Christmas Data Breach

by K. D. Richards

  Mya nodded. “Brian didn’t say what he had to tell me when he called, but of course, I suspected whatever he wanted to say had to do with the lab.”

  Detective Kamal flipped a few pages. “And he got to the park and told you he’d been sharing your research with...” Detective Kamal flipped another page.

  “Irwin Ross. He’s the prior director of the lab.”

  “Right, Mr. Ross. And he devised the first part of the formula that’s now missing.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, the three of you are talking. West has two more operatives milling around.” Detective Kamal gestured vaguely to where James and Tessa stood talking a few feet away. “Suddenly, a motorcycle comes barreling into the park, and the driver shoots, and Mr. Leeds is dead.”

  “That’s what happened,” Gideon said, impatience ringing in his words.

  Mya fought the urge to sigh. They’d been over this already. “I know it sounds strange, Detective, but I’m sure the other witnesses have confirmed it’s the truth.”

  Detective Kamal scratched behind her ear. “Oh, they have, more or less. Everyone saw something slightly different, but that’s to be expected.”

  “So why are we still here?” Gideon nearly growled.

  “Well, Miss Rochon said it. Strange that in the last two days, everyone involved with TriGen Labs has been killed. Everyone except you, Miss Rochon. Any thoughts about that?”

  Maya felt her jaw clench. “Your premise is faulty, Detective. Everyone involved with the lab has not been killed. We have investors, board members—”

  Kamal interrupted. “Yes, but of the lab’s current active employees, you are the only one remaining.”

  “What are you getting at?” Gideon said.

  They all knew exactly what Kamal was hinting at. Whatever was going on clearly had something to do with the research they’d been doing at TriGen. The lab was the only thing Brian and Rebecca had in common. Mya was the last woman standing. She knew that alone made her the prime suspect.

  “I had nothing to do with Rebecca’s or Brian’s deaths, the destruction of my lab or the theft of my research. You said yourself the other witnesses in the park this morning confirmed what Gideon and I have already told you. The man on the bike shot at Gideon and me, as well.”

  The detective’s lips twisted. “You could have hired someone. I can’t help noting how good a shot this man on a bike was when it came to shooting Mr. Leeds, but that he missed both you and Mr. Wright. Fortuitous for you two, wouldn’t you say?” Kamal’s gaze bore into Mya. “As for the call between you and Mr. Leeds, I have only your word that Mr. Leeds set up this meeting today.”

  “You have my word too. I was in the car, and Mya had the phone on speaker.”

  “And I’ve let you look at my recent call log. You can see Brian called me.”

  Kamal cocked an eyebrow. “Yes, but that’s all the log tells me. It doesn’t tell me what was said or who said it. And frankly, Mr. Wright, the word of an ex-husband who acts more like a current husband won’t get Miss Rochon very far.”

  Gideon’s already steely gaze hardened on the detective.

  “I’ve made some inquiries about you and your research,” the detective carried on. “Not everyone believes your formula is the breakthrough you’ve held it out to be.”

  Anxiety knotted Mya’s stomach. The scientific community wasn’t immune to gossip and jealousy. She’d heard the nasty rumors and had ignored them, knowing her research would speak for itself. Apparently, Detective Kamal didn’t feel the same way.

  “In fact, some people think you’re fabricating the whole thing.”

  Mya fisted her gloved hands. “Some people? I thought the police dealt in facts? The fact is that I can prove my formula works, so it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks.”

  One of Detective Kamal’s eyebrows rose. “Only you can’t prove that without the first part of the formula and research, now can you, Miss Rochon?”

  “What are you getting at, Detective?” Gideon growled.

  Detective Kamal ignored Gideon’s question. She pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped the screen three times. “Do you recognize this piece of paper, Miss Rochon?”

  The detective turned the phone around and held it out toward Mya. Gideon leaned into her so he could see, as well.

