“It was an older model, dark sedan, but they weretoo far away to get a look at the driver.”
Tabitha pulled her phone out of her cargo pocket and tapped the screen before putting it against her ear. “I need you to check CCTV cameras for me.” Tabitha gave whichever Trio member she was talking to a description of Perry’s rental as well as the other vehicle and the name of the grocery store, explaining the situation. “Thanks.”
Daniel stepped into the room. “Who did you call?”
“Our cyber specialists. If someone was following Perry, they’ll figure out who it was.”
“Tabitha and I will bring the groceries inside, and you all can get back to what you were doing.” Major wanted to think it was a coincidence, but there were too many variables, like the connection between Craig and Brad Campbell. Major inclined his head to Tabitha, and she followed him outside.
Tabitha opened the driver’s side door and pushed the button to pop the trunk lid. “I overheard Daniel on the phone telling someone to ‘figure it out’, ‘it didn’t matter how much it cost’, and ‘they had three days.’”
“You think he’s working against his nephew?” Major grabbed most of the reusable totes, leaving a couple for Tabitha.
“I don’t know what to think other than he’s definitely up to something. But why three days specifically? The studio rented this place indefinitely, so it might not have to do with how long we’re here.” Tabitha closed the trunk lid and leaned against the car.
“It could be something unrelated to Craig. We’ll have to keep our ears open in case he makes another call. Text the Trio and have them dig deeper into his background.”
They carried the groceries inside. Trista and Perry were waiting, but Craig and Daniel were nowhere to be seen. “I’m going to set up the software. If you need me, I’ll be in my room.” Major winked at Tabitha before leaving her with her client. He opened his senses in search of Craig. From the direction of the voices, he and Daniel were outside on the patio. Major listened in as he continued to his room.
“I’ll be glad to start filming. Trista and I know our lines inside and out. I’ve spoken to Jack, and he and Jennika have already been out to Stone Mountain. The crews have everything ready to go. They’re just waiting on us. If the cops don’t have anything else in the next couple of days, I’m going to call Adams and insist we get started. Steele Securities are supposed to be the best in the business, so surely that blond giant can keep me safe.”
“I’ve asked you this already, but are you sure you don’t know Brad Campbell or why he’d target you?”
“And I told you I don’t have a clue,”Craig seethed.
“Maybe these cyber security folks will find out who he is and why he went after you. If the detectives haven’t gotten anything out of him by now, I doubt they will.”
“I still say he’s a jealous psychopath. It’s not like I’m the first actor to ever be targeted by a madman.”
One of the wood chairs creaked, then Daniel said,“Don’t wander too far without Major.”
“I’m going downstairs to watch Trista spar with Tabitha. Maybe I’ll let her teach me a move or two.”
Major’s Gryphon growled as he sat down at the desk in his bedroom and opened his laptop, bringing up the feed.Down, big fella. Tabitha isn’t interested in Craig.
Maybe not, but he doesn’t need to ogle her, either.
Major didn’t disagree, but the females were sparring, not sunbathing half-naked by a pool. Focusingon his job, Major synched the cameras to his phone so he didn’t have to sit in front of his laptop. He took a leak and washed his hands before rejoining the others. Tabitha’s voice carried from downstairs, and he wanted nothing more than to observe her spar with Trista, but he needed to stay alert to their surroundings instead of watching his female.
Major stepped out back where Daniel was still seated, nursing a glass of dark liquor. When the man looked up, Major said, “I’m going to patrol by the lake.” He continued down the walkway to the dock, keeping his Gryphon senses alert. His phone vibrated. Since he had the camera footage synched to the device, it was already in his hand. It was a message from Nikita to both Tabitha and him.
Nikita:Sending encrypted email. Do not open around others.
That wasn’t ominous at all. Instead of waiting for Tabby to finish sparring, Major opened the email from his cousin and typed in the code to decrypt it.
There are a total of eight houses surrounding the lake. Five of those are permanent residences, with the other three being rentals. The two rentals other than yours are currently empty. I’ve attached a map indicating which houses those are so you can watch for movement that shouldn’t be there.
There are only a couple of CCTV cameras between the store and the entrance to your neighborhood, and the only car matching the description Perry gave belongs to Stanton Olsen who lives in a neighborhood not far from where you are. His driver’s license indicates he’s twenty-nine, six-one, with brown hair, green eyes. With this being Saturday, he could have gone out for groceries. We’ll dig into his bank account to see if he’s received any large payments.
Now for the reason this email was encrypted. When it comes to Craig’s background, we found something odd. His past is too perfect, like someone gave him a new identity at age twenty. This is witness protection perfect. What’s even stranger is that Daniel’s is the same. Whoever did this is next level. We have to tread carefully so as to not get caught in our search, which means hacking Daniel’s phone might take a minute.
We have yet to find a correlation between Craig’s schedule and Springfield where Brad lives, but the actors don’t remain in one specific location during filming. Craig could have visited between movies. He could have been rude to Brad while driving through town. Hell, at this point, we aren’t ruling out the possibility that Craig ran over his dog and kept going. If that’s the case, I’ll knife him myself.
This is another puzzle we’re determined to solve, but unlike Elle being a thief for the reason she was, I have a feeling this solution isn’t going to end as happily. I hate to say it, but Major may need to voice Craig to get to the truth. I’ll let you know if it comes to that. For now, we’re still digging.
Major stood at the edge of the dock while opening the map. Of course, the two empty rentals weren’t the closest properties. He needed to get a look at them, and the best way to do that was to shift to his Eagle. Until Tabitha was finished sparring, he would have to wait. He strolled the grounds, his eyes trained on the woods for any type of movement. When he found none other than squirrels and birds, Major headed back to the house. His phone alerted him to someone at the gate. He changed views to that feed, and an older woman was retrieving a suitcase from the trunk of the car idling outside the barrier. Perry met her and punched in the code. Assuming she was the cook, Major continued on to the house. Daniel was still sitting on the patio, but theman had fallen asleep. Major kept his steps silent so as not to wake him. Within a few minutes, Perry and the lady entered through the side door.
“Ah, Major. Allow me to introduce you to Florence. She’s our saving grace.”
