Finely Ground

by Jennifer Templeman

  “Then why take me there to meet them, if you’re worried about them trashing your reputation?”

  “That’s a great question,” he answered, pausing briefly. “I guess I took you because I want to be sure you know the real me and that you understand there’s more to me than a coffee shop or a service record. They’re crazy and they annoy me, and some months I only go to lunch out of obligation, but they’re a part of me. So if we’re going to move forward with whatever this is between us, I felt like you needed to know what you were getting into.”

  “What am I getting into?” Ellie wondered aloud.

  “Now you’ve got a whole new group of people who are going to be after me to treat you right and asking what they can do for you.” He seemed to be teasing, but based on how they behaved at lunch and when they were leaving, Ellie didn’t think it was that far-fetched.

  “I think I can handle that,” she said.

  “Can you?”

  Ellie nodded.

  “Then what can I do for you?” Joe asked.

  Her first reaction was to say nothing, but she wondered if this was some kind of test. He’d allowed her to see something private and personal in meeting his family, and if she shut him out, then it would be disrespecting that glimpse of vulnerability. Finally, she replied, “This is a good first step.” With that, she placed her hand on his chest and found a comfortable spot for her head to rest on his shoulder, taking a deep breath.

  Joe adjusted his arm so he could run his fingers through her hair and then rested his cheek on top of her head.

  “This is a good first step,” he agreed, holding her hand with his.

  ****

  Ellie was making good progress on her morning work when a knock at her door interrupted her train of thought.

  “Do you have a minute?” George asked, holding a stack of paper in his hand.

  “I do now,” she replied, hating it when her concentration was broken when she was going through a file.

  He didn’t hesitate to come in and sit in a guest chair. “I pulled up Mr. Murphy’s travel schedule like you said to last week, and it’s got some holes in it that don’t match up with the cargo thefts.”

  “What do you mean, holes in it?”

  “He was at his office when the one happened in Chicago, and he was in Florida when it went down in Virginia.”

  “His travel schedule gives him an alibi,” Ellie pointed out. “You can’t use him as your chief suspect based on this information.”

  “I know, but that means I’m starting over with nothing,” George complained, slouching back in the chair.

  “How about Pemberton?” Ellie reminded him.

  “What does he have to do with this?” George asked, making Ellie wonder if he even had a future in the Bureau.

  “He wrote the program that Murphy uses to back up the surveillance feeds. Programmers usually have ways of getting back into their system that will circumvent knowing the current password; plus, Murphy ended up taking Pemberton’s wife,” Ellie explained, realizing she hadn’t fully briefed George on all the gossip Janice had shared over dinner at the club.

  George seemed to find this new information energizing as he sat up straighter and smiled. “Should I bring him in for questioning?”

  “Whoa…” Ellie held her hands up. “How about a little digging first on his travel schedule so you don’t end up with the same issue again?”

  “How do I get his travel schedule?” George asked. “I mean, his connection isn’t as clear cut as the security guy from Stop and Go was.”

  “You should go back to RMA and put a little pressure on him. This is the time you’d go in with your badge and ask him for his whereabouts on the day each of the thefts occurred. And ask him about how he supports a former client who gets locked out of software his company has created for them. See if he will disclose any kind of backdoor access he might have to the Stop and Go system.” As Ellie talked, she became more excited and couldn’t figure out why George was deflating once more. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t do that,” he answered, sounding worried. “It’s too many details, and I’m not going to keep them straight and stay pulled together.”

  “You can do this,” Ellie encouraged, knowing if he was going to make a career out of the FBI, he was going to have to figure out how to do it.

  “Can you come with me?” he asked. “I can see how you do it and then learn from you.”

  “I’m not a field agent,” she reminded him. “This is what you do, not me.”

  “But I’m not a good one yet, and I need to close this case so my uncle won’t think he made a mistake recommending me.”

  Great… Now he was piling on guilt. Before she could come up with an appropriate response to his last statement, the sound of Phil’s limp and cane announced his arrival.

  “Don’t you have a desk of your own?” he demanded when he saw George sitting near Ellie’s.

  “Yes, sir,” George answered, looking nervous. “But I came down here to ask for Ellie’s help, and now I’m trying to get her to come with me to interview a suspect.”

  Ellie had never noticed the little vein on the right side of Phil’s forehead until that moment.

  “You are trying to drag one of my agents into the field to do your job?”

  “No, sir, well…yes, sir…sort of,” George stammered.

  “No wonder you need her, if you can’t express yourself any better than that!” Phil nearly yelled. He looked back at Ellie, who hardly knew how to react to her boss’s unusual temper flare-up. His voice softened slightly when he addressed her. “You want to go?”

  “I think I can help him.”

  “Of course you can help him,” Phil agreed. “And Lord knows he needs the help.”

  He looked at her for a minute, seeming to analyze how she was doing. “Give me five minutes to get you an additional detail to follow you out,” he compromised. “Let them secure the building, and then you come straight back here.”

