“Code— Where is the—? Oh, you fools.” Tyler’s voice notched up an octave with excitement.
Scarlett stared at him, her hopes rising.
Tyler pointed to his screen. “It’s written in code. Look—in this file? The coded version. Now look at the decoded version. There’s your dad’s name in the decoded file—Lord Jules Heroux.” He pulled up the translator app he’d been using to check anything remotely relevant and read the first message out loud.
Kjartan Holm approved. Eliminate Lord Jules Heroux at the first opportunity. Report with confirmation.
Scarlett’s lips parted. Kjartan Holm was the chancellor of Sigur Viður.
Tyler clicked into the reply.
Confirmed. The target, Lord Jules Heroux, will be eliminated by the end of day. Exit assistance will be needed by fiveo’clock latest.
“Then there’s a third and final message that just says ‘done,’” said Tyler.
“Are the messages real?” A painful lump formed in her throat. If they were, it would cast doubt on everything she’d been believing in so fiercely.
“No.” With a laugh, Tyler pointed to the screen again. “These IP addresses are both native to Soleil. Hang on. I’ll look in the police database to see the exact address they came from.”
“I know you’re helping me, but it’s kind of scary you can do this,” said Scarlett.
“Right?” said Cass.
Tyler smirked. “Don’t worry, I use my powers for good and gaming. Here we go. The IP addresses on these messages point to two computers owned by people in Soleil. Goddess above, these are some stupid criminals. One of them lives at an address on the downtown side of the Sapphire Canal. The other one is from the outskirts of Soleil, out toward the marshlands.”
Scarlett tensed. “Who lives at the home on the Sapphire Canal?”
“Hold, please.” Tyler quickly searched a database of Soleil landowners. He pulled up the address, and Scarlett read in shock as he said aloud, “Lord Lyle Federsin.”
Scarlett stood so fast she knocked her chair over. It was the prick who kept heckling her whenever she took the podium in Parliament. He was part of Moira’s inner circle.
“This is fucking amazing, Tyler. I can’t wait to expose him. How can I take this to the prime minister?”
“I’ll put the bureau’s files on a thumb drive. Just don’t tell them where you got it.” Tyler winked.
“Ofcourse. I’m so grateful.” She threw her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you! If we can’t get a subpoena with this, I’llquit my job.” Unable to contain her exuberance, she hugged Cass and then Beni too. Her smile faded as, once again, she wished Brayden were here to share this moment. She wasn’t sure how any of these breakthroughs would help him, but she’d keep trying until something led to the truth behind the attack at the National Theater.
Cass laughed. “No quitting until you pass the border legislation. I want my father to be able to come seeusfor the winter solstice.”
“I want that for you,” said Scarlett. “Now, I’d better go call the prime minister.”
Tyler swiveled around to face her. “I’ll look at your stepmother’s accounts and let you know if I piece anything together. Before you go, write down everything you know about the people you suspect of taking bribe money—their names and where they bank, for example. You suspect the bureau, but do you know specifically who? I can hack into the account of whoever you say. If they have any unrecognizable payments, it could be a lead.”
“Sure.” Scarlett recalled the conspiracy theory articles she’d read. “The second-in-command of the bureau. What’s his name?”
Turning back to the computer, Tyler did a quick search. “Aaron Fox.”
“Yes!” exclaimed Scarlett. “His involvement was a random theory from some online message board, but that’s the best lead I have. Also, I know Moira banks at Barings, just like Laylani.” She had hazy memories of Moira and Laylani bitching about how their branch locations were so inconvenient at some long-ago dinner party. “If you could start with the three of them, that would be amazing.”
“It’d be my pleasure,” said Tyler, cracking his knuckles.
She smiled as she wrote down everything she could think of.I’m coming for you, Laylani. And you, Moira.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
Scarlett’s sleep was fitful, and she rose the next morning feeling worse than she had before going to bed. While Charlie drove her and Cass into the city via speedboat, she was notified that the morning session, earmarked for a debate on education spending, had been postponed in favor of an open-forum discussion of the incident at the National Theater.
