Unauthorized Access (11 page)

She let him guide her out of the car, and then pressed herself against his chest as the heaving sobs started again. He put an arm around her shoulders.

“Whatever it is, we can fix it,” he said. “Now take a deep breath for me. Can you do that?”

Lesley drew in a shuddery, snuffling breath and wailed a bit as she let it out.

“Okay,” he said. “Nice and slow, now. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“They must have the wrong guy, Uncle Stan. You have to tell them they have the wrong guy.”

“Tell who?”

“The FBI. They came to Rob’s apartment and arrested him and took him away and they said I couldn’t come because I wouldn’t be able to see him.” She looked up at her uncle’s face. “They think he sabotaged your computers.”

Dysart gaped at her in astonishment.

“But he couldn’t have.” Her voice had taken on a pleading tone. “He’s not a hacker or anything. He was trying to fix your problem, wasn’t he?”

“I thought so,” Dysart said.

But what if Rob’s efforts had just been for show? Could Rob really be so two-faced? And did an arrest mean they would know the keyword soon?

When Lesley spoke again, her cracked voice sounded far away, a mere whimper.

“I don’t know what to do.”

* * *

At five-thirty that afternoon, Lesley had climbed three flights of stairs to the top floor of Rob’s apartment building and crossed the hallway to his door. Before she could knock, the door swung open to reveal Rob wearing dress pants, black shoes and a crisp white shirt. He had a dishtowel draped over one arm like a waiter.

“Ah, yes,” he said. “Miss Whitlock. You’re with the Donovan party, are you not? Please, do come in.”

Lesley raised one skeptical eyebrow and walked past him into the apartment.

“We’re so glad you could make it,” Rob said. “Your table is ready and the others are already seated. Can I take your jacket?”

Lesley sighed and gave him her jacket. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I guess I’m not much in the mood for clowning around. It’s been a really crappy day.”

Rob closed the closet door and looked at her with a mildly shocked expression. “Tut tut, my dear. Not in front of the children.”

“What children?” Lesley said as she walked around the corner into the tiny walk-through kitchen. The sight of the dimly lit dining area stopped her cold.

A white tablecloth covered the table. The four place settings included salad forks, cloth napkins, as well as both water and wine glasses. Two fluffy teddy bears that Lesley had never seen before—one white and the other dark brown—each had their own place setting. Their chairs were pulled in close so their front paws sat on the table. Two tall candles flickered and helped to illuminate the arrangement of roses in the center of the table. A small envelope with her name on it leaned against the base of the vase.

“I told you the children could hear you,” Rob said.

She plucked the brown teddy bear from his chair and smiled for the first time in hours. “He’s cute. Where did he come from?”

“I wasn’t sure what kind of mood you’d be in. I thought it’d be safer for me if there were witnesses.”

“Ha ha.”

The teddy bear went back into its seat. Lesley opened the envelope. The card inside said:
To brighten the day of the Future Mrs. Donovan. Love, Rob.
She looked at the silly grin on Rob’s face and couldn’t help but laugh.

“You didn’t have to do this,” she said.

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You seemed so upset when you called earlier.”

“I was.”

Rob leaned toward her and used two fingers to lift her chin.

“There’ll be other stories to cover,” he said, “you’ll see.”

Then he kissed her, briefly, on the lips. She was amazed at the amount of tension that seemed to flow outward through his touch.

“Could you do that again?” she said.

He did. Same result.

“How is it you always know how to cheer me up?” she asked.

His smile seemed to light up the room for her.

“Didn’t you know?” he said. “That’s my job.”

Lesley’s stomach growled.

“I think you better dig out whatever it is that smells so good,” she said. “All of a sudden I’m ravenous.”

Rob opened the warm oven and showed her the pizza, still in its take-out box. “My most favorite concoction,” he said, “and just as you like it, lots of cheese.” He gave her a serious look. “I slaved over this for hours, you know.”

She chuckled. “I know you’re an idiot.”

