Page 24 of Duplicity

To not feel trapped.

Captive.

“Bro.”

Oh, Lucas was talking to him. “What’s that?”

“We need to go ask the mom for permission. If she gives it, can you get into the phone? It’ll go a whole lot faster than if we pass it to the department tech. We can get the paperwork done later so you’re listed as a contractor for this case.”

Simon nodded. “I just need a cable from my backpack.”

Lucas said, “Let’s go ask.”

They all trailed back inside, down the hall. He waited in the entryway with Cat while Lucas talked to the mom.

A second later, he heard a frustrated, “Just do it. Find her.”

Lucas got up and came back to them. A female officer moved to crouch by Leanna Barker, speaking to her quietly.

His brother-in-law nudged him. “Outside.”

Simon went to the corner of the grass by the front door, just off the step where he’d stashed his backpack. Cat stood on the sidewalk nearby. Romeo Alvarez had one eye on him, the other on the uniformed officer he was talking to. The eagle eye wasn’t something he appreciated, but as a guy with a sister, Simon at least understood where he was coming from.

The friendship with Cat was way too new for anyone to think anything about what might become of it. He’d heard some of her story, and if she told him more, he’d listen to what she experienced in the shooting when she was a beat cop. The kind of time spent with someone where you talked until the wee hours about all kinds of things.

The way he used to do with Peter, as kids. Side by side in twin beds. Turned toward each other so they could whisper, and dad wouldn’t hear them talking.

He loved to get to know people in the quiet. When his ex-girlfriend hadn’t ever wanted to sit on his balcony and just talk, he should’ve realized the relationship was doomed. He’d ignored the signs it wouldn’t last and wound up getting his heart stomped on.

Simon plugged one end of the cord into his laptop, the other end had a plastic circle disk on it.

“How does this work?” Cat sounded interested.

He took the phone in its plastic evidence bag and motioned to the grass. “Come here, I’ll show you.” He sat on the grass andcrossed his legs, then placed the laptop on the grass. “Set the phone on that disk. You don’t have to take it out of the bag. It’ll connect wirelessly to the computer.”

Cat settled beside him, sitting close enough that she could lean against his shoulder. “I thought you’d have to plug it in.”

Simon leaned forward and typed on the computer keyboard. “See here. It’s connected.” He pointed at the screen, aware of the slight dampness of the grass under him. Good thing he didn’t need to impress a woman right now because he might look like he’d sat in something when he got up.

Beside him, Cat peered at the screen. Apparently, she didn’t care about sitting on the grass either.

The warm night felt good on his skin. He scrubbed the back of his neck, and the long hair that probably could use cutting. Why did he have the burning desire to ask her if she liked guys with hair long enough that they could tie it back or if she preferred hair like Peter’s, short like an operator?

He typed as he thought, doing both at the same time since manipulating the computer was second nature for him, like driving and suddenly realizing you’d been deep in thought and didn’t remember how you got there.

Tonight had been rough in a lot of ways, but maybe things would get better now that Lucas knew.

They could find this missing teen.

Everything would go back to normal. Simon would solve his own problem without them needing to worry about him. After all, they could see for themselves he was fine.

At the edge of his awareness, he could hear people talking. Onlookers and cops. Maybe a news reporter.

He hit Enter. “Here we go.” Windows populated on the screen, tabs with social media sites and other accounts. “Everything she’s logged into on her phone, we’ll get access to it. Not all of it is relevant.”

She leaned against his shoulder. “But you never know what might be.”

Simon nodded, hyperaware of her closeness. It felt like companionship and support—neither of which he’d been expecting this week. He’d been determined to go it alone. Keep apart from anyone who could be hurt by what he did.

---