Eryn nodded. “And on the computer, as I suspected, the hacker put the second ECU into ‘bootrom’ mode, allowing him to paralyze the factory ECU and send malicious commands to the target component without any interference.”

  “Really?” Alex said, a big grin forming. “You don’t know better than to speak computerese with us after Jackson’s crack?”

  “It’s precisely the reason I did.” Eryn wrinkled her nose at him.

  “Touché.” Alex held out his hand for a fist bump. “Now can you explain or—better yet—just tell us what the impact is?”

  Her smile disappeared. “It means that I’m now certain an attack like this isn’t possible via a wireless connection. At least not yet. Sure, the wipers, radio, and image can be done wirelessly, but the hacker had to physically tinker with Maggie’s car to accomplish the attacks on her steering and brakes.”

  Jackson shot a look at Alex. “The footprint. Maybe that’s why the guy showed up here, and the print by the back door was meant to lead us astray if we heard anything.”

  “He messed with my SUV when we were home?” Maggie asked before Alex could respond. “How did we miss hearing him doing it?”

  “You don’t have an alarm on your vehicle,” Eryn said. “So all he had to do was use the hack to gain access to the vehicle and modify the computer under the dashboard. That wouldn’t have made much noise. That’s likely when he installed the GPS, too.”

  “Why didn’t the hack kick in on the way to the morgue?” Riley asked.

  “Good question,” Jackson said. “The hacker couldn’t have known where we would be headed this morning so he couldn’t have planned the location where he could shoot at us.”

  Eryn swallowed her bite. “He coded it to occur the second time the engine was started.”

  Jackson was baffled. “But why?”

  “Only he can tell you that.”

  Alex frowned. “Maybe he wanted to be sure you were far enough away from home before the computer failed. That way he could tail you to fire off that shot, and the rest of us wouldn’t spot him.”

  “Maybe.” Jackson added the mystery to the other facts they just couldn’t explain until they found this guy and made him talk. Jackson faced Riley. “Where are we on that footprint?”

  He wiped his mouth with a plaid napkin. “I gave the cast to Nate for his staff to evaluate, but it has to cure for seventy-two hours before they can clean and evaluate it.”

  “That long?”

  “Sorry, man. You can’t rush things without destroying the cast.”

  “Anything else on the SUV that might move us forward?” Jackson asked Eryn, almost hating to hear her response.

  “Nate has his forensic staff processing the computer console and car for fingerprints, but honestly, I think this guy is smart enough to wear gloves, don’t you?”

  “He didn’t when he attacked me,” Maggie said.

  “Yeah, that’s odd, isn’t it?” Jackson said. “He comes out to Summit planning to kill you, why not wear gloves? Or a mask to cover his face just in case you get away and can ID him.”

  Riley rested his elbows on the table. “Maybe he’s not as smart as we think.”

  “He might not be street smart, but his computer programming skills are top-notch,” Eryn said.

  With all this talk about their suspect, Jackson lost his appetite, and he pushed his plate away, earning a concerned look from Maggie. She knew it took a lot for him to lose his appetite, and he was probably adding to her worry. He should’ve just choked down the rest of the sandwich, but the damage was done now.

  He polished off his glass of iced tea. “Before dinner, I reviewed our interviews with Scott’s friends. A few have computer backgrounds, but they didn’t mention anything about programming or computers in conjunction with Scott. I still want to talk to them again tomorrow.”

  “What are their names?” Maggie lifted a fry to her mouth.

  “Right, you might know them.” Jackson tapped his phone and opened his note screen. “Hugh Reinhardt and Garrett North.”

  Maggie swallowed her bite. “I know Hugh. He took my Intro to Anthropology course last year. Bright guy, but all I know about his computer skills is that he used a laptop to take notes. A common thing these days.”

  “Since you know him, he might open up to you, and I’d like you to accompany me on the interview. If you didn’t flunk him, that is.” Jackson smiled, trying to turn back time before their talk in the kitchen left them even more uneasy with each other.

