LIVE AND LET RISE

RAISED AND GLAZED COZY MYSTERIES, BOOK 37

EMMA AINSLEY

SUMMER PRESCOTT BOOKS PUBLISHING

Copyright 2023 Summer Prescott Books

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying, or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.

**This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Also by Emma Ainsley

Author’s Note

Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing

CHAPTER ONE

Maggie Mission stood over the stove in her small cottage home located less than a block from the main location of the Dogwood Donuts. She rubbed the crick that had formed in her neck with her free hand and stirred the small pan in front of her with the other. She closed her eyes and moved her head in a circle to relieve the tight muscles in her neck.

Just as she opened her eyes again, she could feel the mixture in the pan in front of her thicken. She rushed to add freshly squeezed lemon juice, grated lemon zest, and sugar to the cornstarch mixture in the pan. She whisked the mixture furiously until the ingredients combined then pulled the pan off of the stove and set it to the side to cool.

Maggie turned back to the refrigerator and removed a half-dozen eggs. Carefully, she cracked the eggs, separating the egg whites from the yolks, into a chilled metal bowl. She whipped the egg whites on high until soft peaks formed and then gradually added the sugar and cream of tartar while continuing to whip the egg whites.

While the egg whites rested for a moment, Maggie spooned the lemon pie filling into a half dozen plain yeast donuts. She added the meringue and placed the sheet pan in her oven under the broiler. A moment later, Maggie removed the pan and covered it loosely with an aluminum foil tent then rushed out to her car. She set the pan carefully onto the passenger seat and headed out to her best friend’s farm.

Ruby Cobb answered her door with a puzzled look. “I thought you took the day off,” she said as Maggie rushed past her into the extra-large farmhouse kitchen.

“I have something for you to try.” Maggie set the pan on the counter and removed the foil.

“What is that?” Ruby asked, peering curiously.

“Lemon meringue pie donuts.” Maggie beamed. “Try one.”

Ruby removed a set of dessert plates from her cupboard and removed two donuts. She cut a piece with her fork and took a bite. “Oh, that is very good,” she said before cutting a second bite.

“Good enough to be a dessert?” Maggie asked.

“Definitely,” Ruby said. “What are your plans?”

Maggie flopped down onto one of the chairs around the kitchen table. “I’ve been working on this behind the scenes for a month.”

“On this recipe?” Ruby asked. As a former executive chef and a best-selling cookbook author, she was not easily impressed.

“No, on this idea.” Maggie laughed. “I have three other varieties to choose from. Blueberry Buckle Donut Pie, Mississippi Mud Donut Cake, and an Ozark Black Walnut Donut Tart.”

“Okay, but what is this all for?” Ruby asked. She carried her plate to the table and took a seat across from Maggie.

“A new line for the main store. Gourmet donut desserts, made to order.”

“Not in the display case?” Ruby asked. Maggie could see the wheels in her head start to turn as she considered the idea.

“Right, just available for special orders on special occasions,” Maggie said. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a fabulous idea.” Ruby grinned. Maggie sat further back in her seat and closed her eyes in relief.

“I am so happy to hear you say that.”

“But I do see one potential issue with all of this,” Ruby added.

“What sort of issue?” Maggie asked.

“Personnel,” Ruby said. “We’re all busy as it is with the new location on Jefferson Street and everything else. I think we’re going to need to hire more help.”

“Like a new baker specifically for this project?” Maggie asked. She often leaned heavily on Ruby’s business sense for help with each new idea for their donut shop business.

“Not necessarily,” Ruby said as she polished off the last of the donut. “I think we need to train a few new people and hand this project over to Naomi or Myra.”

Maggie considered the idea for a moment. Myra Sawyer Brooks and Naomi Gardner had both worked for the donut shop for a long time. They were part of the large extended family Maggie shared with Ruby. Myra’s husband, Brooks Macklin, had replaced Maggie’s husband as the chief of police when Brett moved on to become the county sheriff.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Maggie said.

“Now that you’re here and that’s all figured out,” Ruby said. “I have some questions for you. Care to indulge in some gossip?”

“That depends on the subject,” Maggie said with a smile. “What are you talking about?”

“Tara Kirkpatrick,” Ruby said. “What is going on there?”

“I knew this was coming,” Maggie said. She closed her eyes and rubbed the temples on the side of her head. “Tara is a former Navy buddy of Bradley’s. She’s here to visit with him and to see Zeke.”

Bradley, Maggie’s adult son, ran the Hunter Springs location of the donut shop. His best friend Zeke was in charge of the kitchen. Despite the wide age difference between the two, Zeke and Bradley were best friends.

“So, there’s nothing going on between Zeke and Tara?” Ruby asked.

“Why, do you think there is?” Maggie asked carefully.

Ruby shrugged. “I stopped by Bradley’s house last night to drop off something for Wyatt, and I spotted Zeke in the driveway with his arms wrapped around a woman.”

“Oh, really? What did you take over to my grandson?” Maggie said, hoping to change the subject.

“I dropped off a set of real metal baking pans I had ordered from a miniature cookware catalog,” Ruby said. “And I saw what I saw. What do you know? Spill the beans.”

Maggie rested her elbows on the table and covered her face with her hands. “I’m not supposed to say anything,” she said. “But according to Bradley, Tara and Zeke have struck up a bit of a romance since her return.”

“Is this the first time they’ve seen each other since Zeke left the Navy?”

“I’m not sure about that,” Maggie said. “But I am quite sure this is the first time there has been a spark of any sort between them. As a matter of fact, Bradley just announced that she’s planning to relocate and move to our area.”

“Wow,” Ruby said. “Then it is fairly serious.”

“Oh, I think we’re past the point of serious,” Maggie said. “Anyway, Bradley is elated. Tara is a bit older than he is, closer to Zeke’s age. He’s thought for years they would make such a good couple.”

“I’m so happy to think of Zeke finding someone.”

“The best part of it? Tara is as dedicated as Zeke is to helping veterans.”

“Then it’s a match made in heaven,” Ruby said. “Quite literally.”

“You have to keep this a secret,” Maggie said. “Bradley will kill me if he finds out I told you.”

“You don’t think he’ll eventually tell me?” Ruby said. “I am Aunt Ruby, after all.”

“The only reason why he hasn’t said a word to you is because Zeke swore him to secrecy,” Maggie said. “He told me simply because he didn’t have another choice. I happened on a similar situation in the back of their donut shop.”

“Do you think they’ll get married?” Ruby asked.

“I think Zeke has already purchased a ring,” Maggie said. She delighted in the gossip because it meant someone close to her son was deliriously happy. After finding her way back to her hometown of Dogwood Mountain, Missouri after years in an unhappy marriage, Maggie could relate. There were days she still wondered how she wound up married to Brett, her high school crush, and the owner of three separate donut shop locations.

Of course, her late aunt, Marjorie Getz, had something to do with it. Aunt Marjorie had left the original location as well as the small cottage home she shared with Brett, to Maggie in her will after her death. But Maggie had forged something amazing from her inheritance. Not only had she begun two other locations, but she had also formed an incredible family from a group of strangers whose lives centered on the donut shop.

“This is incredible news,” Ruby said. “Both Bradley and Zeke with upcoming weddings.”

“Oh, my phone is ringing,” Maggie said. She jumped up from her seat and fished the phone out of her purse. “Speak of the devil, it’s Bradley.” She held her finger to her lips as she answered the phone.

“Mom, we have a little bit of a problem here,” Bradley said.

“What’s going on?” Maggie asked.

“I don’t know,” Bradley said. “It has something to do with the computer system. Everything is offline.”

Before Maggie could answer, she heard the tone indicating another call coming in. She glanced at the screen. “Hang on a second,” Maggie said. “Myra is calling me.”

“Maggie, we’ve got a little bit of a problem down here,” Myra began. “I hate to bother you on your day off, but the computer programs have suddenly shut down.”

“And that’s my phone.” Ruby glanced up and held the phone in the air. “It’s Naomi.”

A moment later, Maggie stood next to Ruby at the table. Their phones were together on speaker as they discussed the sudden problem to hit all three locations. “I don’t know what to do,” Maggie said.

“It sounds like we’re going to have to go cash only for a little bit,” Bradley said. “I sent a message to Zeke. He’s out for the day with Tara.”

“What does Zeke have to do with this?” Myra asked. Her voice was loud over the speaker on Maggie’s phone. Maggie had managed to merge the phone call between Myra and Bradley into a three-way call while Ruby continued the link to Naomi’s phone at the Jefferson Street location.

“Tara is some sort of computer expert, isn’t she?” Naomi asked.

“That’s what she did in the Navy,” Bradley said. “And what she has done since. I sent him a message asking Tara for advice.”

“Have you checked the computer in the office?” Maggie asked her son.

“It’s completely locked down,” Bradley said.

“Same here,” Myra said. “That’s the first thing we did. I went into the office and found a strange message on your laptop, Maggie.”

“Same with the iPad here,” Naomi confirmed.

“So, all three locations have computer issues at the same time,” Ruby said. “Maybe I’m being a pessimist, but that can’t be an accident.”

CHAPTER TWO

“Your entire system has been hacked,” Tara said an hour later. They were gathered at the main location in Dogwood Mountain. Zeke stood behind Tara with his arms folded.

“Do you know what they want?” Ruby asked.

“So far, it doesn’t look like they want anything,” Tara said. “My best piece of advice would be to call each of your financial institutions and immediately shut down access to your accounts.”

“We’ve already done that,” Bradley said.

“That’s very good news,” Tara said, clearly relieved. “Because without some form of a ransom demand, that would be my biggest concern. They’ve hacked into your system thinking they will find access to your financial assets.”

“Have you seen this sort of attack before?” Zeke asked.

“Actually, I have,” Tara said. She glanced up at Zeke and smiled. “The majority of my work as a computer technology consultant involves this sort of thing.”

“What do they usually want?” Brett asked. He stood behind Maggie with his hands on her shoulders.

“Money usually,” Tara said. “Although, it isn’t typical for them to attack a small business like this. Usually, it is a larger corporation or a municipal government.”

“Municipal government?” Myra asked.

Tara nodded. “Like a medium sized city or the county government.”

“We had some training on this while I was still in the Sheriff’s Department,” Brett said.

“So, you’re not a sheriff any longer?” Tara asked him directly.

Brett shook his head. “I’ve been retired for three months.”

“Then we can rule that out,” Tara said.

“Rule what out exactly?” Maggie asked.

“Well, since your husband was in law enforcement, we could assume that someone attacked your business in retaliation,” Tara said. “But since he’s retired, that seems unlikely.”

“But my husband still is in law enforcement,” Myra said.

“Do you own the company in any way?” Tara asked.

“No, the company belongs to Maggie and Ruby,” Myra said. “Why?”

Maggie had never been more thankful that Ruby was no longer a part of the city council.

“Because it wouldn’t be normal for them to go after an employee,” Tara said. “More likely, they would attack the place your husband works. Is he employed by the county?”

Myra shook her head. “Brooks is the chief of police here in town.”

“And has he reported any trouble?” Tara asked.

“None so far,” Myra said.

“And you, Mr. Mission, are you still involved with the law enforcement community?” Tara asked.

“As a matter of fact, I am,” Brett said. “I’m on a task force of retired law enforcement officers who tackle cold cases.”

“I didn’t know that,” Bradley said, smiling at his stepfather. “Since when?”

“They contacted me about a week ago,” Brett said. “Of course, I said yes. I’m more than happy to do it.”

