North Dakota Weddings (13 page)

How had Andi gotten herself into that predicament? Though relieved, Vance remained concerned for her well-being as she continued work on the missile site. But then, was there any line of work that was safe? As his thoughts returned to his own problems, he recognized that he was putting himself into a precarious position, too.

Vance munched on a bag of sour cream potato chips, then washed them down with a cola. He’d remotely searched the ANND Systems computers for all versions of his algorithm, finding nothing out of the ordinary. The one thing he had going for him was that he’d known Peter a very long time. That was to his partner’s disadvantage. No wonder he’d wanted Vance away. Vance guessed that Peter was running a parallel system, within the mainframe—a system that Vance wouldn’t know to look for unless, of course, he had a reason.

Should he do it, or should he not? The moral dilemma of the day.

He crumpled the empty bag of potato chips and shot for the garbage can across the room. Missed. His aim was lousy these days, in more ways than one. He’d created the new program, now what did he do with it?

Stellar
.

Vance had always prided himself on seeing things as either black or white. Something was either right or it was wrong. But he’d entered a situation—partly of his own making—in which things were blurred, morphing into a dull gray. If a parallel system were running a rogue version of Vance’s algorithm, then he had to know about it, he had to stop it. There was only one way to find out and that was by logging on to Peter’s account. If said system existed, then Peter was certainly in on it. Vance should have done this to begin with. But he’d put it off, not wanting to face reality.

But D-day was upon him. With a heavy heart Vance released a long, slow breath.

Several weeks ago while in Peter’s office, Vance had noticed Peter’s last password. It had been written on a Post-it note and stuck on the inside edge of the desk. Vance hadn’t intended to see it, but he couldn’t miss it, and once he’d seen, it was forever written in his memory. The guy had changed it by now—but it told Vance everything he needed to know. If he’d learned anything about his former college roommate, he knew how he selected passwords. The sticky pad told Vance he hadn’t changed his method.

Peter used acronyms based on activities he enjoyed. That, plus four numbers tacked on the end. They were always the same four numbers—5624. That was the problem with passwords. They had to be something a person could remember, so switching the numbers around made no sense. But add them to a new word and you had a strong password. At least against cyber attacks.

Vance made a list of Peter’s activities and from those created acronyms, then tagged Peter’s four numbers at the end. Like any fail-safe system, ANND allowed three attempts. Satisfied that he’d included as many acronyms as possible, Vance sat back and closed his eyes, relaxing. He wanted to pray for God’s help, but he didn’t feel right about asking God in on his somewhat uncouth activity. That thought alone should tell him to stop.

Vance pulled up the login for ANND Systems and with nervous fingers entered in his first attempt.

Unsuccessful
.

A rush of moisture slammed his palms.

He entered the second password.

Unsuccessful
.

Heart pounding, he slumped against the sofa back. He wasn’t wired for covert activities.

Closing his eyes, he remembered his last conversation with Peter in the boardroom, with Carolyn hanging close to Peter, practically clinging to him. Peter had dated several women in the office—ANND had no policy against interoffice romance, resulting in at least two married couples. Carolyn was his latest. No one seemed concerned about harassment. Natasha, Sybil, Angela, Vespa, and Carolyn. NSAVC. Vance sat up. Could that be it?

He wondered, though, if Carolyn’s initial should be included or not. The guess was as good as any. He typed in NSAVC5624. Almost too many letters. He swallowed and, despite his hesitation, sent up a silent prayer, then pressed the login button.

Welcome, Peter Lundgren
.

“Yes.” Vance pumped his arm.

Because he was after only one thing, he avoided looking at anything else on Peter’s account. He scrolled through files to systems manager and opened it. Two systems appeared. Vance opened the one he’d been unaware of, searching for his algorithm.

There. A sick feeling hit the middle of his stomach. He ignored it, putting his mind to quickly creating a new username and password that would give him access to the parallel system. He then logged out of Peter’s account. The less time he spent on Peter’s account the less likely someone would notice the unauthorized access.

Using his newly created account, Vance logged in again. What he was about to do would eventually be discovered. He hoped his plan worked.

The phone rang. Vance kept his eyes on the screen while the program loaded, watching for any glitches. “Vance here.”

“It’s Andi.”

The nervous edge in her voice put Vance on alert. “What is it?”

“Elisa’s gone.”

W
hat do you mean?” Vance asked. This was awkward. It wasn’t any of his concern. Really. But Andi had already called Shawna next door. She hadn’t seen her sister. But Elisa
had
called and spoken to Vance. Maybe she’d told Vance something.

Andi tried to calm her voice. “She wasn’t at home when I got here. I can’t locate her at any of the usual places. What exactly did she say when she called?”

“Give me a sec.”

Andi paced her kitchen, waiting for his answer. She sprayed air freshener around the stale-smelling room, then knocked over a cup, spilling coffee.

“Just that she was getting a ride home and not to worry about her.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah, but she was pretty incensed…oh wait, she did say something about your keeping her in prison.”

Andi huffed. “Leave it to her to put a spin on everything.”

“Listen, Andi. What can I do to help?”

“I…uh…” What could he do? “I just needed to know if she’d told you she was going somewhere. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“I’m coming over. I can help you look.”

She cleared her throat. “That’s not necessary. I didn’t want to bother you but had hoped you might know something.”

“I probably have your address written down somewhere, but what is it again?”

“Vance…” She hesitated, realizing she’d carried a small twinge of hope. Just being with him lifted her spirit. And that’s exactly why she had to avoid him. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I need to get out for some air. Besides, I care about your sister.”

What about me?
The unwelcome thought irked her.

