Page 31 of Fatal Conspiracy

“It’s Cal!” he exclaimed when he finally noticed the only person moving through the crowd and not just standing around. “He was easy to miss since he walked behind everybody to get to the other hallway.”

“Exactly,” she said with a relieved sigh as she leaned back in the chair. “He’s cleared. There isn’t one second of his walk from the conference room to backstage that’s not accounted for. Thank God,” she said, her shoulders droopingunder his hands. “Once I call him, I’ll need to package this up and email it.”

“Maybe you should hold off on that. It’s late,” he said logically, stopping her from dialing.

When she lowered her brow at him, he had to bite back a laugh. “Trust me, he’ll want to know about this.”

Derek released her hand, and she called while he wandered to the kitchenette. He made each of them a cup of coffee, knowing that her success in clearing Cal would drive her to keep going until she cleared him as well. He’d do whatever he could to support her in that. When he returned to the desk, he set the coffee down as she lowered her phone.

“Coffee with two sugars and one cream,” he said, sitting as she stuck a jump drive into her computer.

“You know how I like my coffee?” she asked in surprise.

“I’m observant,” he said with a shrug. “What did Cal say?”

“He had plenty to say about me not following his orders until I reminded him that I didn’t sign up for the army when I joined Secure Watch.” Derek bit his lip to keep from laughing. She did that to him often. “That said, he was understandably relieved that we can send this information to Detective Henry tomorrow to clear him.” While she talked, she was zipping files inside a folder and transferring them to the flash drive. “He wants a hard copy on Henry’s desk in the morning, so he’s calling a squad over to pick it up. Would you run this jump drive down to him while I keep working?”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to email it?”

“Sure,” she agreed. “And I did email it to Cal, but this is an encrypted copy that only Henry can open with the code inside the sealed envelope.” After she dropped the jumpdrive and a piece of paper into the envelope, she sealed it and handed it to him. “Cal said he’d meet you in the lobby to wait for the police. I’m going to re-spool everything and start on the task of clearing you.”

“Maybe we should just wait on this,” he said, slipping his shoes on as he held up the envelope. “Won’t we have to do the same thing with mine when you clear me?”

“Confidence looks good on you, Mr. Benjamin.”

“All my confidence is in you, sweetheart,” he assured her as he pulled on a sweatshirt.

“No pressure, right?” she teased. “Take that one now. It’s important to get Cal cleared in case he needs to leave to attend to business at home. It could be tomorrow before I can finish yours.”

“You got it.” He walked over and kissed her gently on the lips. “For the record, I don’t know what I did to deserve your help, but I promise not to let you down.”

Before she could say anything, he left the room, knowing the winds of change were in his favor.

* * *

“CAL,” DEREK CALLEDwhen he got to the lobby. “I’ve got your get-out-of-jail-free card.”

“Henry is on his way,” Cal answered, refusing to take the envelope.

“Alayah said a squad was coming to get it.”

“That was the plan,” he said. “But he wants to see the evidence himself, and then he’ll take the official copy back with him.”

“Kind of late for a detective to be working, isn’t it?” Derek asked as they waited by the main entrance.

“Maybe in the big city, but this is Duluth, and a huge tech bro died on their watch. I would imagine no one issleeping until they find his killer. Especially since the clock is ticking as the conference winds down.”

“Did you watch the footage?” Derek asked, leaning against the wall.

“On my phone in the elevator, and I’ve got it ready to go on a computer in the conference room once he gets here. Our girl did it. There isn’t a second missing from the sequence. She’s the best at that kind of digital tracking. That’s why I gave her the job.”

“Couldn’t be happier you’re free of the suspicion,” Derek said with total sincerity. “The last thing I wanted was for any of you to get jammed up with this. You were just doing your job.”

“So were you, and Alayah will prove it. Trust the process.”

“That’s easy to do when you trust the person who holds your future in her hands. If she isn’t asleep by the time I return to the room, I’ll have to pry her fingers off the keyboard and force her to bed.”

“Good luck with that,” he said, the words laced with sarcasm. “She’s like a dog with a bone when something eludes her. She won’t sleep until she finishes the job she was assigned. Then she might take five before asking for her next assignment. I kind of love that about her, even though Mina has to continually force her out of the control room after her shift.”