“What exactly are you doing?” Tara asked. “I wonder if that might have something to do with this cyber-attack.”

“Right now, I’m not sure what I’m doing yet,” Brett said. “We’ve only had one meeting where they told me the basics about the organization. I don’t have a current case if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Then it makes that the unlikely cause,” Tara said.

“Exactly what do you think is going on here?” Brett asked.

“To be honest with you, I’m not sure yet,” Tara said. She looked up at last. “Have you checked your e-mail recently?”

“My e-mail? Not my personal e-mail, no,” Maggie said. “Should I check it?”

“Do you have access to it on your phone?” Tara asked without answering her question.

“I do,” Maggie said, pulling her phone from her back pocket.

“Alright, listen carefully,” Tara said. “I want you to open the e-mail app on your phone, but don’t click on anything. Just tell me if you see an e-mail from an address you don’t recognize.”

Quietly, Maggie pulled up her e-mail app and scrolled through the latest emails. “Here,” she said. She handed her phone to Tara and pointed to the e-mail. “I’m not sure who that’s from.”

Tara leaned over the phone for several moments. She took out a small iPad from her bag and typed into a search bar. Maggie stood back, wondering what she was doing. “Don’t open that email,” Tara instructed. She handed the phone back. “I think that’s an e-mail from the hacker. If you open it, there’s a possibility it will take over your cell phone, too,”

“What should I do?” Maggie asked. She set the phone back on the table as if it was a bomb ready to explode.

“I’m going to create a shadow e-mail account that looks like your e-mail account,” Tara explained. “We will respond to the e-mail from there.”

“But can’t that damage your machine?” Brett asked.

“No, because I’m going to open it on a secure server,” Tara said. “It’s hard to explain without delving into some very intricate details, but essentially I’ve copied Maggie’s e-mail and forwarded the hackers e-mail to it. If there is some sort of virus contained in the e-mail, my secure server will shut it down before it has a chance to take over.”

“Then what?” Ruby asked.

“Then we see what they want,” Tara said.

While Tara worked, Maggie busied herself preparing a fresh pot of coffee for everyone around the table. She escorted the remaining customers out of the dining room and locked the door, placing the “Closed” sign in the window. Brett joined her behind the counter, wrapping his arms around her.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered in her hair.

“I wish I had your confidence,” Maggie said. “That’s all three of our stores shut down in an instant.”

“Lucky for us, you have a computer expert standing by,” Brett said. There was something in his tone Maggie couldn’t quite name.

“I think she’s doing a good job,” Maggie said, pulling back slightly.

“Yes, almost too good of a job,” he said. Before he could say anything else, Bradley called them back to the table.

“Tara says we found something,” Bradley said.

“Okay, I was able to open the email,” she said. “There was a link, and I think it contained malware, but there was also a message.”

“A message about the computer system at the stores?” Ruby asked.

“Specifically, a ransom demand,” Tara said. She looked up at Maggie and Brett. “They are demanding a great deal of money to release your computer systems back to you.”

“How much are we talking?” Brett asked.

“Three installments of five hundred thousand dollars apiece,” Tara said.

Immediately, Maggie felt a weight drop in her stomach. “Three installments of half a million dollars each,” she gasped. “I don’t have enough money for one installment let alone three.”

“Then we need to have a conversation,” Tara said. “The easiest way to handle this is to pay the ransom. You get control of the computer system back and your life goes back to normal. That’s what a lot of people do.”

“How am I supposed to come up with that much money?” Maggie asked. She raised her voice higher than she meant to. “I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Maybe not in liquid assets,” Tara said. “But a lot of these hackers depend on the fact that you might take out a second mortgage on your home or the business itself. Sometimes your insurance policy might have protection against this sort of attack and will pay out the ransom. Or perhaps they think you have a rich relative somewhere that would pay it for you. That’s why they’re not asking for five million dollars.”

“They might as well be asking for five million,” Ruby said. “We don’t have that together and combined assets.”

“Then the only other way to handle this is to fight,” Tara said.

“And how do we do that?” Brett said. “How do we fight?”

“The first step is to contact Myra’s husband,” Tara said. “We need to get law enforcement involved. Immediately.”

CHAPTER THREE

“Should we call the FBI?” Myra asked a short time later. She stood next to her husband who was still dressed in uniform.

“Yes, and they will contact the other agencies,” Tara said.

“Other agencies?” Myra asked.

“Yes, since a cyber-attack is considered a matter of national security,” Tara said.

“Even on a small business?” Myra asked.

“Especially among small businesses,” Tara said.

“That makes sense,” Zeke said. He remained standing behind Tara.

“Fine, contact whoever you need to,” Maggie said. “But how do I get my stores back?”

“Don’t you see?” Bradley said, standing up suddenly. “That’s what they’re counting on, Mom. They think they’ve got us in a vice grip because we can’t operate our businesses without the computer systems.”

“Which is how they demand the money,” Tara said. “If your business is at a standstill, so is your income.”

“Again, what are we going to do about this?” Maggie asked.

“You can call in some experts,” Tara said. “I know a few people who handle this sort of thing.”

“I thought you were an expert?” Myra said.

“I am, in some capacity,” Tara said. “But I’m a consultant. I can tell you what’s going on and in some ways, I could help prevent this from happening, but I don’t know what to do once this has happened. That’s above my pay grade so to speak.”

“Do you have any suggestions then?” Brett said.

“I know of two teams,” Tara said. “One is made-up of four guys who worked together in the Navy, and the other is a trio. Two guys and one woman who spent time together in jail.”

“Are you seriously recommending a trio of criminals?” Brett asked.

“They are very, very good,” Tara said. “As teenagers, they hacked into their high school computer systems and changed every grade on the books. They went on to hack their universities as well.”

“Why did they go to prison?” Brett asked.

“Because one of them also hacked the state of Iowa’s hospital system,” Tara said with a broad grin. “They wiped out the debt for more than ten thousand people, mainly veterans.”

“So, they’re basically cyber warriors?” Maggie said.

“Or cyber vigilantes,” Brett said. “How do you know we can trust these guys?”

“Because they work for the feds now,” Tara said. “Hackers turned anti hackers, essentially. They’re the good guys.”

“Then I say we call them,” Maggie said.

“Why them?” Brett asked. “Why don’t we try the Navy guys first?”

“Because,” Tara said. “The former hackers are going to know the down and dirty tricks these cyber attackers use. They were them. They’re going to be the fastest way to get your lives back.”

“What do we do about work in the meantime?” Bradley asked. “We all have employees we need to worry about.”

“I can tell you what you need to do,” Orson Hawley said from the other side of the room. Maggie had momentarily forgotten he was there.

“What should we do?” Ruby asked him patiently.

“Go back to basics,” he practically shouted. He stood up and shuffled toward the table. “Pull out your pens and paper. Accept only cash and make change. That’s the way we used to do it, by writing out receipts by hand. You can continue to run this place and make money without depending on those stupid computers.”

The room fell silent for a moment. Maggie found herself nodding. She looked up at Tara. “He has a point,” Tara said. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing it the old school way. You might even save your business that way.”

“Do you seriously think we can run everything by hand?” Naomi asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Ruby said. “We’ll just have to put out the word that it’s a cash only basis for the time being and take our time at the register.”

“Is there anyone among us who doesn’t know how to make change?” Zeke asked. He looked around the room. “Then I say we do it.”

“I second that motion,” Bradley said, smiling at his best friend.

“That settles it, then,” Brett said. “Although, I would suggest that one of us man the registers wherever we are.”

“I’ll take over the Jefferson Street location with Naomi for the time being,” Ruby offered. She glanced at Naomi. “That way one of us runs the register at all times.”

“Same here with Myra and me,” Maggie said. “Brett can run back and forth between the locations as needed.”

“Thanks for volunteering me, sweetheart.” Brett grinned. “Although, that was my idea, too.”

“Then what do we do about the hackers?” Zeke asked. “What is our final decision?”

“I think you call in the experts,” Maggie said. She glanced at Brett. “And we ought to start with the ones who know how to get down and dirty with it, as you said.”

“So, you want me to call in the former felons?” Tara said. “Is that what I’m hearing?”

“I don’t think we have any other choice,” Maggie said. “Can they work at the same time as whatever other agency takes this on, if they do at all, I mean?”

“Anything is possible,” Tara assured her.

CHAPTER FOUR

The following morning, Maggie walked around the main kitchen with a pen and notepad in her hand. She kept careful count of the dozens of donuts and their varieties as Ruby and the others produced them.

Already, she had hung a sign on the front door notifying their customers about the switch to cash only and the limited variety of donuts that would be available. Myra suggested closing down the Jefferson Street location for the time being, relying on the main store for deliveries until the hacker team could be contacted. Maggie and Ruby readily agreed.

Back in Hunter Springs, Tara set up shop in Bradley’s office with her personal computer system. According to Bradley, she reached out to her contact at the FBI requesting an audience with the head of the anti-hacker team. She explained the concern and reported back to Maggie and Ruby. Tara explained the agent she spoke with seemed enthusiastic about the idea of helping the small business.

“I don’t mean to cast doubt or anything,” Brett said. “But why would a federal agent be excited to help a small chain of donut shops in the Ozarks?”

“Because our hope is to catch the hackers in the act,” Tara explained. “If they can use this as their opportunity to identify the hackers, they might be able to stop this thing from happening again.”

“That makes sense,” Ruby said.

Brett said nothing more but glanced at Maggie with a look of dismay. “Please let us know as soon as you get in touch with the anti-hacker team,” Maggie said.

“You’ll know as soon as I do,” Tara reassured them.

Maggie ended the phone call and turned to Brett. “Do you care to explain to me what’s going on in your head?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little convenient that Tara appeared in our lives just as there was a cyber-attack on our business?” he asked.

“Brett, you aren’t implying that Tara had anything to do with it, are you?” Maggie asked. She kept her voice low so no one else could hear her.

“Am I?” Brett asked, tossing his hands above his head. “I don’t know. I just know that something fishy is going on about the timing.”

“I agree that the timing seems convenient,” Maggie said. “But we must be very, very careful throwing these accusations around. This is Bradley’s best friend we’re talking about here, and a woman he has become very close to.”

“Not to mention the fact that Tara is Bradley’s friend, too,” Brett said. “I know we have to tread lightly. I just can’t help if my police officer brain has questions.”

“Let’s just see what happens with these anti hackers,” Maggie suggested.

Orson remained at the Old Timer’s Table, his favorite place aside from the stool in the kitchen, and watched as the customers came in. Once in a while, someone asked about the sign on the front door.

“Why only cash today?” a grumpy, middle-aged woman asked as she approached the counter.

“Because there’s a problem with the computer system,” Orson called from his table.

“Then why don’t they shut down?” the woman asked.

“Would you shut down your business?” he replied. Maggie watched the exchange and noted how hard Orson seemed to work to keep his tone friendly.

“I suppose not,” the woman said. “It’s just rather inconvenient.”

“Believe me, we know,” Orson said. “If you need help making change, I’m old enough to know how to count change back from a dollar.”

The woman seemed stymied for a moment by his comment. She reached into her purse and pulled out a five-dollar bill. “I think I can manage,” she said with a smile. Maggie was relieved that she took Orson’s comment as a compliment on her age rather than a comment on her mental abilities.

With Orson running interference, the morning passed quickly. There were only a few hiccups, but the limited supply of donuts sold out quickly. Ruby had made the executive decision to cancel lunch orders for the day. Maggie turned the “Open” sign around to “Closed” just after noon.

