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Back The Short Drop
Chapters (61)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PART ONE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. PART THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY
  59. EPILOGUE
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  61. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gibson knew from studying the code that the virus could be directed remotely and given fresh batch instructions by WR8TH. Otherwise it would just continue relentlessly on its current task forever. But so far nothing. Either WR8TH wasn’t keeping close enough tabs on changes to ACG’s registry to notice the new FBI documents, or he was too smart to go for the lure.

It was a well-laid trap, Gibson reassured himself. Over the last two weeks, he had uploaded a few more FBI files each morning. The idea being to make it appear to be an ongoing ACG project, converting paper files into digital records.

“Come on,” Gibson whispered to his monitor. “You got away with it. You’re smarter than us. We’re a bunch of dummies. Help yourself. We’ll never know.”

When staring at his monitor and willing something to happen lost its charm, Gibson began digging through the boxes of evidence. Curiosity led him to a thick folder labeled “Tom B.” The mysterious boyfriend who had never identified himself. The folder contained a staggering amount of data for a lead that hadn’t gone anywhere. Not surprising given how little the FBI actually had to go on. Besides a name, all they had was a vague physical description cobbled together from her teenage coworkers at the pool: dark complexion, stocky build, thick brown hair, bright-blue eyes. Not even an exact age, only a shared sense that Tom was “older,” which left a disquieting range of possibilities.

Were WR8TH and Tom one and the same? If they weren’t, then why hadn’t Tom B. ever come forward? If they were, could Gibson really see Bear calling an Internet pedophile her boyfriend? Keeping his love letters? Running away with him? None of it made much sense.

Gibson flipped through the rest of the folder and put it back. You couldn’t really appreciate the tedious nature of criminal investigations until you looked at the Everest of paperwork it generated. Looking through it was almost more mind-numbing than staring at his stubbornly unchanging computer screen.

He was about to quit when he stumbled across a box labeled “Family Media.” Inside were CDs of photographs from Suzanne’s school and family get-togethers, all neatly cataloged by date and place. He spent hours hunting in vain for the photograph of him reading to Suzanne in the armchair, but it was nowhere to be found. A CD labeled “Memorial Day, 1998” caught his eye. He couldn’t remember 1998 in particular, but, curious, he slipped the CD into his laptop. He didn’t have any pictures of Duke and hoped to find a few that he could show Ellie. There would come a day when he would have to tell her about her grandfather.