Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Oh, she would love to get a look at his project notes. And the code. If she had Justin’s original code, she and MaeBe could compare it to whatever became the final code. It could tell them a lot. “Of course. I’ll go down and talk to him.”
“And I’ll take your guy for coffee,” Nolan offered, sending her stomach plummeting.
“What?” Logically she realized this was exactly what she was supposed to be doing, but the thought of Deke alone with Nolan sent a shock of panic through her. It wasn’t because Deke couldn’t handle himself. Physically he could take Nolan down in a heartbeat, but they would be talking about…her. “I thought I was going to join you guys.”
Deke leaned over, brushing a kiss over her forehead. “Nolan and I have a few things we need to talk about before we go into the club. I’ll pick you up this afternoon.”
“Don’t worry.” Nolan started to back away. “I promise I’ll take care of him.”
There was a knock on the door, and Naman was standing there with two coffee cups in his hands. “Hey, Madeline. I brought you a latte in hopes that I can bribe you into looking over a few things for me.”
“She’s all yours,” Nolan promised as he walked out.
She wanted to run after him, but Deke was already gone.
And she had work to do. She gave her coworker a smile and accepted the offering. She would need the caffeine. “Of course.”
Fifteen minutes later she was in Naman’s office. The audio team had a whole floor to themselves, with small lab spaces and a few individual offices, but for the most part it was a shared space. Naman, as the new lead, had taken over Justin’s office, and there were still touches of the man lingering.
She stared at the picture of Justin in his cap and gown at his graduation, his mother and father standing proudly beside him.
“They died a couple of years back,” Naman said quietly. “He didn’t have any other family. His girlfriend took a few things, but she let us keep some of the pictures. We were his family, this team. It’s been hard on us. I understand that things change, people quit, and employees retire or move on. But losing two members in a single year has been difficult.”
Pam Dodson was gone, too. “I was surprised to hear she would just walk away.”
Naman leaned against his desk. “She’d been acting weird. Pam was always a little on the eccentric side, but I thought she adored her kids. I didn’t know her husband very well. Pam was secretive the last few weeks she worked here. I think she might have been having an affair.”
Or meeting with a CIA operative, not that she could tell anyone about Pam’s connection to Drake Radcliffe. “That might explain her leaving. I didn’t know her as well as I knew Justin.”
Naman’s lips pursed. “I knew Justin quite well. He’s been my boss and friend for many years. I still believe there’s something more to his death. He wasn’t a man who used drugs. I know what they say, but it seems… I’m talking out of hand. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take up your time.”
She didn’t want to end this conversation. “It’s okay. I thought his death was suspicious, too.”
Naman’s gaze went to the open door. “I didn’t use that word.”
“No, I did.” She lowered her voice. “Justin asked to meet me off campus the day before he died.”
Naman shook his head. “I don’t know anything about that. He hadn’t mentioned it to me. I know he was having some problems with the calibrations on the system. He was worried about some of the code.”
“What part?” She should have done this in the first place, but she felt better knowing Deke was around.
“I’m not sure. I can’t find all of his notes. After he died, security came in and took his computer away. When the files he was working on were transferred to me, some of them were missing. I know because I worked with him on protocols that no longer show up in the project. I had to rebuild them all from scratch, which is why I’m having the trouble Nolan talked to you about.”
“Why wouldn’t they send you all of Justin’s work?” It didn’t make sense. They couldn’t afford to restart a single part of this project if they wanted to launch on time. This wasn’t some softball, let’s-see-how-this-goes kind of launch. There would be a media circus surrounding Byrne’s revolutionary satellite going into space. It wasn’t something they could delay at this point. They needed every system working.
“No idea. I asked about it and was told this was all they found,” Naman replied. “Someone is lying, and I can’t figure out why. I also can’t waste time investigating. Not if I want my project bonus. I have three girls to put through college. I need this job.”