I pushed off my hood, pulled out a useless earpiece with a twisted white cord from my pocket, and stuck it in one ear, and attached a dummy police walkie to my shoulder. I stepped out of the shadows and slipped along the edge of the property, then turned and moved toward her as if I’d come from the front of the building.
“Ma’am, I need you to step away from the building.”
“What?” She stopped foraging in the bushes. Her eyes widened. “Oh, officer, I’m glad you’re here. Two strangers just came into our office building. One of them claimed to be co-owner of the company, but I’ve never heard of her, and then I tried to call my boss… That’s not a cop’s uniform.”
“Private security for Ms. Savannah Lindstrom, ma’am. I’m going to need you to step away from the building, turn around very slowly, and put your hands on your head.”
“I’m not—I’m the good guy, here!”
She was either a very good liar or she really believed that.
Lang broke through the chatter in my ear. “Get her contained, Hayes. Foot traffic’s picking up in the area.”
I dropped the good cop act. I pulled out a zip tie, stepped toward her, and bound her wrists. She was stunned silent, giving me a chance to do my spiel. “There’ve been threats against Ms. Lindstrom.” I herded Lisa back into the building.
“Untie me or I’ll scream!”
“Ma’am, you’re behaving suspiciously. I’ve put in a call to local authorities. We’ll wait for them to arrive, and you can explain it all to them.”
“Oh.”
As expected, the mention of the imminent arrival of the cops calmed her.
“Well, I…” She tugged at the binding and quickly gave up. “Fine, but when they figure out I’m telling the truth, I’m going to press charges.”
“Pasco, you have what you need?” Wheeler’s voice rose above the rest of the chatter.
“We’re good,” Pasco confirmed.
“Hayes, we’re heading your way,” Wheeler said. He quickly explained the situation with Lisa, which she’d missed because Pasco had her on only his channel.
By the time they exited the elevator, she’d been briefed up and ready to play her part.
“Smith!” Savannah’s eyes darted around the lobby, belying her nervousness, but her voice was strong and sharp. “What have you done to the receptionist?”
“I found this woman poking around behind the building, ma’am. I contained the situation, and I’ve notified the authorities.”
“Call off the authorities,” Savannah said. She stepped behind the reception desk and located a pair of scissors. “Lisa, I’m so sorry about this.” She cut the zip tie. “Smith was only doing his job. I’ve had threats, and… What were you doing behind the building?”
“Looking for something,” Lisa lied. “I got a call from one of the landscapers. He lost his wallet, and I told him I’d check the grounds.”
“Oh.” Savannah smiled at Lisa, then at me. “You see? A simple explanation. Obviously, there’ve been misunderstandings all around. Why don’t you lock up and take off the rest of the afternoon? The other staff in the building can get along without you for a few hours.”
“Thank you, but I’m fine.” Lisa rubbed her wrists. The zip tie marks were already fading. “I don’t mind staying.”
“Such a dedicated employee.” Savannah started toward the front door. Wheeler and I followed her. “We appreciate you! Have a good weekend!”
As we stepped outside, a black Town Car pulled up at the curb. Wheeler opened the door for Savannah. She climbed into the back, I went in after her, and Wheeler took gunner’s seat beside Lang.
“What the hell was going on in that building?” Savannah asked no one in particular. “All of my employees are gone, strangers are working there, and an expensive security system has been installed.”
“Eight cameras monitoring the second floor,” Wheeler confirmed.
“And I never saw paperwork for any of it,” Savannah continued. “Everything, off the books.”
“But on the servers,” Lang said. “And now we have a duplicate of the servers.”
I hoped he was right. Savannah needed to understand what had happened. The stress was too much for her. Her face was a pale gray color, and her eyes were watering.
