Jumping at Shadows by R.G. Green Read Free Book Online

but not before Victor Kroger has had plenty of time to do a lot more damage. And that is what we need to stop.”
    He faced them again with his last pronouncement, and the silence that followed was dramatic. Eric wasn’t usually given to stumping his case at meetings like these, but every person around that table needed to have a damn good reason for being there. They could walk at any time.
    It was already common knowledge that Capt. Carroll had filed the formal complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings that morning, and they all knew that by the guidelines of proper procedure, the matter was no longer theirs to handle. That this meeting had been called despite the filing was telling. The three people invited to attend had the skills between them to ferret out any and all activity the judge had been involved in—they knew where to look, how to recognize what they saw, how to recover it without being caught, and—thanks to Steve Candell—how to make sure it would stand up in court. Capt. Carroll may have given his discreet approval, and may have made the calls that brought them here, but now it was Eric’s show, and it would be up to Eric to make it work.
    There was just one stipulation: if they got caught, they would be on their own—wholly and completely. Captain Carroll could justify the filed complaint, but he couldn’t justify this. Eric knew it was the end of their careers—his, Jeff’s, Belinda’s, and Steve’s—if this investigation went sour, as did every single person seated in the uncomfortable chairs before him. The fact that they still showed up said they believed Victor Kroger was worth taking down. Now they just needed to trust that Eric was capable of doing it.
    “Belinda, you’ve gone after a lot bigger fish than this, and you know that big fish don’t start out big. Now’s your chance to stop a shark before its teeth get too long,” Eric said, starting with her, then going on to address the rest, one by one. “Jeff, you know you’re the best chance we’ve got of finding out what really went down in that courtroom, and you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t believe that something did go down. Computer hacking isn’t that far from computer security. And Steve, you know what we can’t do if anything we find is going to be legal to use in court against Victor Kroger.” He looked back at Belinda. “Tell us where to look.” He turned to Jeff. “Find out what’s there and how to get it.” He looked at Steve. “Make sure it’s solid.”
    “And if we lose our jobs?” Steve asked shrewdly, shifting enough to nudge Belinda beside him, making sure she heard and understood the question as well.
    Eric leveled his gaze at him. Steve was single, and sufficiently handsome with his highlighted crew cut and lineless face to warrant the string of girlfriends he seemed to have at any given time, even without the addition of a beach house Eric was sure cost more per month than his own mortgage, truck payment, and IRA contributions combined. Thank God Eric had T.J.’s income to add to their household, or he wouldn’t be able to afford the three-bedroom ranch house they shared or the Ford F-150 4x4 he drove. T.J.’s Jeep Wrangler wasn’t exactly cheap either. Steve, however, was on his own, and he definitely needed his paycheck to maintain his lifestyle.
    “Captain Carroll approves of this as long as we don’t get caught. You’re good enough not to.” It was a statement, and the only answer Eric had to the question.
    “You can work from home on this, or from your hotel,” Eric added for the benefit of Jeff and Belinda. “Any legwork that needs to be done can be done with your fingers, and you already know how to cover your tracks in cyberspace. Just locate the possibilities. Then and only then will we consider the next step.”
    “And meanwhile, the captain continues with the OAH,” Belinda put in approvingly. “Go at this from both directions—”
    “And see who finishes