Waves

Part 28

Author's Note: This chapter makes brief mention of abuse and addiction

Eve sprinted back to her car, barely closing the door before peeling out of the garage. Her chest heaved while she frantically called Adam, praying he was still up. He was slow to answer due to the late hour but was soon jolted wide awake when Eve began rambling. "Wilson, slow down. I can't understand what the hell you're saying," Adam grunted, reaching for the notepad he kept on his nightstand.

"I just got a text from an unknown number. The message had parts of a conversation Joe and I had this morning in my bedroom. We were the only two people there Adam. They must have a camera or a microphone or–" Eve's voice cracked as she broke down; her tears making it hard to see the road.

"Where are you now?" Adam asked. "I'm on the parkway. I left my garage as soon as I read the text," Eve sobbed. "Ok, I need you to calm down and listen to me. I want you to keep driving and go find a well-lit parking lot. Wait there until I tell you to head back to your place. I'm going to call my contact down there at CPD and have them send a team over to sweep your apartment. It's going to be okay, I promise."

Eve ran a hand through her hair and did as Adam instructed, waiting in the Kroger parking lot down the road until she received further instruction. She debated whether to call Joe or not, eventually deciding that she would fill him in once she knew what had happened. Her mind raced with possibilities; each one more and more disturbing. How long had someone been watching her from inside the apartment? Was this related to the Rooks case? Could Lana somehow be involved?

She was snapped out of her trance by the sound of her phone dinging; signaling it was safe to return home. Eve's stomach churned once inside the building elevator, unsure if she could handle whatever was waiting for her inside her apartment.

Upon walking up to her front door, she felt as if she was watching a movie; the scene so bizarre she struggled to comprehend the reality of it. At least a dozen forensic processing officers swarmed every inch of her tiny place, each of them holding various instruments. A tall red haired man wearing glasses stood in the middle of her living room, barking orders to the others.

"I'm assuming you're Eve Wilson? Tom Fields, CPD Data Forensics," the red haired man introduced himself with a curt nod. "Y-yes, I am. Have you found anything?" Eve craned her neck down the hall and peered at the technicians standing on her bed to look in the air vent on the ceiling.

"Not yet but we are picking up non-cellular radiofrequency in the bedroom and bathroom." Tom frowned, staring at the tool in his hand. "What is it? Do you see something?" Eve's heart rate increased, studying his furrowed brow. "Is that a new system?" He walked over to the keypad by the door, pointing at the alarm Joe had installed after the incident in Erie.

"Yes....my boyfriend had it installed along with the exterior cameras. I had a break-in about 6 weeks ago while I was out of town," Eve replied. "There is an enormous amount of data being transferred from the camera outside your front door. Unless your boyfriend is sitting at home streaming this feed live 20 hours a day, it's been compromised."

Eve felt her body run cold for what felt like the millionth time that evening, the small sense of peace she'd felt from the security system slowly leaving her psyche. Just as she was about to ask a follow up question, a female technician emerged from the bedroom holding what looked to be a tiny lens. "Found it. Right in the ceiling fan."

Tom carefully took the component from the technician and held it up to the light. "Wireless micro camera. Battery life monitor says it's pretty full so whoever put it there did it fairly recently. No SD card so it's transmitting to a hub. Have you guys found it yet?" The other technician emerged from the bedroom shaking his head. "Negative. I'm going to have the guys head downstairs and start sweeping. That particular model has a long range so it could even be hidden outside somewhere."