Killer Colton Christmas

by Regan Black

  The deputy nodded. “Okay. There’s no one inside, and the place looks undisturbed. But why don’t you both come in and see if you notice anything missing?” The other deputy headed for the car, the radio on his belt squawking to life as he walked.

  Dario and Felicity followed the man inside. He was shocked to find the officer was right—everything looked fine, without so much as a scrap of paper out of place.

  “I don’t understand,” Felicity said as they walked from room to room. “Why would someone break in if they didn’t intend to take anything?”

  The deputy shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe whoever did this wasn’t intending to rob the place—they just broke the glass and wrenched open the door as part of a stupid prank. Or maybe the culprits made it inside and realized they didn’t have time to take anything and still get away.”

  Dario frowned, not buying it. It was the work of a moment to grab a laptop and run. If someone was motivated enough to force their way into the office, he didn’t think they’d be deterred from taking what they wanted once inside.

  Felicity didn’t look convinced, either, but she didn’t argue the point.

  “Is there anything missing?” the man asked.

  “As far as I can tell, no,” she said slowly. “But it’s possible Adeline will notice something when she gets back to work.”

  The deputy scribbled something on his notepad. “That’s fine. Just give us a call if you find something later. We’ll do what we can to find the people who did this, but without witnesses, it’ll be tough. I don’t suppose there are any security cameras set up in the office?” He didn’t sound especially hopeful.

  Felicity shook her head. “No. Just the security system. There might be some cameras on one of the nearby stores monitoring the street.”

  “Okay.” The man made another note, then flipped the little book closed. “Like I said, feel free to call if anything comes up.” He pulled out business cards and passed one each to Felicity and Dario. “We’re here if you need us.”

  “Thank you,” Dario said. Felicity echoed his gratitude. “We appreciate you coming out today.”

  “That’s what we do,” the deputy replied. “Merry Christmas.” He walked out, leaving Dario and Felicity alone in the office.

  She turned to face him, her features twisted in confusion. “Does this seem odd to you?”

  “Yeah.” Together, they walked through the rooms again, their pace slower. But just as before, everything looked normal. The laptops were safely docked in their stations on Adeline’s, Felicity’s and Dario’s desks. The printers hadn’t been moved, and even the contents of the desk drawers were undisturbed. It was as if someone had come inside, looked around and then left without touching anything.

  They stopped in Felicity’s office, and she began to thoroughly search her desk for any evidence of tampering. “What are we going to do about the door?”

  Dario’s chest warmed at her use of the word we. “I have some duct tape in my trunk,” he said. “I’ll tape a few strips onto the glass to stabilize it until we can get it replaced. If you’re okay in here, I’ll take care of that now.”

  Felicity nodded, and Dario stepped out into the cold to retrieve the tape. He found an old bicycle lock in the trunk as well and figured they could slip it through the outer door’s handles to secure the entrance.

  It only took a few minutes to apply the tape to the glass. Dario stepped back and studied the door with a critical eye. The hasty repair wouldn’t last long, but hopefully it would buy them enough time to get it fixed properly.

  That job done, Dario headed back to Felicity’s office. Had she discovered anything missing?

  “How’s it going in here?” he called out, strolling into the room.

  Felicity sat in her desk chair, examining what looked like a piece of fabric. Her posture was normal enough, but the look on her face made Dario tense. “Felicity? What’s wrong?”

  She glanced up, her face so pale he thought she might faint. “I found something,” she said dully. Her hand jerked, and the fabric she held dangling on the tip of a pen fluttered.

  “What is it?” He stepped closer, trying to get a better look.

  “I think it might be a message.” She extended her hand and he realized he was looking at a pink handkerchief. He took it from her, frowning.

  “A message? What makes you say that?”

  “She’s known for her pink handkerchiefs,” Felicity said, her tone stark.

  “She?” Dario repeated. But he needn’t have asked. The answer came to him as soon as the word had left his mouth.

  Livia Colton.

  Chapter 7

  The next morning was cloudy and gray, the perfect complement to Felicity’s mood. She stood in the small break room, staring impatiently at the world’s slowest coffee maker as it sputtered and hissed.

  “Come on,” she muttered. She’d already had one cup this morning, slurping it down as she’d showered and dressed. But it wasn’t enough. She’d barely slept the night before, and her body ached with fatigue.

  When did I get so old? she wondered. Once upon a time, staying up all night would have triggered a few extra yawns the next day, nothing more. Now? She’d be lucky to keep her eyes open past lunch.

  At long last, the coffee finished brewing. Felicity considered taking the whole pot back to her office, but decided the walk to refill her cup would help keep her awake.

  Elixir in hand, she settled into her chair and booted up her computer. There was a message from Adeline, thanking her again for handling the situation yesterday and letting her know workmen would be stopping by today to replace the front doors. Felicity wasn’t sure how her friend had managed to line up repairs so quickly given yesterday’s holiday, but she felt better knowing the office would be made secure again.

