Page 63 of Mountain Security

Yvette cocked her head sideways. “You found something,” she said. It was a statement, not a question, but Alex nodded anyway. “Tell me what you found.”

“I’ll show you.”

She was not going to believe it until she saw it with her own eyes.

He pulled out his laptop and pulled up the video snippets Hugo had shared, placing them one beside the other.

Yvette stared at the screen, her expression frozen.

“What am I looking at?” she asked.

And Alex could tell she’d already noticed the missing backpack, but she didn’t want to believe it.

“It’s him. It’s Théo.”

“No. That’s impossible.”

“It’s not impossible, Yvette. This is him walking into the office yesterday.”

“He was at the party yesterday. With us.”

“Check out the time. This was before the party. I’ll bet he’s wearing his tuxedo underneath the bulky winter coat. He left the package on your desk and walked out again.”

“No,” she said stubbornly. “I know Théo. Iknowhim. I’ve worked with him for years, Alex.” Her voice became shrill. “It’s not him.”

Alex had half-expected this. He knew how protective she was of her team. And because he’d half-expected this, he’d used the drive here to gather some additional evidence.

“He was also in the building the night the cameras stopped working.”

“You’re saying … you’re saying he’s the one who took the keyloggers? That makes no sense, Alex. Théo works here.” She shook her head. “No. He doesn’t just work here. He’s afriend. Why would he do this?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to go ask him.”

Yvette’s jaw closed stubbornly. “Then I’m coming with you.”

20

* * *

Yvette

It’s not Théo.

Théo wouldn’t do this.

Standing outside Théo’s door, Yvette’s mind raced. Théo was a colleague she respected and admired.

A friend.

Alex signaled something to his colleague, who’d stayed inside the car.

It didn’t take a genius to interpret his meaning.

Yvette knew Alex had already called the police, who were also on their way.

Somehow, that solidified things in her mind.

They’re sure about this.

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