Connor had given Makena credit just that morning for wanting to do the work. Unraveling the information and finding corroboration and evidence refuting the claims of service could be a full-time job. Maybe that explained why Tyler didn’t appear to hold any other positions or do any other work. It didn’t explain why the under-the-table background investigation on him didn’t check out. Some of the tales Tyler told appeared to be just that...fiction.
Tyler kept his life secret. He didn’t advertise his service record on the website or anywhere else that Connor and the team could find. He had medals, because Makena had seen them. She’d also seen paperwork regarding deployments and other relocations. Problem was, Connor couldn’t find the backup to support the stories or a way to replicate any of them. No witnesses. No government files. Nothing.
For a man who did a lot of finger-pointing, albeit behind a wall of security without his identity being known, he didn’t appear to possess a clean record of his own. On the surface, yes. Routine searches, even some more advanced ones, held up. But nothing about Corcoran could be considered routine, and Connor’s access to information he shouldn’t have, the internal security systems he shouldn’t even know about, tended to stun them all.
The problem for Tyler was that Corcoran had intel it shouldn’t have. That someone with something to hide would count on Corcoran not having. But the team did. It made lying to any team member tough, and it looked as if Tyler had done just that.
Standing in the middle of Tyler’s small first floor, Shane was tempted to ask a bunch of questions. At the very least, go searching through the stacks of papers around here for information. But Makena stood next to him and he didn’t sense she’d take either option very well.
Shane hadn’t filled her in on his newest concerns. Not yet. He worried she’d have a hard time keeping cover. Or that was the excuse he told himself. He really worried she’d blame him for putting a microscope to Tyler’s story. In the end he feared that if she had to pick sides, she’d go with Tyler.
“Are you okay?” Makena moved in next to him with her arm wrapped around his as she crowded against his side.
Not that he minded the closeness, because he didn’t. The smell of her shampoo. Her touch. The way she smiled up at him one minute and frowned at him the next. It all worked for him, and every single day his feelings grew deeper.
He pushed all that aside and focused on the problem in front of him. “Sure. Why?”
“You’re standing in the middle of the room not saying anything.” Amusement filled her voice.
He glanced around and didn’t see Tyler. Didn’t hear him, either. The small house stayed deadly quiet. “Where is your boss?”
“Upstairs...getting the information you wanted on Frank and Jeff.” This time she did frown. “What’s going on with you? You seem a million miles away.”
He’d clearly missed part of a conversation. The lag had her worrying and him wondering what he’d missed. Rather than try to catch up, he pivoted to the conversation he wanted to have. “What case were you working on when all this started?”
“None.”
The answer made no sense. He’d seen files and she’d been doing background work and fielding calls even now, over his objection, with all the danger bubbling up around her. “Are you afraid to leak confidential information to me?”
“Of course not.”
“Really?”
“I thought you meant new work.” She waved off the concern. “I have a few cases going on at the same time. Always do. One ended and I was about to look into another anonymous tip, add to the caseload.”
Sounded fairly routine. Since the interest in shutting her down had seemed to arise all of a sudden and switched to relentless mode, he thought there must be a new case that had someone nervous. Sounded like no, but he decided to double-check. “Which name is that?”
She blinked a few times. “What does that mean?”
This conversation needed help. One of them still lagged behind, and he feared it was him. “On the list you gave Connor.”
“I didn’t.” Before Shane could butt in, she rambled right over him. “I mean, the name would have been on Tyler’s list. He took over the investigation. Said I needed a break.”
Shane still wasn’t sure he’d heard an answer, and now he really wanted one. “Do you remember the name?”
“I have it written down.”
That was all he wanted. He didn’t need to tiptoe around the conversation or worry about tipping anyone off. “I want it when we go back to the house.”