. More work.
Mike set the box next to her monitor.
Levy resumed pacing around the room.
Kai glanced up. “I’m in.”
“What?”
“I’m in her bank account.”
“It’s about time. How much does she have?”
“A little over two thousand.”
“Move it all into one of my accounts.” Levy stopped pacing. The tension in the room dropped a notch. “Let’s see how far she can run without any money? Next put a trace on her credit cards.”
The transfer only took a few moments.
“Now, add a program to her bank account that will notify us when she checks it.”
“Can’t be done. Bank security is way too high. If I try, it will make a path straight to us. I already put a trace on her email account. We’ll know when she checks her email.”
Levy slowed his pacing. “Hospitals—what’s the status?”
“I’ve tapped into all the major ones, and have two hits that could match Sara. I’m running cross-checks on them against addresses and DMV records to see if they match the given names.”
Levy moved toward the door. Was he about to leave?
&n
bsp; “Our contacts in the various police departments—anything popping up?”
Mike shuffled his feet. “Nothing yet. No word on Sara or anyone matching her description. Also no reports about credit card scams, and nothing about Jasper’s.”
“That’s at least some good news. Add in the rest of the credit cards. Let’s go to full production in Denver.”
“Consider it done.”
“What about New York?”
“I need to get Ben and Jarred back out there. Once they’re in place, with Kai’s help, it should only take a few days to get everything up and running.”
“Find someone else. I need Kai here. What are Jarred and Ben doing now?” Levy’s irritation was showing its ugly head again.
“Ben’s taking Jarred to pick up your car.”
“As soon as they get back, send them to New York. Until we have something on Sara, they’re just costing me money. They need to start making up for my loss.”
“Sure thing.” Mike headed toward the steps. Levy didn’t follow.
Disappointment.
“Can you tap into the Denver Police Department computer system and put out a warrant on Sara? Just for questioning?”
His requests were too risky. They were all going to end up in jail if this obsession continued.
“I could try, but if I don’t pull it off just right, it could backfire. They could trace the tap back to us.”
“You mean to you.” Levy glared down at her.
“No, I mean, your offices, this location, here.”
“Hmm.” More of his obsessive pacing. Kai was extremely tired, and he was doing everything he could to bug her.
“If I don’t have Sara within seventy-two hours, you’ll have to find a way around that problem.”
Chapter 26
A noise woke Sara from her light restless sleep, a sleep filled with nightmares of Levy finding her, Mike beating her, and the police arresting her. The night had been long.
She opened one eye in time to see Derry poke his head into the room.
“Hi there. What time is it?” Her lips stuck together, and her mouth was dry.
Derry smiled. “Around noon. Feel like eating something?”
“More canned vegetable soup?” She worked to sit up. It was not as painful as yesterday, but was still difficult. Derry stepped in and set a bowl and glass on the nightstand before placing an extra pillow behind her.
“You decided to get dressed?” He reached for the bowl.
“I’m really thirsty. Can I have some water first?”
Derry set the bowl back down and handed her the glass of water. She drank a few sips. “Thanks. I must be feeling better—that smells good.” Sara tried to glance over her shoulder, but her muscles complained loudly.
Derry retrieved the bowl. “How does beef stew sound?” He held it out to her.
“Beef stew? You cooked stew?” He didn’t seem like the domesticated type.
“I’m trying to help you, not kill you. I picked it up at one of those places that make meals for people who don’t have the time to cook—or can’t.”
“So, which are you?” Sara accepted the stew along with a spoon.
“Cooking’s not one of my many talents.”
“But saving damsels in distress is.” She tasted a small spoonful of the stew. It was delicious.
“That’s more of a hobby.”
She eyed him. “So, just how many damsels have you saved?”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. Derry’s face lost its light humor as he shifted his eyes away from her. He became quiet.
What happened? Did I hit a sore spot?
“You going to join me, or do I have to eat alone?” She tried to lighten the heavy mood.
“Sure, I’ll be back in a sec.” He left the room.
Sara looked over at the laptop next to her on the bed. Tapping the touch pad brought the screen to life. The browser showed she had a new email. It was from herself, or so it said. The tag line read: Greetings from Estes Park.
She opened it.
You’re still among the living, but only because I let you live. My boy wanted you dead. Now, you owe me your life. As partial payment, I took your money. Think of it as a first installment. You’re broke and homeless, there’s no place you can hide. Within hours, I’ll have you. At that point, Mike will finish his work.
Levy. How’d he find out about the money?