  “Got it,” she answered, surprised he wasn’t putting up more of a fight about her leaving the safety of the basement.

  ****

  After getting the all-clear from her detail, Ellie and George entered the lobby of Risk Management Associates and found it identical to the last time they came. After checking in, it took a few minutes before Pemberton came down to greet them.

  “What do I owe the pleasure of a second visit from the Bureau?” he asked, almost looking pleased to see them as they moved into his office.

  “We need to ask you a few questions,” George announced with more force than an opening statement usually required.

  “Am I a suspect?” His smile faltered a little when he asked the question, which he attempted to hide by picking up the glass on his desk to take a drink.

  Ellie jumped in, not wanting to spook Pemberton before they got the information they needed. “You were so helpful the last time we were here that when we had additional questions, I suggested we come see you to see if you might be as generous with your time as you were previously.”

  Playing into her hand, Pemberton said, “I’m always willing to help.”

  “Do you still write software for your security clients?” Ellie began, hoping he wouldn’t pick up on where she was heading.

  “Not much anymore,” he replied. “It was a key service when I started this business, but to compete now, I’d need a whole team of programmers.”

  “You were a programmer, though, weren’t you?” she asked.

  “I was, but I’m pretty out of date on the current languages and systems,” he evaded.

  “Based on your knowledge, though, if one of your older clients—whom you had helped set up with a surveillance system, for example—had a massive staff turnover and got locked out of their system, could you get them back in it, or would they be forced to find a new vendor to write them a new package?” Ellie asked, leading him a little.

  “It’s possible to get back in and reset the system for
a new user to be the administrator.”

  “Can you have more than one administrator?” Ellie questioned.

  “Yes,” Pemberton agreed quickly. “It’s considered good practice to have a backup so that the company is protected and never at the mercy of one employee.” He laughed before adding, “I’ve had a few clients over the years who insisted on having a single person able to access their footage. In my opinion, the only reason a person would do that is if they need to cover up something.”

  “Like what?” Ellie wondered aloud.

  He shrugged before answering, “Theft, negligence…any kind of wrong doing can be edited out after the fact as though it never happened.”

  “So you would be suspicious of an organization with only their Security Director able to access the recorded history?”

  “Even without meeting them I’d say they’re guilty of something,” Pemberton confirmed. “Maybe they aren’t robbing their customers, but they’ve stolen something at some point to have a conscience that builds in ways to hide their activities.”

  George interrupted, nearly making Ellie jump as his question was so demanding. “Can you get into the server of a company remotely?”

  “Of course.” Pemberton seemed to find their simple questions amusing.

  “Where were you on the night of September seventh?” George asked, effectively ending the laid-back session they’d had so far.

  “I can have my assistant provide you with my full calendar and itinerary,” Pemberton responded flatly. “I travel a lot, so I have no hope of remembering where I was when.”

  Recognizing the shift in the mood, Ellie suggested they take their leave. As they were walking to the door, she turned back to Pemberton to ask, “When you travel, do you usually fly or drive?”

  “It depends,” he admitted casually. “If at all possible, I prefer to drive so that I can stop in on former clients and do needs assessments on the places I pass that I haven’t worked with yet.”

  ****

  When they got back in the car, George was quiet.

  “What’s wrong?” Ellie asked.

  “He wasn’t in the towns hit by the thief on the nights in question either,” George admitted, quickly reading over the calendar Pemberton’s assistant provided.

  “Was he out of the office on each of the nights?”

  “It looks like it.” George read further. “When the heist happened in Ohio, he was in Pennsylvania the day before.”

  “You need to go back and see if it’s conceivable that he could have driven to each of the cargo-loss sites based on where he was on that calendar,” she advised. “Given that he drives most of the time, I’d think what you shared doesn’t in any way remove him from the list of suspects.”

  As she spoke, George seemed to perk up, and by the time they were back to the Bureau, he rushed in without so much as a good-bye. Ellie took her time walking back in, wishing she could put her finger on why she felt like Pemberton was dirty. He had been completely cooperative with their investigation, even answering questions that seemed absurd or unusual for a fact-finding mission. Despite a few nerves showing in their meeting today, she still felt like he was hiding something.

  Not knowing where else to begin, she went back to her office, opened up a search engine, and typed in the name John Pemberton. After sorting through the first few pages of telephone directories, social-networking pages, and background-check advertisements, she found an interesting history page. According to the Internet, the man responsible for inventing the formula marketed as Coca-Cola was one John S. Pemberton.

  Ellie had stopped believing in coincidences long ago. The video that had been tampered with had a Coke bottle in it and the current logo from the company. Every time she went to his office, he was drinking a dark beverage, and he had the skill and ability to still access the security footage through his program at Stop and Go. As far as Ellie was concerned, Pemberton was the one who, at a minimum, was covering up the crime, but she had a hunch he was the one organizing it as well. The only question that remained was why?

