Page 11 of Only the Devil
While Ms. Brainiac likes to think I’m sitting on my ass playing games, that’s not who I am. No, I’m sitting here diligently observing the mundane office routine playing out across the street.
My phone lights up and Hudson’s name flashes. I hit answer, setting it to speaker.
“Hola,” I say.
“Checking in. What’s your take?” The boss man’s always direct; I’ll give him that.
“No change since yesterday. Same corporate drone routine.” I hesitate, but why? I’ve been told I’ve got a job with or without gigs, and I’ve never been one to blow smoke. “I’m pretty useless over here as protective detail.”
“Because you’re sitting across the street?”
I’m pretty sure my eyebrows hit my hairline. Fuck yeah, because I’m sitting across the street. Sure, I have a rifle and am a capable sniper, but I don’t foresee the need to eliminate a threat at long range on this assignment.
“I agree with you,” Hudson says before I formulate a PC response. “But the client doesn’t want her out there alone. Protective detail can be mind-numbing work. It’s better than a war zone. Enjoy it.”
Cognitively, I recognize he’s dishing out good advice.
“This weekend, see if you can set up audio and video surveillance. We’ll monitor the feed on our end.” I scan the windows, confirming Daisy hasn’t returned to her desk. “It’s another way KOAN can assist with the investigation.”
Surveillance should speed the investigation along. Maybe we’ll overhear discussions that aren’t documented in email, and from a protective detail perspective, people come and go from her office and while I can watch from here, with audio, I can hear if there’s a threat. “Sounds good to me.”
“You think you can safely install this weekend? Has Daisy observed any surveillance equipment on their side?”
“She hasn’t, but that doesn't mean it’s not there. If I’m spotted inside, it’s explainable. They think I’m her boyfriend.”
“Good. Based on what Noah is hearing out in LA, it’s best that they’re aware she’s not alone.”
“What’s Noah found?”
“He’s spoken to three different people who were shocked by Alvin Reed’s death. Said he was fit and healthy.”
Yeah, but he was also old. “Is there any evidence that suggests foul play?”
“No. Quinn accessed the police report. But the body wasn’t found for days. I don’t think anyone cared enough to look hard. And he was actively working on that class action lawsuit.”
“And the cops never spoke to any of these people?”
“If they did, it’s not in the report, but I don’t know why they would have. Daisy’s mom’s name is listed as the person who discovered the body and called 911. And before you ask, she and Daisy have different last names, so if someone else accessed the report, there’s no obvious connection to Daisy.”
This isn’t news to me, as it came up in last night’s conversation. Originally born Daisy Betts, her Mom changed Daisy’s last name to Jonas when she was in a fifth-grade play because she wanted a better name for Daisy should she decide to follow her mother’s acting career path and aim to join SAG. Daisy prefers Jonas to Betts so she never bothered changing it back after she turned eighteen.
“From what I can tell, this outpost is a mix of low-level sales and cubicle dwellers that run numbers or something. I understand she’s convinced employees have to be in on the scam, but in my observations, the folks across the street don’t strike me as high-risk. Is Noah not picking up the same vibes?”
A flash of white in a second-floor office catches my attention. I pick up binoculars for a closer look. There’s a woman bent over a desk and the shirttail of the man bent over her flaps back and forth.
Well, now. That’s a more interesting office meeting.
“He spoke to a veteran who claims before Alvin Reed’s death, a man came by to ask him questions. He thought it was an intimidation tactic to get them to drop the class action lawsuit, but now he wonders if someone was checking to see if Reed had anyone that would come looking for him. The guy said he shared that Reed didn’t have any close family, and he wishes he hadn’t revealed it. Noah said the guy seemed paranoid, possibly high, so he wasn’t sure how much we could read into it, but it’s something to be aware of.”
“Did the guy get a name? Or a company name?”
“The guy didn’t leave a business card. It happened a week before Reed’s death, so he wasn’t suspicious. The man introduced himself as an investigator, researching claims made against Sterling Financial, but we haven’t located any such investigator. Of course, we have little to go on. Noah’s still working the contact list. Several he’s found are part of Reed’s Gamblers Anonymous group.”
“You think they were targeting gamblers?”
“I’d say it’s more like Reed was selling the opportunity to those within his network. The fund gives a referral bonus. But Noah’s still investigating. He suspects a few on his list are avoiding him.”
“You think they’re scared?”
