by Laney Kay
This morning, he looked even rougher than usual, and Jake figured he’d probably stayed up all night working on the flash drive. He was in one of the private, secured computer rooms and was sound asleep. His size fourteen boots were propped up on the desk, his arms were crossed across his massive chest, and his head was wedged against the corner of the wall as he slept, snoring a huge, rattling snore.
As Jake walked up to Jerry Jeff’s desk, he could see his computer flying through some kind of computation series, so he walked over to his desk and leaned on the desk next to his feet. He softly called Jerry Jeff’s name and gently shook his boot, having learned the hard way that if you startled Jerry Jeff awake, you may end up with a kick or punch to the head.
Jerry Jeff slowly opened his eyes. Jake smiled at him and put a Yeti bottle on the desk next to his feet. “Bullet coffee with four shots of espresso.” He held up a bag with his other hand. “Two muffins, one banana with extra fiber, one pumpkin bran.” Jake put the bags on the desk as Jerry Jeff slowly sat up and stretched and squinted his bleary eyes at the computer. “Anything looking interesting so far?”
Jerry Jeff held up one finger as he opened the bottle and took a big gulp. He closed his eyes and smiled as the hot coffee worked its magic. He took another couple of swigs and put it back on the table. “You could say that.” Jerry Jeff reached into his drawer and pulled out a huge travel mug that he filled up with the rest of the coffee. He opened the bag, ate a half of one of the muffins in one bite, and washed it down with the hot coffee. As he started to wake up, he turned to the computer, minimized whatever he was doing and opened another window. He looked over to Jake and pointed to an area on the screen. “What’s that look like to you?”
Jake pulled up a chair so he could sit close enough to see, put on his glasses, and scanned the information. “There’s not a lot of detail, but it looks like some kind of learning program, or maybe a training app of some sort.”
“You’re right.” Jerry Jeff nodded. “I haven’t finished running an analysis of this, so I still can’t tell all the details but from what I can see so far, it looks to be some kind of program that focuses on retraining the brain or improving cognitive function for some specific purpose.” He took another bite of muffin and another gulp of coffee. He pointed toward the screen. “When I was in grad school, I helped a professor design a computer program to help retrain the brain of people who sustained head trauma or were stroke victims and parts of this look a lot like that, but I can’t be sure what we’ve got until I can restore the rest of this flash drive and then finish this run-through.” He looked curious. “Where did you get this?”
Jake shrugged. “A friend of mine had a client turn up dead, and we’re trying to figure out if this had something to do with it.” He looked around and, once he saw no one else was there, he drew his brows together and leaned closer. “Jerry Jeff, no shit, don’t mention this to anyone and don’t let anyone else see it. I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t want anyone to know we know anything because it might put my friend in danger. Or you, for that matter.”
Jerry Jeff smiled at him and easily dismissed any threats to his own safety. “I’m good. But your friend, is it a lady friend?”
Jake snorted at the hopeful look on Jerry Jeff’s face. “Shit, Jerry Jeff, you trying to get me a date, too?” He flopped back in his chair. “Yes, it’s a woman, and until we know what’s going on, we all need to be quiet and careful. Make sure no one sees what you’re doing here until we figure out the deal.”
“You got it, boss.” Jerry Jeff sobered immediately. “I’ll only work on this in the private rooms and I’ll figure out what’s going on and let you know.” He elbowed Jake and bobbled his eyebrows. “In the meantime, you’d better keep a close eye on her to make sure she stays safe.” He took another huge bite of muffin, and smiled at Jake as he gulped it down. “I’ll probably have this done by this afternoon, so I’ll get back with you later today.” He handed him a copy of the flash drive. “Here’s a copy you can use if you want to take a look at it.”
Jake thanked him and ignored his matchmaking attempts. He headed back to his own office and started finishing up some final reports for huge investigative job they’d just finished for one of their biggest clients. He took the final report out to his assistant, Marie, and instantly realized he’d made a huge mistake when she handed him an entire box of paperwork. He glared at her, and she shrugged. “Sorry, boss, but sometimes it sucks to be you.”
