Mr Hook's Big Black Box

«A Confession»

"I did a little search of my own while you were looking at the bin," Ferrari admitted. "I still didn't want you any more involved than you had to be. It's often useful to know if a ransacked room has been discovered yet, so they might have set up some kind of alarm. I know Trev's guys would have."

"Trev's guys?" Marco glared, "You mean your guys? That could have been them?"

"If she was working for Spenser, they might not have known she wasn't really involved," Ferrari knew she was sounding defensive, but she felt like she had to get the others to understand, "They could have arrested her, to find out more about his organisation. So while Marco was at the window, I reached up and ran my fingers along the top of the door. That was where Trev would have hidden a movement sensor, to send a silent alert when it was next opened. Checked a couple of other places too, but no sign of tracking devices. So I knew it must have been Spenser, outraged that a mere student he'd hired was expecting to be paid."

"Or the Russians, right?" Kris suggested, "They wouldn't have a problem getting rid of a student if they thought she knew something about the Box."

"I doubt it. They're ex-military. When they toss a room, they don't clean up afterwards. If someone offends them, they're more likely to make a statement."

"So Spenser's guys, then?"

"Yeah. Should I continue now? I think Kris was just in the bar charging his phone, so not much story there for a while."

"Except that my phone was plugged in now," Kris pointed out, "And that's when Monty called. Just to say they were nearly on campus, and they needed the key back."

"Yeah, she used my phone," Dwayne added, "I can't believe that in 2009, she wasn't routinely carrying a mobile with her. She could remember your number though, keyed it in rather than using the contact list. I didn't pay that much attention, I was trying to keep my eyes on the road and somehow get us to the college in one piece."