  The photograph on the screen showed a scrap of paper, one ragged edge torn. Mya didn’t recognize the piece of paper, but she recognized the five numbers scrawled on it.

  She looked up at Gideon, knowing that her face reflected the shock she felt. “Those numbers. That’s the code to open my garage door.”

  Gideon’s jaw tightened.

  Mya swung her gaze to Detective Kamal. The detective tucked the phone back in her pocket, a frown curving her lips. “We found that piece of paper under Rebecca Conway’s body. You want to tell me how she got the code to get into your house?”

  Mya was almost too stunned to speak. “I—I don’t know. I never shared it with her.”

  “Never? Never sent Miss Conway to pick something up from your house? Store something in your garage?”

  “No. Rebecca was the lab’s receptionist. Not my personal assistant, Detective.”

  “What is it you’re trying to say, detective?” Gideon interjected.

  Kamal glared. “We will look into it, but in my experience, the most obvious answer is usually the correct answer.”

  “And what do you see as the most obvious answer in this situation?” Gideon countered.

  Detective Kamal flipped her notebook closed and turned to Mya. “You can see how this looks from my perspective, Miss Rochon. You supposedly find a miracle cure, one that no one has seen and several knowledgeable people believe to be bogus, only to have a significant portion of the research that would prove it stolen, your lab destroyed and both of the people who you work with killed all within forty-eight hours.”

  Mya’s hands went to her hips. “Are you accusing me of something, Detective?”

  Gideon dropped a hand on her shoulder, angling his body so he was slightly in front of her. “We’ve answered all your questions and there’s nothing more we can help you with right now.”

  Detective Kamal’s gaze narrowed until Mya felt as if she was caged, something she had no doubt Kamal would like to see. It was clear the detective thought she was responsible for everything. The lab fire, the theft and Brian’s and Rebecca’s deaths.

  After a long minute, Detective Kamal spoke. “You can go. But don’t go far. I will be seeing you soon, Miss Rochon.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “What the hell happened?” Ryan West’s voice carried through the speakerphone in the center of the conference room table. Although he was still technically on a one-month paternity leave, there was no way they could not brief the head of West Investigations on a murder and the attempted murder of a West client, both of which had occurred in the presence of three West employees. Predictably, Ryan had not been happy to hear about the situation.

  Gideon slid his chair closer to Mya’s. He hadn’t let her out of his sight since leaving the park. The urge to wrap his body around her like a coat of armor was nearly overwhelming. Even now, fear of what could have happened roiled his stomach and sent bile into the back of his throat. He’d been over the events of the morning a hundred times in his head. If Mya had been shot, if he’d lost her out there at that park today... The thought squeezed around his chest like a vise, stealing his breath.

  “How did the shooter know Brian and Mya would be at the park at that time?” James’s voice pulled Gideon’s attention back to the conversation at hand.

  “The shooter must have followed Brian to the park.”

  West’s IT people had done a thorough scan on Mya’s laptop and cell phone looking for bugs and tracking apps and had found nothing. He’d driven Mya to the park in his Tahoe and knew the SUV
wasn’t bugged and that they hadn’t been followed.

  Mya and Leeds’s meeting provided the perfect opportunity to get to both remaining TriGen employees at the same time.

  Gideon glanced at Mya.

  And it had almost worked.

  “It seems clear to me that whatever is going on here has to do with Miss Rochon’s research. Someone wants the people who have worked on that project gone.”

  Gideon studied Mya, concern racing through him when he saw the grayish pallor of her face. She hadn’t said much since leaving the park, and he found he wasn’t as good at reading her as he used to be. Was she worried that her faith in him and West to keep her safe had been misplaced? She’d come close, too damn close, to being shot this morning. And that was on him.

  “The question is why? I mean, obviously, your formula is worth a great deal,” Tessa said, turning to Mya, “but wouldn’t anyone who just miraculously appeared with it be outing themselves as a thief?”

