computer sat.
“They seem like a legitimate company,” he said, attempting to get Mrs. Pelzel to share more information.
“I’m not a helpless old woman who doesn’t know how to research a product or service. I didn’t think it was anyone’s business how much time I spent online. But the money they offered was enough to buy a new roof. I just couldn’t pass that up.”
He’d heard of Public Exposure and their controversial social media monitoring system. The file he’d been sent from the task force stated a strong belief the group was involved in more than the good of the common man.
“I sound old and kooky about someone watching me. But I swear that the camera light comes on by itself while I’m cooking or watching television. I hear a click, and the red light pops on and off.” She covered her mouth like she’d said something wrong and then looked at her computer.
Warning bells sounded, and he couldn’t help glancing over to see if the light was on.
“It doesn’t sound kooky at all, Mrs. Pelzel,” Kendall comforted. “In fact, we’ve had several other residents report the same thing. But we need to take your computer to our forensic team and have them check—”
“I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll have my granddaughter look at it. I was wrong to bring you here. There’s nothing weird going on.” Mrs. Pelzel stood and lifted her hand toward her front door. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.”
“Mrs. Pelzel, I believe you,” Heath said. “A start to resolving this issue would be to make certain you log out of your Wi-Fi. Turn everything off before closing the lid and unplugging it. And ask your granddaughter to verify your router has an encryption key. You might want to change your password.”
“Thank you. I’ll try to remember, and I’m very sorry to have wasted your time.”
Kendall stood, defeat written clearly on her face. She flipped her notebook closed and stowed it away inside her suit jacket. They both stopped on the front walk when the door shut. Heath squinted at the noon sun and put his glasses on while she made a couple of more notes.
“The precautions won’t make any difference,” Kendall told him, following with her sunglasses dangling from between her fingers.
“You don’t think this is someone trying to steal identities, like that file sitting in my car states.”
“It’s bigger than that.” Kendall continued to her car.
“How many reports have you taken?”
“Dozens.” Kendall leaned on the government-issued sedan, appearing more defeated now than she had inside the house. “And for every person who reports that their camera light is sporadically coming on, there are probably another dozen who don’t.”
“It’s a shame she wouldn’t let an expert search her computer. But if you have had that many complaints, why haven’t your FBI computer whizzes found what you need from those victims?” He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned his hip against the sedan, close to her.
“What did you think of Public Exposure before this morning?”
“I’ve seen their public service announcements. They’re a group that promotes kids playing outside instead of hanging on social media. How are they involved in potential identity theft?”
“First, no accounts have been affected—bank, credit card or otherwise. None of these complaints go further than what you witnessed. Mrs. Pelzel doesn’t realize that it was me who she spoke with when she called. I take the complaints, but by the time I get to an interview, something has changed their minds and they’ve all made a mistake.”
“All of them?”
“This makes over twenty. Oh, and they all use the word kooky.”
“They can’t all be saying the same thing. You think Public Exposure is threatening them?”
“Yes. Sometime between when the resident calls me and when I get here. All of these people withdraw their complaints or concerns and I can’t move forward.”
Mrs. Pelzel watched them from her window. Heath saw her drop the curtain back into place. Without moving his head, he looked at the windows of the neighbors. More than one resident peered through the blinds.
“I kind of understand about that feeling of being watched.” He barely nodded, but Kendall picked up what he was throwing down.
“There’s also a white van at the end of the block.” She pointed a finger behind her.
He glanced in that direction. “Two men in the front seat. Just sitting like they were when I arrived.”
“Want another chat?”
“I’m game.”
Kendall flipped her identification wallet open and held it in her left hand, leaving her right ready to react. Her weapon was at the ready in her shoulder harness, his at his hip. She turned and they took the first steps into the middle of the street toward the van.
The engine sprang to life and the van burned rubber in reverse. It was around the corner before they could pivot and get back to the car.
“I didn’t see a front license plate,” Kendall said, pointing for him to get into her vehicle.
“Nope. At least we don’t have to wonder if we’re being watched or not.” He hesitated to open her sedan’s door. “My truck is faster than this old heap.”
“Yeah, but this is government insured. I’d hate for our rates to go up.”
He jumped inside and buckled up. That was his Kendall. Always practical.
And he loved it.
Kendall concentrated on driving the car. If she let herself get distracted and think about why Heath had been assigned her case, she’d screw up. Driving or talking...somehow she’d messed up one or the other, and he’d shut down.
At the moment, his hand gripped the back of her seat and the other gripped the dash. He’d lowered the window as soon as she’d pulled away from Mrs. Pelzel’s home.
“Do you see them?”
“You’re about to cross Inwood. Take a right.” He was grinning from ear to ear.
A definite improvement from when she’d first arrived. She’d thought he was about to throw up when Mrs. Pelzel went for the tea. She turned right as he suggested with the direction his finger pointed. For a by-the-book kind of guy, he had a good intuition about where criminals went.
“Slow down, Kendall.” Heath dropped his hand and pulled his sidearm.
She tapped the brakes and followed the direction of his narrowed eyes, toward the end of the block where the van sat parked in a driveway. She couldn’t tell if it actually belonged there or not. She slowed