  “He was an A student.” She quirked a half smile. “I’m also friends with the assistant professor in the computer science department. We could ask if he knows any students who are into hacking.”

  “Good idea,” Eryn said. “If you need me to evaluate anyone’s computer skills, let me know.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” Maggie said. “It might help me figure this out if I knew more about Scott.”

  Jackson was glad to change the subject from the danger and their suspect’s abilities. “Scott comes from a wealthy family. His dad’s an advertising executive in one of the big five companies in New York. Scott wanted to follow in dad’s footsteps and majored in marketing.”

  “And he came to college in Medford?” Maggie asked. “That seems odd.”

  “Did to us at first, too,” Jackson said. “But then we learned his high school girlfriend moved to Oregon in her senior year of high school. That’s when Scott decided to attend college here.”

  “Ah, love.” Alex gave Jackson a pointed look. “The things we do for it.”

  Jackson ignored his teammates and turned back to his notes. “Scott was a good student despite the fact that he liked to party and smoked his share of weed. With pot being legal in Oregon, that wasn’t a red flag.”

  Maggie tilted her head. “Any other drug use?”

  Jackson shrugged. “His buddies didn’t say anything. Could mean he wasn’t into it, or if they admitted to the use, it might incriminate them, too.”

  “What about the girlfriend?” Maggie asked.

  “They broke up after six months. We considered her current boyfriend to see if he might be involved in the murder, but from what everyone says, her breakup with Scott was amicable, and there’s no indication that the boyfriend is involved.”

  Maggie stared ahead for some time before meeting Jackson’s gaze again. “I never asked. How did Scott die?”

  “He was strangled.”

  She gave a resigned nod as if she was recognizing that the killer used the same method to try to kill her. “Scott seemed like a nice guy. Who would want to do that to him?”

  Jackson wished he could answer that question. “Hopefully our interviews tomorrow will help us figure that out.”

  8

  As Jackson pulled into the faculty parking lot, Maggie looked up at the old campus building in Medford where she’d taught for two years. The college had graciously given her time off to work the forest fire and being back on campus after a few days’ absence felt like coming home. Odd. She only took this teaching job to support herself while she was in town caring for her father.

  So why was she still in Ashland?

  There was nothing to keep her here now. Not with her father passing away a year ago. She wouldn’t have to sell the house, but she could move on and find a full-time job in forensic anthropology again. Maybe she felt compelled to stay because she felt closer to her parents here. Could be she simply wasn’t capable of getting over losing people close to her. First as a teen, losing her mother. Then Alison. And now her father. Who knows, maybe she still wasn’t over any of them enough to be emotionally whole.

  A sigh begged to escape, but she let it out slowly so she didn’t catch Jackson’s attention, causing him to fire off questions she had no desire to answer.

  He shifted into park. “I don’t have to tell you that we need to be careful, right?”

  “Right.” She forgot about her past and focused on the campus—deserted except for a few students racing toward early morning classes.

  Just the way Jackson wanted it. He said it would be easier to spot any problems with fewer students moving around. Looked like he was right.

  He got out, and she met him at the front of the old truck he’d borrowed. Together they walked past the building where her usual classroom was located and down a tree-lined common area before stepping across the street to a popular dorm.

  Jackson pressed the doorbell. When a female voice came over the intercom, he explained their purpose. She buzzed them in, and Maggie followed him to a young woman who sat waiting for them at the reception desk. She wore thick glasses and an economics book lay open in front of her. Dark circles under her eyes said she worked the night shift at the front desk.

  Jackson grinned at her, and a wide smile crossed her face in acknowledgement of his potent charm.

  He held out his ID. “I know Garrett’s room is 301. Mind if we go up?”

  The girl’s smile wavered. “Is he expecting you?”