  Chapter 19

  The next morning, Phil arrived earlier than usual. They were going over some file questions from her more routine cases when Miller came and made himself at home in her remaining guest chair.

  Phil turned to question the man in the stiff black suit. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

  “Do I need a reason?” Miller didn’t seem to be irritated by Phil’s direct question.

  “No, but I know you usually have one, so we may as well stop what we’re doing to hear you out, or you won’t leave us alone.”

  Miller leaned forward as Phil spoke, giving Ellie the impression he appreciated the way Phil described him. “I actually came down for social reasons.”

  Phil started tapping his black cane, which had little devils holding pitchforks on it. “You been going to charm school and trying to brush up on your manners and social interactions?”

  Miller laughed out loud and then leaned back like he was enjoying the moment. “No, but I saw Agent Michaels’ case notes on my nephew’s most recent case. That was good work, and since I was the one who asked her to get involved, I thought it was only appropriate for me to come down and thank her for leading George to his first arrest.”

  “He’s already closed the case?” Ellie asked, curious how George explained Pemberton’s motive.

  “No, but I agree with your assumption that this Coke guy is guilty, so it’s just a matter of bringing him in and hearing his story to close the missing details,” Miller said, seeming to discount her question. “We should have him in custody today, and that will end it.”

  Ellie didn’t necessarily agree with Miller’s confidence but didn’t think she could disagree with him either. “I’m glad I could be of help.”

  As she spoke, Phil stopped banging his cane on the floor, making Ellie wonder if he liked her comment or was surprised by it.

  Miller stood and buttoned his jacket with one hand. It was accomplished so smoothly that Ellie wondered how many times he performed that move each day. “You seemed to make a good partner for George. If you decide you want a view, I’m happy to move some things around to accommodate that.”

  “Get out of my agent’s office before I use this stick as more than a walking aid,” Phil threatened.

  “There’s no reason to raise your voice,” Miller replied coolly. “You’re getting crankier by the day; no one would blame her for wanting to get out of here.”

  Ellie decided to intervene before that vein on Phil’s forehead became any more pronounced. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m pretty happy down here.”

  Miller tilted his head like a puppy trying to understand the words being spoken to him. He finally shrugged, as though there was no sense to be made out of her comment, and then nodded at Phil as he walked out of her office.

  “I told you I wouldn’t get in your way if you wanted to get back out more, but that doesn’t mean he can come down here and snatch you,” Phil grumbled.

  “I’m not interested in the offer,” Ellie reminded him, “but he’s right about you getting crankier.”

  A smile almost appeared on Phil’s face before he took control again and replied, “Maybe it’s because keeping you in line is getting harder.”

  ****

  When Ellie pulled into the parking lot of Mocha Joe’s, she noticed the tractor trailer in the back unloading stock into the store. She walked to the back and called out.

  The same driver from the last time came around the corner and smiled when he recognized Ellie. “You got more trucking questions?”

  “No, Ed, you answered them all the last time I saw you,” she assured him. “But I did want to let you know that we’ve figured out who was committing the cargo thefts.”

  “Oh, man, that’s great news.” He seemed genuinely pleased. “I’d been thinking about it since I met you, and it’s not right that the truckers were probably getting punished for something that wasn’t their fault. I m
ean, if they got hit at a place like Stop and Go and they followed the posted rules, then that company has a small payout the driver can get since the truck stop didn’t keep the parking lot secure, but if they parked anywhere else, then they were screwed.”

  “Wait a minute,” Ellie stopped him. “Stop and Go pays drivers if their cargo is stolen?”

  “It’s not a lot, and you have to fill out paperwork, but it sets them above the other stops out there that don’t give you anything other than a hard time. It’s something their head of security put in place when he first started there a few years back. He said the only way they could ask people to trust their security was if they guaranteed it and put money behind it,” Ed explained, causing a little more motive to fall into place for why Pemberton might have orchestrated the thefts. “Thanks for putting an end to this.”

  “My pleasure,” Ellie replied, moving back to the front of the store while trying to dig her phone from her purse. It hit her once she had it in her hand that she didn’t have George’s number to call him. So she dialed a number she did know in the hope it could be helpful.

  “Agent Phillips,” her neighbor answered in his direct, full-on Bureau voice.

  “Hey, it’s Ellie,” she said. “Are you still at the office?”

  “Never had you pegged for the high-maintenance type to keep constant tabs on me,” he teased, losing all the professionalism he’d answered the phone with.

  “Don’t you get whiplash from the constant personality changes you put on through the day?” Ellie asked, struggling to stay serious when he teased her.

  Phillips grunted, sounding amused. “I’m still here, but I was about to head out,” he replied. “You need something?”

  “I need to get in touch with George.”

  “Little Miller?” Phillips clarified.

  “That’s the one,” she answered. “I’ve got some more information that might prove helpful. I’m not sure how we both missed it.”