Tansy wanted to leave the men to do their thing. She wanted to dive into her research and forget about the break-in attempt.
Instead, she and Sam walked the property with the deputy and she answered as many questions as she could.
Marcus Ramirez was an interesting man, and she’d bet he had an interesting past. She had to assume he was former special ops. He radiated awareness of his surroundings and of people. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was wearing a below-the-knee prosthesis on his left leg.
His walk was almost natural, but there was a slight hitch she recognized. She wondered if the prosthesis had the tech she’d designed to improve integration with his muscles.
While the men searched for evidence and discussed possibilities, Tansy let her mind wander to the hologram. It was a project she’d been so excited about when she’d started last year.
If she’d never told James, none of this might be happening. That thought stopped her moving while she analyzed it. The DOD had approached her. How had they known she was working on it?
Tansy moved to lean on the railing of the deck when the men went into the lodge.
She rarely discussed her private projects with anyone. Not even fellow scientists. She’d worked with the team on a variety of other projects, but her personal research was extremely private. Until she knew an idea was going to work, she didn’t like sharing it with anyone.
A lot of her ideas ended up not being feasible. Or at least not feasible with the current tech. Tons of projects got shelved for future revisits.
The hologram was one of those. She remembered with clarity seeing R2D2 project Leia’s image and wondering how she could make it more realistic without the aura.
That had been before her parents had been killed. The familiar pang of grief stabbed through her. They’d been such good people. Her mom’s passion for technology had inspired Tansy from an early age. June Cheveyo had taught computer programming at the university and her dad, Robert, had been a cop.
She and Joe had followed in their footsteps. Maybe not exactly, but along the same pathways.
Would their parents be proud of what they’d accomplished with their lives? She hoped so.
And if she could hear her dad whispering to her that she had to let others in sometimes, that was okay, too. She thought about Sam and realized she’d never let anyone in like she had with him.
Certainly not James.
Which brought her back to the DOD. How had they known? Had James tried to sell her tech to them? That was better than selling it to terrorists. But he’d claimed he was selling to private investors. Was he setting up an auction?
If he had offered it to the good guys, was the break-in even connected to the tech?
Did Sam have someone after him? Was this about him, not her.
Tansy hurried inside to find the men standing over the Jetsons. When she entered the room, Marcus grinned at her. “If you ever decide to sell these, I’m first in line.”
That made her laugh.
“Can you program these, or something else, to react to an intruder?”
His question had her blinking while she considered. It would require some programming changes and creating a cause-and-effect routine.
She’d never been interested in creating home security systems, but this might be fun.
Sam grinned. “Maybe a Jackie or Chuck? River?”
Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris would be excellent role models. But River from Firefly was an even better possibility.
“It would take some time. Reactive programming is more complex that active programming, but it’s possible.”
Marcus nodded. “Way above my skill set. Even if you programmed these guys to move around a few times during the night, you might unnerve any intruders. No one expects someone like Jane here coming at them.”
“That would be easier to do.” Then she took a deep breath. She needed to tell them her thoughts.
Sam must have read her face because he crossed to touch her arm, his gaze looking beyond her to the deck where she’d stood. “What’s wrong? What happened? Is someone there?”
Tansy patted his hand. “No one’s there and nothing’s really wrong. I was just connecting dots.”
“Which dots?”
She wanted tea, wanted something to do with her hands, so she moved back to the main room and put the kettle on the pellet stove.
“I realized that the only person who knew about my camouflage project was James.”
Sam growled softly and turned to Marcus. “James Stephens. Asshole ex from Sacramento, currently in the wind. Tried to steal Tansy’s tech and sell it.”
“He didn’t actually try to steal it. He claimed he was responsible for it and offered the rights to it to what he claimed were private investors.”
Marcus wanted to know more, so she explained her science lab and how intellectual property rights worked and how her personal lab had been separate from anything the team worked on.
“So this guy’s a user and full of shit, but also smart enough to convince people he’s helping?”