  She sighed as she clicked on her next message. The big man himself, Fowler Colton, had written for an update. She shook her head. “Don’t you people talk to each other?” She was in regular contact with Zane; technically, it was Zane’s job to keep the corporate bigwigs in the loop, but maybe Fowler thought he’d go straight to the horse’s mouth this time.

  Felicity leaned back in her chair, debating how much to tell the man. She and Dario had made good progress on the case, and thanks to his investigations on the dark web, they had a few more leads to pursue. She quickly typed up a response, then paused. Should she tell Fowler about the office break-in and their suspicions about Livia?

  She opened her desk drawer and withdrew the plastic bag containing the pink handkerchief, studying it again in the vain hope of finding answers in the folds of the fabric. The LC monogrammed in one corner could have stood for a dozen names, but Felicity knew in her gut this was one of Livia Colton’s handkerchiefs. The only question was, had she dropped it by accident, or had she deliberately left it behind to send a message?

  A chill skittered through her and Felicity shoved the fabric back into her desk drawer. She’d called the sheriff’s office yesterday after finding the pink square, but the deputies who had helped them earlier were busy.

  We’ll come by and pick it up tomorrow afternoon, he’d said. He had sounded unimpressed with her discovery, and Felicity suspected he didn’t consider a handkerchief to be an important piece of evidence, despite Felicity’s suspicions it was connected to Livia Colton.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a perfunctory rap on the door. “You’re here early.” Dario walked into her office, coffee in hand.

  “Couldn’t sleep,” she admitted.

  He nodded. “I had trouble, too.”

  Felicity eyed him up and down, taking in his pressed shirt and clean-shaven cheeks. He looked entirely too polished for a man who hadn’t slept well, and Felicity felt even more rumpled in comparison.

  “I just keep wondering why someone would go to the
trouble of breaking in but then not steal anything,” he continued. “And the handkerchief under your desk—do you think that was an accident?”

  It was the same question she had pondered most of the night. “I don’t know. But I’m beginning to wonder if the whole thing is some kind of message. Maybe Livia or one of her goons is trying to intimidate us, or scare Adeline into dropping the case.”

  “Like a warning?” Dario said. “Back off, or next time we’ll do more than break your door?”

  Felicity nodded. “Exactly.”

  “That makes sense.” He was quiet a moment, then said, “How do you plan to respond?”

  “If you’re asking me if I’m going to stop digging, the answer is no,” Felicity said. “But if you want to walk away, I won’t think less of you. It’s possible the next message will be more...personal, and that’s a risk you didn’t sign up for when you volunteered to help me.”

  Dario straightened and squared his shoulders, as if preparing to do battle. “Do you honestly believe I’d walk away and leave you to deal with this by yourself?”

  “I’m not exactly alone,” she pointed out. “Adeline can help me.”

  “No,” he said flatly. “I’m sticking around. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” He winked, and a tendril of heat unfurled in her chest and spread through her limbs. Even though Felicity was confident she could take care of herself, it was nice to know Dario wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Hello?”

  A new voice sounded from the lobby area, hesitant and a bit uncertain.

  Felicity frowned and glanced at Dario. “Are you expecting anyone?” It was too early to be the deputies come to pick up the handkerchief, and she didn’t have any appointments scheduled for today.

  He shook his head. “Maybe it’s a new client?”

  They walked into the lobby, where they found Thorne Colton eyeing the door with a look of concern, his phone in hand. His face lightened with relief when he saw them.

  “Oh good. I was just about to call Knox and tell him you guys were being robbed or something.”

  “Nothing so exciting,” Felicity said.

  “Someone smashed the glass and wrenched the door open yesterday,” Dario explained.

  “Oh man.” Thorne shook his head. “Did they steal anything?”

  “Not that we’ve noticed,” Felicity said. “But Adeline will get back the day after tomorrow, and she might notice something’s gone.”

  “That’s a crappy thing to have to deal with on Christmas.”

  “Yeah.” Dario nodded in agreement. “It wasn’t the most festive way to spend the afternoon.”

  “Does Knox have any leads?”

  “Not really.” Felicity narrowed her eyes as an idea popped into her head. “But whoever did this left something behind. Would you mind taking a look at it?”

  Thorne gave her a baffled look, but nodded. “Sure. If you think I can help.”

  Felicity quickly walked back to her office and grabbed the handkerchief, then retraced her steps. She held the bag out, trying to give it to Thorne. But he wouldn’t touch it.

  His eyes locked on to the pink handkerchief, and the color drained from his face. “Oh my God,” he whispered hoarsely.

  “Is this Livia’s?” His reaction told her everything she needed to know, but she still had to ask the question.

  He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. He pressed his lips together and nodded. “It’s hers.” Thorne swore softly. “I thought she might be back. She’s like a bad penny, always turning up where she’s not wanted.”

  “What made you think she’s come back to Shadow Creek?” Dario said. “The last I heard, she’d escaped.There’s been rumors about her current location, but nothing concrete.”

  “That’s actually why I came to talk to you both,” Thorne said. “Is there someplace we can sit?”

  “Of course.” Felicity led them back to her office and they all settled into chairs.

