Page 32 of Broken Trust
“Anonymous payments? Bitcoin transfers? Gifts that seemed too good to be true?”
“No! Nothing like that!”
“Your wife’s favorite restaurant?”
The whiplash between mundane and menacing was deliberate. “Uh...Giuseppe’s. The Italian place downtown.”
“Ever been asked to hold something for someone? Store data? Forward messages without reading them?”
“I don’t—no!”
“Your oldest son’s middle name?”
“Michael. His middle name is Michael.” Silverton’s voice cracked. “Please. I’ll give you anything you want. You can have the passwords to my bank accounts. I’ll transfer my savings wherever you want me to!”
“We didn’t bring you here for that.”
“I haven’t done anything.” He spread his hands.
Mason stepped closer, using his size to increase the pressure. “You build computers on the side. Who are your clients?”
“Local businesses, mostly. Some individuals. I have records of everything!”
“Any clients pay in cash? Ask for systems with specific capabilities? Unusual security features?”
“No—I mean, everyone wants security these days, but nothing unusual.”
“Your supervisor’s name at the IT department?”
“Janet Morrison.”
“How long have you worked there?”
“Twelve years.”
Mason’s voice cut through like a blade. “Twelve years is a long time to build trust. Long enough to be useful to someone.”
“I don’t do anything wrong!”
Mason rapid-fired the next questions. “Your login credentials get shared with anyone?”
“Never!”
“Remote access to your systems?”
“Only for IT maintenance, and that’s all logged.”
“The name of your youngest son’s teacher?”
Silverton blinked at the shift. “Mrs...Mrs. Masterson. Third grade.”
“Ever notice unusual activity on your work computer? Processes running you didn’t start? Files appearing or disappearing?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
Mason drew a breath. “Charles, tell me about Cipher.”
The man froze. “Cipher?” The word came out like he was testing a word in another language. “I don’t—what is that? A code? I don’t understand.”
