“Not what I meant. The malware virus also disabled the security cameras. None of them were active when we arrived.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Bec said. “Those cameras don’t even go down when the power goes out. They stream on Walter’s computer, but he can transfer them to my computer or tablet when he leaves for the night since we’re always running double duty out here.”
“When I checked them on arrival, they were turned off,” Cal explained. “I didn’t turn them back on since there was no way to watch them with the computers not working, and it didn’t matter since we were providing security. You didn’t turn them off?”
“Absolutely not,” Bec answered. “We don’t get much traffic out here, but they alert us if someone arrives at the loading dock or approaches any of the doors.”
“What about at night?” Cal asked. “Who watches them at night?”
“My apartment has a computer that I run them on there as well, and it emits an alarm if anything is amiss and wakes me.”
“Why doesn’t the facility have a security company to handle the cameras?” Mina asked, her head tipped to the side. “Someone that could call for outside help if anything happened to the few of you inside.”
“I asked the same question,” Bec said, facing Mina again. “Walter told me the company was always messing up, so the board agreed to move them in-house. I don’t know when, but it’s been this way since I started working here.”
Mina raised a brow. “Sounds fishy to me.”
“Fishier than a Friday night smelt fry at the VFW,” Cal agreed. “Especially since the cameras were manually turned off.”
“I meant to ask how you secured the side door again after the kidnapper broke in?” Bec asked, spinning toward Cal.
He stood there staring at her, his head tipped in confusion. “Secured the side door? It wasn’t broken. You buzzed me in, which I assumed was how you always did it. The biometrics system was down, but the door was locked. Since then, we’ve used the loading dock to go in and out.”
Bec closed her eyes and tried to fight the rising panic as her heart pounded. “Cal, if that’s true, then—”
“The kidnapper had a key,” Selina finished.
“Does Zafar have a key, Bec?” Mina asked.
Bec stumbled backward, caught by the warm chestof the woman she’d spent the night with. “We—we all do,” she said, fear and anger making her body and voice shake.
“Sit,” Selina ordered, pressing a chair under her and helping her down before she took her pulse. “Take some deep breaths.”
Bec did what she said, and the spots in front of her eyes slowly disappeared. “I’m sorry, but it struck me that only three of us have keys to this place.”
“You, Zafar and Walter?” Mina asked, and Bec nodded.
“With the caveat that my vision was wonky after the flash-bang, it’s entirely possible the kidnapper was Zafar.”
Chapter Thirteen
Iris put her arm around Bec’s shoulders, hoping it would stop her quaking. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “Tell us why you think that?”
“He was the same height and build,” Bec said, her words shaky. “I know that doesn’t mean anything since there are plenty of six-foot-tall skinny guys in the world, but not as many who know how to navigate this facility in silence or where Walter’s office is.”
“Did the kidnapper have to walk past you to get to Walter’s office?” Cal asked, and Bec nodded immediately. Iris held her tighter, hoping to offer her strength and warmth.
“Yes, yes,” Bec said, turning in the chair and pointing to the spot by the lab door. “I was there when the flash-bang went off.”
“That’s close to the hallway,” Cal said, walking over there. “But you didn’t see anyone down here?”
“No, but I had just half turned back toward Walter’s office to answer a question he’d asked me. Then the bang and the light disoriented me until I caught a glimpse of the kidnapper in the office with Walter.”
“Which means the kidnapping was targeted because it would have been easier to take you and run,” Mina said.
“Unless it was opportunity driven,” Cal said to her point. “He may have realized that she was stunned, so better to take the guy who could still move quickly and call for help.”
Someone handed Mina a piece of paper off camera, and everyone was silent while she read it. When she glanced up, Iris knew the game had changed.
