Page 49 of Harmless Secrets
Sean nodded. “Walter could become obsessed over something. And it didn’t always have to be about work. Remember when Facebook started? Walter spent weeks on there.”
“On Facebook?” Devon asked.
Ali nodded and a smile curved her lips. “Only in the interest of research. He found it fascinating that so many people would reveal even the most personal things online. Anyone could see it. Where they lived, what they were doing…it was actually a little disturbing to him.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” Kaheaku said. “I think he was the first person in the industry to write up a memo about it. Breaches in security were bad enough, but with the invention of social media, so many people never gave posting what looked like useless information online a second thought. It has been a nightmare.”
“But to get back to the discussion,” Ali said. “Father was looking for Devon, but I still don’t know why. He was obsessed with it like he always would get, but this was different. Almost unorganized and desperate.”
“What do you mean?” Devon asked.
“My father was a man who organized everything. It was almost pathological. He organized his underwear drawer by color and style. So, when I arrived at the house after the funeral and found his office a mess, I was shocked. Notes everywhere and Devon’s name was all over the place.”
“Well, that’s where it gets sticky,” Conner said. “I have a couple of questions.”
“Okay.”
“First, with his advanced age, do you think he might have had a slip mentally?”
Devon expected Ali to get mad, but she surprised him. She pursed her lips, a sure sign she was thinking about it.
“No. There was something weighing on him, something that might have affected me too.”
“Why do you say that?” Conner asked.
“With me still being fully active with MI-6 at the time, he wouldn’t want to compromise me. But there is something more.”
“The other option is the one that I really hate to broach, but we have to look at it just in case,” Conner said.
Ali frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Your father was reviewing old cases. Maybe he either stumbled upon information that he could have, let’s say, used against someone. There is also a chance that he realized something he did as an agent was about to be revealed.”
For a moment, he knew she didn’t understand. Then, comprehension moved over her features. Her eyes narrowed.
“My father was a lot of things. He was a bit OCD, and he wasn’t always the best father and husband. But there is one thing he was not—and that was a traitor.”
Conner sighed and looked genuinely apologetic. “We don’t always know what our family will do in certain situations.”
“I am not saying that my father didn’t cut a few corners, especially when they investigated my mother’s death, but he would never betray his country.”
“I never said that. But the cases he was researching were all the ones he oversaw. In fact, he went back fifteen years.”
She sat back. “If he was looking back that means he wasn’t looking for something on himself. Why would he have to? Sean can tell you. My father had a mind like a steel trap. He could remember everything he saw.”
Kaheaku stirred. “I have to agree with Alicia here. Hughes wasn’t slipping, even in his old age. If anything, he was probably getting sharper. I do know that one thing he liked to do was go over old cases that went wrong.”
She gave Kaheaku a grateful smile. Devon tried his best not to get pissed at the man for knowing her, but it was damned hard. He might not have anything to do with the lifestyle at Rough ‘n Ready, but he handled a lot of the computer issues and he knew the clientele. Kaheaku had a reputation there as being a very sought after Dom. He had his pick of women and men.
“Yes, my father believed that we would always learn from our mistakes. I do know someone had given him files, so whatever he was doing was somewhat official.”
“And maybe he was looking for one of his own. Perhaps Devon stumbled across it.”
She glanced at him and he shrugged. “I doubt it. The only thing I check on is my name—to make sure they aren’t still looking for me.”
“When you were with the CIA, what did you do?” Kaheaku asked.
He still didn’t like the bastard. In fact, he really hated him. Every time he and Ali shared a secret glance, he wanted to bash the bastard’s face in.