by Dale Mayer
Her eyebrows rose at that. “She’s one I was working on. I had made some tweaks, which is why losing her costs me time and effort. Can I recreate them on my other prototype back home? Yes. So you’re concerned about the espionage aspect?”
“It could very well be the reason behind your friend’s death.”
“I think it is actually.”
She glanced at Sandra, who stood and gave her a hug. “I’ll return later.”
Bristol looked back at the men. “Colleen and I both received propositions, shall we say. Offers of a good sum of money to look the other way on a project we were involved in over a year ago.”
She held up her hand to stop the questions already forming on the men’s mouths. “Neither of us took it seriously. However, it was a reminder that the work we do is always coveted by others. I don’t say this from an egotistical perspective, but I’m at the top of my field. When a designer speaks, other people sit up and listen. That’s one of the reasons why I refused to let the company have a blanket arrangement where they get all my inventions. I’m always working on new products.”
“Okay, but that still doesn’t answer the question.”
She shook her head. “No, of course it doesn’t. Because the answer is that, although Bertha was unique, she wasn’t 100 percent so, but the modifications I made since I left the lab are, indeed, special for this model.”
“How many people knew you were bringing Bertha?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t even know I was bringing her until just before I left. So only those who saw Bertha here knew.”
“Why did you?” Mason asked.
She stared at him, the corner of her lips turned down. “I have a contract that is really ugly. The problem with people who expect genius without understanding what goes into creating it is that they have a deadline, and it’s a hard one for them. One thirty-day extension, but no others without severe penalties. It doesn’t allow for problems, troubleshooting, thinking time, or figuring out answers. And when I run into some problem, it takes time to fix it.” She shook her head. “This setback will be the financial end of my company.”
As the three talked, an interruption came at the tent opening. Two MPs stepped inside. They nodded to Mason and Devlin, then turned to Bristol. “Ma’am, if you would come with us, please.”
She stood up slowly, frowning even more. “Of course. Can you tell me what this is about?”
“It’s part of the investigation, ma’am.”
She turned to look at Mason, an eye on Devlin also. “Why is it that I don’t like the sound of this?”
Mason smiled reassuringly at her. “Go. We’ll keep digging ourselves.”
She tried to look reassured, but she glanced again at Devlin, wondering if he’d come with her this time. Then she straightened her shoulders and realized she needed to just face this, whatever this was. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and there shouldn’t be any reason to feel like she had.
She reached for her purse and walked confidently toward the two men. Devlin caught her arm as she went past. He bent down and whispered in her ear, “Do you have a lawyer?”
She gave him a horrified look. “Are you telling me that I need one?”
He glanced at the MPs. “Does she need legal representation at this time?”
The two MPs looked at each other, at her, then at Devlin. “Not at this time.”
“Not sure I like the hesitation in that answer.” He glanced at Mason. “I’m going with her.”
Mason nodded. “You do that. I’ll phone Tesla, see what kind of resources we can dredge up to help.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Bristol protested. “It’s my research material that’s been stolen, and my friend who’s been murdered.”
One of the MPs said, “The company is suggesting otherwise.”
She froze. “ENFAQ? Really?” She fell silent, figuring it out. She shook her head. “No way. I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, but I would never do anything to hurt Colleen or to jeopardize my work.”
The second MP opened the tent flap. “Ma’am.”
She nodded, glanced at Devlin and whispered, “Would you mind?”
He reached down and grasped her hand. “I won’t let you go alone into this unknown.” He shot the two MPs a cool look and followed her from the tent.
*
Too bad he didn’t know any lawyers. He had a modicum of legal knowledge, enough to get anybody in trouble. That was not where his focus had been. Law held a fascination for him, but he’d always be cheering for the underdog. And although he really liked Bristol and truly believed she was innocent in all this mess, he’d been fooled before by liars and cheats. Some people were so damned good it was impossible to tell, until they were caught in a lie. He just couldn’t accept Bristol might be one of those people.
Something odd was going on here, and Mason and his connections would get to the bottom of it damn fast. The trouble was, Devlin had no right to do so. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t stand by her and see what information came out of this meeting. As he entered the room behind her, he heard the murmur of conversation. His presence was unexpected. Too damn bad. She was entitled to have support.
Bristol stood tall and straight in the center of the tent. She was not offered a chair. Not a good indication.
“I believe you gentlemen have some further questions for me?”
Several MPs sat at the table on the far left side with Bristol in the middle of the room. Others stood to the right, watching the proceedings, almost like a trial. Devlin had no problem taking two steps to stand at her side. The man in the middle seat looked up at her, his gaze hard and cold.
“There’s been some discrepancy between your statement and that of someone else.”
“And whose is that?”
“We’re not at liberty to say.”
“And yet I’m being judged and not allowed to face my accuser?” She kept her voice cool. “Gentlemen, I have not lied in any way, shape, or form.”
