Worst Date Ever (Scandals #3) (3 page)

“My thoughts exactly,” Michael agreed.  “Why screw it up with extra people?”

“And you trust your employees?” Killeen continued to press the issue.

“Completely.  They’ve been with me almost from the beginning.”  Michael took another drink of water before continuing, “Darius is my technology guy.”

“And the other?” Killeen asked.

“Chloe handles all the social media and greets our guests.  She’s a great people person.  She screens potential clients and gives me her recommendations…which I almost always take.  We’ve all worked together to make Linked successful.  I pay them well…and there’s profit sharing.  They wouldn’t screw that up.  I’d bet on it.”

If not his employees and not someone from outside…that left just Michael himself, I thought, but I didn’t voice my opinion.  Christopher seemed to really like the guy, and Christopher wasn’t easily fooled, so I had to trust his opinion.

“How about your competition?  Did you have a bad relationship with anyone else in the business?” Dallas asked.

Michael sucked in a shallow breath.  “I guess that’s a possibility, but I don’t think so.  The market is booming right now, so there are plenty of singles to go around.  We do have the best record of making matches, which is good news and bad news.  Good news because happy customers give good word of mouth.  Bad news because if we make a successful match, clients get married or move in together and we lose at least two members.  It’s kind of a screwed-up business model.”

“So you’re constantly replacing members…high customer churn?”  Dallas prompted.

“Yes…exactly.  More hooking up means more churn which means more organic growth.”

“I’m not really into dating and dating sites,” I told him.  “What motivates people…?”

“To join?” he finished for me.

“Well, I mean
to voluntarily put themselves and their photographs out there… a constant supply of hopefully compelling content…maybe even bait, for strangers to see…and criticize?”

“We try to educate our clients so they don’t take not being chosen as rejection.  Not everyone likes apple pie,” Michael explained, “which is a good thing because there wouldn’t be enough to go around.”

“So some people like peach or lemon meringue,” Liberty jumped in.

“Exactly.  It doesn’t mean one is better than the other…just personal preference.” Michael managed a smile.  I could tell that while he was proud of the success of his business, he genuinely enjoyed the challenge of making good matches.  “We tell people,” he continued, “not to
focus on evaluating a person but ask themselves
Can you laugh with that person?  Do you want to hang out with them even when you’re not feeling great?  To wake up next to them, morning breath and all?  To celebrate a promotion or a sale or share a pet?
  A poorly designed dating website that relies on profiles can be easily manipulated by people giving the perfect answers or to describe who they wish they were rather than the truth about who they really are.  Our site is designed to avoid that pitfall.  Does that answer your question…uh…?”

“Tulsa,” I told him.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Christopher spoke up.  “In all the excitement, I didn’t introduce you to everyone.  Michael, these are Roger’s kids who are now working with me here at Scandals.”  Starting to his left, he glanced at us as he spoke our names.  “This is Killeen, Liberty, Dallas, Tulsa and Reno.”

Michael nodded and smiled at each of us.  “Nice to meet you all. I barely knew your father, but he seemed like a nice guy.”  He glanced nervously at the clock on the wall.  “Well Christopher?  Can you help me?”

“How about it, Tulsa?”  Christopher turned to me.  “You’re our resident tech expert.”

I recognized it as a rhetorical question because, of course, he was going to help Michael.  But I was flattered that he made it sound like I was an important part of the decision.  “I’d be glad to work on this.  Cyber security is my specialty.”

The man groaned and hugged his ribs.

Christopher noticed and said, “You need to go to the emergency room and get fixed up.  We’ll put together a plan and get back to you with it.  Okay?”

Michael appeared physically defeated.  He hung his head and closed his eyes.  “I can’t afford to miss any time from the agency with all this bad PR.  This could ruin me.”

“You need medical attention first,” Christopher insisted.

“But they’ll arrest me.”

“And we’ll bail you out,” Christopher assured his friend. “We need to take this in order.  You know you can’t avoid the arrest.  Once you’re admitted to the hospital, they won’t take you to jail until you’re released.  You still using the same attorney?”

“Jeremy?  Wouldn’t go with anyone else.”

“I’ll call him and let him know what’s happening.  He can get your bond hearing over so that you can go straight home from the hospital. Okay?”