“I just got a call from Bradley,” Brett announced as he came through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. “Tara has made contact with the anti-hacker group. She and Bradley are on their way over here now.”

“Where is this group located?” Maggie asked.

“They don’t give out their location,” Brett said. “But Tara promised they would be here by dinner time.”

“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Maggie asked. Her back and shoulders ached more from anxiety than from standing on her feet since five o’clock in the morning.

“She said to just sit tight,” Brett said. “Oh, but she wants all of our computers out and available.”

“That means I need to run over to the Jefferson Street location,” Maggie said.

“I’ll take you over there,” Brett offered.

“What about our home computers?” Maggie asked as they headed out the door.

“Have you been on your laptop at home?” Brett asked. “Because I know I haven’t been on mine.”

“Maybe we should stop by the house on our way back,” Maggie suggested. She climbed into the pickup next to Brett. She buckled her seat belt and pressed her forehead against the window. Her heart sank for a moment. What if the hackers had tapped into their home computers? She turned to Brett. “Maybe we should call the bank again on the way over and make sure no one has hacked into our accounts yet.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Brett said. “But if that happened, I’m going to lose my mind.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Maggie and Brett returned to the main location an hour later. Maggie carried their personal computers and while Brett handled the desktop computer they had purchased for the second location in town. Tara and Bradley arrived moments later.

“These are our personal computers,” Maggie explained, placing them on the counter next to the register.

“Is there a problem with these as well?” Tara asked.

“Honestly, we just don’t know yet,” Brett said. “We thought about it on the way to the Jefferson Street store and decided to swing by the house and pick them up. Neither of us have been on our computers in the past day or so.”

“Very good thinking,” Tara said. “I’ll look into those in a moment, but first I want to contact the anti-hacker group.” She set her own computer down on the table in front of her, then spread each store computer out in a semicircle around it. Maggie watched as she connected each computer to her own with a variety of cords plugged into various ports. One by one, she raised each laptop lid and turned on the monitor for the desktop computer.

“How do you contact these anti-hackers?” Brett asked.

“I have a cell phone number,” Tara said without looking up from the computer screen in front of her.

“So, do you call them?” Brett asked.

“No, it’s a text message,” Tara said. She looked up and met his eyes at last. “But they’re all on planes headed this way as we speak.”

“Oh, they’re going to be here in person?” Brett said, apparently impressed by the fact.

“They’re going to be here soon,” Tara confirmed. She sat back in her seat and exhaled slowly. “But I have to tell you they are a bit different. I’ve known Perry for a while through my work with the feds. He’s a good guy, but very awkward.”

“Different how?” Brett asked. From across the room, Maggie read the concern and suspicion on his face. He had the same look on his face he did when investigating the crime.

“They are very motivated and very focused on the task in front of them,” Tara explained. “But they are not very social. In fact, I would call them slightly antisocial.”

“Exactly why did they go to prison?” Brett asked her.

“Only one of them actually served time in prison,” Tara explained. “He was there for three years. The other two served a year in county jail apiece.”

“That doesn’t tell me the charge,” Brett said.

“Oh, I keep forgetting you were a sheriff,” Tara said with a smile. “Dennis, the one who went to prison, hacked into his local police department’s computer to remove a ticket. They sent him to prison for that. Elora was charged with hacking into her grandmother’s nursing home and changing the menu. The last one, Perry, hacked into a sports betting website. They dropped the charges against him after he served a year in the county jail. Elora and Dennis served six months for the stunt with the Iowa healthcare system. That’s how they met.”

“It doesn’t sound like any of them meant to hurt anyone,” Maggie said.

“No, I don’t think so,” Tara said. “As a matter of fact, my FBI contact told me that it was Dennis who approached the feds about forming the anti-hacker group. He offered his services first, then talked the other two into joining him.”

“That makes me feel a little better about them,” Maggie said.

“Are you having doubts about using these guys?” Tara asked.

“We’re not sure who to trust,” Brett said.

“Well, you know you can trust Tara,” Bradley said. “Leave it to her to help figure out who is trustworthy.”

Brett cast a knowing look at Maggie. Bradley remained quiet but cleared his throat.

“I need to check on a few things in the back,” Maggie announced suddenly. She motioned for Brett to join her. Bradley followed.

“Okay, you two,” Bradley said when they were out of earshot. “What’s going on here? Are you having doubts about Tara?”

“We just don’t know who she is,” Maggie said. “Not as well as you and Zeke know her.”

“What about you?” Bradley asked Brett. “What are your thoughts about all of this?”

“I’m just concerned over the timing of everything,” Brett said. “We’re just getting to know Tara when this sort of thing happens.”

“So, you think a computer expert with a dozen government contracts is trying to hack the computer system at a donut shop?” Bradley asked.

“It does sound a bit ridiculous when you put it that way,” Maggie said.

“We still don’t know her,” Brett said.

“No, you don’t,” Bradley said. “But I do. I’ve known her as long as I have known Zeke. I can’t have her thinking my parents are suspicious of her, especially when she is volunteering her time and energy to help us work on this problem. Do you have any idea how much her services cost per hour? Take the highest paid attorney you know and add a thousand dollars.”

“I suppose that’s a good point,” Brett agreed reluctantly. “She isn’t charging us for her services.”

“Look, I get the suspicion,” Bradley said. “And I don’t really blame you for it, but I can’t understand why she would do this if she was somehow involved.”

“We don’t want to seem ungrateful,” Maggie added.

“Then don’t,” Bradley said. “I’ll keep a good eye on Tara if that makes you feel any better. But please don’t let on that you have any doubts. That will crush Zeke. I don’t want things to get weird between us.” Bradley nodded to his mother and turned to head back out into the lobby area.

“I think we need to keep our doubts to ourselves for now,” Maggie told Brett when Bradley was gone.

“I think you’re right,” Brett said. He continued to stare at the swinging door.

“What’s on your mind?” Maggie asked. “Why are you so quiet?”

“Did you catch what he said?” Brett asked with his eyes still on the door.

“About what?” Maggie asked.

“About us. He said he can’t have her thinking his parents are suspicious,” Brett said.

“Yes, I heard him,” Maggie replied. “What’s the problem with that?”

“There is no problem,” Brett said, turning to look at her. “It’s just the way he said it. He called us his parents, both of us. He wasn’t just talking about you.”

Maggie sighed heavily. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled. “He refers to you more as his dad than his own father,” she said. “I’d think you would be used to that by now.”

“I am. It just surprises me every time I hear it.”

CHAPTER SIX

Maggie returned home for a couple of hours, leaving Bradley with Tara and Zeke at the donut shop. The anti-hacker team was due in around six, and she wanted to make sure she was rested up for their visit.

Brett agreed to drive over to the Jefferson Street location and double check the doors to make sure everything was locked up tight. While he was gone, Maggie put together a large crock pot filled with chili, hoping the food would be enough to feed everyone. She assumed they would be there late into the night.

She pulled into the alley behind the donut shop just before six and was surprised to find Ruby arriving at the same time. When she stepped out with the large crock pot in her arms, Ruby began to laugh. She walked out from behind her pickup truck with her arms filled, carrying two baskets. “I made sandwiches and cinnamon rolls,” she commented.

“Sounds like the perfect accompaniment to my grand old pot of chili.” Maggie smiled.

“Where did Bradley go?” Ruby asked as they approached the door.

Maggie looked around and noticed Bradley’s vehicle was gone. “I wasn’t aware he left.” She waited while Ruby managed to open the back door for her and stepped inside. “Hello,” she called.

“I’m in here,” Tara called out from the dining area. Maggie placed her crock pot on the prep table and rushed to the front.

“Are you here alone?” she asked Tara. She looked around the dining area to confirm it.

“Yeah, Bradley had to go,” Tara said. “Zeke went with him. There was something going on with Bradley’s fiancé.”

“Is everything okay? Wyatt?” Maggie asked. She felt her nerves standing on edge, though she wasn’t sure why.

“Wyatt is fine,” Tara said quickly. “There was just some issue to do with Suzan needing to leave for work and the babysitter hadn’t arrived yet. Zeke told me to stay here and keep working on things. Besides, when the anti-hackers get here, they didn’t want them to find the place empty.”

“That’s probably good thinking,” Ruby said from behind Maggie. “Have you been at it this whole time?”

“Pretty much,” Tara said, nodding her head. Her chestnut brown hair had been swept up into a knot on top of her head. “I hope you don’t mind, I helped myself to a pot of coffee.”

“Of course we don’t mind,” Maggie said, remembering her manners. “We’re just grateful to you for everything you’re doing for us.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” Tara said, waving her hand dismissively. “Trust me when I tell you that I’m doing this mainly for Zeke.”

“I understand,” Ruby said, sliding into a chair across from her. “Well, we brought food and refreshments if you’re interested.”

“Absolutely,” Tara said. She sat back in her chair, rolling her neck to stretch her muscles. “I don’t care if it’s peanut butter and jelly. I’m open to anything at this point.”

Maggie pushed the intrusive thoughts out of her mind. Initially, she didn’t like the fact that Tara had been left alone with their computers for a period of time. But what was she really worried about? She thought back to the conversation earlier in the day with her son and Brett. What did Tara stand to gain from hacking into their systems? She was providing her consulting services free of charge. She didn’t actively encourage them to pay the ransom demand, after all. Maggie forced herself to smile and returned to the kitchen.

A moment later, she returned with a tray filled with goodies for Tara. “I hope you like chili,” she said when she placed the tray on the table next to the desktop monitor.

“It smells delicious,” Tara said. She didn’t hold back, plunging her spoon into the bowl in front of her and testing the chili. “That is so good. Thank you. I was afraid I might pass out from hunger. Zeke and Bradley have been gone for an hour.”

“Have you heard anything from the anti-hacker group?” Ruby asked.

“They’re on their way,” Tara said, covering her mouth to hide her food. “I’m sorry, I’m just so hungry.”

“No, no,” Maggie said. “Don’t let us stop you.”

“I’m not,” Tara said around a mouthful of food. Her mannerisms made her seem more human to Maggie. “Anyway, I wanted to give you a quick update.”

“Why don’t you finish eating first?” Ruby suggested with a chuckle.

“Thank you,” Tara said enthusiastically. She pushed the laptop closest to her out of the way and brought the tray in front of herself.

“Brett’s here,” Maggie announced and headed through the swinging door into the kitchen. “Bradley and Zeke had to run back to Hunter Springs for a few minutes. Tara has been here by herself working for about an hour.” Maggie made the announcement before Brett walked into the dining area and discovered Bradley and Zeke were gone for himself.

“They left her here alone?”

Maggie nodded. “And she has been working diligently since they left. She acted like she was half-starved when I served her up a bowl of chili.”

“Can I get one of those bowls of chili, too?” Brett asked with a grin.

“Coming right up,” Maggie said. “Oh, and the anti-hacker group is on its way here.”

“They should be here about any time then,” Brett said before he disappeared into the lobby.

When Maggie appeared through the swinging door with a tray full of bowls, she was surprised to see three strangers standing around the table behind Tara. They stood as close to the doors as they possibly could without turning around and heading back into the parking lot. Maggie stared for a moment, taking in each member of the anti-hacker group.

Elora was easy to pick out as the only girl. She was short and plump with fire-engine-red hair and deep brown eyes. To her right, stood a dark-complected young man dressed head to toe in blue with thoughtful, green eyes peeking out from beneath a navy blue stocking cap. The tallest member of the group was on Elora’s left. He was dressed in plain blue jeans with holes ripped out of the knees, a brown plaid shirt, and long brown hair skimming his shoulders.