“And yet you led us to believe all was well at your company.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “At my company it is. If you’re asking about at ENFAQ Ltd., that’s a different story. You never asked me about the atmosphere or the relationship between me and that company. So I’m not sure where you assume that answer is from my lips.”
The middle MP lifted a sheet of paper. “It says here you were, indeed, asked that question, and you said you were perfectly happy at the company, and, as far as you knew, there were no problems in terms of working relationships there.”
She held out her hand. “I’d like to see that please.”
He handed her the statement.
She looked at it, then snorted. “Are you telling me that you can’t see this is a different handwriting from up above? My signature on the bottom, when I wrote that, did not have that paragraph included. And besides, I would’ve been happy to tell you what the working atmosphere was like between me and the company. And it’s … tense.” She stepped back and crossed her arms.
The MP looked over the sheet of paper and said, “That’s a serious charge, to say somebody altered your statement.”
“I don’t care how serious a charge you think it is. That statement was added after my signature.” She glared at him. “Therefore, anything you say or do at this point will be suspicious, and as such, you have a problem on your side of the bench.”
The men seated at the table put their heads together.
“I’d like to face my accuser myself.” She turned her gaze, zooming deliberately to a man standing on the right side. “Brent, could you please answer that?”
The man Devlin had met earlier straightened and glared at her. “Answer what? You’re the one being interrogated.”
Her eyebrows matched her lips in a sneer. “And how is it that I’m being interrogated? My friend was murdered. My research was stolen. Did they look at you for that?”
He cast a look around in shock. “How could you
possibly blame me?”
“And yet you apparently have no trouble blaming me.”
“I didn’t. I just said they should look at you a little closer.”
“Which is blaming me.” She turned back to the three men watching the conversation avidly. “What you need to understand is that the research was mine. I’m under contract to the company, but I own that particular project until it’s completed and handed over. He essentially owns it upon completion. It is not completed.”
“But it should’ve been,” Brent said in frustration. “You’re behind schedule.”
She snapped, “Yes, but I still have ten days left on the extension. Ten days. That’s it. And why is it that I’m behind? Because you didn’t supply the help you promised and indeed, are contracted to, nor the materials you were also contracted to.” She stood in the middle of the room and tapped her foot on the floor. “To tell them to examine my motives for losing my own research is just too unbelievable.”
“Well, as it’s insured, and if you’ve lost it, there would be a huge payout, it makes sense.”
“If my software doesn’t work, my name and reputation go down the drain.” Her glare deepened. “And, of course, if I don’t make my deadlines—”
“Which you’re not.”
“With a thirty-day override still counting down, of which I have ten days left,” she added in a hard tone. “Then I owe you a percentage of the contract for every day I’m late. But it’s not to that point yet, as I still have ten days to complete it.” She snorted and waved her hand. “However, my research is missing, my assistant has been murdered, and I am in real trouble of meeting my deadline. That means I’ll pay a hefty penalty, even though I did all the work.” She took a deep breath. “So in what way in hell would murdering Colleen, my friend and assistant, and losing my research help me?” She lowered her voice to a lethal softness and added, “If anyone here benefits from this nightmare, it’s you.”
Nothing but silence ensued.
Devlin watched the two of them with a great deal of interest. He dragged his gaze away and studied all the other men in the room. She’d made a very valid point. What she’d lost would cost her both financially, not to mention the loss of her reputation, and she’d incurred an emotional loss too, with the death of her friend.
As he gazed around the room, he caught a sudden understanding on one’s expression, an agreement in the face of another, and disapproval in one, likely somebody who didn’t think a woman should hold that type of research hostage. But then again, if she’d been a man, he probably wouldn’t have any trouble with that scenario.
The session didn’t last long after that. The MPs had a couple more questions, which she answered easily. The man Devlin kept his eye on said absolutely nothing. Devlin didn’t know Brent, but would damn sure find out who he was.
By the time the MPs said she could leave, Devlin had the man’s face memorized. He pulled out his cell, casually turned to face her and snapped a picture of the three men standing on the right. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and escorted her from the room.
He didn’t want any of the others to see her legs were shaking. She’d withstood the questioning quite well. And had answered with just enough bravado to hide her anger. And the hurt. Her fiery fury was draining; all she could do was to keep going. He led her straight back to her quarters.
Sandra wasn’t back yet. At her bed, Bristol collapsed and buried her hands in her face. “Oh, my God! What will I do?”
He realized the question was rhetorical, and he had absolutely no answer. She was about to lose everything.
Chapter 5
The tremors racked through her system. It was all she could do to not bawl. In a way she was glad Devlin was here. His presence enabled her to have a modicum of control. She couldn’t remember another time in her life when she’d been at the edge quite like this. And she wanted to crawl away and hide. But there was no hiding from this.
And still there was Colleen. Beautiful, friendly, outgoing Colleen. Not only was Colleen a friend, she was also her assistant. And she’d been instrumental in getting Bristol’s timeline together. What would she do now?
