"He's done this before." Simone's voice is tight.
"Multiple times." Margot sets down the tablet. "But those were personal obsessions. Crimes of passion. This?" She gestures to the warehouse photo. "This level of surveillance takes planning. Resources. Direction."
"How did he get into Dominion with that history?" Simone asks.
Margot grimaces. "He didn't have that history when we vetted him. First restraining order was filed six months after he joined. The others followed. All sealed as part of settlement agreements. Our standard background checks wouldn't have caught sealed court records. I'm only seeing them now because Detective Broussard pulled his full law enforcement file."
"Someone's using his obsession as cover," I say. "Make it look like a stalker when it's actually a calculated attack on Simone's position."
My phone buzzes. Text from Andy.
"Julien's phone activity?" I ask.
"Last ping hours ago. Near this warehouse. Signal dead since."
A professional stalker doesn't go dark right after planting a camera unless he knows we're onto him. Which means someone tipped him off. Or he wanted to be found.
"Pull his recent communications. Calls, texts, emails. Focus on any contact with Armand or LaCroix Petroleum personnel. Coordinate with Detective Broussard on the warrants."
"Already reached out. He's working it."
"What about the booking system compromise?" Simone asks. "How did Julien know which room we'd be using?"
Margot grimaces. "Still investigating. The attendant checks out on quick review. No prior incidents, no obvious red flags in our membership database. But someone accessed the booking system between when I made the reservation this morning and when Julien showed up."
"Inside help or hack?"
"Tech team's analyzing system logs. Few hours minimum to trace it properly."
It's late enough the team should be sleeping. Hours remain until the board meeting, and we need rest.
But something doesn't fit.
"Why would Julien be this sloppy?" The question cuts through the briefing. "He's been running surveillance for weeks. Professional equipment. Careful planning. Strategic timing. Then he walks into Dominion in disguise, plants a camera in a room we're about to use, and lets us trace the signal back to a warehouse in under an hour?"
The room goes still.
"You think it's a setup," Remy says.
"I think someone this careful doesn't suddenly fuck up unless they want to be found." I pull up the warehouse photo again. "Look at this. Professional monitoring station. High-end equipment. But completely sterile. No one's been working from this location. It's a fucking stage set."
"Decoy," Margot says slowly.
"Misdirection. Give us Julien to chase while the real threat moves." I turn back to the comm. "Andy. Keep forensics working through the night if you need to. This is staged, whoever staged it made a mistake somewhere. Find it."
"Copy that."
I pull up the suspect list. "Who else benefits from destroying Simone?"
Simone moves closer to the screen. "Patricia Moreau wanted my job. Board considered her before choosing me. She's COO now, but she's never forgiven me for getting the position she thought was hers."
"Technical capability?"
"Operations management. Supply chain logistics. She'd know how to hire people who could set this up."
"Add her to the list." I scan the other names. "Who else?"
"Mateo Santos. CTO. Has the technical knowledge to build sophisticated surveillance systems. But weak motive. He's more interested in solving problems than playing politics."
