Stolen Identity Read online

  A moment after Jason hung up, Danielle came back into the office holding two mugs of coffee. He reached for the one she handed him and took a sip. “Thanks. Better?”

  She sat down on her purple swivel desk chair, setting her mug in front of her. “As long as I can keep the coffee coming along with keeping things in perspective, I just might make it.”

  “Here’s something new to add to the fire. I just got off the phone with Philip. You might have been right about Garrett. He might not have been here to see you.”

  Danielle shook her head. “Then why was he here?”

  “Philip told me he was able to match the user name off Garrett’s computer to one on your server, connecting them both to an online dating service.”

  “Wow. That means Garrett was possibly dating one of my employees?”

  Jason nodded. “Which could explain why the tapes were erased. Maybe whoever it was didn’t want you to know about their relationship.”

  “So now there’s a chance that whoever Garrett was dating has no connection to our hacker. This is becoming a tangled web that I don’t know how to unravel.”

  Jason took another sip of his coffee that wasn’t quite up to the quality of her freshly ground brew. “Do you know what my grandmother used to say when I complained about life getting too tangled?”

  There was a hint of a smile in her eyes. “Do I want to know?”

  “Go buy another skein of yarn.”

  “Very funny.” Danielle tapped on the side of the mug with her fingernail. “In all seriousness, though, I’m not sure I know how to start over. But I do appreciate your help.” Her gaze dropped. “I don’t know what I would have done without your being here.”

  “I’m just sorry you’re having to go through all of this in the first place. And as for me…I’ve said it before. I need resolution as much as you do.”

  She looked up and caught his gaze, her eyes full of emotion. His desire to take care of her and ensure she was safe deepened…along with his reawakened feelings toward her. He leaned toward her until he was close enough to catch the subtle scent of strawberries in her hair. Until he was close enough to kiss her. This time she didn’t pull away.

  The bell on the front door jingled. Jason stepped back at the interruption. There was still so much left unsaid between them. But all of that was going to have to wait for another day.

  *

  Danielle walked toward the front of the store as Kate and Sarah stepped into the building off the boardwalk. She’d always taken pride in living in a town where the worst crimes were typically limited to petty theft and underage drinking on the beach. Now it seemed as if everything had changed with Garrett’s murder. Most of all, she hated her initial reaction of suspicion toward those she considered to be her friends, but she didn’t know how to turn it off. Garrett had been dating someone who had access to her computers.

  Which as far as she could see narrowed it down to someone who worked for her.

  “Danielle.” Kate dropped her gym bag onto the floor beside her. Her shoulder-length, curly brown hair had been tied back for her morning workout. She fingered a pearl pendant hanging from a silver chain. “What’s going on? Caroline from next door just told us that the store was broken into.”

  “There was a breakin. I was here when—”

  “You were here?” Sarah pressed her hand against her mouth in horror.

  “The intruder escaped.”

  “Thank God.” Kate’s expression darkened as she looked around the room. “Was anything stolen?”

  “He trashed my office, but far as I know, only the petty cash was taken.”

  “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine how terrified I would have been.” Sarah wrapped her arm around Danielle’s shoulder. “What can we do?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know.” She shook her head. If one of her employees were involved, it would seem that the less they knew about what they were doing to find out the truth, the better.

  She made a quick introduction of Jason who’d just joined them.

  “Kate. Sarah. This is Jason. He’s an expert with securities and is helping me. Besides that, I’m sure that the police will want to speak to each of you, as well, at some point.”

  Kate shook her head. “Who do you think could have done this?”

  “I don’t know that, either.” Which was true. Danielle still wasn’t totally buying into the idea that one of her employees had betrayed her.

  Danielle looked at her friends. Sarah worked to put herself through night school, planned to be a massage therapist and dabbled with crocheted items she sold on eBay. She lived in an apartment near the coast, wore vintage clothes and loved playing beach volleyball.

  She’d known Kate for years. Running the shop had come naturally to her friend, which was why over the years Danielle had given Kate more and more responsibility. No red flags. No arrests or jail time. But wasn’t that the point of a cyber hacker—working like a chameleon appearing to be something they weren’t?

  “What about Rae?” Sarah slipped off her lime-green coat and slung it over her arm. “Kate and I were just talking this morning about how she’s never been back to work. We’ve both tried to call her, but she doesn’t answer her phones. We still have her last paycheck.”

  “I’ve told the police that the timing of her quitting seems strange.”

  “Here’s another angle.” Jason pulled out his phone and clicked on his photo of Garrett. “Have either of you seen this man?”

  Sarah took the phone and studied the photo. “Who is he?”

  “He’s a friend of mine. We think he stopped by the store a few days ago, possibly to talk to Danielle.”

  Sarah passed the phone to Kate. “I don’t know him.”

  “Me neither.” Kate shook her head then handed the phone back to Jason. “So what next, Danielle? Do you plan to open the store today?”

