His brothers and Shana had returned when Percy and Marcel had arrived. Bruce Townsend was there, as well. Marcel was the one asking questions, but Bruce was furiously jotting down notes. Jace was pacing, Shana was typing something on her tablet and Caden, who had obviously missed lunch, was hungrily snacking on a bag of chips he’d grabbed off the kitchen counter.
A short while later, Dalton watched Marcel draw in a deep breath, evidently satisfied with his line of questioning. Then Bruce began asking questions of Percy, and it seemed the two men began speaking a different language with all that computer mumbo-jumbo.
Bruce turned to Jace. “I need to get inside the accounting department, preferably after hours and without anyone knowing. Even security.”
The Granger Aeronautics security team worked twenty-four hours a day, and everyone in the room knew it. What Bruce was asking was close to impossible. Jace glanced over at Dalton. “Can you make that happen?”
Dalton nodded. “Yes. I’ll need to organize a few things but I’ll let you know when and how tomorrow.”
“All right,” Jace replied. And then he asked Bruce, “Did you ever find out whether information had been wiped off Brandy’s hard drive?”
“Not yet. But if Percy actually saw that program, that will answer the question for us.”
“How can someone manage to wipe a computer clean from a remote location?” Caden asked, obviously baffled by what he’d heard.
“With so much modern technology out there, it’s not impossible to do,” Bruce replied.
“I concur with Bruce,” Marcel said, rubbing a frustrated hand down his face. “The agency spends a lot of time investigating computer fraud and abuse. Just when we think we have a handle on it, some new software is developed. But this is more about abuse,” he added. “This might be more than about trade secrets. Granger handles government contracts, so this security compromise is especially worrisome.”
Dalton could tell it bothered the others in the room, as well. He hoped the FBI would get to the bottom of it and put all those involved behind bars. And speaking of bars...
“When do Vidal Duncan, Titus Freeman, Cal Arrington and Melissa Swanson go on trial?” Dalton asked.
Caden glanced over at him. “Funny you should ask. I got a call from Duncan’s attorney before I left the office. The man specifically asked for me. I guess he knew better than to call Jace.”
“What did his attorney want?” Jace asked in a voice that had turned to steel.
“He didn’t say. I figure he’s going to try to work on some sort of plea deal for Vidal.”
“Not with my help,” Jace said angrily.
Marcel understood Jace’s attitude. “As far as Arrington is concerned, he’s finally decided to start talking to save his skin since Melissa Swanson is telling everything she knows. And Titus Freeman claims he’s suffering from amnesia and can’t recall a thing. I think his attorney is trying to come up with an insanity plea.”
Caden shook his head. “You also got another call after you left the office, Jace. I hate it when you forward your calls to me.”
“Who was it?”
“Your ex-wife.”
“Evil Eve,” Dalton said. “She’s probably pissed that she wasn’t invited to the wedding.”
Jace rolled his eyes. “She’s lucky she’s not sharing a jail cell with Vidal. She still might if he decides to name her as a collaborator in my kidnapping. She’s not out of the woods yet.”
“And I think she knows it,” Caden said. “I believe she wants to talk to you and convince you that she’s an innocent woman.”
Dalton chuckled, thinking the former Eve Granger probably didn’t know the meaning of innocent. “Evil Eve coming to town is interesting,” he said aloud. “It’s showtime.”
*