Michael glanced around the room and exhaled.  “Okay.  Call the ambulance.”

Christopher nodded to Pam.  “Tell them no lights and sirens.  I don’t want to attract any attention right now.”

“Hope they have some major drugs in the buggy,” Michael muttered, looking like he was about to pass out.

We watched the ambulance drive out of the parking lot before we returned to the conference room. 

“You guys ready to jump into the match game?” Christopher asked.  “Tulsa, I’d like for you to take the lead on this one.  You’ll know what questions to ask and what to look for.  Think you’re up for it?”

I was pretty excited at the challenge, but it wasn’t my style to show enthusiasm.  “Sure, I’ll see what I can find.  I think the big question is why.  These two events are probably related, but I just can’t figure out why someone would go to so much trouble.  It’s just a dating service…not a cure for cancer.”

“We’ll work on that angle.  You find out how.”

I liked Michael, but I wasn’t convinced he was telling us the whole truth.  “You know, it all points to him.  Are you positive he’s not doing this for publicity or insurance or because of some kind of lover’s quarrel?”

Christopher didn’t hesitate.  “Hmmm…Roger’s rule number 4.”

“Oh my God!  Another Roger rule?”  Reno spoke for all of us.

Christopher ignored him.  “Roger said to never jump to conclusions or to take anyone’s word about guilt or innocence…look for the proof.”

“If it’s in the computer system, I’ll find it,” I promised.

“Good, and we’ll work on the rest.”  Christopher stood and walked to the big white board that was mounted on the wall next to a framed portrait of Roger.  “Let’s start with the facts.” He drew a black line down the middle.  On the top left corner he wrote
GUILTY
and in the top right corner
NOT GUILTY
. He turned and started twirling the marker in his hand.  “So what do we know?”

“The grand jury said Michael’s clients were damaged when their identities were stolen because of his negligence.” Killeen pointed to the left column.  “I think we have to start with that.”

Christopher wrote
Negligence
in the left column.

“Michael didn’t get his identity stolen.  Wouldn’t a hacker go for the top dog if he was trying to do some damage?” Dallas pointed out.  “I’ve always heard you should follow the money, and in this case, he didn’t lose a dime in actual cash.”

“Except for the hit to his business,” Christopher said.

“But did it really suffer?  He said he’s been doing better than ever.  Maybe it was all about the publicity.”  Dallas didn’t seem any more convinced that Michael was innocent than I was. 

Reluctantly, Christopher added
Publicity?
to the
GUILTY
column.

“He seemed to be genuinely upset about Tamara’s death.  I think he really loved her,” Liberty added her opinion.

Christopher wrote
Tamara
in the NOT GUILTY column.

“Unless he wasn’t being honest with us and it was his way of breaking it off,” Reno suggested.

“Kind of extreme, don’t you think?” Christopher asked.  “Breaking up through a text message would have been better than murder.”

“Some women don’t take
no
for an answer,” Reno pointed out.  “He said it was a big secret, even from you.  Maybe it was a one-night stand gone wrong or even something kinky that got out of hand.  It might not have been a relationship at all.”

Christopher sighed and added Tamara’s name to the left column, too. 

Until we found out the truth about her, we wouldn’t know where she fit in the puzzle. 

“Reno, why don’t you see if you can track down the truth about Tamara?” Christopher suggested.

We continued on for several minutes until the lists had grown significantly.  We’d all run out of ideas, at least for now, and it was a little discouraging to see that the
GUILTY
list was almost twice as long as the
NOT GUILTY
one.

Christopher replaced the cap on the dry erase marker.  “Killeen, you can review the files about our investigation of the identity theft.  Maybe you’ll notice something we missed before.”  He turned to Dallas.  “Track down the insurance company’s lead investigator.  We need to know what evidence they discovered and how they found it.”  He smiled at Liberty.  “Today’s the day you get your cast off, isn’t it?”

Liberty straightened and lifted her leg so we could all see her purple cast, almost covered with our signatures.  “I can’t wait.  This thing weighs a ton.”

“I’m sure Tulsa will be glad to have your help with the…,” he continued.

I was already steps ahead.  “I need access to Michael’s servers, workstations, network and staff.  Where’s their office?”