  “He knew I might be coming back to talk to him again.” Jackson leaned over the desk. “Just between you and me, this is about Scott Dawson’s murder. Our team was hired to find the killer.”

  She gaped at him. “You don’t think Garrett is involved in that, do you? I mean he was friends with Scott. And he’s a great guy. Garrett, I mean. Scott was, too.”

  “Both great guys as far as I can tell.” Jackson smiled again, and Maggie didn’t know how the poor girl was putting two thoughts together under his megawatt charm. “You don’t know if Garrett was into computer hacking, do you?”

  “I don’t think so. At least I never heard anything about it. But I’m kind of a nerd. You know, study or work most of the time to pay my tuition. Garrett and Scott had money so they could afford to mess around.”

  Jackson leaned closer. “So…it’s okay for us to head up, then?”

  She nodded. “But don’t tell anyone I let you in or I could get in trouble. I can’t afford to lose my work-study job.”

  “Promise.” Jackson turned to Maggie and gestured at the elevator on the far side of the lobby.

  She hurried across the space before the girl realized she’d fallen under his spell and changed her mind. The moment the elevator doors closed, Maggie shook her head. “You worked that poor girl shamelessly.”

  “I feel bad about it, but surprising Garrett is far more effective than being announced.”

  She nodded, but as a woman who once succumbed to his charms, she didn’t like to see him turn it on someone else. Sure, his attention to the girl wasn’t romantic in the least, but it still left Maggie wondering if she’d just been a conquest to him, and she’d fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. One thing was for sure. She wasn’t about to ask him and take them back into the personal realm.

  The doors opened, and Jackson gestured for her to go first again. She suspected he was protecting her back. As he’d told her so many times in the past, he “had her six.”

  She located room 301 with a door plastered with party pictures. From the look of things, they were pretty rowdy parties.

  Jackson reached over her shoulder and knocked loudly. The warmth of his body urged her to turn toward him, but she held her position. When Garrett didn’t answer, Jackson pounded loud enough to wake the entire floor.

  “Alright, already.” A deep voice grumbled from behind the door. “I’m coming.”

  Jackson stepped back, and a shirtless guy wearing jogging shorts jerked it open. He was tall, chubby, and his brown hair was matted to the side of his head. He locked gazes with Jackson.

  “You.” The word sounded like an accusation.

  “Told you I might be back. We have some questions for you.”

  He looked at Maggie. “We?”

  “Assistant professor, Dr. Maggie Turner.”

  “Right. Right.” He appraised her. “Thought you looked familiar.”

  “Can we come in?” Jackson asked.

  “Place is kind of a mess and my roommate is still sleeping. How about we go to the lounge?”

  Jackson nodded his agreement.

  “Lemme grab a shirt.” He turned back and started to close the door, but Jackson’s foot stopped it. Garrett eyed Jackson. He didn’t even blink and kept his foot wedged in the doorway. Garrett cast a frustrated look at Jackson then shrugged and went to find a shirt.

  “What’s up?” Maggie asked quietly.

  Jackson bent closer. “Best to keep an eye on him. Our visit might encourage him to hide or even destroy something important.”

  She would never have thought of that, but then her training in the criminal discipline was in evaluating the bones of deceased individuals, not interviewing the living.

  Garrett shrugged into a wrinkled gray T-shirt with stains on the front and brushed past them. They followed him down the hallway to the lounge at the end. Sun streamed into the windows, highlighting the debris left from a party the night before. He pushed empty pizza boxes aside and slid onto a table.

  “So what did you want to know?” He yawned as if their visit meant nothing to him.

  Jackson pulled out a chair for Maggie, but he remained standing and alert. “You’re a computer major, right?”

  He nodded, looking a bit wary now.

  “Did you and Scott ever work on computers together?”

  Garrett didn’t answer right away but picked at fuzz on his shorts. He finally looked up. “Yeah, we worked together. Scott was into using ad tracking to figure out people’s movements.”