“Well, welcome to all of you,” Maggie said when she stopped staring. “Would you like something to eat?”

“I could eat,” Elora said. She was the first to break free from the group, stepping forward and placing her brown leather satchel on the table in front of her.

“That’s wonderful,” Maggie said. “By the way, my name is Maggie. I’m the owner of this establishment, along with my business partner, Ruby.”

“We’re so grateful for all of you coming to help us out,” Ruby stepped forward and said.

“I’m Tara and yes, definitely.” She stood up and held out her hand to Elora. “Thank you all for coming.”

“I’m Perry,” the young man with the long hair said at last. He remained in front of the door.

“Then you must be Dennis,” Tara said. “I’m sure you guys would love to sit down and relax for a moment. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll help Maggie get you something to eat. After that, we can put our heads together and see what we come up with.”

Her words seem to do the trick. Perry stepped forward and took a seat next to Elora. Dennis relaxed his shoulders and placed his briefcase in the seat across the table from Perry.

“I hope you’ll excuse me for a moment,” Dennis said, then headed straight for the men’s restroom.

Just as Maggie and Tara emerged from the back with another tray of food, Dennis rejoined the group and took a seat. Maggie was glad to have Tara’s help and was quite surprised by her congenial manner. They served up chili and sandwiches. Ruby followed a short time after with her cinnamon rolls. Maggie finally took a seat at an adjoining table next to Brett and dug into her room-temperature chili.

“Do you guys work directly for the FBI?” Brett asked once the bowls were cleared.

“We work as consultants,” Elora said.

“Which one of you is the cop?” Perry asked.

“I used to be the county sheriff,” Brett said. “Until about three months ago.”

“Another one of our employees is married to the chief of police,” Ruby said.

“Will they be here soon?” Perry asked.

“The chief and his wife? They’ll be here in a little while,” Maggie said.

“Alright then,” Tara said, pulling her laptop back in front of her. “Let’s get started.” She began explaining the situation with the computer system, using words like bought and virus and malware, along with dozens of other terms that were above Maggie’s head.

While they worked, Maggie excused herself to the kitchen. She ran hot soapy water into the first sink and began cleaning up the dishes from dinner. Ruby joined her a few moments later.

“I would be lying if I said I understood any of that,” Ruby said in a low voice when she joined Maggie at the sink.

“I know, and it drives me insane,” Maggie said. She placed three bowls into the steaming rinse water. “It’s almost like they’re speaking a foreign language.”

“I can’t make heads or tails of what they’re talking about,” Ruby said. “And that messes with my vanity. I’m used to being able to at least grasp a concept or two.”

“You and me both, sister,” Maggie said. “I wish I knew what they were talking about.”

The back door opened then, followed by Bradley and Zeke stepping inside. “Hey, Mom,” Bradley said.

“Hi, Maggie,” Zeke said. “Are they here?”

“If you mean the anti-hacker trio,” Ruby said. “They got here about forty-five minutes ago.”

“They’re in there speaking gibberish with your girlfriend,” Maggie said.

“I have a hard time understanding most of it, too,” Zeke said.

“I can follow along a little bit,” Bradley said.

“What’s going on with Wyatt?” Maggie asked.

“Nothing, it wasn’t a big deal,” Bradley said. Maggie figured she would hear the rest of the story later. “We’re good for another few hours. Then I’ve got to get home.”

“I’ll stay here, man,” Zeke said. “I’ll give Tara a ride home.”

“I wonder how late they’ll be at this?” Ruby asked. She stood next to the swinging door and cracked it slightly to peer out into the dining room.

“Depends on how bad the hack job is,” Bradley said. “I know enough to tell you that.”

“I still don’t understand how they got control of our computers,” Maggie said.

“That’s probably what they’re trying to figure out right now,” Zeke said. “Is there any reason we can’t go out there and join them?”

“Oh, no. Not at all,” Maggie said. “Brett’s out there with them right now. I just came in here to wash the dishes while they work.”

She dried her hands off on a towel and followed Ruby, Bradley, and Zeke back out into the dining area. When she stepped out of the door, she noticed the change in the seating arrangement. Tara had commandeered the large table close to the front door. Perry, Dennis, and Elora sat two seats apart with different computers set up in front of them. Neither said a word, but each one typed furiously on at least two keyboards at once.

“Any progress?” Maggie whispered to Brett.

“I’m not sure yet,” Brett replied.

“So far, we’ve determined the hacker gained control without your consent,” Tara said.

“I didn’t know we needed to establish that,” Brett said.

“What she means is you didn’t open an e-mail or click on a link or anything like that to invite them into your computer system,” Elora explained. Maggie was surprised the layman’s explanation came from a member of the anti-hacker group.

“What does that mean?” Ruby asked.

“It means we’re dealing with something extremely sophisticated,” Dennis said without looking up from his computer screens.

“It may take us some time to figure out who’s doing this,” Elora added. “That’s why we’re trying to figure out how they got a hold of your system. Once we do that, we can essentially follow the trail back to its origin point and hopefully learn who they are and where they come from.”

“Was there nothing in the e-mail to me that identified these people?” Maggie asked.

“The e-mail to you,” Perry said suddenly. “Why haven’t I seen that yet?”

Maggie walked around the table and pulled her laptop out of the center. She called up her e-mail and opened the suspicious message. “Here it is,” she said. “I was careful not to click on the link.”

“Okay, give me a moment,” Perry said. He pushed his own computer to the center of the table and set Maggie’s laptop in front of him. She stood behind him, watching in awe as the computer screen went blank, then filled with disconnected symbols and letters in a language she couldn’t begin to understand.

“What are you thinking?” Tara asked after a moment.

“Hush,” Perry demanded. “Give me a second.”

“Why don’t I start another pot of coffee,” Ruby said. She for motioned Maggie to join her behind the counter.

“Did you need some help?” Maggie whispered while they made the coffee.

“No, but I did want to talk to you,” Ruby said. “There’s a chance that this is going to go all night.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Maggie said. “What should we do about that?”

“I don’t know if there is anything we can do about it,” Ruby said. “I don’t plan to stay here all night.”

“Neither do I,” Maggie said. “But I will be grateful when Brooks gets here.”

“Same,” Ruby said. “Are you having a difficult time trusting these guys?”

“I don’t know,” Maggie said. “I still don’t understand why the hackers targeted us. What do they stand to gain?”

“Aside from the ransom money?” Ruby asked. “I don’t know.”

“It’s not like we have tons of money just sitting around in our bank accounts or anything,” Maggie said. “I mean, I think we have enough money, but the business isn’t some multi-million dollar chain or anything like that. Why pick on us?”

“I don’t know,” Ruby said.

“Hey, do you guys need any help over there?” Zeke called out.

“Nope,” Ruby replied with a smile. “Just about done. Then we’ll have fresh coffee all around.”

“I hope you can make it by the gallon,” Dennis said. “We’re going to be here a while.”

Ruby exchanged a look with Maggie and began placing empty coffee mugs on the counter next to the coffeemaker.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Maggie woke up when her elbow slipped, nearly slamming her head onto the table in front of her. She looked around the dining room, blinking her eyes and trying to focus. Ruby sat in a corner booth with her head resting on her folded arms snoring softly. Brett sat across from her with his back against the wall and his feet on the seat. Bradley had left hours before, and Zeke did his best to remain alert seated at the table behind Tara.

For everyone else, it was as if hours had not passed. Dennis and Perry remained hunched over their keyboards frantically typing as if they’d just gotten started. Elora looked more worse for the wear. She blinked her eyes and leaned closer to the screen in front of her. Tara sat upright staring at her screen as she had for hours.

Maggie stretched her arms above her head and stood up. Her chair scraped lightly across the floor. The sound echoed across the room. Four pairs of eyes focused on her then returned to their screens as if nothing had happened. She made her way to the restroom, then patted Brett lightly on the shoulder when she came back out.

“Honey,” she whispered. “It’s quarter after eleven. Let’s go home.”

“What time is it?” Ruby asked, raising her head up from the table.

“Eleven fifteen,” Brett said. He rubbed his eyes then scooted to the end of the booth and stood up. “Zeke, are you still awake over there?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zeke said blinking his eyes open. “I’m up. What’s going on?”

“I think we’re headed home for the night,” Brett said.

“Sounds good, man,” Zeke said.

“You know, we don’t expect all of you to work through the night,” Maggie said. The three anti-hackers said nothing. Tara raised her head slightly and waved her off.

“I’ll be here for a while,” Brooks said from the corner near the counter. Maggie had forgotten he was in the room.

“Don’t stay out too late,” Brett teased. “Nobody expects you to be here all night, either.”

“You know what they say,” Brooks said yawning. “No rest for the weary.”

“I thought that was no rest for the wicked.” Zeke chuckled. He stood up and made his way to the coffee pot behind the counter.

“I think it’s both,” Ruby said. “Goodnight, everyone.” She pushed her way through the swinging door into the kitchen.

Maggie stopped before she followed Brett into the kitchen herself. “Zeke, please see to it that we cover their accommodations.”

“Bradley already spoke to me about that,” Zeke said. As Bradley’s kitchen manager, Zeke had access to a company credit card.

“Goodnight, everyone,” Maggie said, repeating Ruby. “Please do not stay at this all night long. Get some rest and we can start again tomorrow.”

“Have we made a decision about staying open tomorrow?” Ruby asked her when she stepped outside into the dark alley.

“I think we should do the same thing we did today,” Maggie said. She stifled a yawn. “Keep things to a minimum, like keeping Jefferson Street closed. Just run off handwritten invoices and cash again.” Ruby nodded and climbed into her pickup truck. They agreed to meet an hour later than normal.

Despite the late night, Maggie found herself awake and bright eyed twenty minutes before five o’clock the next morning. She tossed and turned before finally giving up and taking a shower. “Might as well get ready and get to work,” she mumbled to her half-asleep husband. He groaned and turned over in the bed.

When she pulled in behind the donut shop, she was surprised to see an unfamiliar car parked close to the back door. She pulled in behind the car and shut her headlights off. When she got out, she recognized the car as Zeke’s. When she had left the night before, the car had been parked up front close to the rental car used by the anti-hacker trio.

“Is anyone here?” she called out when she unlocked the back door. To her surprise, she walked in to a fully illuminated kitchen. She checked around quickly and spotted Zeke asleep in her office chair. She headed back out into the kitchen, past the sink and prep table, then through the swinging door and into the dining area.

To her great surprise, Maggie spotted Tara, Elora, and Dennis still hunched over their computers. She walked closer and realized Tara was asleep sitting upright. Maggie cleared her throat, startling Tara awake.

“What time is it?” Tara asked. Her voice squeaked when she spoke.

“It’s five-thirty in the morning,” Maggie said. “Have you all been at this all night?”

“We’re still at it,” Dennis said.

“Where’s Perry?” Maggie asked.

“That was my next question,” Tara said, standing up slowly from her chair. She gripped the back and straightened her stiff back before she spoke again. “Seriously guys. Where is Perry?”

“I’m not sure,” Elora said. She looked up from her screen for a moment.

“I think he went after coffee a little bit ago,” Dennis said. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“How long ago was that?” Maggie asked. “We have coffee here.”

“Not sure,” Elora repeated.

“For that matter, where is Zeke?” Tara asked, looking around.

“Zeke fell asleep in my office chair in the back,” Maggie said.