She had Sandra on loan for the training session, as she’d worked with her several times before, but that wasn’t the same thing as having Collen. Not that Sandra wasn’t good, but she didn’t have the same drive or meticulous attention to detail that Colleen had. And, of course, Sandra worked for Brent. Sandra was young. She hadn’t yet matured into understanding how important every aspect of the job was. She was still about having a good time, not necessarily a long one.
Bristol shook her head; she was lost. “I need to get home as soon as possible.”
“When is your flight booked?”
“Tomorrow at noon,” she said. She shifted so she could lie down on the bed and allow her trembling limbs to relax. She knew it would be a good thirty to sixty minutes before the tension vibrating up and down her back would ease. “But I can’t wait. Not after today. I’ve lost too much—my prototype, special parts, more time, … Colleen.” She turned her distraught gaze to him. “Yet, if I leave early, they’ll say I look guilty, won’t they?”
He frowned. “I wouldn’t worry about what they say. You have a job, contract, and a deadline. And a huge mess on your hands. You have to handle all that, and you need to pull it together.” He reached out and grasped her hand in his. “You want me to see if I can get your flight changed?”
“I don’t think they’ll let you,” she said. “It was a military flight arranged by the company.”
“Did you ever consider that, because you didn’t want to come, maybe the company actually had something to do with the theft?”
Her eyes flew open wide, and she studied Devlin in confusion. “But how would that help them? If I don’t supply the drones actively working, then I’m in breach of my contract, and they don’t get their product.”
“I wondered about that too.” He settled back, pulled up one leg and ran his hands around it as he thought. “Any chance he had somebody else on the hook for these drones? Maybe someone ENFAQ has invested in? If they can get rid of you—and even better, completely trash your reputation at the same time—then the new company could jump in, grab the contract, and this person—yes, maybe that’s Brent—gets a big chunk of money.”
She sat up slowly and stared at him in horror. “I don’t like the way your mind works,” she whispered. “That would be just too…”
“Realistic?” He shot her a sideways glance. “In my line of work I see some of the worst things people can do to each other almost every day of the year. Nothing surprises me. But power, love, money, and sex are the rulers of almost everyone’s actions.” Devlin waved at the open tent flap. “No love is lost between you and Brent. As you hold all the power, he’s helpless and will hate that. If he can make money another way, and at the same time destroy you, well, you have almost a perfect set of motives right there.”
She flopped back down on the bed and groaned, closing her eyes. “You can add sex to that too.” She felt him give her a startled glance but didn’t open her eyes. “No, we weren’t lovers, but he damn well tried hard. I kept refusing him.”
“Why?”
She snorted and looked at Devlin. “Because I wasn’t attracted to him. Because he was pushy as hell. And he’s one of those guys who thinks sex is the way to control a woman. And when I go to bed with a man, I do it because that’s who I want to be with at that moment. Not for any other reason.”
He grinned at her. “Good. Glad to hear it,” he said cheerfully. “We agree on that point.”
She frowned at him. “Why do I think that is like a tick box in your head?”
“Because it is. Now we can move on to the next.” He patted her knee and stood. “And that wasn’t meant as a patronizing pat, by the way. I was checking to see if the tremors in your legs had calmed down.”
“It was pretty bad, wasn’t it?” she confessed. “I’m not used to justifying my act
ions or defending myself like that.”
“Yes, it was pretty bad, but even though you were nervous, you handled yourself really well while being questioned. You stuck to your guns and logically defended yourself.”
She nodded. “But still, there’s that sense of what if they come back? What if somebody else …” She hopped to her feet. “I have to pack. I need to get going. I must get the hell out of here.” She looked around, then threw up her hands. “There’s nothing salvageable from the work tent. I barely have anything left to pack.”
Devlin grabbed her shoulders and gently made her sit back down again. “Stop. Did all the drone elements go into the work tent, or did you have anything stored somewhere else?”
She stared up at him, her gaze huge. “It was all in there, except my personal bag and the training materials. Everything else is back in my home lab.”
“Where?”
“California.”
“Then you need to get back there before that goes too. You should go home, sort this out.”
“Before that goes too,” she whispered, now fully aware of what Devlin was telling her. She had to remain calm. She took a deep breath and straightened again. “You’re right. I’ll see if I can get an earlier flight home.”
He shook his head, pulling out his phone. “Let me talk to Mason. If anybody can pull some strings to get you home faster, it’d be him.”
She waited—patiently she hoped—as he quickly brought up Mason’s line. She was still afraid of looking guilty, like she was running away. And, if the MPs got wind of it, they wouldn’t let her go. She felt like she was trapped here—on a military base in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly someplace where she could turn around and catch a commercial flight home. She could travel to the closest city, which she thought was Mosul, like that was a safe place to go. Hell, anywhere off base would be a nightmare. She’d come over on a military flight, and she’d expected to go home on one.
She heard Devlin talking to Mason. She zinged her gaze to him and listened in. He was being incredibly helpful. She needed that. Hell, she needed him too. A feeling she had trouble reconciling with the rest of her life. She had never leaned on anyone. Was it so wrong right now?