  “Explain,” Jackson demanded.

  “You know businesses track people’s movements online, right? Like when you click on an ad, the company serving up the ad records your data and gives information about you to the company.”

  “Right.”

  “Well, it’s even a bigger deal than most people think and has become more highly targeted and location-based. Scott was really into it, and he wanted me to try to use these ads to track people’s physical locations.”

  If Jackson thought this was important, his expression didn’t show it. “And did you? Track them, I mean.”

  “Yeah, man. It was sweet.” Garrett grinned. “We targeted a few users, and I served up a grid of hyperlocal ads to figure out which ads got served to these users for a few weeks.” He chuckled. “We tracked their clicks and apps and learned all kinds of things about them from religious beliefs to medical conditions.”

  It made Maggie sick that so much information could be collected about hers and other peoples’ online movements. Problem was, she didn’t want to stop using the Internet. It was an important part of her life, but she knew from Facebook that it wasn’t a coincidence that ads for items she recently searched for suddenly showed up in her Facebook feed.

  Garrett’s smile disappeared. “But here’s the thing. I mean doing the project with Scott was fun, but anyone with half a brain could do this to track people, and it could be used the wrong way. It’s gonna be a big problem going forward. I hope to write a protocol to prevent the tracking and cash in on it.”

  Maggie could see that. Garrett seemed like he’d be motivated to live the highlife where he could spend a lot of time partying after he graduated.

  “Could Scott have done this without you?” Jackson asked.

  “He wasn’t all that computer savvy, but I showed him how to do it, and he caught on. All he had to do was understand demand-side providers—DSPs—for advertising.”

  Jackson eyed the kid. “Why didn’t you mention this the first time we talked?”

  “I…um…well…you see. Scott might’ve taken it to extremes and tracked people so he knew when they’d be out of their house.”

  “And then?”

  “Then he mighta…well…made himself at home in their places.”

  “At home, meaning what?”

  Garrett held up his hands. “I think that’s all I should say.”

  “Sure, if that’s what you want.” Jackson sounded far too accepting. “I can go ahead and bring in the local police to question you, or you can answer me now.”

  Ah, he was being sarcastic with his first comment.

  Garrett crossed his arms. “And if you do, I’ll have my lawyer waiting.”

  “You can at least share the addresses Scott visited.”

  “Um…no.”

  “What about hacking? You into that?”

  Maggie thought it was a good idea that Jackson changed the subject, as clearly Garrett wasn’t going to tell them anything else about Scott’s visits.

  “You mean illegal hacking? Nah.”

  “There’s legal hacking?” Maggie asked.

  “Sure. There are ethical hackers. They are called white hat hackers. They’re often paid employees or contractors working as security specialists, and they use hacking to find security holes.”

  “You one of those ethical hackers?” Jackson asked.

  Garrett cocked his head. “I’ve worked on a few projects.”

  Jackson took a step closer to the kid. “Any of them involve cars?”

  Garrett blinked, then grinned. “Nah, man, but that would be so cool to take over someone’s car. I can just see the driver’s face when he figured out he couldn’t control things anymore.” Garrett laughed and slapped his knee.

  Maggie knew how cool it wasn’t. “Listen here, I just—”

  “You willing to let our computer expert take a look at your machine?” Jackson interrupted.

  Maggie had to figure he didn’t let her finish because he didn’t want her to tell Garrett about the accident.

  “Which computer?” A snide smile slid across Garrett’s mouth.

  Maggie wanted to tell this guy off, but she resisted in favor of letting Jackson gain the information he needed from the little creep.

  “All of them,” Jackson said.

  “I’ve got nothing to hide, but no thanks.” Garret settled his feet on the floor and stood. “I like need to get to class now, so time to take off.”

  He didn’t wait for them to respond but started for the hallway again. She saw Jackson fist his hands and knew Garrett frustrated him, but hopefully the kid had provided enough information to give them a strong lead.