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Again, he nodded. “Yes. There’s an override code. But it’s unique to each system. And it’s a complex code.”
Cami felt a surge of triumph. They were getting closer to the breakthrough they needed. It surely had to be one of the technicians who had either installed or managed the home systems, who knew the override code, and who worked in the Boston area. One of them had to be the killer.
“We need the details of all your implementation team and all your techs who work here, in Boston,” Connor said.
Now, Sutherland looked briefly panicked. He glanced at his Rolex.
“My airplane is literally taking off in twenty minutes. I have to get to the gate!”
“Anyone been fired in the past few months?”
“No! Nobody’s been fired in the past year. And if people are fired, we revoke their access to the system immediately. We’re not stupid.”
“What about people who quit?”
“Yeah, we’ve had a couple quit last year, but not for the past few months, and in any case, we do the same. Access is revoked when people leave.”
“What about wiping the system completely?”
“That’s only possible by being on site. You enter the code manually and then hold down two particular numbers on the keypad for thirty seconds. It’s very complicated. Only our techs and installers would know how.”
“Okay. Then I need the list of your current techs and installers. By the time that plane takes off, I want the details in my inbox.” Connor handed him his business card. “Because otherwise, as soon as tomorrow, I might not be able to prevent the wave of bad publicity that’s going to take you under.”
“I’ll send it. Promise.” Reluctantly, but in a firm voice, Sutherland agreed.
Connor got up and strode with him to the security gate. There, he went to the side door and spoke to one of the security staff, who took Sutherland straight through. The last that Cami saw of him, he was sprinting in the direction of his boarding gate.
“He’d better send us the information.” Connor turned, heading out of the airport, checking his phone as he went. It began ringing, and Cami glanced at him hopefully. Was this the call they were waiting for?
But looking down at the screen, Connor frowned.
“I’ll be a minute,” he said. Yet again, he strode a few paces away, taking the call at a distance where Cami couldn’t hear him.
Something – something that involved Bill Oertel, she suspected – was going very wrong.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Connor moved away from Cami to take the call, feeling deeply troubled. This situation was escalating – fast, and way out of his control. It was Jacenta calling. She was keeping track of the situation at the FBI as best she could.
He knew she felt responsible, that it was because of her that Cami’s name had come to Bill Oertel’s attention. It wasn’t her fault, of course. But in any case it had happened now, it might be exploding, and they had to try to contain it and prevent any collateral damage.
Particularly to Cami Lark. No way did she deserve this. Not when all the evidence was pointing to the fact her sister had been one of Oertel’s victims. He could not let this man hurt Cami too.
“Any sign of him?” he asked quietly.
“No sign,” Jacenta said, giving Connor the news he hadn’t hoped for. “His house is empty, he hasn't been there. We have an agent outside and another one inside. They're searching through his files, but there's not much to be found. It looks as if he’s sanitized the place.
Grimly, Connor acknowledged the fact. Of course, he was going to do that. He was an FBI agent who knew his betrayal had been discovered. They had a lot of facts stacked up against him already. Maybe they had what they needed, although more would always be helpful. That was not the main concern, though.
The main concern was that they needed him to get to his network. All they had so far were cut-off points. Whoever the others were, they had been very careful. Connor acknowledged that they’d been lucky to get to Oertel at all.
They needed to capture him for the intel he possessed, but also for something that troubled Connor even more – what he might do if he remained at large.
One rogue agent who'd gone bad a long time ago might already have been responsible for organizing several deaths, including Ethan’s. He seemed to have the attitude that dead people were the most effective cutoff there was. Which Connor had to admit, had worked for him so far. Several deaths, several murders over the years, a few disappearances, and Oertel had been able to operate within his dark and illegal framework, undetected, while maintaining a high level position.
The thought gave Connor goosebumps. It was absolutely chilling.
“And his phone?” he asked Jacenta. “Any updates, any progress there?”