“I think I’ll go find him,” Tara said. She walked around the corner and through the swinging door into the kitchen.

“I think we need to go look for your friend,” Maggie suggested. Neither Dennis nor Elora acknowledged her. Maggie shook her head and walked around the old timers table carefully peering into each booth. Perhaps Perry had crawled up and gone to sleep on one of the seats, she thought.

She made her way around the entire dining room, carefully checking every seat. When she came up empty, she headed across the dining area to the restrooms. She stood outside of the men’s room and knocked carefully on the door. “Perry? Are you in there?” she asked.

There was no answer. Maggie looked up at the anti-hacker sitting around the table across the room. “Dennis,” she called out. “Would you go in there and check and see if Perry is alright?”

“I don’t think he’s in the bathroom,” Dennis said, without taking his eyes off of his screen. Maggie was starting to see a pattern in his behavior.

“Fine,” Maggie muttered to herself. She pushed the door open slightly and looked around. “Perry? It’s Maggie. I’m coming in.” She hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open the rest of the way. She walked into the bathroom, checking behind the door and into both stalls. Perry was nowhere to be found.

Maggie returned to the dining room, this time to make enough noise to pry the anti-hacker’s attention away from their computers. “You guys, your friend is gone,” she said loudly. Her voice boomed across the dining room.

“Like I said, I think he went out for coffee,” Dennis repeated.

Maggie slapped the table with the palm of her hand. “No, he didn’t,” she said. “For one thing, that rental car hasn’t moved. For another, there’s plenty of coffee right here. Where did he go?”

Dennis sat back from his computer and sighed. He folded his arms over his chest and gazed up at Maggie. For a moment, he reminded her of Bradley around the age of fourteen when she told him to clean his room. “Look, I’m sure Perry is just fine,” Dennis said, raising his voice slightly. “We’ve been working on this all night long.”

“For your benefit,” Elora said.

“I’m aware of that,” Maggie said. “And I appreciate your efforts. I think I’ve made that abundantly clear, but your friend is not around. I don’t know where he’s gone. This isn’t a large city where you can hop on public transit and go to the closest Starbucks. We need to find him.”

“Yeah, fine,” Elora said closing the lid on her computer. “I could stretch my legs anyway.”

“Can one of you go check outside? Maybe look in the rental car,” Maggie suggested.

“I don’t have the keys,” Dennis said. He walked across the floor and disappeared into the men’s restroom.

“I’ve already checked in there,” Maggie called after him.

“I don’t think he went in there to look for Perry,” Elora said.

“What’s going on out here?” Zeke asked, emerging from the kitchen.

“Your friend here is all in an uproar because Perry has pulled a disappearing act,” Elora said.

“I’ve checked in the bathroom. I’ve looked through the entire dining room. He’s nowhere to be seen,” Maggie said.

“I don’t know how long he’s been gone,” Tara said, following Zeke into the dining room. “I nodded off a while ago.”

“You nodded off about three hours ago,” Elora said.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Tara asked.

“I don’t know,” Elora said. “It’s not my job to be your alarm clock.”

“That’s just great,” Zeke said. “Where’s the other guy?”

“Dennis just went to the bathroom,” Maggie said.

“Has anyone checked the car?” Tara asked.

“I just made that suggestion,” Maggie said. “But Dennis said he doesn’t have the keys.”

“Do you have the keys?” Zeke asked Elora.

“I didn’t drive here,” Elora said.

“Who drove the car here?” Zeke asked.

“Dennis drove,” Elora said. “But I believe him when he says he doesn’t have the keys.”

“Did Perry go outside at all last night?” Tara asked.

“I don’t know,” Elora said. Her voice grew more annoyed as the questions increased.

“Let’s have a look outside,” Maggie suggested. “The sun has come up enough we should be able to see.” She nodded to Zeke and headed for the front door. She reached to open the door but stopped.

“What’s the matter?” Zeke asked.

“The door is already unlocked,” Maggie turned around to say. “I swore we locked up before we left last night.”

“Then he probably did go outside,” Elora said impatiently. “Jeez, you guys act like this is the sinking of the Titanic or something.”

“I can’t believe you’re not more stressed out about your friend being gone,” Tara said.

“Never said he was my friend,” Elora answered. She plopped back down in her chair and opened her laptop again.

“I’ll take the front,” Zeke suggested when he followed Maggie out into the parking lot.

“I’ll look around here,” Tara said. Maggie nodded gratefully at Tara.

While Zeke headed around the side of the building, Maggie stuck close to the front. She looked around the landscaped bushes for any sign of him. Tara wandered out into the middle of the empty parking lot.

“What is that out there?” she said pointing to the food truck under the highway sign.

“Oh, that belongs to another business owner,” Maggie said. “She operates diner type restaurant out of the food truck.”

“I wonder if he went over there,” Tara asked.

“Let’s go find out,” Maggie said. She headed across the parking lot in the other direction. As she walked, she glanced up and down the road. Her vision was limited to the other side of the street, though the light surrounding the large church across the road illuminated the area enough that she could see no one was out walking.

She reached the front of the food truck around the same time Tara reached the back. They walked around for a moment, not saying a word to each other. Maggie pulled on the door to the food truck. It was locked up tight.

“I don’t think he’s here,” Tara said.

“I don’t either,” Maggie said. She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and fired off a text to Brett.

“What is that?” Tara asked her.

“Oh, just my cell phone,” Maggie said. “I just texted Brett about what’s going on here.”

“Do you think we need to call the police?” Tara asked. She stopped walking in the middle of the parking lot.

“Brett is technically not the police any longer, remember?” Maggie said. “But I do feel better letting him in on what’s going on.”

“It’s very strange that this guy just up and disappeared,” Tara said.

“That’s exactly what’s got me so worked up about it,” Maggie said. “Did you guys get anywhere last night? Did you make any progress at all?”

“To be honest with you, I’m not sure,” Tara said. She resumed walking toward the donut shop. “They lost me with some of their shop talk.”

“What were you doing?” Maggie asked. “Pretend like I’m a fifth grader. I don’t know enough about this to understand any of it.”

“Well, Dennis asked me to try the various ways I knew to break into your system,” Tara explained. “That’s what I’ve done all night, except when I was asleep apparently.”

“They asked you to break into the system?” Maggie asked.

“Yes,” Tara said. “They thought if I could reach the system, it might tell them how the hackers operate.”

“I have to tell you, my business partner and I are considering cutting our losses,” Maggie began. She stopped talking when Brett arrived in his pickup. Brooks was close behind him in his police cruiser.

“What’s going on here?” Brooks asked. “Someone said one of the anti-hackers is missing?”

“That’s right,” Maggie said. “We can’t find him anywhere. Their rental car is still here. So far, the keys can’t be located.”

“And that’s the rental car over there, the dark sedan?” Brooks asked.

“Yes, that’s it,” Tara said.

“Have you looked in the back seat?” Brett asked as they made their way across the parking lot to the car.

“Of course we have,” Maggie said.

“Then we need to get into the trunk,” Brooks said.

“You think Perry is in the trunk?” Tara asked. She chuckled lightly.

“We need to rule it out,” Brooks said. “After that, we extend our search further.”

“Tara, how much do you know about these people?” Brett asked as they approached the trunk. He waited while Brooks retrieved several tools from his police cruiser. “I know you don’t know them well, but was there anything to indicate Perry might have been out of sorts? Do you think he might have just gone for a walk and decided not to come back?”

“If you’re asking me if any of them were of a mindset to hurt themselves, I just can’t answer that,” Tara said. “I only know them through my professional contacts. That is all.”

“Even so, this behavior is a little bizarre,” Maggie said.

“I don’t disagree with you there,” Tara said. “I would even call some of their reactions bizarre.”

“In what way?” Brooks asked. He closed the trunk of his own car and joined them at the back of the rental.

“For one thing, neither of the other anti-hackers can be bothered to care about their colleague’s whereabouts,” Tara said.

“She’s absolutely right about that,” Maggie said. “They’re acting like they are either annoyed or irritated by our questions.”

“Let’s just get this trunk open and we’ll go from there,” Brooks said. Maggie stepped back away from the truck to give him space to work. Brett stood next to him, blocking her view as Brooks went about picking the lock. She heard the mechanism click and let out a breath of relief. She stood next to Tara as the trunk lid was raised, then quickly shut again.

“I take it you didn’t find anything in there,” Tara said, stepping forward.

“No, we found something in there,” Brooks said. He looked past Tara to Maggie. “Will you please call the station for me? Tell them I need a forensic team down here as soon as possible. Have them call the coroner’s office as well.”

“Wait a minute,” Tara said. “Exactly what did you find in there?”

“We found Perry,” Brett said bluntly. “And judging by the state he’s in; he did not enter that trunk willingly.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Elora said a short time later. She was seated in the kitchen on a bar stool facing Brooks and Brett. Maggie sat quietly in her office and observed the exchange through the doorway.

“One of your colleagues was found dead in the back of your rental car,” Brooks said. “I’m not sure what’s unclear about that.”

“I don’t understand how he wound up there,” Elora said. “We were all working around the table last night. Then you guys came in this morning and noticed he was gone. I don’t remember anything other than what we did on the computer last night.”

“And exactly what did you do on the computer last night?” Brooks asked.

“I’m afraid you wouldn’t understand,” Elora said.

“Try me,” he said.

Elora’s shoulder slumped forward. She sighed heavily and shook her head. “We spent the night looking for a back door,” she said. “It should have been easy to find one.”

“A back door into the computer system?” Brett asked.

“Yes,” Elora said.

“And you did that to figure out how the hackers got control of the donut shop’s system?” Brooks asked.

Elora chuckled and shook her head. “No, that’s not why we did that,” she explained. “Finding a way into a system like that is rather simple. A sixth grader could do it.”

“Then what were you doing exactly?” Brett asked.

“What you have to understand is the hackers have full and complete control of this computer system now,” Elora said. “We were trying to find a way into their system. We were looking for a hole of vulnerability that we could exploit in order to get control and to understand exactly what we’re dealing with.”

“That’s not exactly how Tara explained it to my wife,” Brett said.

“Maybe not, but also your wife likely didn’t understand it,” Elora said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s what we were doing.”

“And I take it you didn’t make any progress,” Brooks said.

“Not only did we make no progress, but every time we found a possibility, the hackers’ program rewrote itself and created a new wall,” Elora said. “This is a very sophisticated system.”

“I don’t understand,” Brett said, shaking his head. “This is all so strange. Why would some sophisticated hacker group attack a small business like this? We’re not rolling in it. We operate three stores and support ourselves and our employees. That’s about it. No one is making millions of dollars here.”

“Which is exactly why we took this case,” Elora said. Her eyes flashed as she spoke. “Typically, we see hackers this sophisticated go after major corporations or large city governments. We’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Do you think that Perry’s death is in any way connected to this hacker group?” Brooks asked.

“How would I know that?” Elora asked. “All I know is that I want to get on a plane and fly back home to DC as soon as I can.”

“I’m afraid you can’t leave for a while yet,” Brooks said. “I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that the FBI is on its way to take over the investigation.”

“Why are they taking over?” Elora asked.

“Why do you think?” Brett asked. “The three of you were part of an elite group. As far as I understood it, only one or two other teams like yours exist in the entire country. One of you was just found dead in the back of the rental car you drove here from the airport. Don’t you think the feds want to check in to see what’s happening?”

