Page 114 of Curvy Nerdy Omega

I shook my head and started tracing the command to erase all those files back to the IP address that had sent it.

Remotely.

“This has nothing to do with Gideon’s secret phone as far as I’m aware. This is a separate issue and it’s not just his computer, it’s the servers too. The missing phone is one lead, the missing data is our second lead, and the security company is the third.”

Cas leaned over the both of us and watched me follow the IP address and all the others they’d used to bounce off of with a VPN. “There’s no missing or altered footage from the night of the murder at Valor Enterprises and you know where every single access point is into that building. I also sent you every camera that exists on the property whether they’re functional or not. Do you think there’s a connection between the security company and the missing data?”

Frankie leaned back and laced her hands behind her head. “If there’s no tampered footage and nothing’s missing from the Aegis servers, then someone knows exactly how to get in and out of that building without being detected. I can’t think of anyone who’d know how to do that other than the company in charge of the security. Can you?”

“Can you guys shut the fuck up for two seconds?” I snapped.

Jesus, whoever wanted to hide this definitely made it difficult to trace them, but not impossible.

It took me almost five minutes to find the source of the command and I stared at it, barely breathing.

A laptop at Buttercuppa Coffee – one of the locations Gideon had gone to with his secret phone.

Now, this café wasn’t even open when the command was sent, but it was an unsecured network. Someone could have parked right outside and accessed it from their laptop.

If there was any kind of security footage from the surrounding businesses, the traffic cameras, or the CCTV we might be able to get a license plate.

Whoever set this up had made sure to send an alert if I started digging into Gideon’s files, and that was exactly why I’d made sure to isolate his machine before booting it up. With no way to send out the alert, they’d never know.

But if the police did the same thing, I had no doubt they’d fuck it all up and connect to the internet before taking a look around. This account was set up to automatically connect and most people didn’t think twice about it.

I let out a shaky breath.

One little mistake and they would have known exactly where I was.

This person was good, but they weren’t better than me.

That might sound conceited, but I haven’t met many people on my level even in the cyber-crimes department. The only ones I knew of were hackers and they only worked under aliases. I had no idea what country they were even in.

Whoever had planted this program was most definitely not on that level or they wouldn’t have been so sloppy.

Yeah, Gideon was obviously not someone who knew where to look for this kind of shit and he definitely wouldn’t notice malware on his computer if it didn’t slow down or affect his normal processes, but they should have made sure any trace of this shit was gone or someone like me would find them.

“I don’t know who put this cloning program on here, but they sent a command to delete files from Gideon’s computer only an hour after his death. I don’t know why they didn’t delete this program too…maybe they thought the police would assume it was a company program. I don’t know.”

Putting the coordinates into the world map, I hit enter and leaned back into Liam as it zoomed in on the location.

“I don’t think it’s one person,” I admitted. “Whoever deleted the data might be the same one who snuck past the security system without setting off any alarms, but it would make more sense for it to be two people working together. One to manage Aegis Security and one with the credentials to access the server room at Valor Enterprises.”

The map zoomed in to show where I’d traced the command back to and Cas growled. “Who the fuck owns this café?”

Frankie had the information pulled up faster than I ever could. “Buttercuppa Coffee was started ten years ago by the Tinley pack. Per the information Genesis keeps on file they became millionaires overnight when their coffee shop became a social media sensation.”

“From what I remember, most of their money comes from selling franchises,” Liam murmured, his lips tickling the back of my neck.

“The coordinates are for the original café,” Frankie informed us. “Their website says the owner has maintained all its original charm and it’s their flagship store so Tinley still owns it. They’re new money as my father would say.”

Cas pushed off my desk and pulled out his phone. “I’m pretty fucking sure we don’t have a anyone from Tinley working for Valor or Aegis.”

“No, we don’t,” Liam agreed. “Anyone not from the Valor pack always has an extensive background check done. That would be something we’d flag as a potential conflict of interest.”

“Except this pack is very wealthy,” I reminded them. “If they didn’t buy a fake background, this person is clearly skilled enough to create one. It’s entirely possible to have someone from that pack working at Valor Enterprises without knowing it.”

“We’re going to have to go through every single person in the Tinley pack, aren’t we?” Frankie sighed and pulled out her phone. “Do you still need to go to the café?”

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