Search and Destroy by JT Sawyer (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📗

look in her eyes—schooled qualities that Cal had seen all too often in female interrogators.

This one’s got street smarts.

He sighed, his head still throbbing.

Let’s just get this over with.

Cal stepped aside, waving them in and motioning towards the couch. He locked the door and sat down on a barstool next to the counter.

Out of habit, he found himself determining their handedness, pistol placement and bodyweight, noting that the woman moved with the grace of a runner, unlike her oaf-like partner, whose belt was probably straining at the last notch.

Wonder if he’s a career bureau guy.

With her tan features, Carter struck Cal as being Cuban-American or possibly Puerto Rican, while Tremblay’s pasty white appearance only made Cal think the guy spent his days locked in a basement.

Carter removed a small, spiral-bound notepad from her jacket along with a ballpoint pen then scanned the first page.

“From the notes from the officer on duty, he indicated that you were the last one to arrive at the party at Mr. Burke’s residence. Is that correct?”

Cal nodded. “I pulled in just as the catering company was pulling out. Everyone else was inside already.”

“And you were a full-time employee for Burke Enterprises?” said Carter.

“I was under contract, having begun employment there just over eight months ago.”

“Wow, what a job, working for an iconic figure like Stephen Burke,” said Tremblay.

Cal noticed Carter subtly scanning the room and hallway every time Tremblay asked a question while her partner stared at him like a bulldog. He figured they were a gelled team with well-defined roles, but he knew that Carter held the man’s leash.

Cal stood up, walking into the kitchen and getting a glass of water. “Yeah, Burke had the energy of three men. I used to joke that even Einstein would have gotten winded trying to keep up with him.”

“Were company parties like the one Burke was having last night typical?” said Carter. “Did he often have his staff over to the estate?”

“Maybe every month or so, once a particular hurdle had been achieved within a research project and he wanted to map out the rest of his vision. So, yes, it was a regular thing, but only with his most senior staff.” He returned to his seat by the counter.

“Given the blast impact from the explosion, there’s no surviving video security footage of the grounds or the participants attending the event. Did you notice anything unusual upon arriving?”

“The caterers sure took off in a hurry. They left right after I arrived. Surprised they didn’t come back to offer help given they couldn’t have been that far away after the blast.”

She jotted down a few notes. “I’m interviewing them later, but the catering crew were actually the first ones to call 911 about an explosion somewhere on the hillside shortly after they left.”

Interesting.

“So, you worked as a security consultant for Burke? Were you in charge of the day-to-day security at his building, or were you his bodyguard?”

“Neither. Reggie Sinclair handled the physical security of the facility.”

“The other survivor of the blast?” said Tremblay.

“That’s right,” said Cal. “Solid guy with years of executive protection under his belt. Reggie was usually the bodyguard element when Burke was in public.”

“So, what did you do exactly?” said Carter.

“Burke was interested in creating risk-analysis software for our embassies overseas that could detect potential threats aimed at our diplomatic personnel. Having worked for the State Department on embassy details in the past, I was contracted by Burke to provide feedback on real-world scenarios.”

“So, you were a war-gamer of sorts?” said Tremblay, whose monotone questioning was beginning to grate on Cal’s nerves. “It seems like he could have used some kind of software like that around his own home, don’t you think?”

Carter swiveled towards her partner, frowning at him. “We’re not even sure that this was anything but an accident…a gas explosion.”

“Then you’re not the agents I would expect to be heading up this investigation,” said Cal. “Surely you already know about the breach at Burke’s headquarters downtown. You must suspect foul play as much as I do, which is why the bureau is already all over this.”

Carter pursed her lips. “You’re right. Those two events sure don’t lead me to think they were mutually exclusive. I would just like to know why. Why would someone target Burke and his entire staff then walk off with all of his computer hardware? My guess is that they wanted it, whatever that was, for themselves, and with Burke and all of his senior staff at that party, it would be, forgive the pun, killing two birds with one stone.”

“So who would be motivated to carry out something on this scale?” said Tremblay.

“Any ideas?” said Carter. “You must have picked up on who his competitors were or if there were any disgruntled staff who would profit from corporate espionage?”

Cal looked down at his watch, recalling he still had on the Rolex that Burke had given him. “You find out, you let me know.” He stood up. “Right now, I have some things to take care of, so you’ll have to excuse me for showing you out.”

Both agents got up, moving with him towards the front door. Carter removed a business card from her jacket, handing it to him. “We’ll be in touch, but call me in the meantime if you think of anything that could be of help to this case.”

He took the card then opened the door, watching them walk off, knowing Carter could be a useful asset with the digging she was doing.

Pulling out of the driveway, Carter paused and glanced at the manicured front lawn and side of the house. “Notice anything about the inside of his place?” she said.

“Yeah, the wife ran the joint, just like my house. Even the doilies appeared to be ironed.”

“Only one wedding photo of them and not much else regarding him. The books on the shelf, the decorations, the paintings…everything was hers, even the pictures on the wall down the hallway. Wonder how often he was at