LITMIR.BIZ

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hand out to Kurt, as if waiting for him to answer. When he looked uncomfortable, she faced Rebecca. “You have to keep in mind that there are over two thousand sitting federal judges. And in any given year we could have anywhere from five hundred to over a thousand threats.”

      “I’m not asking about the others. How many has my grandfather received during his time as a judge?” Rebecca put her hands on her hips. She knew from auditing hundreds of companies when someone was trying to keep something from her. “Or would it be better that I ask my grandfather directly?” She wanted to help law enforcement remove the threat, but she would not stand to be treated like a frail wallflower.

      Kurt faced her but didn’t make eye contact. “Almost three hundred.”

      She lost the ability to breathe for a moment. Three hundred people had threatened to hurt or kill Grandpa or his family? Her family? “That’s...wow.” No wonder her dad wanted to keep her as far away from the judge as possible. He’d made her promise she wouldn’t go into law enforcement or be with someone who was.

      Maybe she could find some of the threats online. Surely some of them had made the news. Then she could identify the man and wrap it up before dinner. She spun in a circle, looking around the wooden floor for her phone. Hopefully the screen protector had worked as promised.

      “I found your phone,” Delaney said. “We haven’t screened it yet, though, so please avoid using it. Tracey, the officer outside, has agreed to act as a courier until his shift ends. Our computer guy, Mike, will stay late to scan any electronics for spyware as soon as you bag it up. I’ll keep you updated.”

      Rebecca held up her hand in a half-hearted wave but Delaney was already halfway out the door.

      “If you don’t mind unlocking your phone for me, I need to take a superficial look before we bag it.”

      Even the timbre of his voice made the back of her neck tingle. She crossed to the counter to pick it up. “Okay. But can I ask why?”

      “Precautionary step, and I’ve been trained to see red flags that might speed up tracking the attacker. After our guy at the courthouse takes care of it, we’ll feel confident you can use it. Mike’s an expert. You’ll have it back in no time. Like the judge, you are accepting our protection detail of your own free will. You don’t have to, but I recommend it.”

      “You don’t have to convince me.” She tried to smile as she thought about everything on her device. He’d see all of her app choices, like the funny photo manipulation application her niece, Mandy, insisted she try for all the selfies they exchanged. Not to mention the games Mandy begged her to download like Minecraft and Candy Crush. “I’ve been meaning to delete a few things anyway.”

      “I understand.” His lips shifted to the right as if trying not to laugh at her.

      “Maybe I can just do that real quick before—”

      He lost the war and laughed. “Rebecca, it’d be better if you let me check first. I’m not here to judge.”

      It was a glimmer of the man who’d first come in to interview her. Maybe he switched on the no-nonsense persona when in protection mode.

      The screen was intact, thankfully. She clicked on the phone to enter her pass code and several previews of text messages from friends and colleagues popped up on the home page. It was nothing that couldn’t wait, but it unnerved her. She’d almost been kidnapped...or worse.

      Everyone in her life still assumed she was having a blast.

      His fingers brushed against hers as she handed him the phone. His eyes darted to meet hers and she looked away. Her laptop still remained open on the desk in the living area, but the black flash drive sat next to it. Odd.

      She crossed the room. “Would the other marshal, Delaney, already have checked my computer?”

      “I don’t believe so. I’ll want to do a preliminary scan before we send it in, as well.”

      “Someone took out the flash drive.” She’d had it plugged in when the man had attacked, although there was a possibility it could’ve been knocked out when she’d grabbed the letter opener.

      While Kurt recommended he scan everything first, she’d never sleep without following her hunch. “I have to check something for work before you take this. Feel free to watch for those flags,” she said. She sat and inserted the drive back into the USB drive before Kurt could object.

      The spreadsheet appeared and she scrolled down. “Unbelievable. Someone wanted me to think it’s the same flash drive, but it’s not.” The highlighted problem areas were nowhere to be found. She examined the file a second time but didn’t find anything. Her heart raced and the throbbing headache returned.

      She spun around to face the marshal. “What if this isn’t about the judge?”

      * * *

      “What makes you think it wouldn’t be?” Kurt lowered the phone and placed it on the desk beside the laptop.

      “I’m sure that this flash drive was plugged into my computer when I was attacked.” She gestured toward a spreadsheet full of hundreds of numbers that made his mind go numb.

      “It’s possible you misremembered. I’ll scan the flash drive for spyware, as well.”

      “No, it’s not that...” She released a frustrated exhale and yanked the drive from the computer. The laptop sounded the obnoxious beep that meant she didn’t eject it properly. She flipped the black stick over in her hand, studying it carefully. “It’s missing a couple of lines I’m sure were there last night.”

      “For your job? Do you have it saved elsewhere?”

      “Yes, yes I have backups. I’m trying to tell you there was something on this drive last night that’s not here today. And I don’t have any copies of that. In fact this isn’t even my flash drive. It appeared in my bag last night. It might’ve been put there by a whistle-blower.” Her eyes widened and she shoved her finger at the middle of the drive. “I knew it! The drive last night had a scratch on it.” She waved the black object in front of him. “This one looks brand-new.”

      Her eyes looked a little manic. He glanced at the bandage wrapped around her hair. How hard had she hit her head? Rebecca’s eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, as if she already knew what he was about to say. His job required him to say the tough things sometimes, but he knew how to do so tactfully. “Sometimes, after a head injury—”

      “I can’t believe you went there.” She rolled her eyes and leaned back into the chair.

      “Listen, even aside from the blow to the head, you were in a dangerous situation last night. Adrenaline and panic can make some details fuzzy.” His training included a basic understanding of what victims and witnesses went through. They’d even put his class into a mock crime and asked them to identify the perp by mug shots that were two years old. Most of them had failed. “Don’t beat yourself up or push yourself. The best thing—”

      She moved her hands in front of her face as if wiping away his words. “You don’t have to tell me that. I was there. I vividly remember it all.” Her face paled.

      Kurt fought the urge to put his hand on her shoulder or to pull her into a hug. He’d never had similar inclinations during other protection assignments. It took him off guard. He stepped backward for more distance.

      She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Wearing her business suit, the action made her look even more vulnerable. “I know I’m not perfect.” Her voice was soft and lyrical. “I realize I could remember some details wrong. But about this...” She took a deep breath and stared ahead at a spot on the wall, as if recalling the attack again. “I’m sure,” she whispered. “There’s no way I imagined it. This is a different drive than the one in my bag.”

      He closed the laptop and unplugged it. He slipped it, alongside the drive and cell phone, inside a bag that blocked all cellular signals and

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