  Mya shook her head slowly. “Not necessarily. Ours isn’t the only lab working on this kind of research. Someone with the right knowledge could use what Irwin and I have already done to recreate the research and formula. It would be nearly impossible to prove they hadn’t come up with it legitimately.”

  “Who else is doing similar research?” Gideon asked.

  Mya gave them the names of two labs, and James made a note. “I’ll get started looking into these labs and their employees.”

  “You should also look at Nobel Pharmaceuticals and Shannon Travers.” Disapproval oozed from Mya’s words.

  A corner of Tessa’s mouth hooked up. “I take it you don’t care for Ms. Travers or Nobel Pharmaceuticals.”

  “Nobel is one of the leading pharma companies in the Northeast. Shannon leads the research and development division.”

  “Not really an answer to my question.” Tessa pointed the pen in her hand at Mya.

  Mya frowned. “We were in the same PhD program and often in competition.”

  Gideon noted that she still hadn’t answered Tessa’s question and he knew that Tessa had noted it, as well.

  “She’s impressive,” James said, reading from the laptop screen in front of him. “Thirty-nine and already the vice president of development at Nobel. I’ve got a couple of glowing articles here about her brilliance and her meteoric rise.”

  “Probably the work of Nobel’s marketing department.” Mya stood and braced her hands against the back of her chair. “Shannon is a viper whose achievements come in part from having flexible ethics and very little shame.” The discussion had put the color back in Mya’s face, alleviating some of Gideon’s immediate concern for her. But it had also raised an obvious question.

  “Do you think her ethics are flexible enough that she’d kill to keep you from getting to a cure before Nobel?”

  Mya cocked her head, a thoughtful expression covering her face. “I know Nobel is also working on a treatment for glioblastoma. From what I’ve heard through the grapevine, they might be pretty close.” The expression on her face darkened. “I hate to say it but Shannon...there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to advance her own interests.”

  “But someone clearly is—” Gideon watched Mya’s eyes widen with alarm. He rose to face her. “What is it?”

  “I just realized that I’m not the only one still alive who worked for TriGen. Irwin.” The fear in Mya’s eyes was searing. “He doesn’t work for TriGen anymore, but he developed the first two parts of the formula.”

  Gideon understood where she was going with the line of thought. “And Leeds admitted he’d been keeping him in the loop since you took over. Ross could be in danger.”

  “Irwin lives off the grid now. His cabin isn’t easy to get to.”

  “You should warn him. Just to be safe.”

  Mya reached under the table for her purse. “I’ll call him now.”

  Gideon watched her grab her phone and retreat to the corner of the conference room to make the call. He was glad she hadn’t stepped out of the room. Even though they were in West’s offices with a dozen of the best trained private investigators and bodyguards in the business, he didn’t want Mya out of his reach.

  James turned to Gideon. “How do you want to handle this?”

  Gideon pulled his gaze from Mya. “Whoever is after this formula has to have the ability to confirm it works or have someone on tap who is able to do so. That makes the list of people Mya gave us our best bet.”

  “I’ve got more information on Rebecca Conway’s background. She looks like your typical struggling early twenty-something—” Tessa’s brow went up “—if you don’t look too closely, which of course I did.”

  Gideon felt his heartbeat speed up. “What did you find?”

  “Rebecca Conway, resident of Sarasota, Florida. She works at Walmart and still lives with her parents.”

  The wrinkles on James’s forehead deepened. “A job at Walmart? Are you sure you have the correct person?”

  Tessa shot a disgruntled look across the table at James.

  “Did you get Ross?” Gideon queried Mya as she sat next to him.

  She shook her head. “It’s not that easy. Irwin doesn’t actually have a phone. I have to call the general store and leave a message for him with the owner. He usually passes on the message when Irwin comes in for supplies, but I stressed that it was important and Phil Gatling, the manager, said he’d drop by Irwin’s cabin on the way home tonight and give him the message.”