He agreed. He sighed and took the box back into his office and started sorting the mountain of papers into stacks. The rest of the afternoon, he slogged through the stacks, signed orders and reports, approved various requests, wrote out instructions, and took care of the hundreds of daily details that plague business owners. When he finally hit bottom, he repacked the box and handed it to Marie. She was on the phone so she winked at him, mouthed “thank you,” and he went back into his office.
He glanced at the clock and saw that it was already almost four o’clock. He took the copy of the flash drive out of his pocket and inserted it into the correct port on his computer. He scrolled through to the end and pulled up the memos from Pandora Unlimited, but he still didn’t see any information that was specific enough to be useful. He stared at the screen for a few minutes, and finally decided that his time would best be spent finding out as much information as possible on Mitchell Willard.
He decided to start at the beginning, so he Googled Mitch’s name. Most of the stories that came up were related to his death, but after a few pages, he began to see hits related to his prior arrests. Jake started laughing when he saw the pictures of Lola attending his hearing when she had the flu. Bless her heart, she really looked sick. He took a screenshot of the picture and sent it to his phone and then texted it over to her with a quick message. “Wow. You don’t look so good here. I could only think of one thing that could make you look this pitiful. This must’ve been taken immediately after your Bulldogs got their asses kicked by Bama in the National Championship game. Roll Tide.”
He saw the little bubbles start jumping around below the message and grinned as he waited for her reply. He couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say about his comment, and he didn’t have long to wait.
When the text popped up, he started laughing. It was a five second video of Lola in a Bulldog ballcap, standing with her back to him, looking at him over her shoulder. She blew him a kiss and then slapped that hand to her butt. He picked up his phone and called her number and she answered on the first ring. He lowered his voice and tried to sound confused. “So sugar, I don’t get it. What exactly are you trying to tell me?”
She laughed. “Oh, I’m not surprised you’re confused, ‘Bama boy. I know y’all are a little slow, so let me help you out. Do you need me to verbally tell you that you can kiss my ass, or is the gesture sufficient?”
“How about I come over and literally kiss your ass, and instead of gesturing with that hand, you can use it to direct me to any other body parts that need kissing.” He heard a quick intake of her breath and grinned. Hell yeah, she wanted him as much as he did her. He couldn’t wait to see her again.
He could hear the smile in her voice as she answered. “Sweetie, you had your chance to play last night and you blew it. Tonight, I’ll let you tell me what you found out today, but I wouldn’t count on any of your body parts getting any attention from me.” She grinned when she heard him snort. “Now, back to business. Got any info for me about what’s on that flashdrive?”
He leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the corner of his desk. “Not yet, but it looks like my chief minion is making some headway, so I expect to have something for you by tonight. I’m also going to see what I can find on how old Mitch had been spending his time lately.” He laughed. “I can see that spending time with him wasn’t so good for you. In that picture, you look like something the cat dragged in.”
“Ha. Ha. You’re hilarious. That just goes to show you how much
I wanted to get rid of Mitch. I had the flu, I was sick as a dog and I hauled my feverish ass to the courthouse just to get rid of that case. I coughed and hacked and wheezed my way through a plea to a misdemeanor theft by taking charge. He stole over a million dollars, and I got him 20 hours of community service and he had to pay a hundred dollars in restitution.”
Jake whistled long and low. “Holy shit, Lola, how did you swing that?”
She shook her head at the memory. “The truth is, everyone knew he did it, but no one could prove it and no one could find the money. Mitch was a total scumbag, but he was brilliant, and he could cover a money trail better than anyone. His employer was so pissed about the whole situation, he insisted that Mitch be convicted of something, and the only charge they could prove was that Mitch had taken home an old typewriter he found in a storage closet. Mitch admitted he took it and magnanimously agreed to plead to a misdemeanor theft and pay restitution in the amount of a hundred dollars, which was the value of the typewriter.”