“Maybe,” Rob said with a shrug, “but you agreed to marry me, so now I’m your idiot.”

“You’re going to hold me to that?”

“Someone has to help take care of these teddy bears.”

“Well … okay. But only if you promise not to run off tonight and leave me alone like you did last time.”

Rob slid a slice of pizza onto her plate with a flourish. “Not a chance,” he said.

The pizza was exactly the kind of greasy food Lesley needed. After two slices she wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Okay,” she said, “I might survive now.”

Rob topped up their glasses with red wine and they moved to the couch in the living room. Lesley snuggled comfortably under one of Rob’s arms.

After taking a sip, Rob asked, “Who should we show the ring to first?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Lesley said. “When we’re done here I want to drive over to Stan and Sheila’s place and surprise them. Then after that we can phone our parents.”

“You don’t want to wait until the weekend and tell them in person?”

“No way.” Lesley’s wine jostled in her glass as she shook her head. “I’ve already waited two days to start telling people and I’m not waiting anymore. It was hard enough keeping it from Stan and Sheila when I was over there last night, but I knew it wasn’t the right time. Besides, all sorts of people will see the ring over the next couple of days and I don’t want Mom to hear from someone else.”

“I can just imagine what she’ll say.”

“The length of time we’ve been going out,” Lesley said, “I doubt anyone will be all that surprised.”

“Wasn’t Shayna excited?” Rob said.

“Shayna gets worked up when she finds a new shade of nail polish.”

Rob chuckled. “With her at the wedding, we’ll definitely have a party.”

“I was thinking of asking her to be my maid of honor. It’d either be her or someone back in Worcester like Karen Cunningham.”

“I haven’t even thought of who I’d ask to be the best man yet. Tim, I suppose.”

Lesley screwed up her face. “And of course he’ll bring Kirsten.”

“So what? You’ll have old boyfriends there, too. Like Tim, for that matter.”

“Oh, right. We dated for like a few weeks. I didn’t practically live with him for two years like you did with Kirsten.”

“That’s ancient history,” Rob said, “and you know it.”

Rob set his empty wine glass on the end table beside Lesley’s. He leaned in and kissed her. She put her arms around his neck, pulled him to her and the kiss grew long. She felt his hands move to delicious places.

When they came up for air she said, “Is this any way for newly engaged people to act?”

Rob considered this for a moment. “Absolutely,” he said, and they went back to work.

A knock sounded on the apartment door. Rob started to get up but Lesley pulled him down again.

“Don’t answer it,” she said. “They’ll go away.”

A few seconds later the knock sounded again, louder this time.

“I better see who it is,” Rob said. “Save my spot for me.”

Lesley relaxed back into the softness of the couch as he left the room. She heard Rob speak in the entryway.

“Who is it?” he said.

The reply got her up off the couch and buttoning her blouse.

“FBI, Mr. Donovan. We need to talk to you.”

Lesley rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw Rob looking out through the peephole. “Got any ID?” he said.

Rob was apparently satisfied with what he saw because he opened the door. A man wearing a striped tie under a navy blue overcoat stood in the doorway. Lesley could see other men behind him.

“Rob Edward Donovan?”

“Yes.”

“Special Agent Steeves. I have a warrant here to search your apartment.” He presented Rob with a sheaf of paper.

“I don’t understand,” Rob said. “Why?”

“May we come in?” Steeves said.

“Do I have a choice?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Rob stood to one side as Steeves and three other men walked in. They were all clean cut and wore suits and ties. The last one in sported a substantial gut.

Two of the agents disappeared into the spare bedroom that served as Rob’s home office.

“This is my partner,” Steeves said. “Special Agent Hanley.”

Rob ignored the introduction.

“What am I supposed to do?” he said to Steeves. “Stand here and watch?”

Steeves regarded Rob coolly. “You need to stay here.”

“Lovely,” Rob said.

The agent with the gut reappeared. “Is your computer protected by a password, Mr. Donovan?”