Christopher nodded.  “Downtown.  Linked and Michael’s personal residence take up the entire fifteenth floor penthouse of the Riverside condo complex.  I’ll get the address for you.”

“Are their servers on site?” I asked.

Christopher shrugged.  Technology was not his strong suit.  “That tech guy will know.”

“Darius.”  I glanced down at my tablet to make sure I got the name right.

“Yes, Darius.  He looks like a rap star but Michael says he’s really smart.”

“I’ve got to get my hands on Michael’s cell phone and see how that text message got pushed out without his involvement.”

“I’ll call Detective Conrad and see if he’ll let us check it out.  Lakeway is a small department.  I suspect they’ll enlist the help of Austin PD,” Christopher said, then looked around at us.  “Everyone got their next steps? Keep Tulsa posted at all times.  Let’s see if we can avoid getting killed on this one.”  Christopher grabbed his pad of paper and headed out of the conference room toward his office.

CHAPTER THREE

The doctor’s visit was quick and painless, and Liberty was practically skipping when we left.

“You’re supposed to take it easy,” I reminded her.

“I know.  It’s just feels so good to have air on my skin.  And to get to the itches.”  She stopped and scratched her leg, her expression softening to pure bliss.  “Ahhh.”

We walked back to my car in the parking lot next to the clinic.  Our father, Roger Elliott, had collected cars like some people collect shoes or sports jerseys.  After the details of the will were revealed, we all chose one of his cars for our own use.  Killeen had picked a red Mini-Cooper, Reno had grabbed up a black BMW Z-3 and Dallas’ expensive tastes were reflected in his silver Mercedes SL-Class Roadster.  I, as always, was practical in my choice of a bright blue Ford Edge SUV.  I liked the bulk and power of it, as well as the generous storage space.  If things didn’t work out here, I could always live in it…and I was only half joking when I considered that as an option.  There had been times in my life that I would have loved to have had a safe haven like this vehicle.

We drove downtown until we found the address Christopher had provided.  It was a spectacular steel structure covered in glass that was tinted blue so that it seemed to disappear into the clear Texas sky. It was shaped in a crescent so that almost all the condos had views of Ladybird Lake and the Congress Street Bridge with its huge resident colony of bats that poured out in a black cloud on their nightly forage.  The Austin skyline was reflected on the front side.

“Wow!” Liberty breathed, looking up the building from our vantage point on the sidewalk in front.  “Michael lives here?”

“Along with hundreds of other rich Yuppies.”

“Do you really think you’ll find anything…up there?”

“Depends on what kind of data he has,” I told her.  “But I suspect his system is very sophisticated, so there will be evidence.  Cybercriminals are like bombers…they almost always leave a trail.  Digital fingerprints, so to speak.  If Darius, Michael’s tech guy, kept a good log, we’ll look for things like standard programs and files that won't open or work, unexplained file deletions, password changes that he didn’t generate…things like that.  Then I’ll take Darius on-line with me.”

“What do you hope to find there?”

“Sometimes you’ll come across sites that won’t accept your password.  Amateur hackers leave their redirects in the operating system code or an extra browser screen…those are easy because they may be a shade darker or the text doesn’t quite match.  If you know what you’re looking for, things jump out.”

Liberty was looking at me with a smile.  “The only time I see you get excited is when you’re talking about computers.”

“Yes, I really enjoy following the clues.  It’s like a puzzle.  All the pieces are there, somewhere.  We just have to find them and put them in order.”

“This is the first real job I’ve been able to go on. That stupid cast always kept me in the office.”

“Well, don’t get too excited.  Most of what we’re going to be doing is sitting behind a desk, studying the screen.”

Liberty returned her attention to the building.  “I can’t wait,” she said with breathless excitement.  “I’ll bet you can see all the way to Mexico from up there.”

“You’ve got to act like this isn’t your first time…you know?”

“But it is.”

I gave her what I hoped was a patient look.  If I didn’t know her so well, I’d think she couldn’t be for real.  Sometimes her enthusiasm was a little exhausting.

“Until that night in the hospital I’d never been higher than the first floor!” she continued.

I stopped.  “What?”

“That night at the hospital I…,” she tried to repeat her statement, but I cut it short.

“How does anyone live in the twenty-first century in the United States and never have ridden on an elevator or escalator?”

