Security Breach. Mallory Kane

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СКАЧАТЬ you need to call them. If they took it you should have gotten a receipt, but people forget things.”

      “So it disappeared after you left.” She paused, thinking. “Wait. Come to think of it, the alarm wasn’t set when I came in yesterday. It didn’t beep.”

      “So whoever took the laptop disarmed the alarm. Do a lot of people know the code?”

      Sandy shook her head. “Just me and Tristan.”

      “Maybe the crime scene team didn’t know how to arm it and didn’t realize you weren’t there.”

      “So someone’s been in the house,” Sandy murmured.

      “Listen to me, Sandy. It could be nothing, but just to be on the safe side, maybe you should go into town and stay at the hotel, or go back to Baton Rouge.”

      “No,” Sandy said. “This was probably some kid.”

      “Hold on a minute.”

      She heard Maddy talking to Zach, then suddenly the phone went silent. Maddy must have put it on mute. It didn’t matter, because Sandy knew what they were saying. They were discussing whether there was still any danger to Sandy or anyone else in Bonne Chance.

      “Maddy—” Sandy muttered. “Come on. Hurry up.”

      Finally Maddy unmuted her phone. “Sandy, if anything happens, call us, okay? We’re not on the case anymore, but it hasn’t been closed. So either Homeland Security or the NSA might reactivate it.”

      That quickly, the confidence that Sandy had in knowing that Homeland Security and the NSA had finished with Bonne Chance, the smugglers and Tristan’s death drained away. “Why would they do that?”

      Maddy hesitated—not for long, but it was long enough for Sandy to notice. “Maddy? You told me all the smugglers were arrested and the captain was killed by Boudreau. I thought that was the end of it.”

      “There are some things that we’re not allowed to talk about. There are some things we’re not even allowed to know.”

      “But you do know, don’t you? I knew you and Zach weren’t telling me everything. There’s more to Tristan’s death than you told me, isn’t there?”

      “Sandy, don’t.”

      “Maddy, I swear I will come over there and wring your neck if you don’t tell me what you know.”

      “Hang on a minute.”

      “No! Wait—” But Maddy was gone. Sandy waited impatiently. After about twenty seconds, she came back on the line.

      “Sandy, listen carefully, because I can only say this once. It’s possible—just possible—that your husband’s death was not an accident.”

      Sandy sat down. It was a good thing there was a chair right there. “What? So Zach was right? What happened? Is there some new evidence?”

      “Listen to me. We spent a week in your house while we searched for answers to what happened to Tristan and all we could come up with was that his death was suspicious.” Maddy took a breath. “So now Homeland Security is ramping up listening devices as well as working with the Coast Guard to do more spot inspections of the oil rigs. They’re obviously worried that there may be another group out there that’s planning something. Bonne Chance is probably one of the least populated and least noticed places on the Gulf Coast. It doesn’t even have streetlights except on Main Street.”

      “I know. Out here, we can barely see lights from the town on clear nights, or if there’s a fire we can see flames and smoke.”

      “Well, the darkness and isolation makes it desirable for smugglers.”

      “Maddy, you have to tell me why Zach—”

      “Sandy!” Maddy snapped. “What did I just tell you?”

      “A lot of vague stuff that you won’t explain. Fine. I’ll let you know if anything happens. That is if I’m able to.” Sandy was being sarcastic, but Maddy had just laid a new and awful truth on her and refused to explain it.

      Her husband may have been murdered.

      “Sandy, call the sheriff and get him to take fingerprints off the desk. That’s the easiest way to figure out who did it.”

      “If their prints are on file. But they probably aren’t.”

      “Call the sheriff, Sandy,” Maddy said.

      “Maddy, this might not make any sense to you, but I don’t want anyone in my house. I just got home. All I want to do is be here with the baby. We have a lot of things to sort out, him and me. There’s no real reason to get fingerprints, is there?”

      “Sandy, I mean it. I’m supposed to be in training this whole week, but I’ll take a break and call you if I have to.”

      “All right. I’ll call. Now can we talk about something else?”

      “Sure. How are you feeling? Is the baby doing well?”

      “Yes. We’re both doing fine.”

      “Did that little thing ever fall off?”

      “Little thing?” Sandy said. “Oh, right. That’s what the doctor said about the sonogram. Not that I know of. It’s still there.”

      “So did he actually say it’s a boy?”

      “No. Apparently physicians don’t like to actually commit, but he sounded pretty sure. You know,” she said with a sad smile, “Tristan said we were having a boy. He really believed it.”

      “Aw, honey.”

      “I know. Don’t worry. I’m fine.” Sandy forced a laugh.

      “Have you thought of a name yet?”

      “No. Not yet.”

      “So you’re back there in Bonne Chance. Are you and the baby going to stay there?”

      “I plan to,” she said. “But I might go back over to Baton Rouge when I’m closer to the delivery date. It might be easier, having Tristan’s mother to help me.”

      She barely listened as Maddy went on and on about what a great idea it was to go back to Baton Rouge. When she had a chance, she broke in and said goodbye, that she was going to sleep. Maddy warned her again what would happen if she didn’t call the sheriff, then they hung up.

      “Okay, bean. How about you? Do you think I should call the sheriff about the computer? Yeah. Me neither. Although I think I’ll go see Boudreau tomorrow. Let him know I’m back. He might have seen someone sneaking around the house.”

      She smiled as she rubbed the side of her tummy. “Although, if Boudreau saw somebody he didn’t know going into Tristan’s house when I wasn’t there, he’d probably shoot them.”

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