�Precisely,� the man replied softly.
�Exactly what kind of secrets are we talkin� about here?� Buck asked. �What would be that valuable?�
Malcolm Bright frowned slightly. �Mr. Wilmington, I own a rather successful toy company. We�re developing a top-of-the-line interactive doll. The programming could be worth millions to our competitors.�
�He�s right,� Ezra whispered softly to Chris. �If the doll is as interactive as Bright Toys claims it will be, then a corporate spy could retire off of the proceeds of such a sale.�
Chris nodded and turned back to Bright. �Alright,� he said. �We�ll look into it and see if someone is, indeed, stealing secrets to sell to your competitors.�
�Thank you,� Bright said, getting to his feet.
Chris also stood and extended a hand to the other. �You�re welcome,� he replied. �We�ll be in touch whether we find anything or not.�
Malcolm nodded and headed out of the Saloon. Chris turned to the others and said, �Start with the employee records he gave us, see if you turn up anything suspicious.�
Ezra cleared his throat and asked, �Would you like me to attempt to get inside the company?�
Chris nodded in agreement with the plan. �Be careful,� he warned. �If this secret is as valuable as you say it is, then it could be worth killing over.�
Ezra flashed a dimpled smile at Larabee and said, �Sir, your concern is overwhelming.�
Chris glared slightly and said, �Get to work.�
Ezra and the others nodded and headed in separate directions. Buck hesitated and turned to Chris. �You�re really worried about this job, huh?�
Chris nodded and scowled. �Something doesn�t feel right,� he admitted. �I think Bright is on the level, but something feels�off to me.� He turned to Buck and forced a smile. �It doesn�t help that Ezra seems to be a trouble magnet.�
Buck chuckled. �He does seem to get himself into a lot of mischief, doesn�t he?�
Chris nodded. �Hopefully this time he can manage to stay out of trouble.�
***
�Well, Mr. Simpson,� Colleen Bright said, looking over the file before her. �Your r�sum� seems quite impressive.�
�Thank you,� Eli Simpson said softly, adjusting his glasses. �I can�t tell you how thrilled I was when I heard there was an opening in your research and development department,� he added. �I�ve wanted to work for Bright Toys for some time now.�
Colleen smiled. �How are you with children?� When Eli blinked in surprise, Colleen explained, �All our new toys are test marketed with children.�
�Oh,� Eli breathed. Shrugging slightly, he offered, �Children seem quite fond of me and I�ve always enjoyed their company.�
Colleen nodded. Standing up, she shook Eli�s hand and said, �We�ll be in touch soon, Mr. Simpson.�
�Thank you,� Eli replied, shaking her hand and then turning to leave the small tidy office.
As he stepped out of the building, a man with light brown hair and dressed in jeans and a leather jacket met him. �How�d it go in there?� he asked softly.
Eli shrugged and removed his glasses. �I believe she will hire me, Mr. Tanner,� he replied lightly. �But that remains to be seen.�
Vin nodded. �Once she hires ya, you�ll start checkin� out the employees from the inside and clue us into anyone suspicious?� Ezra nodded silently. �What�d ya think of her?�
Ezra paused and eyed the former parole officer. �I believe that Miss Bright is genuinely interested in continuing the business her grandfather started.�
�So it ain�t her,� Vin said, nodding once.
Ezra nodded in agreement. �The corporate spy, if there is one, is most assuredly not Miss Bright.�
�Good ta know,� Vin replied. �Least you narrowed it down somewhat.�
Ezra smiled broadly. �Indeed I have, Mr. Tanner. Now, I expect Mr. Larabee will want a progress report, so we had best be on our way.�
�Yup,� Vin said, hopping into the passenger seat of Ezra�s car.
***
When they arrived back at the Boarding House, Chris greeted them. �Bright just called and said that Ezra was there for his interview.� The black-clad man smiled slightly and turned to the southerner. �He also said that he was all set to go to bat for you, but you made such a good impression on Colleen that he didn�t need to. She�ll be calling later to tell you that you�re hired.�
Ezra blinked in surprise and smiled. �Well,� he said. �That was easy.�
�Sure it wasn�t too easy?� Buck asked cautiously.
The southerner turned to face the older man and frowned. �I believe Miss Bright is too�ingenuous to be capable of the duplicity necessary to fool her father for so long.�
Vin nodded slightly. �If�n Ezra trusts her, I�d say go with his instincts. He�s good at readin� people�s intentions.�
Chris turned to Buck and shrugged. Turning back to Ezra, he added, �Be careful and let me know the second you think someone is acting suspiciously.�
Ezra nodded and replied, �For now, I had best head home so that I will be there when Miss Bright calls to tell me that I�m hired.�
Chris nodded in agreement. �See you tomorrow,� he called after the retreating southerner.
Once Ezra had left, Chris headed over to see how JD and Ashley were doing. The pair were busily searching through the records of the employees at Bright Toys. While Ashley was checking for any criminal records, JD was searching through their bank records to see if any of them had made large deposits in the recent past.