“Maybe it’s just as simple as he crossed the wrong person last night,” Elora said with a shrug. “Maybe none of this has to do with hackers or cyber-attacks or anything like that.”

“What was your relationship with Perry like?” Brooks asked.

“Great, so now I’m your suspect,” Elora said.

“You’re a smart person,” Brooks answered. “What do you think?”

“I think you need to be talking to my team member,” Elora said.

“If you mean Dennis, we’ve already spoken to him,” Brett said.

“Exactly why are you involved in this at all?” Elora asked suddenly. She focused her attention on Brett. “I thought you were retired or something.”

“I am,” Brett said.

“He’s a retired county sheriff,” Brooks said. “But he is not just a retired law enforcement officer. He is also a business owner.”

“Right, you own this place,” Elora said. “Doesn’t that make this some sort of conflict of interest or something?”

“Not exactly,” Brett said. “Are you going to answer the question? What was your relationship like with Perry?”

“I don’t think I need to answer any more questions,” Elora said. “I think I want my lawyer.”

“Are you refusing to answer our questions further?” Brooks asked. “I want to be very clear about this. You are requesting an attorney, and you are no longer answering our questions. Is that correct?”

Maggie watched as Elora stood up suddenly. She folded her arms and stood in front of Brooks. “That is exactly correct,” she said. “I will no longer be answering your questions. I would like access to my cell phone so I can call my attorney.”

“You can call your attorney from the police department,” Brooks said. He reached for her arm.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Elora gasped. She took a step back.

“I am placing you under arrest,” Brooks said matter-of-factly. “You are now a person of interest in the murder of your co-worker, Perry.”

“But what about Dennis?” Elora asked. She pulled against Brooks’ grip.

“What about him?” Brooks asked once he secured Elora in handcuffs.

“Why isn’t he under arrest?” she cried.

“Who says he isn’t?” Brooks replied.

CHAPTER NINE

“I suppose that this means we won’t be opening today,” Ruby said when she joined Maggie at the main donut shop.

“Bradley and Zeke are going to open the Hunter Springs location,” Maggie said. “Everything here in Dogwood Mountain is closed for the remainder of the day.”

“Where is Tara?” Ruby asked.

“Tara is down at the police department answering questions about last night,” Maggie explained. “Brooks has said to expect two agents from the FBI to arrive by noon.”

“Why is the FBI involved?” Ruby asked.

“This is one of their anti-hacker teams,” Maggie said. “Of course they’re involved.”

“I don’t even know his last name,” Ruby said. She tossed her clean apron on the prep table and walked to the center of the kitchen with her arms folded.

“You mean Perry’s last name?” Maggie asked.

“Yeah, his or either of his colleagues,” Ruby said. She turned around to face Maggie. Her face was flushed and red. “I don’t even know their last names, and now one of them is dead.”

“Tucker,” Maggie said. “His name was Perry Tucker. Elora’s last name is Daniels. I’m not sure about Dennis.”

“This is just so sad and tragic,” Ruby said. “But standing here right now, I still don’t understand exactly how we got here.”

“I believe by your pickup truck,” Orson called from the doorway. He pushed the swinging door open and walked slowly toward his usual stool next to the sink.

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Ruby said.

“But it’s the answer nonetheless.”

“I’m not sure I’m in the mood for your observations today.”

“I’m not here to give you one,” Orson said. “That’s just the truth. You got here by driving your pickup truck in from the farm. Just like Maggie got here with her own car. And Brett came in his truck and Brooks came earlier in his police car. I drove myself this morning.”

“What are you talking about?” Maggie asked. Her patience for the older man’s antics had waned then.

“I’m answering Ruby’s question in the way it deserves to be answered,” Orson said, unflinching on his stool. “Neither one of you is responsible for what has happened here.”

“I never said I was responsible,” Ruby said.

“You don’t have to say it. It’s clear that’s how you feel. You probably do, too.” He nodded toward Maggie.

“Well, to be honest with you, yeah,” Maggie said. “They would never have been in this part of the country if it had not been for Tara calling them here.”

“And Tara never would have been involved in anything if we hadn’t had this hacker issue come up,” Ruby said.

“So what?” Orson asked. “So what if life circumstances brought these people into your life for a moment? That certainly doesn’t mean you are responsible for one of their deaths.”

“Well, then, who is responsible?” Maggie asked.

“Who knows, but you didn’t set out to harm anyone. You had no idea that it was even a possibility one of them would show up here and never go home again. You didn’t know. How could you know?”

“I know you have a point in there somewhere,” Ruby said.

“My point is this,” Orson said. “Knock it off with feeling responsible for everything that goes wrong. It’s not like you hung a welcome sign out for hackers to come in and invade your lives. If I remember correctly, it wasn’t your choice to invite these people, either. There were some others who could have come, right? You didn’t pick these people out yourself knowing this was going to happen. None of this is on you. Either of you.”

“Maybe not, but we should have just said from the beginning that we’d go back to doing things the old-fashioned way. Let the hackers have the computer system. Let the police handle it.” Maggie shrugged. “Whatever we needed to do, we didn’t have to have an elite anti-hacker group here to try to solve our problems.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Ruby said. “I remember a time when a kitchen didn’t depend on software to keep things straight. There’s nothing wrong with going back to that system.”

“Well, I’m the first to agree with you there,” Orson said. “I don’t think these computers are always as good as they’re portrayed to be. I prefer a world without smartphones and the internet, but then, I’m just an old man stuck in the old ways. There is nothing extraordinary about you using a computer to keep your distribution and inventory lists updated. Everyone in your industry does the same thing these days. That doesn’t make you responsible for that young man’s death.”

“I wish we could have seen something on the surveillance cameras,” Ruby said. “But with the system offline, the cameras didn’t record a thing.”

“I’ve already had that conversation with Brett,” Maggie said. “That was the first thing he asked for was the footage taken overnight last night.”

“I wonder if they could tell anything from their computers themselves?” Ruby asked.

“I’m sure the police will let you know if they need that,” Orson said.

“Only, it’ll probably be the feds,” Ruby said. “I can’t believe the FBI is going to be looking into our computer system.”

“You know what’s strange?” Maggie mused.

“What now?” Ruby asked.

“As far as I can tell, we haven’t gotten another message from the hackers,” Maggie said. “We never responded to their demand for ransom, and they haven’t been in touch since.”

“I’m not sure what any of that means,” Orson said. “But that sounds like something you ought to be sharing with Brooks, or at least with Brett.”

“I think you’re right,” Maggie said.

“About what part?” Orson asked. “About the computers or the hackers?”

“Maybe all of it,” Ruby said.

CHAPTER TEN

Two days later, Maggie stood in the middle of the kitchen at the main location examining her handiwork on a new menu board. She stood back from the baker’s table where she had propped up the sign and squinted as she read it.

“Made To Order Gourmet Donut Themed Desserts For Your Special Occasion,” she read. She turned to Ruby. “I don’t know if it sounds quite right. What do you think?”

“I think it sounds just fine,” Ruby replied. They stood shoulder to shoulder. “I think we ought to leave a little more room at the bottom for any additional varieties we decide to add.”

“More varieties? Do you think we need more?” Maggie asked.

“I don’t think it would hurt,” Ruby said. “I’ve been working on a couple of things at home with this time we’ve had off.”

“Oh, have you?” Maggie said. She clasped her hands together in excitement. “You’re going to have to tell me all about it.”

“Better yet, you could bring a sample and share with everyone,” Orson called out from his stool in front of the sink.

“Things have been a little bit busier around here than normal, even with being closed,” Myra said.

“Yeah, yeah, I keep hearing about that,” he said.

“What time are Brett and Naomi supposed to be here?” Myra asked Maggie.

Since the body of one of the anti-hacker group members was found in the back of their rental car, Maggie and Ruby had made the executive decision to return to a more rudimentary system at the donut shop locations. Despite some minor objections from Bradley, Ruby and Maggie had simply turned their computers over to the FBI with no intention of reclaiming them or replacing the computer system they once used.

Instead, Maggie and Ruby had made a trip to Joplin and returned with a large filing cabinet for each location along with file folders and adding machines. Everything would be done by hand for a while, they decided. For the time being, Brett had agreed to take over the Jefferson Street location, with Naomi’s help, on a full-time basis. Ads had been placed in local newspapers for more kitchen help, and Ruby had taken on the task of running the books and payroll herself from her home office on the farm.

“Brett said they’d be here around one,” Maggie answered. She continued to stare at the new sign.

“Have you gotten any new orders yet?” Myra said, nodding toward the sign.

“We have a birthday party next week,” Ruby said cheerfully.

“Yeah, at the old folks’ home,” Orson snickered.

“It doesn’t matter where it is,” Ruby said. “We have an order for a dozen lemon meringue donuts. That’s a good start.”

“What’s so good about that?” Orson asked. “We have orders for donuts by the dozens all the time.”

“Maybe so, but these donuts are almost as big as a dinner plate,” Myra said.

“They’re that big?” Orson asked, his eyes widening at the thought. “How come no one has given me one yet?”

“Is it your one hundredth birthday?” Ruby asked him.

“Not for a while yet,” Orson replied.

“Well, when it is, we will be sure to cater your birthday with lemon meringue pie doughnuts.”

“Do I really have to wait that long?” Orson asked.

“Of course you don’t,” Myra replied. “I just can’t guarantee you’re going to have one anytime over the next couple of days.”

“Let me guess,” Orson said. “Because everyone is too busy relearning basic skills.”

“We’re not relearning basic skills,” Ruby said. “But, I have to admit, doing the bookkeeping and payroll by myself does take a little bit more time out of my day.”

“I’ve noticed that no one has asked me for my help,” he said.

“Fine,” Ruby said. “Would you like to take over payroll?”

“Absolutely.” Orson sat with his hands folded in his lap grinning at the three women. “When do I start?”

“Are you serious?” Maggie asked.

“Almost always,” Orson said. “I’m here every day practically anyway. Bradley does his own thing, right?”

“Right, Bradley takes care of his own payroll,” Maggie confirmed.

“Then all I need to configure would be the hours of employees at this location and at the Jefferson Street location,” Orson said. “I’ve devised a system of paper tickets for each employee. The tickets need to be turned in to me by Wednesday evening each week. I will configure their hours and cut them a check on Fridays.”

A hush fell over the kitchen. Ruby and Maggie stared at each other for a moment. Myra stared at Orson.

“Have you really devised a system for payroll?” Myra asked. “All on your own? Without talking to any of us?”

“Well, yeah,” Orson said slowly. “I wasn’t trying to overstep or anything like that. I just knew something had to change since everything got hacked, so I decided to get to work on a new system.”

“Maggie, what do you think?” Ruby asked.

“I think if Orson wants to take over payroll, he’s more than welcome to it,” Maggie said enthusiastically. “We can work out a salary for you. Plus, if we do go back to some sort of computer automated system at some point, none of our employee’s personal information will be compromised.”

“I’m all for that,” Myra said.

A smile spread over Orson’s face. He hopped down from his stool and stood tall. “Well, then,” he said quietly. “It’s settled. I will get busy on this right away. If you could just let the employees know about the change, I will have those tickets here tomorrow morning.” He turned and walked out of the kitchen.

“How do you like that,” Ruby said quietly, shaking her head. “Orson found a way to be a blessing to us once again.”

“Yes, he did,” Myra said, beaming.

“Have you heard anything new about the investigation?” Ruby asked Maggie.

Maggie shook her head. “The last thing Brett heard was that the FBI was headed back to their headquarters in Joplin after wrapping up their investigation here. The rental car was taken to an impound lot there. As far as I know, Elora and Dennis both remain suspects.”

