Anger burned in my gut. “Did it say anything else?”
“I slammed my laptop closed and went straight to the police station. I just put on clothes and left. I know I look like a mess, but I couldn’t stand to be in my room a second longer. I feel…dirty.”
She shuddered. It wasn’t uncommon. I’d often heard that from people after they found out they were being watched. It was violating, and even more so when it happened in the space where a person should feel safest.
“That’s good that you closed the laptop without exiting anything. That will help me with the search. The second I open the laptop, if the person is watching, they will start to backtrack to cover their tracks. I’ll work faster.”
“Are you going to see the pictures?” she asked.
I nodded. “I am, but I won’t actually be looking at them if that makes sense. I’ll be using the information encoded, but I promise you, Dr. Conroy, I won’t be staring at you and the pictures that were taken without your consent.”
She nodded and wiped a stray tear that had fallen. Her jaw was tight and no more tears fell. She sat straighter in her chair. “I would like your help, Kiernan.”
“Is there anyone you can think of that might want to do this to you?”
She hesitated for a moment before answering. She tucked a long strand of chocolate hair behind her ear. “This is so embarrassing,” she whispered. “I have a restraining order against my ex-husband, but I don’t think this is him. I’m not sure he’s smart enough, and it’s not exactly his type of thing to do.”
“I will look into him,” I said. I clutched the armrests in a white-knuckled grip. “Even if it’s not him, it’s best to explore all options.”
Her cheeks filled with color and she nodded. “That’s the only reason I told you,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want to leave out any information that could be helpful and then become the girl in the horror movie that’s killed first because I was embarrassed about my past.”
The corners of my lips pulled up. “I’m not judging you,” I promised.
She sniffed and wrinkled her nose. “I suppose I need to actually tell you my name.”
“You do,” I said. “And how we know each other.”
“Caroline Conroy. We went to high school together.”
I squinted, tilting my head to the side and inspecting her. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I look different and you never knew I existed.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I said before I could stop the words. She was now a client, and that was a line I shouldn’t cross. In fact, it was one of the only rules MarxMen had. Sure, Roman had blasted through that rule and gone after Harper, even while using the full force of MarxMen to get her out of trouble and save her from their tangled past, but I wasn’t sure he’d give anyone else a pass on that rule.
“Well, it’s true,” she snapped, and the annoyance she usually had in her eyes was back. I smiled and silently planned to pull out my yearbooks later. I didn’t even know if I had them, but if I didn’t, it’d be easy enough to find out more information about her.
I grabbed one of the tablets used for meetings from the center of the table, brought up a new client intake form, and changed the subject. If I argued with her, she might walk out and refuse the help she needed. “Do you have the laptop with you?”
She nodded and slid the bag across the table. I caught it in one hand and set it aside. After I’d gleaned all the information I could from her and she left, I’d start work on the laptop, but I couldn’t open it until I was ready to work and counteract what her hacker had already done. “Let’s get started. We have a lot of information to get through, Caroline.”
I liked the sound of her name on my tongue.
8
Caroline
“No, don’t even say it,” I begged Alicia. She was standing outside the exam room with a pained expression on her features. Her naturally curly hair was cropped short, showcasing her high, prominent cheekbones and deep brown, almost black, eyes. Her smile radiated warmth and kindness. She was my go-to woman for anything in the office. Alicia was quick and efficient with exams. She knew how to juggle my schedule when squeezing in last-minute additions. She’d been my first hire when I’d opened Conroy Veterinary Clinic, so I knew this face well.
It was a program system error.
We’d been having trouble for the past six months with the program we used for everything, from storing patient histories to scheduling to note-taking. When it went down, it meant we were in a big jam. Until six months ago, I’d never had an issue. Now Toby, our IT guy, was on speed dial.
I stepped up to the sink, flipped on the faucet, and washed my hands. I glanced over my shoulder at Alicia. “How bad is it?”
“I’ve already called Toby. He isn’t far, so when he finishes up with the client he’s with right now, he’ll head over here. The screens on the front computers flashed black, like they’d turned off then back on, but when they came back on, every appointment for the next three months had somehow switched to ‘CoCo Rigsby’.”
“In all the time slots?”
She nodded. I dried my hands and glanced around at the doors that led into the exam rooms. I relied on the schedule and charting to know which animal was in what room and why. I was running behind schedule because of an emergency surgery that morning. Pebbles, the sweetest Rottweiler, had gotten out of his backyard and been hit by a car. Thankfully, he’d made it through surgery, but I was late to my first appointment.
“Caro, I’ve been saying this for a long time, but you need to think about it again. It’s time to hire a second vet. The clinic is growing. We’re full every day, and that doesn’t count the walk-ins that you accept, even though there is a sign on the front door that says no walk-ins. Between the training classes, surgeries, and normal visits, I’m not sure when you even sleep, and I know you don’t have a life.”
She’d taken the thoughts from my mind before I could even think them. When I’d opened my practice, I hadn’t expected it to grow as rapidly as it had, and I hadn’t wanted to hire another vet until I had to. That time was coming, though, because I wasn’t sure if I could juggle anything else, and if computer system failures kept happening, it would turn my already chaotic days into nightmares.
“I know, I know.” I blew out a breath, a small piece of hair flying away from my face. I placed my hands on my hips and looked at each exam room again.
“Lucky for you,” Alicia said, grinning and handing me a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it. “I already had the afternoon schedule memorized and know which of our furry little friends are in which rooms.”
“You’re my hero. Did you know that?”
“Sure did. But make sure you remember that at Christmastime when you’re writing those bonus checks. I’d like to spend my holiday on a white sandy beach while drinks in a hollowed-out pineapple are delivered to my beach chair.”
I laughed. “I’ll make sure you have your beach trip.”
“I’ll let you know when Toby arrives. Don’t forget you need to leave at five fifteen to make it to Myers Park for the beginners’ class this afternoon.”