Page 64 of Lost Truth
Reaching into the backseat, Hayden grabbed his laptop and flipped it open. He sank low in the passenger seat, settling it on his lap and keeping himself out of view. “Take us down the hill by Palmer’s house.”
“Just by it?” She cranked the engine, a bit uncomfortable with the loud roar of power. “Anything more specific?”
He’d opened the system settings on his screen and kept his gaze fixed on it. “I need to be within range of his Wi-Fi signal. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
She started the vehicle rolling down the road. “You’re going to hack his Wi-Fi?”
“That’s the plan.”
She took a quick look at him. “To what end?”
“I noticed he has a video doorbell.” He continued navigating on his computer to the main Wi-Fi window. “Collins rang the doorbell. That means the camera would’ve started recording their conversation.”
“Ahh. I get it now. That’s how you plan to hear what they had to say.” She turned the corner and coasted down the hill toward Palmer’s house.
“Exactly.” He looked down the list of Wi-Fi accounts within range of his computer. “No obvious Wi-Fi name that seems to fit with Palmer, so keep going. When we get closer to his signal, the right account will move to the top.”
She glanced at him. “But why bother hiding in your seat??”
“I need time to hack his network, and I need to be close to his house, but I don’t want him to see me, much less my computer, so pretending to take a phone call will look natural.”
“But what about the condition of your vehicle? If he gets a look at it, don’t you think he’ll call the cops?”
“If he’s who we think he is, the last thing he’ll do is bring law enforcement to his house.”
“Fair point.” She shook her head. “I’ve had to do some sneaky things in my career, but I wouldn’t have thought to do this. Probably because of my limited computer knowledge.”
“Unfortunately, in law enforcement, to catch a criminal you learn to get into their head.”
The vehicle crept toward Palmer’s house, and Hayden watched the account names jog for top position on the Wi-Fi list. Finally the account named DontEvenTryIt rose to the top and stayed there. Cheeky name. If he already hadn’t planned to hack Palmer’s account, this name would make him try it for sure.
“Okay, hold up,” he said to Cady. “Leave the engine running and get out your phone.”
She reached into her purse on the console for her phone.
He turned his attention to Palmer’s account and set to work on what would be an easy task for him. Only one problem. He couldn’t fully concentrate the way he usually did. Not after the shooting. His adrenaline had faded, and only now were the true consequences of the incident hitting him.
Collins could come back. Palmer could come outside. Or even their gun-toting assailants could come after them. He had to see what was going on around them.
As he broke through Palmer’s security and found the files to download, he weighed his options. If he sat up, what was the worst thing that could happen? Palmer could see him. Sure, his main job was to find Kai, and Palmer catching sight of him outside his house could put a wrinkle in that.
But at this moment, he had one job that trumped everything else. His priority was to keep Cady safe and not let that gun-wielding shooter anywhere near her.
