Christmas Data Breach

by K. D. Richards

  Mya studied his face with a frown on her own. “You still don’t believe Shannon is behind this?”

  “I follow the evidence, and right now, we don’t have enough to say definitively who is, or isn’t, behind the attacks.”

  He knew she didn’t understand why he wasn’t as willing to commit to one theory just yet. It was looking more and more likely that Shannon Travers had something to do with the events surrounding Mya in the last several days. But he knew how dangerous jumping to conclusions could be. He wasn’t willing to take that chance when Mya’s safety was at risk.

  Frustration radiated from Mya. They spent the rest of the trip in near silence. When she spoke to him again, it was to give directions to Ross’s cabin. His GPS was top-of-the-line, but the old mountain road wasn’t always marked, and a light snow had started falling as they drove.

  “Slow down. You’re coming up on the driveway.”

  Gideon tapped the breaks and squinted out the front windshield. Mya pointed to the right. It took him a moment to see the dirt path that opened off the main drag. If Mya hadn’t been pointing her finger at it, he would have missed it altogether.

  He made the right turn and eased the car down a road that was only slightly wider than a footpath. West would pay a fee for the scratches being made on the side of the car by the overgrown trees and brush. The sedan bounced the two hundred yards down the dirt-packed road through woods before the trees gave way to a clearing. An unremarkable wood cabin sat at its center.

  A man Gideon recognized as Irwin Ross from the file West had compiled stepped out onto the porch as they pulled up. Ross looked more like a lumberjack than a brilliant scientist.

  Mya exited the car the moment Gideon shifted into Park and bounded into the man’s arms. He moved more deliberately, sizing up the man in front of him. Ross was tall and muscled, no doubt from working the land around the cabin, but obviously well into his senior discount years. His long gray hair was pulled back in a braid. As Ross descended the stairs, Gideon noticed a limp and wondered whether the older man had gotten it before or after he’d moved to his cabin hideaway. Ross caught Gideon’s eye, the cautiousness in them letting Gideon know Ross knew he was being sized up and that he was doing some sizing of his own.

  When Gideon got close enough, Ross extended his hand. “Irwin Ross.”

  Gideon took Ross’s outstretched hand. “Gideon Wright.”

  “Y’all come on in. I’ve made us lunch,” Ross said, turning for the cabin.

  Mya’s laugh bounced off the trees. “Y’all? I think West Virginia is rubbing off on you?”

  Ross grinned. “When in Rome, as they say.”

  Ross hooked his arm around Mya’s shoulders and pulled her into his side like a father welcoming home his progeny. Ross turned Mya toward the front of the house, and the two climbed the steps to the house, leaving Gideon to trail behind.

  The inside of the cabin was just as sparse as the outside. A dark-colored couch and a single end table faced a television that had to be at least a decade old. The living room opened onto a kitchen so small, the three of them wouldn’t have fit in it at the same time.

  “Come on in. Have a seat.” Ross waved them toward the square pine dining table he’d set up in the small amount of floor space between the couch and the kitchen. “I made a stew. Figured with all the traveling, you’d need something that sticks to your ribs.”

  Ross filled two bowls with stew and set them onto the table with thick slices of bread he’d baked himself. He’d eaten his lunch while he was waiting for them to arrive, but he joined them at the table and nursed a cup of coffee.

  Mya had given Ross a quick summary of the fire at the lab and told him about Rebecca’s murder when they’d spoken on the phone, but as they ate, she filled in the details and described the attack at the hotel.

  “And you have no idea who the man was who shot at you?” Irwin said.

  “West was able to get a traffic cam photo, but it was too grainy to identify him,” Mya said.

  “The hotel attacker was the same height and build as the motorcycle driver, so it’s a safe assumption it’s the same guy,” Gideon said.

  “Good. Good. That should make it easier for the police to find him,” Irwin said.

  Mya shared a look with Gideon. “We didn’t tell the sheriff about the earlier attacks.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Because we didn’t want to get stuck answering questions for days. I needed to get to you and get whatever parts of my research Brian shared with you.”

  “Yes, about that. I’m sure you’re upset with me for going behind your back.”

  “Irwin, we don’t have to—”

  “Yes, yes, we do. I turned over the lab to you because I knew you’d do what I hadn’t been able to do. Find a cure for the horrible disease that took my son. And you did, a thing for which I will forever be grateful.” Irwin reached across the table and took both her hands in his. “I want you to know that I always believed in you. My checking up on you, chalk it up to a lonely old man, reliving his glory days.”

  Mya gave her mentor’s boney hands a squeeze. “Your research is the foundation of the treatment. If it hadn’t been for everything you taught me and all the work you put in before we even met, there’s no way I’d have found a successful formula.”

  “That’s kind of you to say, but you’d have figured it out. That brain of yours wouldn’t quit until it did.” Irwin slid his hands from hers and slapped them down on the table. “Now enough patting ourselves on the back. You’ll want to see those notes.”

  Irwin stood.

  Gideon did the same. “I have a few calls I need to make.”