  “I don’t know.” Danielle looked to Jason. “I need to file a police report, change my security codes, finish putting my office back together, arrange to have the back window fixed…”

  Running a business was complicated on a good day. With everything else she needed to deal with, closing the shop for a few days wasn’t an unreasonable option. But she wasn’t the only one the loss of income was going to effect.

  “You have enough to deal with,” Sarah began. “Kate and I can manage the store.”

  “She’s right, Danielle,” Kate said. “There’s no use losing business.”

  “Okay.” Danielle nodded, realizing they were right. “I appreciate you both for coming through for me.”

  A minute later, she and Jason were back in her office. He shut the door behind him. “Do you trust them?”

  Danielle grappled with the question. “I’ve never had reason not to. I wouldn’t have been able to do what I do without either of them over the past couple of years.”

  “Who else then? If it’s not one of them, or Rae, then who?”

  Danielle’s phone went off. It was another email. She glanced at the return address and felt her stomach roil. “It’s him, Jason.”

  “Maybe he’s finally decided to give in to our demands.”

  She scrolled down the email.

  “They’re photos, Jason. Photos… of me dropping off Lauryn at my mother’s…”

  No place was safe. He knew where she lived, where she worked. He knew how to get to Lauryn.

  THIRTEEN

  Danielle couldn’t breathe. Everything she’d done to protect her daughter had just shattered into a million worthless pieces. She grabbed her bag from the top of her desk and started rummaging for her car keys. What had possessed her to gamble over her child’s life? She couldn’t change what had happened, but she could get her daughter and mother somewhere safe for the three of them to stay until this guy was found and locked away for the rest of his life. They could drive south…disappear—

  “Danielle, where are you going?” Jason’s voice rippled through her, yanking her out of her numbing
thoughts.

  “I’ve got to get Lauryn somewhere safe.”

  She rushed toward the front of the store, ignoring the questioning looks of Kate and Sarah. She wasn’t in the mood for an argument. Not when she’d been thrust once again into the eye of the storm. Outside, she opened up the car door and found her phone where she’d left it on the console.

  I know You’re here, God, but I just can’t feel Your presence in the middle of all of this…. I need something…something tangible that shows me You’re here.

  Jason was right behind her. “We will get Lauryn somewhere safe, but you’ve got to think this through before you rush off without a plan.”

  “What we did might have been a calculated risk, but it wasn’t supposed to come to this.” She turned to face him. “He’s a computer hacker. He’s supposed to stick to computer hacking, not threats against my family.”

  “You’re right. What we did was a risk that might have backfired, but that doesn’t mean that this is over, or that we’re just going to give up.” Jason grasped her shoulders, but she pulled away. “You’ve got to think through this.”

  “You have a better idea at this point?”

  Danielle turned away with her phone. He didn’t deserve her theatrics, but she couldn’t let this guy win. Her fingers fumbled to press the correct buttons on her phone. An eternity passed until her mother picked up.

  “Mom, it’s me. I need you to do exactly what I say. Pack a suitcase for the next few days and throw in some of Lauryn’s things you keep there at your house. I’ll be there in the next ten minutes.”

  “Danielle—”

  “I need you to make sure the doors are locked and don’t answer it for anyone except me.” She stared down the boardwalk at the familiar row of cafés, hotels and shops. A couple walked hand in hand, pausing to look in one of the windows. Decorations were being hung for this weekend’s Seafood Festival… “Mom, do you understand?”

  “No, I don’t. What’s going on?”

  She should have told her mom what was happening. Shouldn’t have thought she could handle things alone. “It’s too long to explain right now, but the man I tried to save on the beach was Jason’s best friend. Apparently he’d been scammed by a con artist. Now this guy’s hacked into my financial accounts, and I’m worried…I’m worried he knows how to get to Lauryn.”

  Saying it out loud made her feel as if she were crazy.

  “Danielle? How could you not have told me?”

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I promise I’ll explain more later, but for now, I just need you to trust me.”

  She hung up the phone and started to get into the car.

  “Stop for a minute, Danielle.” He pulled her toward him, his hands pressed gently against her shoulders. This time he didn’t let her move away from him. She felt her body tense at his nearness. Wanting him to hold her as much as she wanted to run.

  “He’s playing with you. Trying to get in your head.”

  “Then he’s succeeded.” Her eyes filled with tears. “He killed your best friend. Don’t tell me that his next move is limited to some stupid financial hacking. He knows how to get what he wants. He’s going after Lauryn.”

  “Danielle, you’re not driving anywhere.”

  “I have to get my daughter. Clearly we’re not safe and any leverage we thought we had doesn’t faze him.”

  “Give me the keys. I’ll drive you.”

  “I’m fine driving—”

  “Danielle, forget everything that was between us and all the scenarios running through your head right now. Let me help you.”

  Anger toward him dissipated. She needed somewhere tangible to place her frustration. She didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know how to make this okay again. But maybe God had sent her what she needed for the moment. “I need to be with my daughter. I need to make sure that she is safe.”

  “I understand, but we also need a plan. Let me help you do this.”

