Mo pressed his head against the window and stared toward the mountains. He saw nothing. His focus was on the words coming from behind him.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Bronwyn went on. “Little things have been happening. Strange sounds, shadows. Last week, I was so sure someone was following me home that by the time I got inside and locked the door, it felt like I’d run a marathon. Then a few days ago, I went into the office early and when I walked in, I had the strangest sensation that things were out of place. Nothing I could put my finger on. I dismissed it, but then the same thing happened the next day.”
“Did you figure out what was off?” Meredith asked.
“Yes.”
Mo turned around at that.
“My office chair had been moved.”
“Could it have been the cleaning crew?” Cal asked.
“No. They didn’t come in that night. And before you ask, the reason I’m sure is because I intentionally left it in a specific spot. I did it in a way that if someone had snuck a camera in my office, they wouldn’t be able to tell what I’d done. But the chair had definitely been moved.”
“When was this?” Cal’s question had the command of the Marine officer he’d once been. Mo had no doubt Cal’s investigative mind was already preparing a strategy.
“Two nights ago.”
“Why didn’t you call us yesterday?”
Mo turned to watch Bronwyn respond to Meredith’s question.
Bronwyn threw up her hands. “And say what, exactly? Someone moved my chair?”
“Yes!” Meredith mimicked Bronwyn’s hand motions. “Because no one was supposed to be in your office.”
“So what happened last night? Because it sounds to me likeyou’ve been jumping at shadows for at least a few weeks.” Cal walked in a circle around the room. “I’m not saying the shadows aren’t real. I’m repeating your own words. Things have been weird. You’ve been stressed. But last night, the wave crested. Why?”
“I saw something I don’t think I was supposed to see.” Bronwyn dropped her face in her hands. “I’m not even sure it was about me, but in light of everything else, it felt personal.”
Mo waited for someone to ask the obvious question, but no one spoke up. They all sat there and waited for Bronwyn to continue.
“I got a text. It was only a few words. It said, ‘We might be able to take care of the problem tonight.’ I didn’t have the number in my contacts, and the person who sent it tried to delete it.”
Cal looked confused. “What?”
“You know how you can delete a text but only if the person didn’t already see it?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I had my phone in my hand. I saw it. Then I saw that the person had unsent it.” She tapped the screen. “But, again, all of this could have a perfectly reasonable explanation. It might be nothing. It could be paranoia on my part. But I couldn’t get it out of my head. I worked super late, and normally, I’d be there alone. But Nathan was working in his office too. Randall came by on his rounds, and at first, I thought he might be there to harm me. I really did. But when I settled down and thought about our conversation, I realized that he didn’t think it was safe for me to go back to my place alone. I think he wanted to protect me from my own cousin.”
First on Mo’s mental checklist: Find out who Randall was and whether he was trustworthy.
“Okay. But why would you think someone in your family wanted to come after you in the first place?” Cal asked the question in a quiet voice.
“I can’t explain it. I think they’re watching me. I’ve been wondering if they might have bugged my office.”
Second on Mo’s mental checklist: Scan Bronwyn’s office for bugs.
“Who has access to your office?” Meredith asked.
“Too many people.” Bronwyn ticked them off on her fingers. “My assistant. The cleaning crew. Nathan has a master key. A few others do as well. No one should be entering, and there’s video surveillance that would be triggered if they did. But if someone wanted to plant a bug, it wouldn’t be that hard to do. It would be even easier to bug the conference room.”
Meredith grimaced. “That’s a lot of people, but why would any of them bug your office?”
“I don’t know. To follow up on me? To see if they can catch me doing something they don’t think I should do? To find out if I’m planning to oust a few board members?”
