“You’re talking about a hacker.”
“I prefer to think of her as a computer mastermind.”
The corner of Emmett’s lips twitched with the urge to smile. “So this friend of yours gained access to theWhite House intern list and confirmed Amy’s name was there?” When she nodded, he asked, “And when was this?”
“Right before I left to go to her apartment.”
“And when did your friend discover her name had been removed?”
“After I called the White House asking to speak to her.”
Emmett blinked. “You called the White House directly?”
“Not at first.” Janie frowned. “I tried her cell a bunch of times that night and again the next morning, but the calls never went through. When I didn’t hear back from her the following day, I had Dev, er, my friend try to ping Amy’s location. But the phone was turned off, so there wasn’t a signal to find.”
“Smart watch?”
The beautiful woman gave a slow shake of her head. “I remember seeing it on the charging station next to Amy’s bed when I was there the other day.”
Silence stretched between them as he took a moment to consider all she had shared. When he spoke again, it was to offer an alternative scenario. One that didn’t involve foul play.
“Let’s say you’re right, and Amy knew something that could put her life in danger. Aside from being jerks, the cops weren’t necessarily wrong in what they said. Amy is an adult, and maybe?—”
“I get that, but that doesn’t mean she?—”
Emmett lifted his palm and purposely spoke with a gentle tone. “Let me finish.” When she motioned for him to continue, he picked up where he’d left off. “I wasgoing to say maybe she got scared and ran. Maybe she’s an obsessive neat freak. Or it could be, she hurried to clean her apartment, knowing she planned to invite you over.”
“Why go through all that trouble and then leave?”
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “Maybe she thought about it some more and decided it was too risky to tell you whatever it was she’d planned to share. She got scared, told herself she’d messed up by talking to you, so she took the bare minimum of what she needed, left her watch, and ditched her phone.”
“My friend tried tracking Amy’s computer.” Janie showed no signs of backing down. “The signal was active up until twelve minutes before I got to her apartment. After that . . .” She waved a hand in the air. “Nothing.”
With the right people working clean-up, the time frame was tight but wasn’t impossible. If something did happen to Amy Weaver inside her apartment that night, the scene could have been scrubbed and the body removed before Janie ever arrived.
There wasn’t a lot to go on, and Emmett wasn’t convinced there was even a case. But there was enough there to at least mention it to the team when they met back here in the morning.
“I can’t promise you anything, Miss Reynolds?—”
“Please, call me Janie.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “I can’t promise you anything, Janie, but my team and I are meeting first thing in the morning. I’ll share with them what you’ve told me, and together we’ll decided whether this is something we can pursue.”
“That’s more than anyone else has been willing to do.” She pushed herself to her feet. “So thank you. And here.” Janie began searching for something in her purse. “This is my number.” A business card came into view as she pulled her hand free. “Please call me as soon as you’ve spoken to your team. I’ve extended my stay in D.C. to look into this more, so I’ll be around.”
Emmett followed suit and got up from his chair, taking the card from her hand. Together they walked across the reception area to the door. He held it open with one hand while offering her his other.
“It was nice meeting you, Janie.”
“You, too, Emmett. And thank you.”
He frowned. “I haven’t done anything yet.”
“You listened,” she countered. Her blue eyes—with specs of brown he hadn’t noticed until now—held his captive for several beats of his heart before she offered a soft, “Goodnight, Emmett. I look forward to talking with you tomorrow.”
He dipped his bearded chin with a rumbled, “Goodnight.” And then, for some reason, he felt compelled to add a belated, “Be safe out there.”
Janie’s response was a slight wave and a quipped, “Always am,” as she kept her back to him on her way to the elevator.