Jake winced. “Ouch. I’m sure his boss wasn’t too happy about that.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t. And I would say he’s definitely someone we should take a look at, except he was killed in a plane wreck about a month after the hearing, leaving a wife and two little kids.”
Jake shook his head. “It sounds like there’s a long list of people who could have it out for Mitch.”
“Absolutely. When he was my client, he somewhat admitted that he’d stolen money from just about every employer he’d ever worked for, and no one was ever able to catch him. Odds are that he stole from the wrong person and it finally caught up to him.”
Jake agreed. “True. Except for the part about the flash drive and it being ‘a matter of life and death’ and then him ending up dead. That’s a little too much of a coincidence, if you ask me.”
“Me, too.” Lola, like Jake and most people who worked in the criminal justice system, didn’t much believe in coincidence. “I’m stuck in court all day today, so I won’t have time to do any research on any of this. Sorry to stick you with all this. How about I make it up to you by buying you dinner?”
“Sounds good. Want me to pick you up at home?”
Lola thought about it. “No, actually, why don’t you come over after work and we’ll eat at my place? I feel better discussing all this in private.”
“Sounds good to me.” He stopped and thought about it. “Wait. You’re not cooking, are you?”
Lola snorted. “Hell no. Daisy texted me this morning and she dropped off my meals for the week while she was out running around, so we’ll have something fabulous for dinner, I promise you.”
“Sounds great. I’ll be over in a couple of hours, say around six, if that’s good for you.”
“Perfect.”
They both hung up and immediately got back to work.
5
“Come on up.” Lola smiled as she saw Jake look up at the camera and wink at her and she buzzed him in. She bustled around the kitchen, stirred the jambalaya in the pot on the stove, took the salad out of the fridge and put it on the table, and poured them each a glass of tea. She heard the elevator open and called out to him. “Hey, Jake, come on in. I’m in the kitchen.”
As he came into the kitchen, Lola stopped what she was doing. Damn he looked good. He was wearing old jeans that fit like a glove and a dark green cotton sweater that showed off his broad shoulders and green eyes. When he smiled at her, she felt the effect of those killer dimples in her stomach. And let’s get real, in other places, too. He ambled across the kitchen and put a bottle of wine on the counter. “Hey Ms. Lola. I brought some wine to go with dinner.” He reached out, hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He kissed her on the forehead, then her nose, then a quick peck on the lips, and then let her go. He turned to see what was on the stove. “Damn, you weren’t kidding about Daisy’s cooking. What smells so good?” He lifted the lid. “Holy shit, is that jambalaya? That smells amazing.”
She nodded. “It is amazing. We’re having jambalaya, salad, and some of Daisy’s red velvet cupcakes for dessert. You’re going to love it.” She turned and picked up the wine he’d brought, glanced at the label, and handed him a corkscrew. “This wine should be great with it. Go ahead and open it and I’ll start getting dinner on the table.”
“Sounds great.” He opened the bottle of wine, watching her as she grabbed a hot pad, shoved a big spoon in the pot and brought the jambalaya to the table. She looked fantastic with no makeup, a pair of tight, faded jeans that showed off her endless legs and a tiny, long-sleeved UGA t-shirt. She wore big, fluffy socks and had her long hair in a ponytail that bounced with every movement.
“Okay, big guy. Time to eat.” She waved him to a chair and he sat down. She scooped out a huge serving for both of them and then put the spoon back in the pot and dropped into a chair across from him. She forked up a bite and pointed it at Jake. “And when you meet her, do not tell Daisy I served her jambalaya straight from the pot.”
He grinned at her. “She wouldn’t like that?”
