The Golden Plan by Patricia Rice

Author:Patricia Rice [Rice, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Evie curled up under a sleeping bag on the broad couch in the cellar den R&R had claimed for their own. Despite the sultry night air outside, she couldn’t get warm.

She’d talked to a recently deceased spirit. She hadn’t thought it possible. All the encounters she’d had before had been with dusty remnants of energy clinging to ancient memories. Clancy had been raging furious—and exhausting.

The men tip-toed around her as Reuben—using a tissue—loaded the thumb drive, and Roark belatedly hunted for connections to the city hall computer. She didn’t even need to read their auras to sense their overwhelming curiosity.

“Why didn’t the cops take the computer and thumb drive?” Reuben demanded as he hacked to get into the drive’s information.

“Public office connected to public information, used by all the council, not just Clancy,” Evie told them. “Don’t know who the thumb drive belongs to, though. Maybe the intruder?”

Jax came in bearing a mug of tea. She felt better just smelling it. Sitting up, she cradled the hot mug between her palms and let the aromatic steam tease her nose. The man occasionally had uses.

“Clancy’s broker computer was just that, complicated client stuff, connected to corporate offices.” Roark continued clicking his keyboard. “Betcha dat ’puter got audited regular so there was nothin’ personal on it. I figured cops had his home devices. Didn’t think he had another.”

“If all the council members used the one at city hall, then they probably each had their own passwords to sign in for their private files. He might have kept personal stuff there.” Reuben sat back and let his hacker software program run on the thumb drive.

“But Clancy was killed in that office. The cops still should have taken everything away.” Jax returned to his appointed task of sorting through documents on the pool table relating to his father and Pendleton.

“The cops didn’t know Clancy was killed.” Unlike literal-minded Jax, Evie easily jumped to conclusions based on nothing. “They wouldn’t take a computer all the council used because Clancy put a gun to his head. One assumes they’d need a warrant.”

Jax grimaced in agreement. “Same with Pendleton. They wouldn’t automatically take a computer for a suicide, especially one needed by his office. They probably waited for the coroner’s report. The killer has a method to his madness.”

“You into that city hall computer yet? Is it wiped?” Reuben watched his hacker program scroll passwords at the thumb drive. “Whoever trashed the office tonight might have brought this drive with them to clean out Clancy’s files and dropped it when he got frightened.”

“You think Clancy’s haint scared him off?” Roark laughed.

Evie threw a pillow at the tattooed lout. “Don’t dismiss what you don’t understand.”

The Cajun pointed at his monitor. “There’s da city hall computer innards. Clancy’s partition is wiped. Dude knew what he was doin’.”

Reuben gave a soft crow of triumph and hit the keyboard. “But the ghost must have made him drop the thumb drive he transferred it to. Looka here.”

“If that drive belonged to the person trashing the office, we need to get it back to the police, pronto.

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