“How is Tara doing?” Myra asked.

“That I don’t know,” Maggie said. “She went out of town to see family or something.”

“Wait a minute, Tara left town?” Ruby asked. “I’m surprised the police didn’t tell her to stay nearby until everything is resolved.”

“I don’t know that they haven’t,” Maggie said. “I just know that she left Zeke a note and drove herself to the airport yesterday.”

“Where did she go?” Myra asked.

“I have no clue,” Maggie said. “But it doesn’t look good.”

“Is she a suspect as well?”

“Brett said she’s not currently a suspect,” Maggie said. “But he wonders if she should be.”

“What do you think?” Ruby asked.

“I think there are still too many unresolved questions for her to simply take off like that.”

“I wonder why they are still thinking Dennis and Elora are part of this,” Myra asked.

“I don’t know that either,” Maggie said.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Maggie returned home in the middle of the afternoon. The decision had been made to keep the hours short at the donut shop until everything had been resolved entirely. Brett arrived a short time later after putting in a full day at the Jefferson Street location.

“How do you feel about Orson taking over payroll?” she asked him when he took a seat in the kitchen.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Brett said. He removed his boots from his feet and reached down to rub the inside of his foot. “My feet haven’t hurt this bad since I was on the football team in high school.”

“It’s a little bit different than sitting in an office at the sheriff’s department,” Maggie said. “Now you see what I’ve been going through.”

“True, but at least I don’t have to worry about the donuts firing a weapon at me,” he joked. He set his foot down on the floor and folded his arms on the table. “How do you feel about Orson taking over payroll?”

“I have to admit I had my doubts at first,” Maggie said. “But the more he talked about it, the more I could see the sparkle in his eyes. He really wants to do this.”

“I can’t think of anyone we could trust more,” Brett said. “We are going to have to bring computers back at some point, aren’t we?”

“Eventually,” Maggie said. “But I think we can do it in a limited capacity.”

“Maybe we should talk to Tara about this?” Brett suggested.

“I’m surprised to hear you say that. Don’t you find it suspicious that she up and left town?”

“I think she left town after a big fight with Zeke,” Brett said. “So far, there’s no evidence to suggest that she was the one responsible for Perry’s death.”

“Have you spoken with Brooks about this recently?” Maggie asked.

“I just know that Elora posted bond and was released,” Brett said. “She’s staying at the Dogwood House for the time being.”

“I bet Gretchen just loves that,” Maggie said. As a girl, what is now known as the Dogwood House, belonged to her Aunt Marjorie. Gretchen LeClair had since purchased the property and turned it into a bed and breakfast.

“What about Dennis?” Maggie asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know things like I used to. It isn’t clear to me who they consider the primary suspect or what is going on with much of anything.”

“Did we ever figure out Dennis’s last name?” Maggie asked. She removed a casserole dish from the refrigerator and placed it on top of the stove.

“Scofield or something like that,” Brett said. “What are you baking?”

“Chicken pot pie,” Maggie said with a smile.

“Why does that sound so good to me tonight?” Brett said. He rose from the table and wrapped his arms around his wife. “Are you doing alright with everything?”

“Define everything,” Maggie said ruefully.

“I don’t know, with all the changes around the donut shop,” Brett said. “With me taking over the Jefferson Street location? Getting rid of the computer program you were so excited about to connect each of the donut shops? A lot has been going on.”

“Not to mention your retirement,” Maggie said. “You sure are around a lot more.”

I thought you would enjoy me being around more,” Brett said.

“I do enjoy you being around more, honey,” Maggie said. “Sometimes I wish you were at the main location with me.”

“Let’s not push it,” Brett said. “We might find out that we need a little bit of a break from each other.”

“Have you heard of a motive yet? Maggie asked, changing the subject.

“Like I said, I don’t know a lot, and what I’ve heard doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me,” Brett said. “The theory I’ve heard most is that Elora and Dennis got into an argument with Perry the night they spent at the donut shop. One thing led to another, and Dennis hit Perry, causing him to fall. He struck the car or something on the way to the ground causing a fatal head injury.”

“I find it hard to believe that Tara would have slept through all of that,” Maggie said.

“You seem a little suspicious of Tara now,” Brett said. “Or am I reading that wrong?”

“No, you aren’t reading it wrong,” Maggie said. She pulled a chair away from the table and sat down. “I just hate to admit it. Zeke is my son’s best friend. He plans to marry that girl, and I told you not to worry so much about her, but…”

“She’s hardly a girl,” Brett said. “She’s only a few years younger than you and me.”

“You know what I meant,” Maggie said. “I have to be honest with you. I’ve tried to dismiss it, but her sudden departure from the area left me very suspicious of her.”

“Well, she won’t be gone long,” Brett said.

“Why is that?” Maggie asked. “Has she been a named as a suspect?”

“Nothing like that,” Brett said. “But I happen to know she has been advised to return to answer questions about that night. I imagine if she doesn’t quickly comply, an arrest warrant will be soon to follow.”

“I hope we get some of our computers back soon,” Maggie said.

“I forgot about that,” Brett said. “The FBI took everything, didn’t they?”

“One of the laptops for the donut shop was returned,” Maggie said. “But nothing else so far. Not even our personal ones.”

“I’m sure it’s going to take their analysts more than just a day or two to go through everything.” Brett pulled out the chair next to hers.

“Dinner won’t be ready for a little while yet.”

“I’m tired of standing,” Brett whined. “My feet hurt.”

“Do you think you could place a phone call to Brooks and ask him about our personal laptops?” Maggie asked. “Not to pressure him or anything. Maybe just to find out when we can expect to get them back?”

“Sure, I can do that,” Brett said with a grin. “Just as long as I don’t have to stand up to make the phone call.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

“What is she doing here?” Myra whispered to Maggie the following morning. She stood next to her behind the counter and gazed out at the parking lot as Elora made her way toward the door.

“She might be here to pick up her personal computer from the police officer who was supposed to meet us here to drop ours off to us,” Maggie said.

“Why would they give her back hers in the first place?” Myra asked.

“Probably because they are not charging her with a cybercrime.” Ruby shrugged.

“Right, she was merely charged with murder,” Myra shot back. She narrowed her eyes as Elora approached the counter.

“Would you like some coffee?” Maggie managed to say.

“I don’t want anything,” Elora said. “I don’t even want to be here, but I came here to pick up my computer and other tech.”

“What other tech?” Myra asked.

“You’re the one who’s married to the police chief, aren’t you?” Elora sneered at Myra.

“I’m proudly married to the police chief,” Myra said.

“I had a couple of other pieces of technology along with my laptop,” Elora explained. “I should be getting those back as well. Have they been here yet?”

“No one has been here yet,” Maggie said. “Are you sure you don’t want any coffee? It’s on the house.”

“No, thank you,” Elora said. “I’m just going to go take a seat on the other side of the restaurant where there are no people.” She turned her back and walked toward the far side of the dining area.

“Why are you offering her coffee?” Myra asked.

“Because it’s the civil thing to do,” Ruby answered for Maggie. “Trust me when I say none of us are happy to see her here.”

“She’s innocent until proven guilty,” Maggie said.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Myra said. “I just don’t like the idea of a murderer hanging around here.”

“We don’t know she’s the murderer,” Maggie said.

“Has the other one gotten out yet?” Ruby asked.

“I have no idea, but I’d assume no, otherwise, he’d be here for his things as well,” Maggie replied.

“So, he just sits in jail while Elora gets to run around free as a bird?” Myra said.

“She isn’t the only one,” Ruby muttered.

“Tara left a couple of days ago,” Maggie explained to a puzzled Myra.

“That doesn’t seem right.”

“She has been requested to return,” Maggie said. “I guess Brooks doesn’t share anything with you.”

“We have a very strict policy about that,” Myra said. “He doesn’t tell me anything about work unless it’s important for me to know it.”

“That’s probably a very good way to handle it,” Ruby said.

“It looks like the wait is just about over,” Myra said, pointing toward the front door. A police cruiser pulled up and parked next to the curb. “I believe that’s Officer Scott.”

“He must be the one tasked with the pleasure of returning all of the computers to us,” Maggie said.

“He’s not the only one who’s here,” Ruby said. “Look at who’s walking across the parking lot right now. Isn’t that the other young man? Dennis?”

“I think it is,” Maggie said.

“Dennis was released this morning,” Elora said from the other side of the room. “And by the way, the acoustics in this room are very, very good.”

“What does that mean?” Myra asked.

“That means Elora just heard everything we had to say.” Ruby frowned.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Maggie whispered.

“My thoughts exactly,” Elora replied.

Maggie felt her chest tighten. She hated the thought of the anti-hacker members returning to her donut shop. At least there was a police officer present, she told herself. It was all too much. She wanted nothing more than for life to get back to normal.

Two police officers approached the front door, each carrying a plastic box filled with computer equipment.

“Where would you like us to put this, ma’am?” Officer Scott asked when Maggie opened the door for him.

“It can go in the back,” Maggie said. She gestured for the officers to follow her. He cast a glare in Elora’s direction.

“Are we going to have any trouble?” the second, unnamed police officer asked.

“Not on my part,” Elora said.

“I just want to get my stuff and go,” Dennis said.

When they were in the privacy of the kitchen, Maggie looked the young man up and down. Life had done a number on him. He was wearing the same clothing he had worn overnight at the donut shop. She wondered if his clothes had been laundered since that night. His eyes were ringed with dark circles and his face appeared pale.

“Just stay back a minute,” Officer Scott warned when Elora approached the box in his arms. Maggie gestured to the baker’s table. Officer Scott and his partner set the boxes down.

“Aren’t we missing someone?” Officer Scott asked, looking around the room.

“Yeah, that Tara lady,” Dennis muttered. “Where did she go?”

“I’m here,” Tara said, emerging from Maggie’s office.

“Tara, I didn’t know you were back,” Ruby said.

“What are you doing in my office?”

“Is there a problem?” Officer Scott asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Maggie said, glaring at Tara. “Answer my question, please. What were you doing in my office just now?”

“Look, I didn’t mean to cause any problems,” Tara said. “But I wasn’t too keen on appearing in public. I just want to get my laptop and go home.”

“Aren’t you supposed to answer questions at the police department?” Ruby asked.

“Wait a minute,” Dennis said. “You mean to tell me you weren’t in jail this whole time?” He raised his voice.

“Everyone needs to calm down,” Officer Scott said. “We are just here to return your property.”

“Maybe you should have done this at the police department,” Elora said.

“We can return to the police department anytime you’re ready to go,” Officer Scott warned.

“I suppose the FBI took our machines apart bit by bit,” Dennis said.

“Your attorney should tell you details about that,” the unnamed officer said.

“My attorney,” Dennis scoffed. “Unlike some people, I don’t have the money to hire a decent attorney. I’m stuck with a backwoods public defender.”

“If you’re innocent, you don’t have anything to worry about,” Elora quipped.

“Right, because we know that’s how the justice system works,” Dennis said.

“That’s enough,” Officer Scott said. “One more outburst and we’ll pack these up and take them back to the police department where you can come and retrieve them yourselves after you make an appointment.”

“Fine,” Elora said. “We’ll be quiet.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ruby left Maggie in the back and headed to the front to brew a new pot of coffee for everyone, despite Elora’s reluctance to accept it. Maggie waited patiently while each computer was identified and then returned to the owner.

