Page 12 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

"Then we better keep going," he said pragmatically, lifting another book off the shelf that lit up a green square and also a digital readout that flickered to life: ILLUMINATE THE PATH: 7 SQUARES REQUIRED . "Looks like we just need four more."

The idea of being done spurred her on, and they worked together, pulling out books. While some books lit up the grid, they didn't create a path, so they had to keep going.

As Matt reached across her for a book with a gold spine, his hand brushed her arm, and she found herself noticing the subtle scent of his cologne, the breadth of his shoulders.

Her pulse sped up again, but it wasn't anxiety raising the temperature; it was the FBI agent, whose very attractive qualities she hadn't really noticed until now.

She moved away from him, and he gave her an odd look. "Are you okay?"

"Just feeling hot. There's not a lot of air in here."

"You'll feel better once the door opens."

"If it opens," she said a little desperately.

"Try the red leather book," he suggested. "It's right behind you on the sixth shelf. The colors of the spines could be important."

She grabbed the volume in question, and he was right—a gold square lit up on the grid.

The lighted squares were actually one step delayed, so a gold book lit up a white square, and a red book lit up a gold one.

She looked at the books they had already picked out and put on the desk and realized the last clue. "We need blue," she said.

Matt was already ahead of her, grabbing a blue book to light up a yellow square and complete the path.

The entire grid flashed green, and they heard a mechanical click as a section of the bookshelf swung inward, revealing the door to the next room. She was so excited to leave the chamber, she collided with Matt and stumbled.

He put his arm around her waist to steady her. "Okay?" he asked.

She was definitely not okay, but she couldn't begin to tell him she'd suddenly become very aware of him as a man and not an FBI agent who could charge her with obstructing justice. "I have to get out of here," she said.

"After you." He waved her through the door.

As she stepped into the room, she let out a breath. Facing them was a hostess stand leading into what looked like a bar.

The woman, who had pink hair and tattooed arms, gave them a smile. "Congratulations. Welcome to Cipher." She waved her hand toward the spacious room behind her.

Inside, the club was much more elegant than the drab exterior had implied, with exposed brick walls, comfortable seating areas, and the soft glow of multiple computer screens.

People sat in small groups, some playing elaborate board games, others hunched over laptops or engaged in what appeared to be virtual reality experiences.

A bar along one wall served drinks in beakers and test tubes, giving the whole place the atmosphere of a mad scientist's social club.

"Table for two?" the hostess asked. "Or are you joining friends?"

"Actually, we're looking for AJ Patel," Haley said. "Is he here?"

The woman's expression shifted, becoming more guarded. "Who's asking?"

She knew Matt was about to flash his badge, so she put a quick hand on his arm, not wanting to scare anyone off. "Tell him it's Haley Kenton, Landon Kenton's sister. It's very important I speak with him."

"All right. Wait here."

As the woman moved into the large room behind her, she turned to Matt. "I was afraid if you said you were FBI, he'd cut out before we could talk to him. But if he really was my brother's friend, maybe he'd speak to me."

"It was a good call," he agreed.

"Thank you."

A few minutes later, the woman returned. "AJ will see you. Follow me."

She led them through the club room, down a hallway, and opened a door marked Private.

The room appeared to be an operations center.

Multiple monitors lined the walls, displaying everything from security camera feeds to what appeared to be complex code.

There was a man sitting in front of the monitors, but he had to be in his mid-forties, much older than AJ would be, unless she had the wrong man.

He turned to face them, then raised his hand and waved them toward a door leading into an office. As they stepped into that room, the man who got up from the desk appeared to be in his mid-twenties, around Landon's age, with dark hair and eyes and a full beard.

"You're Landon's sister," he said with a nod. "I saw you at Westbridge six years ago and on the local TV news, begging for information about Landon."

"But I didn't see you. And you were his friend, right? You're Arjun Patel?"

"I go by AJ now. Who's this?" He tipped his head toward Matt, a question in his gaze.

"I'm Agent Lawson with the FBI," Matt replied.

AJ stiffened. "What's this about?"

"We need to talk to you about Landon's death," Matt said.

"Now? Now the FBI wants to talk to me?" AJ shook his head in disgust. "That's crazy. Six years ago, I couldn't get anyone to listen to me."

