Chapter 9 - The man on the phone
The voice on Lily’s recording belonged to Colin Mercer.
Thirty-three.
Security consultant.
Former employee of a competitor called Argent Risk Group.
Colin ran a small independent penetration-testing company.
Legitimate profession.
Penetration testers are hired to find weaknesses.
But there was no contract authorizing him to create real burglaries.
Phone records showed Ethan and Colin communicated repeatedly before both previous incidents.
Payments followed.
Cross Meridian account?
No.
Ethan’s personal investment company.
Descriptions:
Consulting.
Property risk review.
Systems analysis.
Could be legitimate.
Then investigators found encrypted messages.
Ethan:
Need public incident, not lab report.
Colin:
No injuries. No occupied units.
Ethan:
Obviously.
Colin:
This is already beyond testing.
Ethan:
May you like
Then don’t call it testing.
That was the line between arrogance and criminal intent.
