Page 43 of Hack
Fuck, he couldn't wait to get to the bar tonight. If this all panned out as true, his whole line of questioning was going to be different than what he'd planned.
"Here we go." Dana walked back out into the room. "It's not much, but I was right, we did save the articles. I printed you copies." She handed him several sheets of paper, still warm as if they'd just slid through an industrial printer. "I also found this." She handed him another few sheets of paper. "It's a genealogy chart. One of our society members enjoys pulling up the history of our town members. From what this says, Mark's father was very well-known in town years before Mark married. He was on the city council, and from what this says, he was very well-off financially. He comes from a very prominent background, which shocked me as I never took Mark and Tonya to have much money. They seemed to struggle a bit. You're right though, there is no listing of a daughter, but I promise you, I saw a little girl there with them. Perhaps they were babysitting, though I never took Lyle as a babysitting type. He was always a little rough around the edges. Not someone you'd trust to watch your child, at least not when he was that age."
Not at any age, Carter thought. "Thank you." Carter gave the papers a quick glance, making sure he didn't have any obvious questions. He'd read through them better once he was alone. "Is there anything else about the family you can remember? Did the kids get in trouble around town or was there any gossip you might have heard, but not wanted to repeat?"
Dana wrinkled her brow. "Are Luis and Levitt in some kind of trouble?"
"No," he assured her, though he couldn't promise they wouldn't be if they were hiding Lyle. "I'm actually trying to find Lyle, but it seems no one knows where he is."
"That boy left town shortly after graduating high school. I heard he had a huge fight with his brothers and just walked out. No one knows for sure, but I haven't seen him around here in fifteen or twenty years." She sat back down at the table. "You might ask Megan Wallace. She was dating Lyle through their last year in high school. My daughter was in Lyle's class." She stared up at him. "You have to realize this was all so long ago."
He nodded. "I understand. I'm grateful for the information you've given me." He pulled out a business card from his wallet that showed him as a paralegal. "If you think of anything else or perhaps talk to anyone who remembers other things, could you give me a call?" The number would go straight to a voicemail he had set up just for things like this.
"Of course. I hope you find him. Is this about an inheritance or something?" She asked him.
"I'm not at privilege to say what it's concerning. I'm sure you understand." He gave her a gentle smile.
"Oh, yes, I can see why that would be. I will let you know for sure if I hear anything." She offered her hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."
"You helped more than you know." He gently shook her hand and gave her another smile. "You have a good day." He released her hand and took a step back before turning and walking out of the building.
Once outside, he headed to the library, frowning when he found it still closed. He glanced at the sign which stated it opened at eleven, then at his watch, seeing it was just after ten. "Great." He sighed as he looked around. All he needed was a place to sit, it wasn't like he couldn't search online from wherever he was. Seeing a coffee shop down the street, he headed that direction.
There were so many new pieces to work through, and he had no clue which ones mattered. Each piece had to be followed. Hopefully, with Archer's resources in the police force and his own skills online, they could get some answers.
The coffee shop was nearly empty, with only two others sitting at tables inside. One he took for a college student, the other he guessed maybe a writer or someone who worked online like he did and just needed a place to work. Glad there wasn't a crowd, he ordered a coffee and sweet roll before taking a seat against the back wall.
It didn't take him long to open his laptop and get things going. As important as the young girl was, he left that to Archer. He'd probably have more luck than he would searching databases.
What he wanted was to search the money trail. Find out what the two were buying other than alcohol, and see if they went anywhere.
Most people thought that banks and credit card companies were hard to hack into, but for someone with Carter's talent, it was no harder than paying a bill online would be. He knew all the backdoors and codes to get where most people couldn't. He was the one companies wanted to hire to protect their information. Guys like him could make big bucks in the world, but like him, most didn't want any part in the corporate world.
As his coffee cooled, he went to the bank site first. It took only minutes to weed through their program and find a way inside. From there, it was only a simple search of a name and social security number to pull up Luis's records.
He scanned the list of purchases, most looking like things for the bar. There were groceries, and a few payments to utility companies and such, but not much else at first glance, but as he went back several months, he found that Luis had paid for a mechanic in North Carolina. Sitting up straighter, he focused on all the other purchases around that time, trying to see if he could figure out why Luis was in North Carolina.
There was nothing else.
Just that one charge at Dave's Garage.
Carter tapped his pen on his notebook as he imagined Luis paying cash for everything to make a trip, but had had an emergency and had no choice but to use the card. A quick search told him that Dave's Garage was in Saluda, North Carolina and looked to offer basic mechanical services. There was nothing impressive about it. Just another small-town garage that would have been convenient for someone who needed repairs.
Making notes on his notebook, he wondered what Luis would be doing up there and why there was only the one charge on his bank card. One would think that he'd need a motel room or a place to stay being that far from home. Unless, of course, he knew someone there.
Carter went back several more months, but found nothing. It was only that one charge. All the rest were local. It was enough of a lead to give Carter hope that there was something or someone there to follow up on.
He took a sip of his coffee, then closed out of the banking system and went into the credit card company. There was nothing there but local things and very little activity of even that. It was a letdown, but not really a surprise. He hadn't expected to find much. If Luis and Levitt knew where Lyle was, they were doing their best to keep him hidden.
The question was, did he dig deeper before questioning Luis and Levitt tonight or did he come right out and ask them what they knew.
The last thing he wanted was for them to give Lyle any warning that they were closing in on him, but there was also the chance that Luis and Levitt would lead Carter and Archer right to Lyle by trying to warn him. So many choices, and not a single one he liked.
He needed to talk to Archer.
Sitting back, he took a long drink of his coffee. He wanted to call the team and check in, but they would only tell him to enjoy his vacation and leave them alone. He couldn't blame them. He was hovering and obsessive, and it probably made them feel as if he didn't trust him. He did. Completely. It was just a matter of not having something to keep his mind busy. When he was with the team, there was always something to focus on, something to search. He really couldn't pull up the dark web in this small coffee shop and start searching for new uploads.
Being away had him thinking more about his life and how much time he did put in with the team. It was his entire life. He was always working or thinking about cases, or ordering supplies, or thinking of ways to better things. He had no life outside that small computer room.
