“I’ve been trying to figure out what he was after, and I think it’s the key to the dead man’s switch. Killing me would flip the switch, so he couldn’t do it.”
Savannah relaxed against him. “You came up with the right way to stay alive.”
The dead man’s switch had kept Hez alive ever since he beat a shady financial firm named Hornbrook Finance. Hornbrook had nearly destroyed TGU, but Hez discovered that they’d been cheating their clients, some of whom were very dangerous people. Hez and a computer whiz named Bruno Rubinelli had set up a mass email to all those defrauded clients and threatened to send it out unless Hornbrook repaired TGU’s finances and repaid everyone it had cheated. Hornbrook had caved.
To make sure they didn’t try to seek revenge, Bruno had set up what he called a “dead man’s switch”—a mechanism that would only be triggered if either Hez or Bruno died. Bruno’s switch was a computer program that would automatically send out the mass email to Hornbrook’s victims if either he or Hez failed to prove they were alive every twenty-four hours.
If those emails were sent, Hornbrook Finance would implode and its founder, James Hornbrook, would be lucky to live a week. So unless James Hornbrook and his company found a way to disable the switch, they had no choice but to let Hez and Bruno live.
“Aunt Savannah!”
Savannah wheeled around at Simon’s urgent call, and she ran to the kitchen. Both dogs were standing on wobbly feet with their tails wagging feebly. “Marley.” She fell to her knees and buried her face in her dog’s fur.
“Hey, Cody,” Hez said in a gentle voice. He sank to the floor to pet the little mutt.
A sharp rap sounded on the door and Blake entered with Paradise behind him. Her mane of light brown hair had exploded around her shoulders from the humidity, and she smiled when her amber eyes glanced from Savannah to the dogs. “They’re awake. I’ll examine them, but I think they’ll be okay. The intruder must have used a sedative.”
Savannah and Hez moved out of the way, but Simon refused to budge from Cody’s side while Paradise checked them out. They’d all survived this incident, but they had to get James Hornbrook behind bars before he attacked Hez again.
A siren wailed outside, so Savannah ended her call with the 911 operator.
“I’d better call Bruno and warn him,” Hez said. “If they’re taking my electronics, I’m sure he’s targeted as well.”
“Good idea.” She pulled up Bruno’s number, dialed, and switched to speaker mode.
The call went straight to voicemail.
Detective Augusta Richards looked up from her notebook, her brown eyes sharp with interest. “Can Hornbrook turn off this dead man’s switch now?”
“I don’t think so.” Hez wished he could give a more definitive answer. “I think the whole thing is encrypted. I punch in a randomly generated code every day and then call a number, and a robotic voice says a nonsense phrase, which I repeat. If the thief can hack into my phone and computer, he’ll have the website and number, but I don’t think that’s enough to turn off the switch. At least not right away. Bruno would know more, of course. He set it up.”
“The San Francisco police have already sent a unit to check on him.” Augusta clicked her pen and closed her notebook. “Until they find him, there’s not much more for us to do.” She turned to Savannah’s best friend, Nora Craft, a forensic tech at the Pelican Harbor Police Department. “Let me know when you’re done processing the scene.”
Nora’s brown curls bobbed as she nodded. She had come straight from the game and still wore her red-and-white TGU sweatshirt. “It’ll just be a few minutes. The burglar didn’t leave much evidence beyond that hamburger package. There are some scratches around the lock that might indicate it waspicked. I took pictures, and I’m just about done dusting for prints.”
Nora’s arrival with Augusta had been a relief. Savannah had hugged her friend before turning her attention back to a groggy Marley while Nora worked. Hez also felt better with Nora and Augusta in his condo. The PHPD had an unknown traitor in their ranks, but Hez knew—and trusted—Augusta and Nora. He’d been comfortable turning his back on them while he said goodbye to Blake and Paradise as Augusta interviewed Savannah.
Savannah’s phone buzzed, drawing a growl from Cody, who disliked objects that suddenly came to life. Savannah grabbed her phone. “It’s Bruno!” She took the call and put it on speaker. “Bruno! Are you okay?”
“Yeah, though I had an unexpected visitor about half an hour ago.” Bruno spoke casually, as though this was a common occurrence for him. Maybe it was. “The guy got past my security system, which was impressive. He grabbed my phone and one of my laptops and then ran. How about you guys? Hez’s phone is dead. Did they get to him?”
“They did.” Hez walked over to her phone. “They got my phone and laptop at about the same time they hit you. How long will it take them to reach the key to the dead man’s switch?”
“So they have phones and computers from both of us. Hmm...” Hez hovered over the phone as Bruno hummed tunelessly. “Depending on how good they are, it’ll take between forty-eight hours and forever.”
Forty-eight hours? Hez’s stomach muscles clenched. “How will we catch these guys in forty-eight hours?”
Augusta leaned forward. “We’ll call the FBI’s Cyber Division, and we’ll do what we can to keep you safe while they investigate.”
Bruno gave a sharp laugh. “Cyber usually calls me for this kind of case. Don’t worry about it. We should be fine—at least for a while.”
Hez relaxed a fraction. “Why is that?”
“Because I switched the files as soon as the guy left. They’re not gonna find the key when they finally get in.”
The tension in Hez’s gut eased. “What will they find?”
“A Rick Astley video.”