"Well, we want to listen to you now," Matt said. "What do you know about it?"

"I know it wasn't an accident." His gaze moved to her. "I'm sorry for what you went through. I'm sorry no one would help you."

"Why didn't you help me? Why didn't you talk to me? I was on campus for two weeks after he died. I was in his apartment. I talked to his friends, his girlfriend, his teachers, but no one mentioned you. Why is that? How come I didn't know about you until now?"

His gaze narrowed. "How do you know about me now?"

"Alanna Morris, who worked in the legal aid center with Sabrina Lin, told us you came to see them a few weeks after Landon's death, and you were convinced it wasn't an accident."

"I went to the police, too, but they told me unless I had evidence, I had nothing to offer, and all I had was a bad feeling."

"You had more than that," Matt put in. "You told Sabrina and Alanna that Landon had been having problems with his fraternity brothers and wanted to drop out of school. What was that about?"

"He wasn't specific, but he said the guys in the fraternity were pressuring him to give them test questions, answers, or maybe even share his work so they could get better grades.

He said they'd told him it was one for all and all for one, that the group was more important than the individual, that the network, the way they helped each other, resulted in rewards for everyone. "

"They wanted him to cheat," she murmured.

"Yes," AJ said. "And who better to help than him?

Landon was brilliant—genius-level brilliant.

We met in a computer science class our junior year, and he blew me away.

I always thought I was the smartest kid in school, but I was nothing compared to him.

Landon also worked as a TA and had access to test questions.

Some of his frat brothers were in that class. "

"He wouldn't have cheated," she said. "Landon had a very heightened sense of right and wrong, and he wouldn't have chosen the wrong path."

"That was the problem," AJ said. "Or at least part of it. I got the feeling they wanted something more than just help on changing their grades."

"Like what?"

"Landon had a special project he was working on. He didn't tell me much about it, but he did say it was a forecasting algorithm that could change the way people invested in the markets, portray various risk scenarios so smaller investors could avoid pitfalls."

Her throat tightened. She knew exactly why Landon would have wanted to protect investors. "He never told me about that," she said, but deep down, she knew why he hadn't said anything. It would have been a painful reminder of a tragedy they had both lived through.

"I think," AJ continued, "that some of his fraternity brothers found out about his project and saw potential dollar signs."

"Which fraternity brothers?" Matt asked. "Do you know who he was close to?"

"Drew Sanderson was his big brother. Trent Adler seemed like a friend. But, like I said, he didn't really hang out with them that much, especially toward the end of senior year. He was over the whole fraternity experience."

"I talked to both of those guys. They were actually the most communicative of the group. Drew expressed a lot of sadness and regret. Trent, too."

"Were those guys at the party?" Matt asked.

"Drew was. Trent wasn't. Drew said he'd talked to Landon earlier in the evening but had lost track of him.

He also said Landon was drinking a lot that night, and he thought it was unusual.

One of the other guys, Josh Lorrie, said that Landon was definitely wired.

He seemed stressed out and wanted to drink his troubles away. "

"I met Lorrie a few times," AJ said. "I wouldn't trust anything he had to say.

Seemed smart but shady. I was in a class with Drew once.

He wasn't too sharp academically, but Landon said he was funny and had been cool about not pressuring him during the whole hazing thing when he first joined.

Frankly, I don't know why Landon ever rushed.

He wasn't into that scene. And I can't believe he got so drunk he didn't know where he was.

He rarely ever drank more than one beer.

He was always thinking about his work, his classes, his job.

He was a serious dude. It never made sense to me. "

"He wanted to make connections. I encouraged that," she said heavily. "I shouldn't have."

"You weren't wrong. He did make connections," AJ said. "With a bunch of rich kids with influential parents."

"Were there any other friends you remember Landon mentioning?" she asked.

"What about Henry Adler?" Matt interjected. "Trent's cousin."

"Henry was a cocky, know-it-all. The kind of guy who always wants to talk while everyone else listens. I didn't know either him or his cousin well. I think one of them had a sister, too."

"Jill Adler," she said. "Trent's twin sister."

AJ nodded. "That's right."