Page 80 of Misdirection

“Why would you think that?”

“You just happened to be off work on the same day Beau was killed,” Jason told him. “Someone in your position is very valuable, both to Conglomerate and to enemies of Conglomerate. I’m not sure which side your loyalty falls on.”

Alex’s face paled.

And Olive knew Alex was either going to bolt or clam up.

CHAPTER 33

“Just tell us the truth,” Jason told Alex. “We’re not here as enemies. We’re just here trying to get all the information we need to stop something deadly from happening. I’m sure that’s what you want also, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want any trouble.” Sweat spread across Alex’s forehead and cheeks, and his eyes dilated.

“We’re not trying to cause trouble,” Olive assured him, needing him to calm down before he passed out. “If you’ve done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“It’s more complicated than that.” Alex wiped his brow with the back of his hand, but spots of moisture instantly reappeared.

At least Alex had taken the first step by admitting something was going on.

“Won’t you just tell us what happened?” Jason encouraged.

This time, Alex ran a hand over his eyes. Then he hunched forward as if unable to carry the burden anymore. “I don’t know what’s going on. That’s the truth of it. You’ve got to believe me.”

“Then what do you know?” Olive held her breath as she waited to hear what he’d share.

“All I know is that I got a phone call a few days ago. The person on the other end told me I needed to take a sick day on Tuesday.”

“Did this person say why?” Jason asked.

“No, and he really didn’t give me time to ask questions.”

“What made you so willing to go along with him?” Olive asked, though she had an inkling of what he might say next.

“This person sent me a picture of my sister outside her house with her two young kids. Said he was watching her and that if I didn’t do exactly what he said that she and her kids would die.” His voice cracked. “I couldn’t let that happen.”

That was what Olive feared. That someone had somehow manipulated Alex into taking the day off to give people an opportunity to come and go from that room.

“Have you talked to your sister since then?” Jason asked.

Alex pressed his eyes shut before nodding. “I have. She’s okay.”

“Have these people given you any other demands?” Olive asked.

Alex kept his eyes shut, tension etched into every muscle. “No. Not yet. But I suspect that whoever this caller is isn’t done with me.”

Olive and Jason asked Alex a few more questions and got all the information they could from him.

When they finished, he looked up at both of them. “Are you going to arrest me?”

Olive didn’t bother to tell him that they didn’t have the authority to arrest anyone.

“No,” Jason said instead. “However, this will need to go into my report.”

“You’ve got to believe me.” He pleaded with them with his gaze. “I was hoping this would all just blow over. I mean, it’s not like I’m at the office every day. I don’t go in on weekends even though some people still work. And executives have the authority to go into that space and obtain certain information on their own.”

“What about the code you have to put in yourself in order to gain access to certain files?” Olive asked. “Does anyone else have it?”

“No, and even if it was that simple, it wouldn’t work. Someone would need my badge and my fingerprint as well as the code. The system they have set up is secure, as I’m sure you know.”

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