Kai must have set up a trap on the account. She was the only one working for him, and smart enough.
How stupid of me. Of course, Levy would know I was alive and would continue to look for me. My apartment’s out, along with my friends. Everyone I know owes Levy something, and would never cross him.
Sara jumped when Derry walked in.
“I also got some warm Italian bread. Want some?” A foot-long loaf balanced on top of his bowl of stew.
She closed the lid to the laptop without logging out. She didn’t want Derry to see the email. She’d deal with it later.
“You okay?” He set the bread on the nightstand along with his bowl and a can of Coke.
Calming herself, she looked up. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
The loaf was cut most of the way through. Derry tore off a slice. “Butter?”
“No, thanks. I’ll just dip it in the stew.”
She needed a place to hide. Someplace Levy knew nothing about. Someplace where she would be safe and could make new plans.
She barely listened while Derry continued talking. The answer she was looking for was right here in front of her. Derry. A hasty plan formed in her mind.
Sara gave him a calculated innocent smile, one she’d used in the past on other men. She hoped the bruise on her face wouldn’t negate the effect. He fumbled over his words. His gaze was fastened on her face. Even with the cuts and bruises, she still had the touch.
He stopped in mid-sentence. “What are you smiling about?”
“You seem like such a nice person, but I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”
He lost a little of his smile as he set his empty bowl on the floor. “You’re not taking advantage of me. I brought you here without your permission. Remember? You were kind of passed out.”
Sara lowered her gaze, giving him the lost puppy look. “I know. It’s just I’m putting you in danger. Maybe I should go before something happens to you.”
She didn’t have to wait long for him to come around.
“Do you think those men know where you live?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure.” She stared at her ripped jeans.
Derry rose. “I think you’re better off here. I mean, I know you don’t know me and all, but I did save your life. I can’t let something happen to you now.”
“I don’t know. What if they come after you? Maybe I should leave today.” Setting her bowl aside, Sara made a feeble attempt to get up. As she swung her feet off the bed, Derry rushed to her side. She attempted to stand but fell against him. She put her arms around him. He was more muscular than he looked.
“Thank you. Just give me a minute and I’ll be okay.” She knew what guys liked. She rested her head against his chest.
He didn’t move. He just stood there. She had him and knew it. He was so easy to manipulate.
“You need to sit back down. You’re in no shape to go anywhere.” He lowered her to the bed.
“But—”
“You need to stop worrying about me, and worry about yourself. At least stay until Natalie says you’re doing well enough to be on your own.”
“You’re sure it’s okay?” Too easy.
***
Kai hadn’t seen Levy since early this morning, and she finally had good news for him. She didn’t necessarily want to deliver this news,
but she knew she must. She toiled her way up the stairs to his office.
The door was open. Kai tapped on the frame.
“Enter.”
She stepped just inside the doorway.
“I’m on my way out. I hope you have something positive.” Levy stuffed a small stack of folders into his briefcase.
“Sara read the email I sent.”
He paused with his hand halfway in his briefcase. “So we have her?”
“Soon.”
Pulling his hand out, Levy closed the briefcase. “Soon? You said the moment she read the email we would know where she was.”
“The tracking program was downloaded to whatever computer she’s using, but she turned the computer off before it had time to complete the trace. Next time she goes online, it will send us the full routing list. We’ll be able to find her from that.” Kai tried to keep her gaze on Levy; her dislike for him only grew each time she talked with him.
Levy walked toward the door as his glare bore down on her. “This better work.”
A chill ran the length of her body as he passed.
***
Sara set down her empty bowl as Derry said something about making a place to sleep in his guesthouse.
“You have a guesthouse?”
“Sort of. It’s out back. I’m working on it.” Derry glanced at the window.
Sara followed his gaze.
“You can see it from here.” He stood and opened the blinds.
Sara peered into the backyard. “Where is it?”
Derry pointed. “Right there. I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside’s not too bad.”
Sara stared at the shack. That was the only word for it.
She’d seen better looking shanties in the slums of Mexico. Was he serious?
As Derry left to work on it, she brought her mind back to her real problem. Why would Levy tell her he had her money? It wasn’t like him to give away his plans. She needed to look at the email again. Maybe she missed something. He said he would have her soon. How?
How would I find someone?
I’d use an email tracking program buried deep in the header.
Sara’s heart froze. Did she just give away her hideout? Her gaze slid across the bed to the laptop.
Fatal Transaction (Thriller & Suspense, Cyber Crime) Page 13