  “I don’t have a lot of evidence,” Thorne said. “But after seeing that—” he nodded at the handkerchief Felicity had placed on the desk “—I’m almost certain Livia is in town.”

  He leaned back and ran a hand over his hair. “You both know my sister Jade?” At their nods, he continued. “She’s looking to expand her ranch, and before the holiday she put in an offer on some acres adjacent to her property. She called the Realtor this morning to check on the status of the paperwork, and the Realtor told her the land had already been sold—her offer never made it into the seller’s hands.”

  Felicity frowned. “That’s odd, but hardly reason to suspect Livia is back in Shadow Creek.”

  “No, you don’t understand. The Realtor couldn’t locate any evidence of Jade’s offer. No paperwork, no emails, nothing. The woman remembers reading the messages from Jade before the holiday, but now it’s as if everything has simply disappeared.”

  “Were any of her other files affected?” Felicity asked.

  “No. That’s what’s so strange about it. Only Jade’s communications and paperwork were gone.”

  “That sounds like a targeted hack,” Dario said.

  “That’s kind of what I thought,” Thorne said. “And since Livia hates Jade more than the rest of us, I started to wonder if Livia was targeting her, trying to make things difficult for her as a way of getting some revenge for turning over Livia’s passwords to the FBI all those years ago. Jade’s actions helped them crack the case wide open and allowed them to gather the evidence they needed to prosecute Livia.”

  “Is that possible, though?” Felicity asked. “To wipe out only a certain set of files without leaving any other trace of the hack?”

  “Oh yeah.” Dario sounded so casual about the possibility it made Felicity wonder just how often that kind of thing happened.

  “Let’s say the Realtor’s computer was hacked,” Felicity said. “Do you think the Cohort is responsible?”

  Thorne nodded. “I do. I know you suspect Livia is the leader of the hackers, since they targeted Colton, Incorporated. I think since the cyberattack worked so well, she decided to use that strategy again. But this time, she went after Jade.”

  “Okay.” Felicity nodded, willing to entertain his suspicions. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean Livia is physically around. She could be anywhere that has an internet connection.”

  “That’s what I thought, too,” Thorne said. “Until you showed me her handkerchief.”

  “If it really is hers,” Dario pointed out. “Maybe someone is trying to frame Livia.”

  “I suppose anything is possible,” Thorne said. “But I think Livia is behind it all. The Colton, Inc., hack and Jade’s missing files.” He nodded at the handkerchief. “Have you told Knox you found that?”

  “Yes,” Felicity responded. “The deputies who came to investigate yesterday said they’d be back this afternoon to collect it.”

  Thorne frowned. “I’m going to call Knox, if you don’t mind.”

  “Go ahead.”

  Thorne rose and pulled out his phone, then paced a few steps away to speak to his brother. Dario leaned forward, and Felicity did the same.

  “What do you think?” he asked softly.

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’d like to talk to the Realtor and see if she’ll give us access to her system. If she really was hacked, maybe we can find a digital signature or some trace of the person responsible.”

  “Good idea,” Dario said. “I’ve been studying the method the Cohort used to hack into the Colton, Incorporated, system. If I can look at her computer, I can determine if her system has the same back doors and vulnerabilities to exploit. It won’t be a smoking gun, but it might help advance the case.”

  “We might get lucky,” Felicity said. “If the Cohort really is responsible for s
abotaging Jade’s bid, maybe they made a mistake that will help us catch them.”

  Thorne rejoined them with a sigh. “Knox is sending some deputies over now to pick up the handkerchief,” he said. “He’s also going to increase patrols in this area, and tell everyone to keep an eye out for anyone matching Livia’s description.” He aimed a direct look at Felicity. “I hope you won’t be offended by what I’m about to say, but I think you shouldn’t be in the office alone.”

  Felicity’s first instinct was to roll her eyes, but she resisted the urge. There was no chauvinism in Thorne’s tone or expression; he seemed genuinely worried about her safety.

  To her surprise, Dario came to her defense. “She’s hardly helpless,” he said. “I’m sure the Marines taught her a few things.”

  “I’m sure they did,” Thorne agreed. “But Livia is dangerous. Don’t give her an opportunity to cause more trouble.”

  “We won’t,” Felicity said, touched by his concern. It was sweet of him to care, especially since they didn’t know each other all that well. But from what she’d heard and seen lately, Thorne Colton was one of the good guys.

  Thorne took a pen and the notepad from her desk and scribbled something, then handed the paper back to her. “This is Knox’s personal cell number. If you get so much as a funny feeling, call him right away.”

  “I doubt he’d appreciate that,” Felicity said jokingly, but Thorne’s expression was serious.

  “He won’t mind. Trust me. He’d rather respond to a hundred false alarms than miss the one opportunity to catch Livia.”

  “Thanks.”

  Thorne nodded and let out a quiet sigh. “I’ll let you both get to it, then.”

  Felicity and Dario both stood. “Please tell Jade we’ll be in touch,” she said.

  “I will. And good luck. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

  As Felicity watched the cowboy walk out of her office, she couldn’t help but feel he was right.