  Gideon beat back his irritation at the inefficiency of such a system. “So, it will be tomorrow at least before you hear from Ross.”

  “Hopefully.” Mya smiled wearily. “Irwin is kind of quirky.”

  “You mentioned that before.” Tessa twisted the plastic top off the diet cola she’d carried into the room with her. “What did you mean?”

  “Irwin has had to face a lot in his life. He started medical school in his thirties after he already had a wife and two sons. While he was in school, his oldest son was diagnosed with glioblastoma. There wasn’t much that could be done. Of course, we hadn’t yet met back then, but that was a defining incident for Irwin. I mean, it would be for anyone. I know his marriage fell apart, and he rarely saw his younger son. I think the son developed a drug habit as a teen and served some time in prison. Irwin pretty much dedicated the rest of his life to finding a treatment and cure.”

  “Why did he retire then?” Gideon asked.

  Mya sighed. “It was framed as a retirement, but the investors and the nonprofit that provides the bulk of our funding pushed him out. Irwin was never great with keeping the investors up-to-date and dealing with the glad-handing part of running the lab.” Mya looked down at the table. “He pushed a lot of that stuff off on me.”

  So, at some point, the investors realized they had two geniuses working for them and didn’t need to put up with a mad scientist at the helm. Mya didn’t say as much, but the guilt swimming in her eyes spoke volumes.

  “What do you know about Rebecca Conway?” Gideon asked, changing the subject back to Rebecca.

  Mya looked surprised. “Just what I’ve already told you and what her roommate told both of us yesterday.”

  “Did you do a background check on her before she started working for you?”

  Mya’s chin went up. “Of course. It’s TriGen’s policy. Brian handled her paperwork, but she must have checked out.”

  “Whoever set up the alias did a good job. A standard check wouldn’t have aroused suspicion,” Tessa said.

  James nodded. “That’s probably why Detective Kamal hasn’t mentioned it.”

  “Or she knows and is too focused on Mya to look into it.”

  James’s brow shot up at the note of bitterness in Gideon’s tone.

  West worked with local law enforcement frequently, and the investigators were encouraged to maintain professional relati
onships with the officers they came in contact with despite their sometimes conflicting interests.

  But Gideon couldn’t help it. He not only didn’t like Detective Kamal, but he also didn’t trust her.

  “Regardless, we should let the cops know about Rebecca,” James said.

  Mya leaned forward, her gaze sweeping among the three people at the table. “What a minute. What are you three talking about?”

  “It appears your receptionist wasn’t who she said she was.” Tessa looked pointedly at James. “Most of what pops on her background is actually the history for a twenty-one-year-old Rebecca Conway who lives in Sarasota. I could only confirm the existence of your Rebecca Conway going back eight months or so.”

  “A month before she came to work for TriGen,” Gideon said, not at all liking where this seemed to be heading.

  Mya looked shocked. “That can’t be. Brian said she was a friend of a friend. He knows her.” Mya paused. “Knew her,” she added softly.

  “Do you know how long he’d known Rebecca before she came to work for you?” Tessa queried.

  Mya shook her head. “No. I don’t think I ever asked.”

  “Then he could have been taken in by Rebecca’s ruse too.”

  “Or,” James said pointedly, “we know Leeds was keeping things from Mya. Maybe this is another one of those things.”

  Mya dropped her head into her hands. “None of this makes any sense. It was dishonest of Brian to break confidentiality and talk to Irwin behind my back, but he had no reason to lie about Rebecca.”

  “Like I said, maybe he didn’t,” Tessa offered. “But the quality of the alias suggests Rebecca either was a pro or was working with one.”

  “A pro?” Mya’s face telegraphed her confusion.

  “A professional con artist,” Gideon clarified. “We need to get to the bottom of it. Tessa, keep digging into Rebecca’s background and start looking into Brian. Where did the two connect? Did they have contact outside of work? Do they have any friends, family or acquaintances in common? You know the drill.”