“I swear to god, Caleb, if this is another one of your?—”
“I’m serious,” I murmur.“Something small like a flash drive or something.”
She blinks, studying me as if to make sure I really mean business.Finally she says slowly, “Let me check.”
She rifles through her belongings and then her two drawers.Her brows furrow together.“Well, nothing aside from my staple pins, which I’m sure you nabbed because I saw them on your desk yesterday.”
I press my lips together.“You’re sure?”
“Yes.I would know if something was missing,” she says quietly.
My eyes flicker towards Joshua, and Eve arches her brows.“You want to ask him?”
My voice is low.“Yeah, but I’ll give myself away.”
She watches me for a moment as if considering something, and then wheels away from me.“Joshua, my bag hit your desk this morning, and I think some things might have fallen or gotten mixed with mine.Can you check if you’re missing something?”
Joshua groans.“Keep your bag away from my desk unless you have food in it.”
“Just check, will you?”She nudges his chair with her foot.
Complaining under his breath, he checks his things.After a few minutes, he shrugs as he looks her way.“I don’t see anything missing.But if you want to get me something anyways, I’m not complaining.”
Eve shoots me a look, and when Joshua gets up to go to the kitchen, she whispers, “He’s very disorganized.He wouldn’t know if he’s lost something.Now what is this about?”
I take out my phone and place it in a way where only she can see it.She watches the video, and her eyes narrow.Her voice is a whisper.“That looks like a jammer.”
“The surveillance cameras installed are state of the art.A normal jammer shouldn’t work on them.”
Eve is silent.“My brother, Rafael, knows a lot more about jammers than I do.He has friends who make homemade jammers, and they test them against cameras in their dorms.”
When I just look at her, she rolls her eyes.“What?You think this is me?Do you know how much hair I have?How is it going to fit under that ballcap?Besides, that’s a stocky build.I’m petite.”
“I didn’t say it was you.”I frown.
“Then don’t look at me like that.”
“Why’re you being defensive?”I poke her in the arm.
She grabs my finger and twists it.“Don’t make me break your finger, Wilder.”
“Reynolds.And fine.”I pull away from her.
Her words have given me food for thought, though.If someone has the ability to just check a camera type and create a jammer against it, that means they’re very knowledgeable about these sorts of things.Definitely something I’ll have to discuss with Ethan.
* * *
Throughout the day,I keep finding more hair—clusters of strands on my desk, on my chair, even scattered across the campaign files I’m reviewing.Each discovery makes me more confused.This can’t be normal.
“You might want to see a doctor,” Flora suggests kindly when she notices me checking my reflection on my phone screen anxiously.“Hair loss can be a sign of vitamin deficiency.”
“I’m not losing my hair,” I insist, but my voice lacks conviction.
Eve glances over from her desk, those damn bells jingling.“Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt, Reynolds.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”She returns to her typing with what looks suspiciously like a smirk.“Just that most men have trouble admitting when they’re going bald.”