The succinct description had Tansy almost smiling. It would be easier if she wasn’t one of the people he’d used. “That’s a good description. Anyway, I was thinking that James would sell to private investors because that’s where the money always is. So, how did the DOD know about the tech? They emailed me about it.”
Sam and Marcus exchanged a look. Marcus responded. “No idea, although there is more gossip in military ranks than any knitting circle. Even a whisper of new tech would be of interest to a whole lot of groups. There’s a lot of crossover between the government and private companies.”
That made sense, too.
Tansy squeezed Sam’s hand. “I also wondered if someone might be angry with you. You’ve put a lot of people in jail over the years. Until last night I haven’t had a single problem and I’ve been here for months.”
Sam’s eyebrows furrowed. She knew he’d been so focused on her that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind.
“I’ll put in a call to the office. See if anyone’s been making noises or has been released recently.”
Marcus nodded and handed them both his card. “I’d appreciate you keeping me in the loop. Send me a text so I have your numbers as well. I’d also like to update Troy. He keeps his eye on the town. He’s got military contacts and he contracts out on communications with several departments.”
Tansy nodded, knowing it was the sensible decision even if it did involve more people in her private business. “Do you know if anyone new is visiting in town?”
Marcus shook his head. “It’s not high tourist season. Skiing is over and it’s not great for fishing for a bit. Newcomers will stand out. I’ll check with Jim and Carl. They run the B&B. There are a lot of B&Bs in nearby towns, too. I’ll make up a report and send it around, warning people of a potential troublemaker in the area.”
Tansy kept the sigh internal. So much for her quiet and peaceful break from the world.
Sam worried about Tansy throughout the rest of the day. Not for her safety, she wasn’t doing anything dangerous or threatening to go off on her own. But her shoulders were slumped, the sparkle gone from her eyes.
He knew she hated conflict. She was happiest when she was up to the elbows creating something fun and useful.
She’d been enjoying the hologram a lot, and Sam wanted to kick Stephens’ ass for taking that away from her. For money.
They were squirrelled away in the fort and Tansy was working, but she didn’t have energy crackling from her like she normally did.
He needed to find some answers so she could have her joy back.
She’d let him go through her emails to see what James had been saying. Even if he hadn’t known the backstory, he would have despised the man from the emails alone.
He alternated between whining and demanding. Even went so far as to say she owed him because they’d been together for a few weeks.
The thought of the prick’s hands on Tansy made him crazy.
Neither Joe nor Nico had picked up anything about Stephens. He was lying low and not using credit cards. Where had his cash come from? Who was he with?
The phone beeped in Sam’s hands with a new email from the prick himself.
Sam opened it.
Hi Tansy,
Hope you are doing well. I’d like to meet up with you. Catch up and find out what you’re up to these days.
I feel terrible about the way things ended and know you must think the worst of me. But it’s not what you think.
I’d love to meet up with you and have a real conversation.
Please, Tansy. It’s important.
James
Sam must have made a sound or other reaction, because suddenly Tansy was beside him and reading the email. He looked up to see a speculative look on her face.
“I should do it.”
“No way in hell.”
She raised an eyebrow. “My life, my decision. If I meet with him, we can find out what he’s really thinking. I can find out who he’s dealing with and if he’s behind the break in. If I do nothing, we learn nothing.”
At least she was saying we, but Sam didn’t like the plan at all. “It’s not a good idea. We don’t know if he’s involved with something criminal.”
Tansy rolled her eyes at him. “It’s not like I’m going to meet him in a dark alley at three in the morning. I’ll meet him somewhere in public and find out what I can.”
“He’s not going to talk freely in a coffee shop where other people can overhear the conversation.”
Tansy frowned at that. “True.” Her eyes took on that thinking glaze. “I don’t want him near here or Phail, not even in Vermont. What about if I tell him I’ll meet him in a park? That way, you can be nearby without it being obvious that I have backup.”
Sam still didn’t like it. “What are my odds of talking you out of this?”
“Zero.”
He sighed and handed her the phone.
She sat on the couch beside him and let him read the email as she typed.
