Page 132 of In Cold Blood

“Then I need you to bring up my brother’s computer. I want to check if it’s synced to the cloud.”

“Sure thing.”

Noah paced back and forth, his thoughts circling from the past to the present. It was all a matter of timing. After printing out the AVL history for everyone, Noah slid them into his leather satchel.

Rishi fired up Luke’s laptop and browsed. He tapped a few keys. “No. It’s turned off.”

“What is?”

“It’s not synched with iCloud.”

“Have you already checked the cloud for files?”

“No, I was only asked to gain access to the computer as it was password protected. It was then handed over to Deputy Thorne. She told me after that there was nothing significant on it.”

“Are you able to tell if any files were deleted?”

“By her or your brother?”

“Both.”

“I should be able to. It would take me some time but sure. I mean even if files are gone, they’re never really gone.”

“And online?”

“You mean if they were on the cloud?”

“Right.”

“I should be able to see.”

“If Luke had some files on the computer, there could be a copy in the cloud, yes?”

“Well, first, his cloud is off, so unless he turned it off after placing files on the cloud, maybe. Also, it’s not a copy. It’s complicated to explain but it’s the original file. Contrary to what people might think, iCloud isn’t a backup, it’s a kind of drop box-style sync repository. Whatever files are placed on the iCloud Drive appear on Apple devices. The file is local, not backed up.”

“Unlike Google’s Cloud for Nest cameras?”

“Right. Apple synchs files that are on your computer with the cloud. If you delete the file on your computer, it will remove it also from the cloud when it’s synched.”

“But only if you synch.”

Rishi’s brow furrowed. “Well, yes, in theory. I mean, where are you going with this?”

“What I’m saying is if Luke had a file on his computer that was placed on his iCloud Drive, and then he turned off iCloud on this computer or shut off the wi-fi, and that file was removed from the computer, there would still be a copy on iCloud, yes?”

“Again, it’s not a copy.”

“Okay. Semantics. Whatever. Follow my logic here. Itremoves it from iCloud when synched. Meaning, if it’s not synched and you were to remove it from this computer and then access the iCloud via another computer, like a PC, would any files be there that were removed from this Mac?”

“You do know how to confuse me. Possibly.”

“Can we check?”

“I would need to know your brother’s Apple login. Give me a few minutes. I may be able to request a new password for his email. But first, I really could use some coffee.” He looked flustered, frustrated even.

Noah patted him on the back. Before heading off to get them a hot drink, he asked one more thing. “Oh, by the way, did you contact the phone company to request a list of numbers Luke phoned in the days leading up to his death?”

“Yes, it’s over there.” Rishi pointed to a stack of papers in a tray.