Page 11 of Cold Silence
“Which is why you need to question anyone you think has any possibility of being our thief.” He took a few steps toward the door and then looked over his shoulder. “You never pull any punches, Claire. So try to be subtle in your questioning.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “I can do subtle.”
“I’ve never seen it, but then we pretty much went straight to kissing and there’s nothing subtle about that.” He chuckled and strode away.
Ugh!She planted her hands on her hips and fumed inside. Julie continued to study her with the intensity that made her good at her job, but Claire wished she would let it go right now. She forced herself to relax. Wouldn’t do to raise any suspicions. Not even romantic ones.
Travis was right. She was usually a plain talker. She needed to develop better acting skills fast, not only for Julie but for Travis too. To keep him from discovering that even though she’d ended things with him—and continued to believe she’d made the right decision—he still had the ability to make her head spin.
She went to her office, all the while trying to figure out a way to deal with everything. Julie. Travis. The theft.
Work. Focus. That’s the only solution.And one that always worked.
At her desk, she first entered the information needed in the software to make it work for Travis’s test. She would love to be able to trust someone else with the data, but it had prevented the software from falling into the wrong hands. She’d just never thought anyone would actually try to steal the software, putting her life in danger.
She opened a list of staff on her computer. The Army contracted her team and worked out of their research facility, but the team was made up of mostly civilians. She ran her finger over the screen and mentally made a list of the people who might have a motive to steal the device.
First, they had to fit her attacker’s build. Second, she figured she was looking for someone with money issues. Even if it were an espionage-related theft, it could’ve been done for money. She came up with six possible suspects. Two of the guys were out of the building that afternoon, and one was no longer an employee. She would start with the three guys she would most likely find at their desks.
She grabbed her empty mug to head for the coffee pot next to Paxton Lyle’s desk, where she would start a casual conversation. She wasn’t sure the graphic designer had money issues, but he was always asking for a raise.
She swiped her card to access the department and strode toward him. He kept his head down, staring intently at his computer. Not unusual. Most of their staff got caught up in their work and wouldn’t know if a bomb went off next to them. She made a point of making noise when she poured the coffee and started down the aisle between desks again.
He lifted his head, not a hint of interest in her actions on his face.
She stopped by his desk. “How’s your day going?”
“Fine.” His expression lit with suspicion.
She forced a yawn and raised her mug. “Need an afternoon pick-me-up. I was out too late last night. You do anything fun?”
The redhead leaned back, and his chair groaned with his weight. “Depends on your definition of fun.”
“What’d you do?”
“Played World of Warcraft with my brother.”
She was vaguely familiar with the MMORPG—massively multiplayer online role-playing game, but wasn’t into online gaming. However, if he played with his brother he had a solid alibi. That was if he was still playing at eleven p.m. when the security system had been tampered with.
“I’ve heard that’s an addicting game and it’s hard to stop.”
“Tell me about it.” He let out a squeaky breath. “We were at it until two.”
“You don’t look tired like I do.”
“What can I say? I don’t need much sleep.” His phone rang. “Gotta take this call.”
She nodded, thankful to end their awkward conversation that proved Travis’s point. She wasn’t a shoot-the-breeze kind of person. Hopefully, she would do better with the next suspect, Doug Quigley, who worked in software quality assurance, where the team’s water cooler was located. Claire took her cup back to her office and grabbed her water bottle. She slid her card again and stepped into the department. She lifted her water bottle for anyone who might be looking at her and walked down the aisle.
Doug yawned.
Claire couldn’t ask for a better opening. She stopped by his desk, which was cluttered with action figures from Star Trek. “Late night.”
“My brother’s bachelor party.” He scratched his blond beard that matched his long hair. “I should probably have taken today off, but we have a target date tomorrow. I need this job and didn’t want to miss it.” He crossed his arms and stared at Claire.
As usual, he pointed out that he needed his job, not that he liked working at the institute. The reason for her questioning, but it sounded like he had a solid alibi too.
“We appreciate your dedication.” Claire held up her bottle again and made her way to the cooler.
