AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Working…Cassandra Electronics, 10092 Houston, established 2049, no financial or employee data in banks. A branch of Mount Olympus Enterprises. No available data. Encoded block illegal under federal law and will be reported automatically to CompuGuard.
"Yeah, you do that. The data's there. It'll be there somewhere. Verify address on Houston."
Working…Address is invalid. No such address exists.
Eve rose, circled the room. "But they put it in. Why bother to register the companies, risk an automatic search by CompuGuard, an IRS probe?"
Peabody took the opportunity to program more coffee. "Because they're cocky?"
"That's just exactly right. They don't know the van was spotted and tagged, but they had to know I'd do a run on the name Cassandra and click into it."
She took the coffee Peabody offered absently. "They want me to waste my time on it. If they can get an illegal into the data system, they've got funds and superior equipment. They aren't worried about CompuGuard."
"Everybody's worried about CompuGuard," Peabody disagreed. "You can't get by them."
Eve sipped her coffee and thought of Roarke's private room, his unregistered equipment, and his talent for skimming smoothly by CompuGuard's all-seeing eye. "They did," was all she said. "We'll dump this on EDD." Officially, Eve thought. Unofficially, she would ask her clever husband what he could do. "For now we'll just wait."
She turned back to the machine, called up the four companies that manufactured politex. Roarke Industries, she noted, Branson Toys and Tools, Eurotell Corporation, and Aries Manufacturing.
"Peabody, any of these named for those god people?"
"God people? Oh, I get it. Aries. I think he's a god of something or other, and I know he's a sign of the Zodiac."
"Greek?"
"Yeah."
"Let's see if they follow pattern." She ordered the data search and found Aries listed at an invalid address and attached to Mount Olympus.
"They're certainly tidy." Eve stepped back, leaned against the counter. "If they have a pattern, we can start predicting. Like Cassandra," she said with a cool smile.
She sent Peabody off to transfer the data and start an updated report. Then, switching to privacy mode, she called Roarke's office.
"I need to speak with him," she told Roarke's terrifyingly efficient assistant. "If he's available."
"Just one moment, Lieutenant. I'll pass you through."
One hand to her headphones, Eve moved quietly to the doorway, saw Peabody hard at work at the desk. With only a slight tug of guilt, she slipped back out of sight. She wasn't deceiving her aide, she told herself. She was preventing Peabody from stepping into the shadowy area between the law and justice.
"Lieutenant? What can I do for you?"
Eve blew out a breath and stepped into those shadows. "I need a consult."
"Oh? Of what sort?"
"Of the unofficial sort."
A glimmer of a smile worked around his mouth. "Ah."
"I hate when you say 'ah' that way."
"I know."
"Look, I'm not in a position to explain right now, but if you don't have anything on for tonight—"
"But I do. We do," he reminded her. "You invited guests."
"I invited?" She went totally blank. "I never invite anybody. You're the one."