  “Well, then you’ll need to go down the mountain to Phil’s store. No cell phone tower reaches way up here, but Phil will let you use his Wi-Fi connection.”

  Gideon frowned. He was sure they hadn’t been followed. Not only had he been on guard the entire time since picking up the rental car, but there was no way anyone could have followed them up the mountain or down Irwin’s drive without being seen. Still, he didn’t like the idea of leaving Mya alone. He doubted whoever was out there planned to give up, and even without a tracker on their car, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out where they were headed. It might take whoever was after them some time, but they’d eventually discover Ross’s location. He’d need to address the issue with Ross before leaving. It was probably not safe for him to stay in this isolated cabin, at least not until they’d proved Mya’s treatment was a success.

  Mya rose and came to stand by his side, placing a hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine. Irwin and I are going to be talking shop for a while.”

  Irwin chucked. “Don’t worry, son. The only way to this cabin is by going past the general store. If you’re down there, you’ll be the first to know about anyone heading this way.” Irwin pulled open one of the kitchen drawers and took out a revolver. “And if they should get past you, I know how to use this bad boy.”

  Gideon still wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t have a choice. He needed to check in with James and make sure Kamal hadn’t somehow secured a warrant for Mya’s arrest.

  “Go. The sooner you make your calls, the sooner you’ll get back here.” She gave Gideon a little push toward the door.

  He headed back down the mountain, the snow still falling lightly, a clutch of nerves twisting his stomach. He needed to check with James, and it wouldn’t take him long, but leaving Mya... They’d been apart for twelve years, but in less than a week, he’d grown so he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. And not just because of everything that was happening at the moment.

  His argument with Mya may have been ill-timed, but she was right. He was a coward when it came to their relationship. He’d told himself that he was being mature, letting Mya go so she could achieve her dreams, but he’d allowed his insecurities and fears to ruin the relations
hip he’d valued most in the world. But now, she was offering him a second chance. He would not make the same mistakes again.

  Twenty minutes after leaving Irwin’s cabin, Gideon pulled the sedan to a stop in front of a rundown building that was little more than a shack. He tried making his call from the car, but there was still no signal.

  He got out of the car and went into the store.

  A grizzled bear of a man looked up from the magazine he’d been reading behind the counter. “Can I help you with anything?”

  “I just wanted to make a call.” Gideon held up his cell phone.

  The clerk squinted at him. “You visiting Irwin?”

  Gideon’s instincts went on alert. “Yes.”

  The man nodded. “Figured. We don’t get strangers up here that much, but since Irwin used to be one of you fancy people...”

  Gideon wouldn’t have described himself as a fancy person, but everyone was entitled to their own opinion. “Irwin said I could get phone service in the store.”

  “Yep. Have to use the Wi-Fi, though.” The man tapped a piece of paper taped to the side of the cash register. “Password’s right here.”

  Gideon didn’t care much for using other people’s Wi-Fi connections. May as well just give them any personal information from the phone, but since he didn’t keep personal information on his phone and had little choice at the moment, he logged on to the store’s network.

  Phil busied himself with arranging items at the far end of the checkout counter, but the tilt of his head made it clear he was listening to his only customer’s conversation.

  “Where are you right now?” James bellowed the moment the phone call connected.

  “I’m at the general store near Ross’s cabin. What’s going on?” Gideon’s pulse picked up the pace. “Did Kamal get the warrant for Mya’s arrest?”

  Phil’s eyes widened, and any pretense at not eavesdropping fell away.

  “Is Mya with you?”

  The urgency in James’s voice sent Gideon’s stomach into freefall. “No. I left her at Irwin Ross’s cabin. What the hell is going on, James?” He paced the store wishing there was better cellphone coverage in the mountains.

  “IT cleaned up the photo of the motorcycle and ran it through facial recognition detectors. We got a hit on the name Adam Ross.”

  “Adam Ross?” Gideon said.

  “Irwin Ross’s younger son. I looked up that tattoo you sent. It’s a prison tattoo, though lucky for us, not a very common one. It’s found in prisons in Kentucky and northern West Virginia.” Papers rustled on the other end of the phone. “I remembered Mya mentioning that Irwin had two sons. The older son’s death spurred Ross’s research. Adam has been in and out of prison on drug related charges for the last fifteen years.”

  “I take it he’s currently out.”

  “Earlier this year. Served every bit of his last prison sentence too. No time off for good behavior. Cops suspect him of killing a man while he was inside, but you know how that goes. No one wanted to testify.”

  Gideon ended the call and sprinted to the car. The snow had begun to come down heavier, but Gideon pressed the car to move as fast as he dared, but he wasn’t familiar with the curvy mountain roads. The last thing he needed was to drive off into a ditch or over the side of the mountain.

  If James was right and Adam Ross was behind all this, he didn’t do it on his own. Adam wouldn’t have known that Mya had found a cure. Irwin must have told his son and explained what it could mean for them both.

  With Mya, Brian and Rebecca out of the way, Irwin could step in, either under the pretext of reconstructing Mya’s research or simply claiming that he’d never stopped working on finding a solution and had finally been successful. Everyone who could prove that the work wasn’t his would be dead.

