“You’re kidding. What was it?”
“A question that meant something to us but no one else would ever guess. And he wrote it in French and spelled it wrong.”
Daniel laughed. “Next to using a computer-generated password, a passphrase is the most secure. Props to your husband for writing it in a foreign language and spelling it wrong too.” Daniel laughed again and so did I.
“Well done, Jonah.” I lifted my wineglass and Daniel clinked his against mine and we both took a sip.
“How did you finally figure it out?” Daniel asked.
“It was completely random,” I said, setting my wineglass on the coffee table. “I went to the bank this morning to put the flash drive in our safe deposit box and—”
“Wait, you have a safe deposit box?”
“Yeah, doesn’t everyone?” My mom and my aunt both do.
Daniel shook his head. “No. Sorry. Please continue.”
“Well, after the break-in Alex thought I shouldn’t keep the flash drive in the house anymore so I—”
“Hang on,” Daniel said and set his wineglass down too. “You’re referring to MJ’s uncle, right?”
“Right. I called him to see if he knew a hacker, remember?”
“I remember. And he invited himself over to your house because for some reason he couldn’t discuss it with you over the phone.”
Of course, Daniel remembered that part. “Yes. Then MJ told him about the break-in and—”
“Time out,” Daniel said, making a T-shape with his hands as if he was a referee. “Why would MJ tell his uncle about the break-in?”
“I don’t know. He just did.”
“And why did you tell MJ?”
“I didn’t plan to but when he came here yesterday and saw the doorbell camera, he asked about it so—”
“MJ comes here too? I thought he works for you at your office.”
“He does. Normally. But I was stuck here all afternoon waiting for the glass guy, so I told him to come here instead. Now do you want to hear the story or not?”
“I do. Please continue.” Then Daniel picked up his glass and swirled the wine a few times before taking another sip.
“So, MJ told his uncle about the break-in and Alex didn’t think it was kids pulling a prank either.”
Daniel’s eyebrows shot up. “Either?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, why would neighborhood kids break into my house as a prank? I don’t even know any of the kids in this neighborhood.”
Daniel set his wineglass down again. “Let me make sure I understand. You and Alex think bored teenagers looking for trouble is far-fetched, but someone breaking into your house to steal a flash drive you didn’t even know existed until a week ago makes sense?”
Well, when you put it that way… “It’s possible.”
Daniel scoffed. “Grace, why would someone want to steal your flash drive?”
“Because of what’s on it. Obviously.”
“You don’t even know what’s on it.”
“Well, I do now.” I stomped out of the room, retrieved my laptop from my briefcase, and returned with it to the living room where Daniel was now scrolling on his phone. I turned on the computer, clicked on the file I’d copied from Jonah’s flash drive, and turned the screen so it was facing Daniel. “See for yourself.”
Daniel slipped his phone into his pocket and pulled the computer onto his lap. “What am I looking at?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem.”
“You don’t know what this is, but you think it’s worth stealing?”
Daniel was starting to remind me of Dr. Stetler. I wanted to smack his smug face. “Obviously, someone knows what it is.”
“Yeah,” Daniel said, “and that someone is dead.”
“And maybe that someone is dead because of what’s in this file.”
Daniel looked up from the screen and stared at me. “Are you serious?”
It was the first time I’d said it out loud, but the thought had been percolating in my head all day. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Then you must have some guess as to what you think this is.”
I hesitated, wondering how much I should share with Daniel. But I’d gone this far. I might as well go all the way. “At first I thought it was a list of account numbers. But every bank account number I’ve ever had is just a list of numbers, not letters too, and never this long. Now I’m thinking maybe they’re passwords.”