I will agree to one, and only one, meeting with you. After that, there will be no more attempts at contacts or I will inquire into a restraining order.
I will be at Robin Hood Park in Keene, New Hampshire, near the trailhead at noon on Saturday.
This is your only chance for a meeting.
She didn’t bother signing her name or adding any personal remarks. She sent in and tossed the phone on the couch cushion beside her. “Makes me feel icky just emailing him.”
Before Sam could respond, she shoved to her feet and paced around the cabin.
Her phone buzzed, and she turned to look but didn’t approach.
“Want me to check?”
She nodded, and Sam picked it up.
Thanks, Tansy. I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to seeing you. I’ve missed you.
He read it aloud and watched Tansy’s face tighten as she shuddered.
Another pace around the room and she looked at Sam. “I need to run or train. Maybe both.”
There was no room to train in the cabin and while he didn’t really want her spending excess time outside, he knew she needed to get control of her emotions, and exercise was her preferred method.
“Can you shut it down here for the night? Then we can run back to the lodge and do some sparring if you’re still bouncy.”
With a tight nod, she moved around the room, closing down and tidying up. She always did the desktop first. It wasn’t connected to Wi-Fi, and she kept her most sensitive information on it. He wondered how she backed up her data, but she was too amped up for him to ask her anything at the moment.
It was approaching dark as they locked up the cabin and started out. Tansy turned in a direction he hadn’t taken before and he soon realized she was running around the lake itself.
He kept behind her and kept his eyes open for both landmarks and for anything that looked out of place. They lost sight of the lake several times as they ran, but he bet that Tansy knew exactly where they were. She likely had the entire property mapped out in her head.
They passed five cabins on the western side of the lake that Sam hadn’t seen before. That made ten that he knew of. Lots of possibilities for both Tansy’s science ideas and the new security business.
Which needed a name.
Tansy was calling the property after the lake. Midnight Lake. Midnight Lodge.
Would Midnight Security work?
He liked the sound of it.
He wondered what labs and spaces Tansy would want. While she’d never had a huge group of friends, she tended to collect like minds around her. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if her friends started showing up and staying.
Her carpenter friend Aisling was going to be on her way soon. He’d have to mention to Tansy that it might be a good idea if Aisling waited until this mess was settled before arriving.
Tansy had mentioned turning one cabin into a fire lab for her friend Bella as well. She probably had more plans.
Security and science. It would be an interesting combination.
When they entered the clearing near the lodge, Tansy slowed. Not only to slow her heart rate as they started their cool down, but because she knew he’d want to check the area before they entered it.
He moved to walk beside her. “I think I’d like to call the new business Midnight Security.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s what you’ve been thinking about?”
He nodded. “Among other things. I’d like to run it past Joe if it’s okay with you. What do you think?”
She paused, and he waited, knowing how quickly she made decisions that felt right. If it took too long, he would assume she didn’t like it. “I think it works. I like it.”
Sam squeezed her hand and then pulled out his phone to check the security feeds.
Tansy sighed as he did. “I left my phone back in the cabin.”
Sam had to chuckle. He hadn’t even noticed. “We’ll get it tomorrow. At least you know where it is this time.”
“Anything on the cameras?”
“We’re good.” He pocketed his phone and took her hand in his as they crossed the clearing and climbed the deck. The sun had set behind the trees while they’d run, but the security lights he’d installed made it bright enough to see.
And be seen.
Sam kept his gaze roving over the trees surrounding the property while he hurried Tansy to the door and inside.
Once they were in, Tansy sighed. “I hate this. I hate feeling like someone’s watching me, hate rushing when I’m outside. This is a beautiful place and we can’t even sit to enjoy it without feeling like prey.”
Obviously, the run hadn’t been enough for her to deal with all the frustration she was feeling.
They moved together to the workout room, where they slipped off their shoes and moved into stretching routines.
Damn, she was beautiful. Strong, supple. And so focused.
He’d make sure she didn’t overdo it, but for now, they’d spar.