Part 3 (1/2)

”Even as smart as he was?” Jude asked.

Luke smirked as he realized Jude was prodding him. ”h.e.l.l, Engineering at MIT? Everyone was smart.” Sobering, he said, ”At a place like that, no one is a big fish anymore. Just all little fishes swimming in a great, big, f.u.c.king pond!”

The others laughed at Luke's college description before turning their attention back to his findings.

”At MIT he seemed to find his stride and, I've got to tell you, a university can be a mecca for someone like Eli...h.e.l.l, for someone like me.”

The other Saints looked up and Luke sighed, rubbing his forehead. He battled how much to tell them...how could they possibly understand? But then he realized that the ten of them around the table had become a family, of sorts. As much as he knew about them, he also had to admit he had given them precious little of himself.

Leaning back in his chair, he pinned them with his stare. ”Guys, I'm not going to insult you by a.s.suming your childhood or young adulthood was easy...I know it wasn't for all of you. But as you stepped into manhood, it surely hasn't escaped your notice that most of you are big men, made even more powerful by your sports, exercise, or even former jobs. And this may sound weird coming from another guy, but not one of you is hard on the eyes and back before you found your special someone, our trips to Chuck's typically ended with the majority of you finding your evening spent with a hot girl on your lap and probably later in your bed.”

At that, Bart, the most notorious, former chick-magnet of them all, had the good grace to blush. ”d.a.m.n man, you know how to lay it on the line!”

”Just keeping it real, bro,” Luke laughed. Sobering, he continued, ”And you were probably that way in high school and college, if I had to guess. But in high school, for someone like Eli...and well, even me...whose social skills did not involve knowing how to converse with a girl, it was easier to throw myself in with the smart nerds. Now, college became a different thing for me. I was in the martial arts club sports and ran with the MIT running club as well as being an engineering student. Built the body up and finally managed to learn how to talk to girls. Sort of,” he joked with a shrug.

”And you're saying that Eli didn't have anything else to fall back on?” Cam asked.

”Not from what I can tell. He threw himself into his cla.s.ses, although he made a couple of friends. But even in that world of academia, he didn't step outside of his small group very much. He continued to be mostly a loner with just a few friends.”

”And those friends?” Jack prompted.

”It appears he was closest to a group of three others. Tim Kelly, Hai Zhou, and Charlotte Trivett. From what I've been able to discover, those four met in a group project and remained friends. I've discerned that Tim Kelly is married with three kids, lives in Boston and works for an international accounting firm as a software designer. Hai Zhou went to California for about three years after graduating from MIT and then returned to China. I haven't had time to get a lock on Charlotte yet, but it looks like she lived in the northern part of Virginia, near the Maryland line.”

”And Eli?”

”Eli took a job, similar to Tim's, in Baltimore and worked there for six months. Then he quit and, according to his tax records, he worked for himself. He never incorporated or set up his own business, but instead began to take private software design orders. From what I can tell, a company would contract him to work on a software project from home, he would design it, and then get paid. And paid well, I might add.”

Monty's head jerked up. ”You mean he just worked from home without any of the protections of having his own business? Why would he not set up an LLC or some business license?”

Shrugging, Luke answered, ”From what I can tell from his bank and investment accounts, he was making serious bucks doing what he was doing, so it may have never entered his mind. h.e.l.l, he got paid and his bank account shows it.”

Jack leaned back again, rubbing his hand over his face and asked, ”Why do I get the feeling that you're going to tell us this guy left very little for us to go on?”

”One of his specialties was encryption and I'm having a devil of a time breaking it. So far, I can find out a few of the businesses that hired him and I'm not coming up with much in the way of who would want him dead.”

”What about his friends?” Patrick asked, hoping for a chance to interview. The newest Saint had recently joined after his tour of duty with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

”From what I can tell...he doesn't have any.” Seeing the incredulous looks shot his way, he threw up his hands in defense. ”Guys, I'm telling you this man had almost no virtual footprint. His encryption is brilliant.” Shaking his head, Luke sighed heavily. ”If he wasn't dead, I'd be trying to find him just so I could see if I could get him to work for us!”

”So we've got nothing?” Jack clarified, his piercing gaze staying on Luke, never having seen his computer expert so frustrated.

”Well, here's what I can get my hands on,” Luke continued. ”I can find a few of his contracts, I can see what he worked on up until about nine months ago. I can tell that he maintained a bit of communication with Tim Kelly and Charlotte Trivett. Tim, we can talk to. Charlotte, I haven't checked into yet, but plan on doing so this afternoon. I know the intel is there, I just have to discover it.”

