Page 31 of Just Hide

"Can you track who was using your software and when?" Connor began with the most important question.

Cami held her breath, hoping for a positive answer, but Marius shook his head. "We have a policy that anyone can log in to our test stations and test out the software at any time," he said. "We have a company login that can be used by anyone. Any bugs in the system or ideas have to be sent through. So, the basic usage is open to all. We have a test station on every floor."

"How many employees do you have?" Connor asked.

"We have 140 that work here in this building and about forty others in our satellite offices in New York and LA."

Cami watched as Connor took a deep breath, acknowledging the job that lay ahead. "That's a lot of employees. So, the sooner we can make a start, the better," he said. "With your permission, we need to start screening all of them."

Marius narrowed his eyes. Cami thought, with a clench of her stomach, that he wasn't going to agree to this. But then, he nodded.

"You can go ahead. But I have one condition," he added, looking sternly at Cami and Connor.

"What is it?" Connor asked.

"That you don't make this public knowledge," Marius said. "This is a new tech company in a competitive market, and we need to keep our reputation clean. If I've got a killer among my staff, the kind of psychopath who would do this, it's damned bad luck, and I hope you find them. But what I don't want is my entire company dragged through the dirt and a media feeding frenzy." His voice was firm.

Connor nodded. "We'll keep it under wraps and as discreet as possible," he said. "We'll interview key people, but we might be able to do a lot of work behind the scenes, without speaking to anyone, if you'll allow us access to some of the records."

"You can view the records, but I want you under supervision at all times," he said, and this time, Cami saw Marius glance at her once more. "I'm guessing this young lady might be your tech expert. I don't want her logging into our systems unsupervised."

"I won't do that," Cami said hastily, but Marius gave her a level stare. "You won't do that because I'm going to make sure all your online actions are tracked. Our tracking software is state of the art, we're in the process of taking it to market, and we're very pleased with its performance so far. This will be a good opportunity to test it out. We have excellent fail safes in place for people who try to bypass it. I'm not saying you'd do anything intentionally wrong, but we need to protect our property."

Again, his glance fell on Cami. She'd been pinpointed, that was for sure.

"I'd like to start by screening your managers to get an idea of who's who in the company," Connor said.

As Cami had thought, he went straight for the people angle.

She hoped that she'd be able to delve straight into the archives, but Connor said firmly, "You're going to work with me for now, Cami. If we pick up on anything irregular, that's when you can start the online checking."

Cami felt irritated that she wasn't being allowed to go her own way, but she guessed Connor had a point. There were a lot of employees in this business, and she couldn't go blindly exploring the systems without some guidelines as to who they should focus on.

"Good idea," she said, causing Connor to nod approvingly.

"You can use this boardroom. There’s a test computer right here that will give you some access into whatever you need.” Marius indicated the sleek, silver screen and keyboard on the opposite desk.

Was he being too nice? Too open? Cami felt a sudden flare of suspicion, but then reasoned to herself that if there was a killer in his company, she guessed this CEO wanted him or her rooted out, and fast. He was keen to get the work done, and he knew that by cooperating, he could ensure that the FBI also came to the party by keeping things as low profile as possible.

"Can we speak to your HR manager first?" Connor asked.

"That’s Maria Rossi, and I'll send her through to you now. Just do this fast, get it done, and let me know the results, please." Marius turned and walked out.

Cami opened her laptop and jotted a few notes on her screen, hoping that she'd be prepared for this important interview. After all, HR knew everything about everyone. HR was the most terrifying and feared section of any company.

And the woman who walked in a minute later looked as if she was fully living up to this reputation.

Maria Rossi had dark hair tied back in a French braid. She had a brisk expression and piercing, dark eyes. She was wearing a gray power suit and a red blouse, and her nails were immaculately manicured.

She sat down opposite Cami and Connor and opened her own laptop. "Marius said I must answer all your questions. There may be some confidentiality stumbling blocks, but I'll cooperate with you as best as I can," she said. "As you know, our software is the best in the market. It's highly sophisticated, and it allows us to search through millions of images in a matter of seconds. It's what's used by law enforcement as well as by many companies for security purposes. So, for that reason, we’re going to need to put a level of security and management in place on your transactions. Technological espionage is real."

Now, she was also looking suspiciously at Cami. She tried not to feel personally attacked. In this company, they’d clearly seen her immediately for the IT whiz kid she was.

“The main management team?” Connor asked. “Is their whereabouts accounted for on Monday, yesterday, or today?”

“The main management team and the CEO were all in a conference the whole of yesterday. It started at eight and wrapped up at around two p.m. That includes the CEO, COO, the head of security, the head of marketing, and the IT team, as well as myself.”

That ruled the company heads out, but it left many others.

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