“All our houses were one story.  Except for the barns, but I had to climb a ladder to get to the hayloft or up on the roof.”

“When we get up there, be cool…okay?  We’re supposed to be cyber experts.”

She nodded.  With her long, straight corn-silk colored hair pulled back into a thick braid and her crystal blue eyes wide with excitement, she looked like she was fresh off the farm.  Which, of course, she was, but I knew how quickly she picked things up and that she had a natural skill for electronics.  I appreciated that because intuitive talent went a long way with computer issues.

We entered the lobby and stopped in front of the directory board.  I scrolled down until I found Linked, then pressed the button.

“Linked.  Can I help you?” spoke a voice that was not Michael’s.

“Hi, it’s Tulsa and Liberty from Scandals here to see Darius,” I answered.  “We have an appointment.”

“That would be me.  Come up to 1501.  Last elevator on the left is an express.  Jump in and hold on!”

“He has his own elevator?” Liberty whispered as we walked past the bank of elevators.

“He’s in the penthouse.  I guess that’s one of the perks,” I answered.  “It probably opens directly inside their foyer…like a front door.”

As soon as we reached the last elevator, a chime sounded and the doors swooshed open.  I looked around for a sensor and noticed a tiny clear button that was probably a camera over the door.  I gave it a jaunty wave and stepped inside.  Liberty followed me, being careful not to step on the crack between the shaft and the elevator.  She looked around at the glass walls and pearl gray marble floor in awe.

“If mom had a phone, I’d call her and tell her what I’m doing,” Liberty murmured.  “…second thought, I wouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“She already thinks I’ve gone to the devil…penthouses, dating websites, drinking tequila shots around the pool and…John.”

“John?  What’s she got against John?  She’s never even met him.”  John was the cook that we inherited as part of Roger’s estate.  He lived at the mansion and, along with Gerald, Roger’s old manager, took care of us, the house and the grounds.

“No one on The Farm waits on anyone else.  Being a servant isn’t a real job.”

“Don’t tell John that or you’ll be cooking your own meals.”  In a way, I agreed.  It was quite a treat not to have to cook or shop for groceries or even to make sure there were clean shot glasses at the bar outside by the pool.  I could certainly live without it, but I had to admit that it was awesome.

The doors slid closed, and the elevator began to move, slowly at first, then sped up.  It rose so quickly that my stomach was slow to keep up, as if I was on a roller coaster. 

“Check out the back wall, Liberty.”

She turned around, careful to keep a firm hold on the rail as if expecting a sudden stop.  “Wow…far out…the wall’s moving?”  Liberty exclaimed.  Suddenly, the metal shaft was replaced by the Austin skyline.

“Oh my gosh!  We’re up really high!  Liberty hesitated, wanting to look out, but not daring to get any closer to the glass.  “My ears are popping.” 

“Yawn.  That’ll make them feel better,” I instructed her.

She forced herself to yawn, and I caught myself fighting one of my own.  Nothing was more contagious than a yawn.

The chime sounded again, and the elevator slowed quickly to a stop.  The doors swept open to reveal a beautiful, modern office surrounded on three sides by floor-to-ceiling windows. The ceilings soared at least twelve feet above us and the floors were a glossy silver-veined white marble that matched the elevator.  Colorful photos of happy couples hung on every wall, offering not-so-subtle testimony to the company’s success.  Even though I had urged Liberty to act like this wasn’t her first rodeo, I had to admit that my personal familiarity with different lifestyles wasn’t as broad as I pretended it was.  Actually, in some ways, I didn’t have any experience with some of the same things as Liberty. “Wow.” It just fell out of my mouth and before I could catch myself, another one flowed out. “Amazing!”

“Thanks…I work out three days a week and jog the other two,” the mid-to-late twenty-something, handsome black man said as he reached out to shake my hand.  Dressed in baggy jeans, a white t-shirt and a black hoodie, he stood well over six feet tall and looked nothing like an executive of a multi-million dollar company.

“The view took my breath away,” I told him.  “I’m Tulsa…and this is Liberty.”

He shook both of our hands.  His wide, friendly smile immediately put us at ease.  “Nice to meet you….I’m Darius.  Welcome to the home of Linked.”  He motioned for us to walk from the foyer to the office area.  “Great view, huh?”

