It’s great that I have this information, but Erik’s dead and this stuff is useless since he can’t verify it.Now I’m searching for how to substantiate his claims in ways other than corporate documentation.
In essence, I need people.
That could be another whistleblower or even people who knew him and in whom he might have confided.There’s no way I can cold-call RainVest employees, especially ones who would have been high up enough to know anything.Erik was the executive assistant to Adrian Schwartz and had stumbled upon the damning information.He was the one who tipped me off and started my investigation and ultimately provided me with the flash drive.It cost him his life, and I doubt I’m going to luck into someone else with the same knowledge base willing to talk.
But I have to try, and my first order of business is to call Marissa Hale.Through some good old-fashioned scrubbing of Erik’s social media accounts, I located his older sister.She’s married, has two kids under the age of seven and a suburban address outside of Tacoma.
I stare at her number for a long moment before dialing and she answers on the fourth ring.“Hello?”
Her voice sounds exhausted and laced with grief.She lost her brother just three days ago.“Hi, Marissa?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“My name is Tessa Ward.I’m a reporter for theEmerald City Heraldin Seattle.I was working with your brother on an investigative news piece before his death.”
Silence.Then, carefully, “Working how?”
“He had information about the company he worked for… RainVest.He tipped me off to some shady dealings and was providing me inside information.”
“Jesus,” she mutters, her words tight with anger.“Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I were,” I murmur.“I believe his death wasn’t accidental.”
Another stretch of silence, heavier this time.“I don’t know anything about that,” she says quickly.
Too quickly.
“I’m not looking to drag you into this situation unnecessarily,” I say gently.“But Erik trusted me.He gave me documents.If there’s context—if there’s anything you noticed—”
“I don’t know anything,” she cuts in, her composure cracking slightly.“And even if I did… I don’t want to talk about it.I just lost him, for Christ’s sake!”
I sit up straighter.She knows something.“I promise I won’t use your name.I can come talk to you today—”
“No!”she exclaims and I hear the fear in her voice.“Erik and I weren’t that close so I couldn’t be of any help.”
I don’t buy it for a second.Social media showed a loving, close sibling relationship with pictures of them with their arms around each other, smiling big for the camera.He doted on his nephews.I decide to hit her on it but gentle my voice.“I don’t think that’s true, Marissa.”I hear her inhale on the other end of the line.“I think you two loved each other very much and he was taken away unfairly.I really want to get him justice and—”
“Listen, lady,” she hisses in a low voice that actually promises violence.“I have two kids.I’m not getting pulled into whatever mess he made.”
“He didn’t make this mess,” I say quietly.“He was trying to expose it.”
“Then expose it,” she snaps.“But leave me out of it.I can’t orphan my children.”
The line goes dead and I pull my phone away from my ear, staring at it thoughtfully before lowering it to the desk.
She absolutely has information but that’s a dead end for now.I could just show up on her doorstep and try to get her to talk, and that’s still a possibility.I’ll have to talk to Cole and see what he thinks.
Just the thought of Cole warms my skin.Last night we fell so easily into bed with each other, it was as if time had been standing still for us and restarted right where we left off.I particularly enjoyed making him see stars with that blow job, and oh, did he pay me back for it.He made me orgasm twice before flipping me over on my stomach and driving into me from behind.That’s one of the aspects I loved most about our sex life… the way he took control.
The way he dominated me.
“You look deep in thought.”I jolt, glancing up to see Josie approaching, tablet and folder tucked under her arm, coffee in hand.
My face flushes since I was thinking dirty thoughts but I play it off.“I tried to make contact with Erik’s sister,” I say.“She knows something but she’s too scared to talk.I’m thinking of getting Cole to drive me to her house to see if I can get her to change her mind.”
“Well, put that on hold for now,” Josie replies evenly, setting her stuff down beside me and taking a chair.“I’ve got information on the Strategic Asset Protection Group.”She slides a stack of printed summaries across the desk.
“What did you find?”I ask, taking the papers and flipping through them.They’re all printouts from secure websites that I suspect might have been hacked.This is all information I would have never been able to access on my own.
