Page 9 of Daddy’s Protecting

“When I walked out of the police station, my phone rang. He didn’t say hello or anything. Eddie ordered me to upload the file the next day or I’d go to jail for murder, and he’d make sure my mother suffered for her last days. I didn’t even have time to beg him to not bring Alicia into this.”

“Tell me exactly how Eddie told you to upload the file,” Dirk requested.

“He said all I needed to do was plug in the flash drive and open it. The program would do the rest.”

“Did you ask him how Edgewater would be affected?” Dirk asked.

“He said it was a big company and they’d recover quickly from the minor annoyance the file would cause. He didn’t tell me it would trap people in different areas or do any of the other things. Those emergency doors slammed closed so hard in the cafeteria we all jumped. If someone had gotten in the way… then the alerts started coming in about all the other areas of the buildings that were being targeted. I knew then that Eddie had lied. That bug was much more powerful than just an inconvenience.”

“What did you do when the doors reopened?”

“I ran to get Bullyboo from my apartment. I wanted to take him somewhere safe. He told me I needed to find Mr. Edgewater and explain. I should have listened to him, but I panicked and ran.” She did her best to keep herself from showing her anxietyas she thought about it. Cynthia knew she’d failed when Dirk spoke next.

“Just a few more questions,” Dirk assured her, making a note on the pad in front of him.

“Where have you been since the cyberattack?” Dirk asked.

“Hiding wherever I could find a safe place. I felt so bad. I finally called Piper. I had her cell number because she called in orders sometimes from her phone. She had me talk to Mr. Edgewater. He actually listened and seemed to care—even after I’d done so much damage.” Tears streamed down her face and Dirk handed her a napkin from the holder on the table. “Thanks.”

“He said he wanted you to talk to me?” Dirk asked gently.

“He gave me your address and told me to hide under your deck until you got home. Once you got home, I’d know if you had agreed to talk to me.”

“Last question: what did you do with the flash drive after you opened it on the computer?”

Shocked, she looked at him in surprise. Cynthia tried to remember, but everything that happened was such a blur of panic and her self-recrimination about what she’d done. After thinking for several long seconds, she whispered, “I don’t know.”

Dirk leaned forward to wrap his left hand around hers, twisting on top of the table as he turned off the recorder with his right. “Thank you, Cynthia, for being honest and telling me the truth. I think it’s time for Little girls to be in bed. The guest bedroom where you showered has a bed made up with fresh sheets.”

“Aren’t you going to call the police or take me to the station?”

“No. I’m going to put your clothes in the dryer while you go get in bed. We’ll come up with a plan tomorrow.”

“Really? You’re going to help me?”

“I was going to help you the minute you stepped out of the shadows under my deck, Little girl. Come on. It’s past your bedtime.”

Dirk walked her down the hall and into the bedroom. “Go potty,” he directed as he removed the decorative pillows and pulled down the covers.

Quickly, she followed his directions. Taking a deep breath after using the toilet and washing her hands, Cynthia walked back into the bedroom. Dirk simply lifted one side of the sheet for her to slide inside. He pulled the soft bedclothes up to her chin and kissed her forehead.

“Go to sleep. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you get this fixed.”

“Thank you,” she whispered as he walked over to turn out the lights.

When he started to close the door, she blurted, “Could you leave the door open a bit? It’s so dark in here.”

“Of course. There’s always a light on in the hallway. Sleep tight, Little girl.”

As she nestled into the crisp sheets, hope kindled inside Cynthia for the first time since she’d slid that flash drive into her work computer. Exhausted, she tumbled into sleep.

CHAPTER 3

Terrified shrieks woke Cynthia up from a deep sleep in what she guessed was the middle of the night. She sat up in bed and looked around, trying to remember where she was. When everything flooded back into her brain, she wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed. When her door opened, Cynthia cowered as she automatically searched blindly for Bullyboo to protect him.

“Cynthia, are you okay?” a worried deep voice asked from the doorway.

“Who are you?” she whispered, trying to shake off the nightmare that still lingered around her.

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