  “Any idea where Adam is now?” Gideon asked.

  “No, but I have notified the sheriff up there. Their offices aren’t close to where you are. It will take them at least an hour to get to you.”

  Mya didn’t have an hour. Irwin was smart. He had seen his chance to get Mya alone and had taken it. It would be a lot easier for Adam and Irwin to deal with him and Mya separately.

  If Adam wasn’t living with Irwin in the cabin, he was probably somewhere nearby. Since Irwin and Adam hadn’t been able to take him and Mya out before they’d arrived at the cabin, they’d have determined that they’d have to do it there and make some excuse for their disappearance.

  Mya could already be...

  He turned a curve and saw the opening for Irwin’s driveway.

  “Hang on, Mya, baby. Just hang on for me a little while longer.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Mya flipped through one of Irwin’s old research notebooks. They’d cleared the table of lunch, and Irwin had carried a box containing several years’ worth of his old research notes from his spare bedroom. Her laptop was on the table, the research from her flash drive open on its screen.

  Irwin had never been one for computers. When she’d worked under him at the lab, one of her responsibilities had been to input all the information he scratched into his notebooks that day into the system. Thankfully, she was used to his cramped writing and barely decipherable notes in the margins of the pages. Between his notebook, her research notes Brian had sent to him, and the research she had on the flash drive, Mya was sure she could reconstruct the treatment and show it was viable.

  “Irwin, this is wonderful. It’s just what I need.” She leaned over and threw her arms around him, giving him a quick hug before turning back to the notebook in front of her.

  Irwin chuckled. “I’m glad I could be of help.” He cleared his throat. “So, you’re back with your ex?”

  Mya stopped flipping and looked up at her old mentor. In all the years they’d worked together, they’d never talked too much about their private lives. He knew she’d been married, and she knew how the death of his elder son had gutted him and that he blamed himself for his younger son having turned to a life of crime. It had taken years for them to share that much information, and it had come out only in drips and drabs. This was the first direct question about her personal life she could ever remember Irwin asking.

  “Well, I wouldn’t say we’re together. I mean, physically we are here at your cabin together, but not together, together, you know what I mean.” She felt like a teenager again, explaining to her mom that Jeffery Jordan wasn’t really her boyfriend. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

  Irwin’s laughter filled the small space. “I have no idea what you mean, actually. The man has driven you over three or four states to get information he doesn’t understand. Trust me, you two are together, whether you know it or not.”

  Mya didn’t know what to say to that. “Um...well, do you mind if I...” She pointed toward the hall, hoping he’d get her meaning.

  “Sure. It’s the second door on the left.”

  Mya escaped to the small bathroom. She didn’t know what she and Gideon were to each other. She’d meant every word she’d said, but if they gave their relationship another chance, she knew they had a long road ahead of them if they wanted it to last this time. And she did. She really wanted their relationship to go the long haul this time. But that definitely seemed like something she should share with Gideon before she shared it with anyone else.

  Mya washed up and exited the bathroom. From the hallway, she could see that Irwin’s chair at the table was empty. Her eyes went to the door’s spare bedroom.

  He had mentioned a second box of notebooks.

  She should grab the box while she was here.

  Irwin’s spare room had always doubled as storage, but it seemed as if he’d collected a few more things since the last time she’d visited. Despite the cramped nature of the room, all the boxes inside were stacked neatly, with their contents written in black marker across the side of the
box.

  She found the second box of notebooks and turned to leave the room. Her gaze fell on a photograph on top of the dresser. A thirty-years-younger Irwin, his arms slung over the shoulders of two young boys standing on either side of him. One of the boys was a carbon copy of Irwin. The other looked more like the woman standing a little apart from the males in the photo—Irwin’s late wife.

  Mya peered at the photo, a small gasp escaping her lips when the image of the second boy merged with a much more recent image in her mind.

  The man who’d attacked her and Gideon at the motel and in the woods. The same man who’d shot Brian and kidnapped her the night the lab caught fire.

  Irwin’s younger son, Adam; his name came to her now that she was staring at his picture.

  The box she’d been holding fell onto the scratched hardwood floor with a thump.

  Mya’s mind whirred with questions. The most pressing of which was what to do now?

  Should she go back out there and pretend all was well until Gideon returned? Could she pull that off? Or would it be safer to lock herself in a room or even try to run?

  She was sure Adam was the man who had attacked her several times now, but she had no proof that Irwin was involved at all.

  As if drawn there by some unseen force, her gaze landed on a rectangular black box on the floor in the corner of the room.

  Her server.

  Her body froze, but every brain cell in her head fired simultaneously. What was her server doing in Irwin’s cabin?

  There’s something else I need to tell you...

  The last words Brian had said to her before he’d been gunned down in the park.

  And then she knew, without any doubt, what Brian had figured out.

  Irwin was behind everything.

  “I wish you hadn’t come in here.”

  Mya whirled around.

  Irwin stood in the doorway, holding the gun from his kitchen drawer.