Still, bringing Vance into the equation would defuse an explosive situation, that is, once she found Elisa. Her sister liked him, opened up to him. Ready to detonate, Andi steadied her voice. “Four fifty-five Glenwood.”

“See you in a few.”

Andi cleaned up the spilled coffee, cleared the counters, and loaded the dishwasher, but her mind was far from these tasks. She and her sister hadn’t spoken much to each other since their argument a few days before—the night they’d gone stargazing with Vance.

“ You watch me like I’m your prisoner. I wish I didn’t live here with you.”

Elisa’s words bombarded her. At the time, Andi had taken them for an idle threat. But what if it wasn’t?

Gazing out the kitchen window, Andi thought about the possibility. Had Elisa run away? It was clear that Elisa was completely miserable, but wasn’t that the way of things? Andi wasn’t all that happy either, but at Elisa’s age, kids were pretty self-absorbed.

Shaking her head, she sighed. She wouldn’t put it past Elisa to pull a stunt like this, considering everything else she’d done. Andi hung her head over the sink, fighting back tears. Once again, God wasn’t there for her, for them.

Wouldn’t it be nice if she could simply wish upon a star—one of the brightest shimmering in the sky like she’d seen the other night—and have her wish answered? Why couldn’t God work like a wishing star?

She had to be strong and fix this problem—as usual, on her own. Having a talent for fixing things, she’d started her business for that very reason. Unfortunately, that talent didn’t extend to family problems or she’d have resolved hers long ago. But she had to try.

Now she wished she’d not allowed Vance to come. Rather than wait for him, she could be driving around town, looking for Elisa. She listened to the messages on the house phone and cell phone voice mail one more time while she glanced around for a note Elisa might have left.

Her room! If Elisa had run away, she’d have taken a bag of clothes. Things remaining in place would go a long way to drive the worry from Andi’s mind. She opened Elisa’s door and flipped on the light. The bed was askew, nothing new there. Clothes spilled from the too full closet. Andi relaxed a little.

A sudden pang of regret for their bad fortune in losing family and being on their own pummeled her. Elisa was probably safe somewhere, but the remote thought that she wasn’t unsettled Andi. She began picking up the clutter. A surge of love ran through her. She wanted to do better. Had to.

Lord, please bring her home safely, and help me to be a better sister and guardian. I’m asking for Elisa, not for myself
.

She’d added the last part to be sure God heard her. He had a soft spot for children, didn’t He? Grandma had made sure she got to Sunday school at least some of the time. Though Elisa was probably closer to an adult now than a child, Andi remembered something about Jesus wanting the little children near Him.

A knock on the door jolted her. Elisa? Andi fairly ran from the room. Elisa would have come through the door without knocking though.

Unless she’d forgotten her key.

Hands in pockets, Vance stood on the porch with a muted grin.

“Hi there.” At seeing him, Andi tugged her hair back into her usual ponytail.

He sent her an odd look, resulting in flutters to her insides. “Hey. Any luck finding her?”

Andi frowned. “Nope. Come on in.”

Vance meandered through the small foyer, following Andi into the living room. “What’s the plan then?”

Andi rubbed her forehead. “You know, I feel ridiculous having you come all this way. I should have just driven around town. She could be anywhere that kids hang out.”

“She doesn’t have a cell phone?”

Andi swallowed and looked at her hands. “It seems such a small thing now. But no…I didn’t want to spend the money, and we live in such a small town, it didn’t seem necessary.” Number one on her list to do better.

“Who’ve you called?”

“The parents of her friends and even the few friends whose cell numbers I have before calling you. No one has seen her.” Now that she’d said the words out loud…Andi sank to the couch.

Vance sat next to her. “Don’t panic. You stay here to answer the phone and wait for Elisa. I’ll drive around town.”

She eyed him, wary yet hopeful. “You’d…do that?”

“Of course.”

“But I can’t just sit here.”

“Of course you can. And I’ll do more. I’ll pray.”

Andi hoped his prayers would do more good than hers. “Thanks.”

Though she appreciated his words, she shook her head and looked away. Why was she letting herself get worked up? If they hadn’t had that stupid argument…

Vance walked to the door. “Stay calm. She’s all right.”

At least until Andi gets her hands on her
. Then Andi would explode, of that Vance had no doubt. He closed the door, leaving Andi sitting on the sofa, looking forlorn. He jumped in his car and backed from the drive of the small ranch house.

“Lord, You have Elisa in the palm of Your hands, so just keep her safe. Let me find her. Please.”

As Vance drove down Main Street, it occurred to him that maybe God had sent him all the way to North Dakota to help this family. An arrogant thought, at that. But he cared about them both—Elisa and Andi…well, Andi made his insides feel too strange for comfort, but in a good way. And if there weren’t any coincidences, then what else could he think? Still, he had to tread carefully. He had every intention of leaving once his long vacation was up. And go where? He didn’t know that yet, but one problem at a time. One thing he knew as a software engineer—structure was everything. First things first.

Tonight’s problem apparently had to do with a lost teenager. First he’d tackled the local fast food joints. Dairy Queen, Burger King, McDonald’s, and the local taco place. He smiled. Dairy Queen was a Texas-born company, but apparently Taco Bell execs—out of San Antonio—hadn’t gotten their claws into this small town in North Dakota yet.

Vance drove into the shopping center parking lot, looking at the young people coming in and out of the store, some loitering, then to the nearby coffee kiosk. On a hunch, he drove through the kiosk window and ordered an iced caramel macchiato with an extra shot.

“Say, do you know Elisa Nielsen?”

The kid shook his head. “Sorry.”

Vance frowned. The town was bigger than he thought. “Where do kids go in this town to hang out?”