gig.” Kyle got up and stretched his long limbs. “All of that said, I do believe taking that job is already working. I can buzz you up whenever I like. Like I did today. I’m going to see if I can get you a badge.”
That would be helpful. “How close is she keeping you and what have you learned about the security system?”
Kyle seemed more comfortable talking about the case. “I sent you the name of the system, but that’s building security. Jessica’s office has its own system, and I couldn’t find any identifying paperwork when I went through the system manual. I suspect it’s something she’s put together herself. Or had custom made. Once you get into her office, there’s more security. Her desk itself has a biometrics component.”
So she was paranoid. That was good to know. “How about her laptop?”
Kyle shook his head. “I didn’t get a good look at it. She doesn’t leave it on her desk when she’s not in the office like a lot of people would. She locks it up.”
“I would bet it’s not connected to the building’s network. It makes me suspicious about what she keeps on it.”
“My job is going to be in-building security for now. She’s got two bodyguards she uses outside the building. From what I can tell at least one of them has been with her for years. The other has changed every couple of months. I think she hires someone she thinks is attractive, plays around with them, gets bored, and she lets the dude go.”
“The bodyguards are all men?”
“Yes. I’m going to quietly get as much info on the security systems and her personal laptop as I can. Anything else you want?”
“Eventually I’ll need access,” Hutch explained. “I need to get in that building when there’s not hundreds of people there. I can’t hack her security without being there, and I’m going to need to take out the CCTVs to do it.”
“Noelle works later from time to time,” Kyle mused. “I overheard Jessica talking to her CFO about how much money she thought they could raise off Noelle’s experiments.”
“Raise? That’s an odd word to use.”
“It’s how she put it. Maybe she meant make, but I heard raise.” Kyle put his glass on the table. “The CFO didn’t blink, just asked how fast they could get the word out. She’s expecting Noelle to get her initial results soon. I’m saying that because it wouldn’t be shocking for Noelle to work late and her boyfriend to bring her some dinner.”
It was a good plan and one he’d thought about himself. “I’d like to go in knowing a little more about the systems. I’d also like to figure out what we’re looking for. If the feds are involved, we have to be looking at something that crosses state lines, maybe some kind of fraud.”
“Give me a couple of days. From what I can tell Jessica isn’t careful about who she talks around. Not when it comes to her bodyguards. She thinks we’re something pretty to look at and that she can intimidate anyone with her lawyers.”
“Yeah, I’m going to do a deep dive into her legal activities. MaeBe’s working a dossier on our cop. Hopefully we know something more tomorrow.” Hutch glanced back into the apartment where Noelle and Cara sat. Noelle’s back was to him, but he could see the tight set of her shoulders. “Maybe we need to do a deeper dive on Cara, too.”
“That’s your business,” Kyle conceded. “But mine is to ensure the client’s safety and yours.”
“I can watch my own back.”
“Perhaps I should be more precise. Hutch, I don’t think you should tell Noelle the specifics of our operation.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Hutch asked.
“It means she doesn’t need to know you plan on getting into Jessica Layne’s office. She doesn’t need to know you’re going to use her as an excuse to do it. In this case, I’m protecting McKay-Taggart, too.”
Hutch didn’t like the sound of that. “She’s our client.”
“Her father is our client, and he’s not a client at all,” Kyle pointed out. “He’s a friend of a friend, and we don’t truly know any of these people. What we do know is that there is likely a federal investigation, and the cop isn’t hanging out at the Genedyne building. He’s here. He’s watching Noelle.”
The thought didn’t sit well. “She’s not involved.”
Kyle sighed. “If you can’t even entertain the idea, then you shouldn’t be working this case, and I’m going to make