“I’m new to Austin, so I haven’t seen the lake quite like this before.”

“Let me give you a quick tour, then we’ll get to work.”

“Sounds good,” Liberty voiced her approval.

“Ok, follow me…Michael’s area is down the hall and has six bedrooms, seven-and-a-half baths and is a little over 4,000 square feet.  Half the bedrooms have a balcony facing Lady Bird Lake…the other half have a view of downtown.  Michael’s balcony wraps around the north, west and south so, depending on his mood, he can look out on the lake, the sunsets over the Hill Country, the city or all three of them at once.”  We followed him to the reception desk.  “And this is Chloe.  She answers the phones and babysits the clients.”

Chloe was also in her twenties or early thirties.  She was tiny, probably barely five feet tall, with a wild mane of golden Felicity curls that bobbed and bounced every time she moved her head.  With a perfect complexion and full red lips, she was very pretty…not gorgeous, but there was something warm and friendly about her features that made me relax.

“Hi.  We’re so glad you’re here to help Michael,” Chloe said.

“We’re going to try,” I offered.  “What did Darius mean about babysitting the clients?”

“I just hold their hands and make them feel comfortable through the process.  Dating is hard enough, and going out with someone you don’t even know can be pretty unnerving.  People need to know we have their best interests at heart and aren’t out there just to make a quick buck.”

“So, you personally screen every applicant?” I asked.

“Yes I do.  We all do.  That’s what sets us apart from all the other services.  The computer does the hard work, but there’s a touch of matchmaking going on, too.  Sometimes, I just know that two people belong together.”

I tried not to show my skepticism.  I didn’t believe in perfect matches.  All the people I had come across in my life would have been better off alone.  Well, maybe Christopher and Killeen or Reno and Jenny were the exception.  But their relationships were still new.  Time would tell.

The phone rang, and Chloe gave us a smile, then picked up the receiver.  “Welcome to Linked.  How may I connect you today?” she said.

Darius indicated that we should follow him.  We walked around the reception desk.  He held the door open for us, and a rush of cold air swept out.  We entered a large, very clean room with a rack of servers on one wall and a row of tables against the windows.  On the tables there were a variety of computers and components that Darius was using for parts.  In the center of the room was a single work station with three monitors.  “Here’s the heart of the business,” he announced, waving his arm in a sweeping arc.

“Very nice.  Your office has an amazing view, too.”  Liberty complimented him.  “I really like how it’s decorated.”  She walked around, looking at the primitive art work and carved wooden Tiki-like sculptures.

“It’s mostly things I picked up when I’ve gone back to Jamaica to visit my parents. Have a seat.  I’d offer you something to drink, but I don’t allow any food or liquid in this room.”

“I totally understand,” I told him.  Liberty and I pulled chairs up to the desk.  “Have you heard from Michael?”

“I talked to his attorney about an hour ago.  He was at the courthouse meeting with the judge about charges and bail.  Michael should be home later this afternoon…maybe before we’re done.” Darius looked at me expectantly.  “So, where do we start?  Do you want to check out the server farm?”

“You have a farm?”  Liberty perked up with excitement.

“What?”  Darius was confused.

I pointed toward the rack of CPU-like machines.  “That’s a server farm.”  To Darius, I said, “Liberty grew up on a commune, and she’s still getting up to speed on modern technology and terminology.”

One dark eyebrow arched as he if was asking if I was sure Liberty was up to the task.  I hurried to assure him, “She’s a fast learner, plus she has a fresh perspective.”

“And, I have absolutely no distractions, so I can do all the boring stuff,” Liberty added in her defense.  She gave us both a sunny smile that would have melted even the coldest heart.

Darius pulled out the desk chair and sat.  He wiggled the mouse and the screens came to life with the Linked logo front and center on all three.  “All transactions are mirrored in the cloud so our recovery time is guaranteed to be less than five minutes by our provider.”

I knew this would be the catalyst for another Liberty question so I leaned over and whispered, “I’ll explain later.”

“Thanks,” Liberty nodded and looked around the room.  “All Dell hardware…nice.”

“Yes…sometimes they let me beta test their newest stuff.  The cloud vendor also stores data for several of the major credit cards processors, so I’m thinking that’s not the source of our problem.”