Chapter 10 - Who Knew the New Word?
Emily went still.
“What did she say?”
June whispered the word into her mother’s ear.
Emily closed her eyes.
Correct.
The woman had known the current secret word.
Collins asked the question nobody wanted.
“Who knows it?”
Emily answered slowly.
“Me.”
“Anyone else?”
“June.”
“Anyone else?”
Emily looked at Sarah.
“No.”
Sarah immediately shook her head.
“I don’t know it.”
“Mom?” June said.
Emily’s face changed.
She remembered.
Six weeks earlier, she had filled out an emergency pickup form for summer camp.
Security question.
Purple word.
Stored electronically.
Collins asked, “Who had access?”
“The camp.”
“And?”
“The pediatrician. I put the same word on the family verification note.”
Bad systems love reused secrets.
By evening, police found the breach.
The pediatric office used an outside billing company.
Legal counsel for that company?
Keene & Barrett.
Martin Keene.
The whole thing tilted.
Darren had frightened Emily.
Keene had access.
Sarah had been manipulated.
Someone had used Darren’s history as camouflage.
I asked Collins, “Where is Darren?”
“Unknown.”
“What if he’s not the one following June?”
“He called you.”
“Yes.”
“He broke into your shop.”
“Maybe.”
“You recognized his voice.”
“Yes.”
I hated the next thought.
“What if Keene and Darren are working against each other?”
Collins stared.
Emily looked at me.
June sat between us coloring.
A seven-year-old building purple clouds with a red crayon.
I continued.
“Darren wanted Caleb’s box. Keene wanted the flash drive. Maybe same goal, different reasons.”
Sarah said, “Martin told me Darren killed Caleb.”
Emily whispered, “Darren always said Caleb was killed because he was stupid.”
“What does that mean?” Collins asked.
“I thought it was just cruelty.”
Maybe it was knowledge.
That night, police finally opened Caleb’s encrypted flash drive.
The password was June’s birthday.
Of course.
Inside were scanned documents.
Audio recordings.
Internal sheriff’s office memos.
Caleb had been investigating an evidence-theft ring.
Drugs seized from traffic stops disappeared before destruction.
Cash went missing.
Names were protected.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Martin Keene.
Another appeared twice.
Darren Pike.
And a third name made Collins stop breathing.
Deputy Chief Alan Brooks.
May you like
Her former training officer.
Her current boss.