The group, almost in unison, leaned back in their chairs, the information swirling in their minds.

”Okay,” Jack began, ”I want Luke to dig more on Charlotte and see if there's anything on Hai from the time he left MIT, including what he worked on in California before going back to China. Once he's got that we'll go to Boston to check with Tim.”

Most of the other Saints filed out of the room, their own a.s.signments to accomplish. Marc and Jack moved to the equipment room to check on their weapons and ammunition. Luke sighed as his eyes traveled to his special coffee maker sitting neglected on the counter. Grimacing he rubbed his chest before turning back to his keyboard.

Time to get back to work and find out what the h.e.l.l Eli Frederick was involved in...what he was hiding...and what his friends knew about him.

Chapter 6.

Shoving his chair back in frustration, Luke stalked into his kitchen, his glower only pacified when he remembered his trip to the grocery store before he came home. Throwing a frozen pizza into the oven, he frowned at the timer on the stove as he watched the minutes slowly click by.

How the h.e.l.l can anyone disappear? Luke had spent the past four hours attempting to find Charlotte, but could not connect her to anything recent. He knew Hai would be difficult so he saved him for last, but he a.s.sumed she would be easy to investigate.

Pulling the hot pizza out, steam rising from the melted cheese, he slid it onto a large plate and moved back to his computers. Plopping down, he stared at the notes he had taken. Charlotte Trivett was the only child of divorced parents. He determined her father left when she was only four and married another woman, having nothing to do with his ex-wife or daughter after that. Her mother worked in a grocery store during the day and as a waitress at night.

Charlotte's academic records revealed what he had already a.s.sumed by her admission to MIT. She was brilliant, a.n.a.lytical, and appeared to be a loner. Her high school yearbook yielded no pictures of her, not even in the math or science clubs. She had attended a posh private school on an academic scholars.h.i.+p. With her mom working as a waitress, I'll bet she was shunned by the little princesses there. Her social media footprint was scant at best.

One year younger than Eli, she would have started after Luke graduated, so he knew their paths did not cross. Sighing as he continued to peruse his notes, he continued to find little about her other than school records. Just like high school, she was not in clubs or a sorority. She worked in the Engineering library for work-study to a.s.sist with costs. Her mother died during Charlotte's junior year of college, leaving her very much alone. Most of her education was financed with financial need and student loans, which she paid off within two years of graduating.

Where the h.e.l.l did you get the money to pay back your loans? She would have graduated about the time that Eli began taking private jobs. I wonder? Quickly pulling up a comparison of both Eli and Charlotte's bank accounts, he discovered the connection he had been searching for. Bingo! They both made large deposits about the same time. Not every time, but almost sixty percent were on the same day.

So you were working privately also...and often on the same projects as Eli. Feeling as though he finally made a modic.u.m of progress, he smiled as he leaned back in his seat. His grin left his face as he glanced to the side and viewed his cold pizza. Sighing heavily, he decided to forgo the microwave and chomped down on the congealed cheese sitting on top of the slice.

By midnight, his frustration reached an all-time high once more. Charlotte Trivett disappeared at the same time Eli Frederick went missing. She was gone. Completely and totally off the grid. Her email, social media, and phone had been disconnected and discontinued. Groaning, he began to fear the worst. Did she die too? Is her body going to wash up on a sh.o.r.e?

Deciding to call it a night, he shoved in the last piece of pizza and stood to take the plate back to the kitchen. Before he turned off his computer, it pinged with an incoming message.

Hard at work?

Attempting not to choke as he swallowed a large bite quickly, he sat up straight. Starting a new case. How are you? Do you need my help?

Not yet.

A pause settled in as Luke tried to decide what else to say. Before he had a chance to attempt wittiness, his friend commented.

Be careful what you seek. You may not like the answers.

Once more astonished that this person could tell what he was doing, he typed, Why will I not like the answers?

He waited, his heart pounding faster with each pa.s.sing second. His gaze never left his screen, as though staring would make the person respond quicker. Finally the ping sounded again.

You want to find someone but to do so may not give you the satisfaction you seek.

Luke's brow furrowed as he realized this person knew he was searching for Eli's friend Charlotte. Unable to decipher their intent he sat for a moment, his fingers twitching over the keys. I really want to meet you. I want to know how you operate.

Then I would lose my edge...it's what I have going for me. I'm like a shadow on the wall.

Grinning, Luke realized this was more than he normally received from his cyber friend. I got a question.

Sure you can ask...I might not answer.