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“Ready?” Cami knew that her job was to move the mouse, access the records, and get in and out as fast as possible while checking the security. She didn’t even have to look for the number. Connor would do that, while she worked on the logistics.
She started. First name. Second one. Third. She worked like clockwork, in and out, relying on Connor’s eyes to pick up the number as it flashed onto the screen and see if it was the one they were looking for.
She reached ten. Working in a rhythm. It was becoming easier, but then they had to escape the system twice because of the security sweeps. They were definitely coming faster. She reached fifteen, then twenty. Then twenty-two and then twenty-four.
They’d just accessed every single one of the technicians, and that number didn’t belong to anybody working here. It was impossible!
Cami felt as if this situation had landed them in a nightmare. Frustration seethed inside her, momentarily paralyzing, before she realized the obvious solution.
“He’s not a current employee and he's not an ex-employee either, Connor. But there's a third category. Look here. It's a very short list. Employees from last year who've gone AWOL, or who are on compassionate leave, or who have taken long leave. That's why Sutherland didn't think to include them. Because they haven't had access to the systems for a while, and although they're not ex-employees, they're not active."
“There!” Connor shouted, and Cami grabbed her phone, quickly photographing the screen, so that they had every detail of this employee record. Triumph filled her as she saw what she’d captured. This employee was named Miles Ferguson. He was twenty-nine years old. And he lived in Boston.
He’d gone on extended long leave after a family tragedy in September last year and had still not returned to work. That was convenient, Cami thought.
Because of that, Sutherland had clearly not even thought to mention him. His focus, and theirs, had all been on the current employees, the ones that they had thought would be able to log into the records and access them in real time. It had been a stroke of luck that they’d found out about this six month window, and that it had allowed them to pinpoint this man, who’d flown all the way under the radar.
Now, they had the ex-employee’s name at last. But they needed more.
“Connor, there’s one last thing we need to do,” Cami said. She didn’t know if she’d have the time for it. These security sweeps were now occurring on an almost continual basis. She had the feeling there was probably some kind of code or protocol that could stop them, and if this was not followed, they would intensify and the system would end up freezing.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“We need to find out which other people could be targeted,” Cami said urgently.
Connor nodded. “You mean, who else had their override code changed? Who else he’s got on his list?”
“Exactly,” Cami said.
“I’ll see if there’s a police car anywhere near his house in the meantime," Connor said grimly. "We can't waste time. We have to get this man. He lives ten miles away. If there's a car in the area, they might be able to get there quicker than we can. But it's an out-of-town address." He sounded doubtful. "I don't see any police stations closer than this one."
While Connor made his urgent calls, Cami searched through the online system, looking for the information that might help them to identify his next victim.
There had to be a way of finding his activity. That way, if he wasn't at home or they had to hunt for him, they could warn the remaining people whose records he’d accessed.
Cami had no idea how many of them there would be. He could already have finished his killing spree, or it might just have begun. But they had to try to look.
“Where can I go? Daily activity log. That’s the one we need.”
But when she clicked on that, Cami saw this was going to be a difficult job. The software didn’t differentiate. Every single transaction from every single technician was logged in chronological order, from minor repairs to testing to updates. It was a jumbled and chaotic system. She guessed it could be fine-tuned and sorted through, but she was just as sure that doing so would create an alert and shut the system down.
She would have to go back manually and look at the activity from that date, and near that date, done by that employee number.
Cami raced back, scrolling through the months, gritting her teeth at the slowness of the system. She was getting there. She was there! There was the first access point. There was the home they’d just been to, on Ridge Road.
Was she going to be able to see any other transactions?
She hoped so, but as she tried to scroll back further, the screen froze.
The security shutdown she had expected was now in progress. The system had frozen and would probably automatically reboot after a while. Maybe half an hour later for a thorough check to be done.
Despite all her efforts, she felt she’d failed. She couldn’t warn anyone else he might be planning to target. Now, the only option was to find the killer himself.
“There are no available police cars in the area, Cami. We need to get to Miles Ferguson’s house ourselves. Now,” Connor said, and Cami jumped to her feet. The race was on – and she prayed they’d be in time to prevent another kill.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
No police nearby – it was them, or nothing. That reality weighed on Cami’s mind as Connor raced through the streets, now dark and empty. It was nearly midnight and heading out of town, through suburban quietness, to the countryside, it seemed that most of Boston was already asleep.