“I suppose we should be happy about this,” Dennis said, casting a sideways glance at Elora. “I’m not sure what will happen when we have to go back to jail.”

“Who says we’re going back to jail?” Elora muttered.

“I wonder when you’re going to jail,” Dennis asked Tara.

“Nobody is going to jail right now,” Officer Scott said. “Unless you push it. Just take your machines and go back where you came from.”

“Some of us aren’t allowed to go back where we came from quite yet,” Elora said.

“And some of us left town without permission,” Dennis said, directing another comment at Tara.

Maggie watched the exchange with interest. On one hand, she understood the vitriol between Dennis and Elora that was directed at Tara. She still didn’t quite understand how Tara had gotten away with leaving town. She removed her personal laptop and headed toward the prep table. Myra carried the business laptop into the office.

“Before we leave, we ask that each of you open or power up your machine just to double check that you have the right one,” the second officer said.

“What are we supposed to do?” Myra called from the office.

“Open up the laptop and make sure it’s running,” Dennis said.

“Actually, make sure that it belongs to you,” Officer Scott corrected.

“I have a desktop here,” the other officer said.

“That belongs to me,” Maggie said.

“That computer is for our second location across town,” Ruby said when she returned with a tray filled with coffee mugs. “Help yourself to coffee. I’ll take over checking this machine.”

Maggie opened her personal laptop first. While the screen loaded, she checked Brett’s laptop which was just in sleep mode.

“This laptop still has the hacker’s message on the home screen,” Myra announced. She walked toward the kitchen from the office with the laptop balanced in her arms.

“That’s because we never figured out who they were,” Elora said.

“We never removed their access from your laptop,” Tara said.

“And you never heard from them again?” the second officer asked Maggie.

Maggie hesitated before she answered. It was difficult to address details to someone whose name she didn’t know. “Not so far,” she said.

“Maybe they just went away,” Ruby suggested.

“I highly doubt they just went away,” Dennis said. “Hackers like that don’t tend to leave you alone when you ignore them.”

As soon as Maggie’s personal computer powered up, she went online. She was surprised to see the computer connect with the donut shop’s Wi-Fi. Typically, she had to enter the password when she was using her own personal laptop. A thought sparked in her mind, but she was hesitant to pursue it. After all, compared to several others in the room, she was extremely uneducated in terms of computer knowledge. Surely it couldn’t be that simple, she told herself.

“Anything?” Ruby asked her.

“I just opened my email,” Maggie said. She waited for a second, then scrolled through her list of new emails. She instantly froze when she saw the familiar message. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, no? Is something wrong?” Ruby asked.

“Yes, I have another message from the hackers,” Maggie said. She glanced up at the police officers. Officer Scott walked toward her. Tara frowned and cocked her head to the side. Elora smirked at her.

“Too bad we got thrown in jail,” she said. “Maybe we could have taken that off your computer.”

“It’s too bad one of your colleagues was murdered,” Myra said flatly.

“Can I take a look at that?” Tara asked.

“I don’t think you should touch it,” Dennis said. “After all, you’re as much of a suspect as we are.”

“Actually, no she isn’t,” Maggie said. She set the computer back down on the prep table and stepped away from it. Officer Scott picked it up.

“Why don’t you think she’s a suspect?” Elora asked.

“Because she just proved she wasn’t the one responsible for this,” Maggie said.

“What? How do you know that?” Myra asked.

“I was going to ask the same question,” the second police officer said.

“It couldn’t have been Tara,” Maggie said. “As a matter of fact, I think Tara just cleared herself of any suspicion of murder, too.”

“You’re really going to need to elaborate on that point,” Officer Scott said.

“Someone just sent another hacker e-mail,” Maggie said. “Or that’s the way it’s supposed to look. I have a feeling if you look more carefully you might figure out that e-mail was scheduled to be sent sometime today.”

“You don’t know that,” Elora said suddenly.

“Actually, we could prove it,” Tara said. She approached Officer Scott. “If you’ll allow me?”

Tara spent the next few moments explaining how to check whether or not the e-mail had been written previously and then scheduled to be set at a later time.

“She’s right,” Officer Scott said. “This was scheduled to be sent today.”

“It originated three days ago,” Tara said.

“And it was sent to this e-mail address,” Maggie said, pointing to her screen.

“What difference does that make?” Elora asked.

“If it was Tara that had done this, she wouldn’t have sent it to the dummy e-mail account she created for me on this machine,” Maggie said. She looked up at Tara. “I even started having my own suspicions of you. I have to apologize for that. You are not the one who murdered Perry Tucker, are you?”

“You can’t prove that!” Dennis said.

“Actually, I just did,” Maggie said. “Someone is trying to make it look like the hackers are still out there somewhere.”

“Actually, someone tried to pull all of you into a false scenario,” the other officer said. He stepped forward and pulled his wallet from his pants pocket. He opened the wallet and flashed a badge around the room. “I’m not really a police officer, folks. My name is special agent Andrew McCoy.”

“He’s actually an FBI agent,” Officer Scott said.

“What’s an FBI agent doing here?” Elora asked.

“Setting a trap for you and your friend,” Officer Scott said, approaching her. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back of his belt.”

“You mean this was all a setup?” Maggie asked.

“Like you didn’t already know,” Dennis said.

“Honestly, I didn’t know.”

“She’s right,” Agent McCoy said. “No one else was in on this.”

“What was this, exactly?” Elora gasped.

“More or less, this was a fact-finding mission,” Officer Scott said. “We didn’t expect for Mrs. Mission to figure things out for us.”

“None of this makes any sense to me,” Ruby said.

“I think I have it figured out,” Maggie said. “At least partially.”

“Then please, explain,” Myra said.

“I don’t think there ever was a hacker,” Maggie said. She leaned against the prep table and folded her hands, pointing at Elora. “I think the three of you created this once you found out Tara was involved with an employee of mine.”

“That’s a big reach,” Dennis scoffed.

“No, it really isn’t,” Maggie said. “I don’t know why. That part I haven’t figured out yet, but the two of you arrived here voluntarily, right?”

“Yes, they volunteered to help,” Tara said. She glanced around the room and apparent disbelief. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, either.”

“You said before that you had done a few projects with this team, right,” Maggie said.

“Yes, we go way back,” Tara said.

“But you knew Perry better than the rest of them,” Maggie said.

“That’s right. Perry was my contact to the group,” Tara said. “We had never met in person, but we corresponded on a friendly level for years.”

“Would you consider him a friend?” Maggie asked.

“Yes, I guess I did consider him a friend.”

“But these two weren’t your friends, were they?” Agent McCoy asked suddenly.

“Tara, did you have anything to do with uncovering some previous offenses Elora and Dennis committed?” Maggie asked. It all went back to when Tara had originally said that hackers typically went after large municipalities or law enforcement officers that may have had a hand in getting someone caught doing something wrong.

A shadow of realization crossed Tara’s face. “I was part of the task force that uncovered the breach against the Iowa State Healthcare system,” she said. “That was the first job I took after I left the Navy.”

“There’s your motive,” Officer Scott said.

“Then why did they kill Perry?” Tara asked.

“Probably because Perry didn’t want anything to do with this,” Maggie suggested. “Isn’t that right? In fact, I bet he didn’t know what the two of you were up to. Did he? He was friends with Tara.”

“I am not answering another question without my lawyer,” Elora said.

“You like to lawyer up, don’t you?” Officer Scott said.

“Do you mean to tell me that this entire hacker situation was just a ploy to get close to Tara,” Ruby asked.

“That’s sure what it’s looking like,” Agent McCoy said. He moved quickly to secure Dennis in a pair of handcuffs. “I’m sure there are still a lot of details to work out, but I have the feeling your friend here just closed this investigation.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Are you sure this is necessary?” Naomi asked later that night. She stood in front of the large bonfire at Ruby’s farm.

“I’m sure this is one way no one can access the information on these computers,” Tara said. She took the laptop out of Brett’s arms and tossed it into the flames.

“I remember when we bought that computer,” Ruby said. “That wasn’t cheap.”

“There is no substitute for peace of mind,” Orson called from his chair on the other side of the blaze.

“You can say that again,” Maggie said. She turned to Orson and held up her finger. “But don’t. You really don’t have to say that again.”

“I take it you all have decided to heed my advice.”

“For the time being, yes,” Ruby said. “We are going to limit any computer activity to emails from the food distribution warehouse. They weren’t overjoyed about that, but it is what it is.”

“And the office computers are no longer going to be interlinked, right?” Bradley asked.

“That’s right,” Maggie said. “Although we will have access to each other’s emails at all times.”

“I never thought I’d live to see the day when an e-mail was considered old school.” Ruby chuckled.

“I still don’t get why those people were so angry at you,” Zeke said to Tara when she returned to her seat next to his.

“They were angry because they were caught by me,” Tara said. “And I’m nowhere near their level. Like I said before, there’s a lot I can figure out, but those people are on a completely different level.”

“Agent McCoy said Elora couldn’t stop talking about how angry she was that she was caught by someone with as few skills as Tara Kirkpatrick,” Brooks said.

“I wouldn’t exactly call her low skilled,” Bradley said.

“I’m still amazed that you’re the one that figured all of this out,” Brett said to Maggie.

“It’s not that surprising, really,” Tara said.

“Why, thank you, Tara,” Maggie beamed. She smirked at Brett. “You see? Someone thinks I’m smart.”

“I’m not arguing your intelligence level,” Tara said. “But the fact that you are not a computer hacker made it easier for you to see what was actually going on.”

“How so?” Bradley asked. “How did my mother become some sort of computer savant all of a sudden?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Tara said. “But it’s a matter of not being able to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Dennis and Elora were so careful in the details of staging the computer hack they forgot the simple things like finding out which e-mail they actually sent the second threat to.”

“Agent McCoy was impressed,” Brooks said. “He said something like that, too. Elora and Dennis couldn’t see the forest for the trees. They forgot something as simple as checking to make sure they sent the message from the hacker to the correct email.”

“I still don’t get how you figured out they murdered Perry, though,” Brett said.

“I think that was a bit of a collective effort,” Brooks said. “Isn’t that right, Maggie?”

“I think that’s a good way to put it,” Maggie said. “I hadn’t quite worked it all out in my head when I spoke up.”

“Either way, good job,” Brooks said. “Agent McCoy was happy that his little information gathering stunt actually revealed who was responsible.”

“I don’t understand something,” Naomi said. “How did they charge Elora and Dennis with anything without all of this other evidence in the first place?”

“They had enough evidence to charge them with,” Brett said. “But I think it was mostly circumstantial.”

“That’s exactly right,” Brooks said. “We had a few pieces of evidence that linked Elora and Dennis to Perry’s body, but a decent criminal defense lawyer would have picked that apart in court.”

“You know,” Orson said. “Maybe it’s your wife and not you who belongs on that cold case panel you just joined up with.”

“Oh, no,” Brett said. “My wife can stick to making donuts. I don’t like it when she’s involved with solving cases like this.”

“Wow,” Maggie said, glaring at Brett. “That almost sounded chauvinistic.”

“Not at all,” Brett said. “I’ve learned enough to know you have a knack for these things, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”

“Still sounding a bit chauvinistic there.” Zeke laughed.

“I don’t think he meant it that way at all,” Bradley said. “You just don’t like seeing Mom in danger, do you?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” Brett said.

“Good save, boys,” Orson said, chuckling. “I couldn’t have done it better myself.”

***

If you enjoyed Live and Let Rise, check out the next book in the series, Bake It To The Limit, today!

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