"Could someone have been after that?"
"Only if they're interested in cataloging their student files." There was a little more to the program than that, but I wasn't telling the officer that. Only the committee overseeing my grant got to know what I was working on. "The program is basically a filing cabinet on crack. The university wants to streamline their student admissions process."
"Ah," the officer said, but he looked as if his eyes were about to glaze over.
I got that a lot.
"Do you know how long it will take for your tech guys to go over the place?" I asked. "I'd really like to start cleaning up."
"Unfortunately, it'll take a few hours. Do you have somewhere you can go until they're through?"
"Uh…" I glanced back toward the living room. I really didn't like the idea of leaving people I didn't know in my house when I wasn't there. Even worse, I didn't want to leave my house. I hated leaving my house.
I was safe there.
Usually.
"Is there a problem, Danny?" Abe asked as he ambled toward me.
I twisted my hands together before starting to pick at my thumbnail. "He wants us to leave while the techs are here." I leaned closer so I could whisper, "I don't want to go."
"I know, Danny." Abe patted my arm and smiled at me before glancing toward the officer. "I'm afraid we won't be able to go anywhere, but we'll make sure to stay out of the way until your techs leave."
"Sir—"
"Danny suffers from a form of agoraphobia, Officer Curtis. While he goes to the lab on campus three times a week as a part of his therapy, any more than that while he's so stressed out from the break-in could be detrimental to his wellbeing. It's best if he just stays here where he feels safe."
It was a good thing I was facing away from the officer when Abe explained why we couldn't go anywhere. If he'd seen how round my eyes got, he would have instantly known Abe was lying through his teeth.
"The upstairs was left untouched," Abe continued. "I suspect that is why they didn't find Danny hiding up there. We can wait there until your techs are done. We'll be out of the way, and Danny won't have to leave his home."
"I'll need to see the upstairs first," Officer Curtis said.
I turned around to look at the guy, offering him a weak smile. "I can show you the way."
I'd do pretty much anything to not have to leave.
When the officer came toward me, I walked back through the house and headed for the stairs that led to the second floor. It took just a few minutes to get upstairs and show him around. Once he saw that everything was untouched, he didn't seem to take much interest other than just looking into each room.
I felt a lot better as I followed the officer back down the stairs. I was pretty sure he was going to let us stay. I hoped he was going to let us stay. Every time I thought about leaving, my skin began to crawl. I'd had my fill of being around other people.
Abe didn't count.
Chapter Five
I sat on my bed, my knees pulled up and a pillow pressed to my chest. I knew I was on overload, but there didn't seem to be anything I could do about it. I couldn't go downstairs and I couldn't leave.
I was stuck.
The forensics team had been downstairs for a couple of hours now. I could hear them walking around my house. The two officers had left after reassuring me they would do everything they could to find the men who had broken into my house.
I didn't believe them.
I had serious doubt that these thugs would ever be caught. Not because I didn't think that the officers wouldn't do their best to find them, but because something was telling me that these guys had not only done this type of thing before, but they had someone paying to keep them out of jail.
I had one suspect. The guy in the suit.
I couldn't wait until the tech team left so I could go down to the bunker and see if my hacking programs had found anything on Atkins or the professor. I knew there'd be something on the professor. I just didn't know if it would be anything that would help our case.