  She felt her shoulders relax slightly. “Our last plan only ended up antagonizing the hacker. My plan is to make sure that my daughter is as far away as possible. You asked me what I needed earlier. I need this to end. I need to know that my daughter is safe when I leave her for the day at my mom’s.” Tears clogged her throat. “I need to know that my bank account isn’t going to be drained when I wake up in the morning, or that some crazed hacker hasn’t spent half my retirement and put me out of business.”

  She leaned against the side of the car, struggling to breathe, and hating that she couldn’t stop sobbing. “I don’t know how to deal with this, except to take my family as far away from here as possible.”

  “Then let’s start there. Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He grabbed her hand that held keys dangling from her fingers and squeezed gently. “There is a good chance that his threats aren’t as solid as he wants us to think they are. I don’t think for an instant that he’s won yet. He still wants whatever Garrett had, which is our one trump card.”

  “Maybe you’re right, but I can’t just sit around and do nothing while my child’s life is threatened.”

  A look of fierce determination crossed his face. “We’re not going to sit around and do nothing, but you don’t need to be driving right now.”

  “Jason, I—” His other hand moved to push back the hair the wind had blown against her cheek. She sucked in a breath and tried to stop the waves of fear threatening to take hold. He was right. She was in no condition to drive. Her hands shook as she gave him the keys. She needed to draw on what they had just spoken about last night, because nothing had really changed. God was here, right here in the midst of everything. But while she believed that, walking by faith still wasn’t always easy.

  She looked up at him, trying to fight the desperation closing in on her. “Promise me nothing will happen to Lauryn.”

  “I promise that I will do everything in my power to protect you and your daughter.”

  She nodded, knowing that what she asked was unreasonable. There were no guarantees in life. She of all people knew that. And she couldn’t let the fear paralyze her.

  She’d seen it once when her mother’s house had been broken into while her mother had been sleeping. The police had told them that the aftermath for the victim of a crime was often more traumatizing than the actual crime itself. It had taken weeks until her mother had been able to sleep without the lights on. She had to get control of the fear running through her. Had to keep holding on to the fact that God knew exactly what had happened, and even what was going to happen.

  “Scoot on over to the passenger side, and we’ll look at the options first.”

  She nodded. Only one thing was clear. They needed to get somewhere safe.

  She opened the door and slid across to the passenger seat. “I can shut down the store for a few days, and we’ll go check into a hotel down the coast. Somewhere…anywhere that he can’t find us.”

  Except she wasn’t certain there was such a place.

  He gripped the steering wheel. “What about my dad’s cabin?”

  “Your dad?” His suggestion took her by surprise. She hadn’t thought of him. There was a good chance that their hacker didn’t know about Jason’s father. The rustic, seaside house was isolated and, knowing Eddie Ryan, secure.

  Jason turned and caught her gaze. “Let me drive you, Lauryn and your mother up the coast to his cabin. This would give you a chance to be off the radar there. You remember my father. No one messes with Eddie Ryan. You should be safe there for the time being.”

  “I don’t know.” As good as the idea sounded, she couldn’t think. The scenarios were back again, swimming through her mind, and none of them came with a good ending.

  “Danielle, I understand that you aren’t safe here, but this would be much better than a hotel.”

  She closed her eyes. Eddie Ryan was a six-foot-three, two-hundred-and-fifty pound private investigator who’d spent his life working divorce cases and surveillance, and w
as a fisherman in his free time. He’d been the one in charge of the family barbecue on the Fourth of July and always one of the first ones to take the Polar Bear Plunge in the frigid Pacific Ocean every New Year. It seemed funny, the things that popped into her mind even though she hadn’t seen him for over a decade. Like the time he’d told her she’d broken his heart as much as his son’s when he found out he wasn’t going to have her for a daughter-in-law.

  She pushed away the memories.

  “We need to regroup, Danielle. And as sorry as I am, clearly our message didn’t work. I’ll call in Philip. We’ll work together on another strategy. We can also let the police know where we are, but we can’t rely on them for our only protection.”

  Danielle grabbed a tissue from the glove box and blew her nose. “How long will that last? He keeps threatening. I keep running. I can’t live this way.”

  But maybe he was right. At least for now. There was more of a chance that he’d track them down in a hotel, which could put her mother and daughter in danger. The police would help, but their resources were limited and they couldn’t protect them 24/7. What other option did they really have?

  She closed her eyes and nodded. “Okay. Call your father and make sure he doesn’t mind us staying with him for a few days.”

  *

  Jason took twice the amount of time it normally took to drive to his father’s cabin, taking every precaution to ensure they weren’t being followed—praying at the same time that he’d given Danielle the right advice. Fixing security matters from in front of a computer was one thing. Dealing with issues that could quickly turn into a life-and-death situation were completely different.

  Danielle had said little on the thirty-minute drive other than to explain in more detail to her mother what had happened. By the time they drove into the driveway at half past eight, the sun was peeking through the surrounding trees and Lauryn was sound asleep.

  Jason carried the little girl up the front steps to the porch. Between his father’s security and the two German shepherds posted outside, no one would be able to sneak onto the property without catching someone’s attention. Which was exactly why he’d wanted to bring them here.