Lola wrinkled her nose. “No, she would not. She’s like a mini-Martha Stewart. Everything is served in special bowls, and special plates, and it always looks beautiful and delicious. I’m more about the function. If I put the jambalaya in a bowl, I’d have to wash the bowl and the pot, and I just don’t see the sense in that.”
He agreed. “Me either. It tastes the same, so why make more work?”
“Right? That’s what I tell her and she just shakes her head.” Lola tasted the jambalaya and closed her eyes in appreciation. “But Lawd have mercy it tastes amazing.”
“Lola, this is fantastic.” He forked up another huge bite and almost moaned as he chewed. “This is the best jambalaya I’ve ever had and I’ve spent a lot of time in Louisiana over the years.”
Lola smiled. “Just wait till dessert. Her red velvet cupcakes are even better.”
“Is she a professional chef?”
“No, she’s a writer. But she loves to feed people she cares about, and fortunately, I’m one of them.” She dipped some more jambalaya from the pot and raised her eyebrows to Jake to see if he wanted more. He nodded, so she put another large serving on his plate. “She also knows I eat a lot, so she always includes enough for me and about five other people so I don’t mind sharing with you.”
They were both starving, so they quickly finished the entire pot of jambalaya, with Jake again marveling at how much food Lola could pack away. She just smiled and shrugged. “I told you. I can eat.” She stood up and grabbed her plate and the pot and headed into the kitchen, with Jake right behind her with his plate and their glasses. They cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. He grabbed their glasses of wine and Lola grabbed the container of cupcakes. She stood there, uncertain about where to direct him to go. “You got some information for me, Jake? If so, and we need the computer, let’s head into the Batcave. If not, we'll head out to the porch and eat cupcakes. Your call.”
He smiled at her. “The Batcave it is.”
She grinned. “You found something?”
He winked at her. “You bet your ass I did. It’s not a complete picture, and I don’t know all the details yet, but at least we have a place to start.”
They went into the Batcave and Lola closed the door behind her. She put the food on the table and started up the computer, while Jake decided to try one of the cupcakes. He took a huge bite then moaned out a muffled, “Holy shit, this is amazing,” as he chewed.
Lola grabbed one and took a big bite, also moaning at the taste. “Mmmm. Aren’t these the best things you ever put in your mouth?”
Jake winked at her and swallowed. “Well, it’s the best food item I’ve ever put in my mouth. I’ll have to let you know if it’s the best thing I ever put in my mouth.”
Lola rolled her eyes. “You’re a nasty boy, Mr. Morrow.”
He shrugged, unrepentant. “Just a hopeful one.”
The computer finally came
up and Jake pulled a flash drive out of his pocket, sat down, and plugged it into the USB port. He typed in a bunch of commands and pulled the other chair up. “Sit here, Lola. I want to show you what Jerry Jeff and I found today.”
Lola sat down and he pulled her next to him. “Jerry Jeff?”
He nodded, distracted as he typed in commands. “He’s the head of my computer security department. Basically, the king of the nerd herd. I asked him to figure out what this program is all about, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t do just that.”
He finally reached a big screen that looked like a powerpoint title page. “According to Jerry Jeff, this is some kind of brain training program.”
“Like that one on TV that’s supposed to be a series of games and puzzles that help you improve your memory?”
Jake nodded. “Kind of. Actually, it’s more like programs that are designed to help people recover after a stroke or injury by helping the brain form new neural pathways to avoid the damaged areas.”
“And that’s what this program does?” Lola was thinking rapidly.
“Apparently. Jerry Jeff spent a lot of time working with these types of programs in grad school, so he recognized what it was pretty quickly.”
Lola was nodding her head. “That would make sense. The memos we saw that discussed pathways and programming? Maybe they were talking about reprogramming people’s brains by forming new neural pathways. Maybe this is some innovative new program to help people after an injury. ”
Jake shrugged. “Could be. Unfortunately, this is only part of the program, so we don’t have enough information here to be able to tell what it’s for.”
“What do you mean, it’s only part of the program?”