Page 2 of Just Hide

She was going to uncover Liam Treverton’s misdoings.

He'd botched her sister Jenna's missing person case six years ago. He'd since been removed from the FBI, and then, when she had tried to track him down to get a voice recording to open his stolen laptop, tragedy had followed. Cami took a shuddering breath as she remembered how that violent, inexplicable scene had played out.

Ethan had been with her. He’d accompanied her to the dodgy bar where she'd found Liam. He'd recognized Liam. He'd known him—she hadn't known how or why. There hadn’t been time to discuss this because Ethan had told her to get out of that bar, now. Something must have gone wrong, and he’d seen it, because he'd grabbed her, and they'd left, hustling down the quiet, late-night streets.

Someone had followed them. A man with a gun. Whoever it was had shot Ethan. And had stalked and almost killed her.

Ethan hadn't survived.

She had no idea why it had happened. Ethan had seen Liam, but had Liam seen them? Or had somebody else? After it had happened, she’d been sure that Liam must have sent the gunman, but now, rethinking it, going back over the confused memories of that time, she wasn’t sure anymore.

Sitting in her tiny student bedroom at MIT, Cami felt her eyes flood with tears yet again. Never mind who’d sent the shooter. It was her fault, all her fault, that Ethan had died. If she hadn't been so hell bent on uncovering the irregularities, the misdoings she was picking up surrounding her sister’s botched case and Liam’s involvement, then Ethan would still be alive. Going to that bar, her decision, had gotten him killed.

He'd been her friend and more. There had been a romantic spark between her and the handsome, young agent. He hadn't minded that Cami was a rebel, with her half-shaved, black-dyed hairstyle, her piercings, and the tattoos on her arms. He hadn't minded that she'd resented the FBI after being forced into a deal to help them with IT cases when they'd discovered she'd hacked their website.

She’d done that as a protest because they'd spun their wheels on Jenna's case and then abandoned it. That was why, as soon as she learned the skills to do it, she'd hacked the homepage in protest. But she'd left a loophole, because she had been too rushed to cover her tracks, and they'd found her. Trouble had followed, and having to choose between helping the FBI or a long jail sentence, Cami had opted to help. But she’d been angry and rebellious, feeling she’d been strong armed into it.

Ethan's presence had been the first positive turn this entire ordeal had taken. There had been an immediate spark between them. She had admired and respected his dedication to his job, and it had made her think better of the FBI itself.

And now, he was gone.

Shaking her head, Cami pushed the thoughts aside. All she could do now was to look into Liam's laptop. She hadn't felt ready to do that yet. She'd needed a week to regroup, to get the strength she needed to open it and face what was there. A week to get over the guilt that crippled her every time she thought about Ethan's face, which was all the time.

But now, she was going to.

Cami took a deep breath. She opened the machine again, feeling a surge of hatred once again for Liam, for what he'd done and what he hadn't done.

She'd made sure to take it off the network, so that it couldn't be found online. That had been the first thing she'd done, as well as getting past Liam's security and then disabling it. It was very clear he had IT knowledge, and she couldn't risk him finding out who she was.

She'd left an anonymous threat on his alarm security code, saying she was watching him, and he should be afraid. That much, she'd done, before cutting off all ties. She hoped he’d seen it, and she hoped he felt scared.

But now, back to Jenna. What had happened? Why had this guy bungled the case so badly? Would there be any answers on this sleek laptop?

As Cami opened the laptop, she knew there was no going back. She was now committed to finding out what had happened to her sister, and she was going to make sure Liam was the one to answer for it.

So, where could answers be found?

Cami started going through the files on the laptop. She wasn't expecting quick or easy solutions, but she'd written a couple of hacks that she thought might help her search a little faster.

Hacks that would uncover the name “Jenna Lark” and “Missing person.”

She felt confident that if there was anything there to be found, she'd find it. Even if it was hidden, she would find it. And why should it be hidden anyway?

Anger flared as she thought about the reasons: Liam was a criminal, he was corrupt, and he was pursuing his own agenda which conflicted with the FBI or any law enforcement ethos.

That warped agenda had resulted in her sister's case fizzling out and, ultimately, in the death of Ethan.

Her computer pinged. Cami's eyes narrowed. Files had been found. She took a closer look at what her search had unearthed.

The files that had been uncovered were in an archived folder, deeply buried in the system's records, in a subsection labeled “Work,” then “Cases,” then the year's date and then “J. Lark.”

He'd clearly worked and organized methodically. Since this laptop was fairly new, she guessed these records had been carried over onto it. He'd kept track of his cases, and he'd kept these records on file, though deeply archived.

Now, what did he have to say? Would she find out why this case had been bungled?

Cami felt thankful that she did know more about FBI procedures than she had a few months ago, thanks to her recent experience in helping with IT related cases. She had seen case files before, and she knew what they were supposed to contain and the level of detail that a good investigator would uncover. When she’d accessed Jenna’s file in the FBI archives, it had been very incomplete. If there was anything else he’d hidden or destroyed, perhaps it was here.

Narrowing her eyes, she opened the file, ready to see if she could find out what token efforts Liam had made and why he'd botched this case so badly. Especially since she now thought he'd known Jenna beforehand. That had been hinted at in the information she'd researched.

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