Rob just looked at him. Lesley could tell he was becoming more agitated by the second.

“We’re entitled to examine the computer under the terms of the search warrant,” the agent said. “And I can take it into the lab and get past any password you’ve got on there, so you might as well tell me.”

“There’s no password,” Rob said.

The agent nodded and left.

Steeves looked at Rob with a slightly bemused expression.

“Is there something you’d rather we didn’t see?” Steeves said.

“Yes. My apartment. You have no reason to be here.”

Steeves shrugged. “We’ll see.” He folded his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter. Hanley did likewise. Lesley got the impression they were guarding the door.

Rob glared at them for a second, then stalked to the dining room and started to clear the table. Lesley grabbed him by the elbow. It took two tugs to get him to put down the dishes and follow her into the living room.

“Does this have anything to do with the bank?” she said in a whisper.

“How should I know?” Rob said, making no attempt to be quiet.

“You’ve got to calm down.”

“They have no right to just come in here like this and—”

Lesley stopped him with a sharp squeeze of his forearm. “Maybe they’re just checking out all the computer people who work at the bank.”

Rob seemed to consider that. “Yeah, maybe,” he said. “I never thought of that.”

She still held his forearm. “You have to chill out.”

“You’re right.” He sighed. “They obviously won’t find anything, so they should be out of our hair soon. But still, they’re like Gestapo troopers storming the place, you know?”

Lesley gave his arm another squeeze, one of reassurance this time.

A voice in the kitchen said, “I think you better have a look at this.”

In the living room, two heads swiveled as one in that direction. The first wispy swirlings of panic started a dance in Lesley’s lower gut.

Rob and Lesley walked to the dining area. They saw Steeves pull on latex gloves and then take a sheet of paper from one of the agents who had been in Rob’s office. Steeves said nothing as he scanned the page, then handed it back with a nod.

Then a voice from Rob’s office. “Hey, Steeves. Can you come here?”

“Rob?” Lesley said. “What’s going on?”

Rob’s belligerence had been replaced by a look of complete bewilderment. “I have no idea.”

Steeves reappeared and tossed the surgical gloves on the kitchen counter. “Put on your shoes, Mr. Donovan. You’re under arrest.”

Lesley’s mouth went dry. This couldn’t be happening.

“For what?” Rob said.

“Computer sabotage.”

“That’s crazy. I haven’t done anything.”

“Just do it,” Steeves said. “We’ll talk later.”

Rob pressed his lips in a thin line as he walked between the two agents to the closet. When Rob was dressed, Steeves produced a pair of handcuffs and moved behind him.

“You have the right to remain silent …,” Steeves began as he put on the cuffs.

Lesley didn’t hear the rest. Her eyes were locked on Rob’s—asking, imploring that this not be true. She got wide-eyed disbelief in return as Steeves led Rob out the door.

“What’s your name, ma’am?”

The words caught Lesley by surprise. Agent Hanley was looking at her.

“Your name?” he said.

“Lesley,” she said. “Lesley McGrath.”

He wrote it down. “Are you Mr. Donovan’s girlfriend?”

“His fiancée. We’re getting married.”
Or are we?
The thought came out of nowhere and terrified her.

“I need your address and phone numbers. Work, home, and cell.”

She told him and he scribbled some more.

“At some point we’re going to have some questions for you Miss McGrath,” Hanley said. “Also, our search team will be here in the apartment for several hours. You can stay if you like but it’s not necessary.”

“Where are you taking him?” she asked.

“Nowhere that you could see him tonight. I imagine he’ll end up in the Suffolk County Jail. You can check there tomorrow if you want.” He strode out the door, closing it behind him.

Lesley stood rooted to the spot. The rustlings and subdued scraping sounds of the search team filled the apartment—Rob’s life being examined in minute detail. She looked at the dirty dishes on the table, but couldn’t bring herself to clean up. She had to get away.

She grabbed her things and fled out the door, down the stairs and into the oncoming darkness.

C
HAPTER
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