Page 34 of Begin Again

“What is this?” I whisper, the words barely audible.

Gabe set up alerts to notify him if anyone accessed these files. Why? What are these numbers? Who is behind them looking into records on Theo?

I need to know what those numbers are. I pull up a search engine and type in the numbers.

What.

The.

Fuck.

I don’t even bother clicking on the first link that pops up. The description makes my eyes bulge out of my head.

153.31.100.0 - 153.31.100.255 is an IP address range owned by FBI Criminal Justice Information Systems and located in the United States.

What does the FBI want with Theo?

Exiting out of the search engine I click on the alert, digging deeper. The program shows a log of past activity, and it isn’t the first time someone has accessed these files. But this is different—this isn’t routine. Whoever is doing this is digging into Theo’s background, not just the official case files.

The first thing they access is an old incident report from high school, a senior prank gone wrong. Then, the police report from when he was nine—his parents’ deaths. My stomach knots as I watch the hacker move through each file in real-time.

The next thing they open is Walter and Elise’s autopsies. I skim the document even though I’ve read it before. Blunt force trauma. Internal injuries. Cause of death: automobile accident.

Then, they access another police report. My breath catches. This isn’t one I remember seeing before. The report states that Walter and Elise were on their way home from Aubrey’s house when they crashed.

Why were they at Aubrey’s?

Another alert pops up. A new name appears on the list.

Aubrey.

My pulse pounds in my ears as I realize I’m not the only one watching this. Someone else—whoever hacked in—is pulling files on her now.

Her husband’s death.

I watch as they open statements she made after he died. I scan through them quickly. She said he had been drinking and was hung over during their time on the slope. The coroner ruled it accidental. No foul play.

Then, the hacker jumps back to Walter and Elise. The reports. The autopsies.

Back to Aubrey’s first husband. The investigation. The interrogation. I lean closer, breathing shallow. She had nothing to do with it. It was ruled an accident. But someone out there isn’t convinced.

Then they pull Gabe’s autopsy. My breath catches in my throat.

I blink, my eyes burning from staring at the screen for so long. Hours have passed. My fingers tremble as I reach for my phone. I need to tell Theo. And Bennett.

I dial Theo first.

“Hey,” I say, my voice uneven.

“You okay?” he asks, concern threading through his words. “You sound… off.”

“I’m at the department, going through Gabe’s things,” I say, glancing at the screen. “And… I accidentally found something. Can you come here?”

“On my way.”

Before he can hang up, I add, “Bring Bennett.”

Theo groans. “Why do I have to be the one to bring him?”

---