�How�s it going?� he asked in a quiet voice.
JD shrugged and didn�t bother to look up from the computer he was working on. Ashley sighed and turned to Chris. �I got nothing so far,� she admitted. �Everyone looks clean.�
�Same here,� JD admitted dejectedly.
Chris smiled and set a hand on each of their shoulders. �Cheer up,� he said tenderly. �If there�s anything shady going on at Bright Toys, you�ll find it.�
JD chuckled and glanced at Ashley. �Shady dealings at Bright Toys,� he said, smirking.
Ashley rolled her eyes and looked to Chris. �That was horrible.�
Chris frowned and shook his head. �No pun intended.� Turning to JD, who was still trying to stifle his laughter, he added, �You need to take a break, JD. It wasn�t that funny.�
�Yes, sir,� the younger man said, still laughing.
***
Ezra arrived at Bright Toys early the next morning and was greeted at the entrance by Colleen Bright. He smiled faintly and adjusted his glasses. �Good mornin�, Miss Bright,� he said cheerily.
She smiled in reply and said, �You can call me Colleen, since we�re going to be working together now.�
Ezra�s smile grew. �Thank you,� he said kindly.
Colleen led the southerner through the hallways and down a flight of stairs. �This is where the research and development team works,� she said, opening a door to a large, brightly lit office. �Let me introduce you to everyone.�
Ezra nodded and followed her over to where a small group of employees were gathered. �Everyone,� she said, getting their attention. �This is Eli Simpson. He just started working here and I hope all of you make him feel welcome.�
After nodding encouragingly toward Ezra, Colleen headed out of the room. The southerner turned to his �co-workers� and smiled. �Hello,� he said in greeting.
�Ooh!� a woman said happily. �You�re southern!�
Ezra frowned slightly and nodded.
Seeing his confusion, another employee � this one a man � explained, �We�re working on a line of toys based on prominent Civil War characters. We had all the Union greats in mind, but couldn�t think of anyone in the Confederacy that would have been admirable.�
�Oh,� Ezra breathed. �And you figure, being from the south, I�ll give you a new viewpoint?�
�That�s the idea,� the man said, grinning. �I�m Justin, by the way, and she�s Kim.�
�Nice to meet you,� Ezra said gently, shaking each one�s hand in turn. He turned to the last two people in the room expectantly.
�I�m Calleigh,� said a petite woman with long black hair and large brown eyes. �My friends all call me Leigh.�
�Hello,� Ezra said, smiling slightly.
Justin nodded and pointed over at the last employee on the team. �That�s Duncan Bright, the boss�s son.�
Ezra nodded in understanding and then glanced at two little girls that were happily seated on the floor playing with a pair of dolls. �Who are these little darlin�s?� he asked, kneeling in front of the children.
Kim smiled. �That�s Michelle and Lillian,� she explained. �They�re here to test market Abby and see what they think of her.�
Ezra nodded and turned to the pair. �Hello,� he said invitingly.
�Hi,� one of the girls said.
Now that he was looking more closely at them, Ezra could see that the girls were the about the same age, both with muted hazel eyes and light blond hair. �Are you twins?� he asked playfully.
Both girls giggled and the one who had already greeted him nodded and said, �I�m Michelle and she�s Lillian.�
�Well,� Ezra replied. �I�m Eli and it�s very good to meet you both.� Sitting back a little he pointed at the doll and asked, �What do you think of her, hmm?�
�She talks,� Lillian said shyly.
Michelle nodded and said, �Mine talks to hers and hers talks to mine, but they both have the same name.�
Ezra nodded and stood up. �We�ll have to see if we can do something about that, won�t we?� As the pair nodded in agreement, he turned to the other members on the team. �Poor planning,� he stated. �Giving the dolls all the same name when they have the ability to interact, not only with the child but with each other.�
Leigh nodded. �That�s why we test them before we start distributing them. Hopefully, by the time they�re released, we�ll have worked out all the bugs.�
�We�ll have to pre-program them with different names,� Justin said.
Kim frowned and asked, �But what will we call them? We can�t call them �Abby� if they aren�t all going be Abby.�
While the three tried to come up with a solution, Ezra wandered over toward where Duncan was sitting, observing a little boy playing with a remote control car. The youngster seemed to be having trouble making the car do what he wanted it to do.
�It�s too hard,� he complained, turning pleading eyes on Duncan.
The man glared and said, �That�s because you aren�t doing it right.�
Ezra frowned and suggested, �Or perhaps the controls are too complicated to easily master? It is, after all supposed to be a toy meant for a seven year old.�
Duncan glowered at the southerner and said, �How do you know?�
Ezra smiled. �He looks about seven years old,� he answered politely. �Why else would you have a seven year old testing it, unless that was the target age group?�
Duncan scowled darkly. �Fine, I�ll work on making the controls easier.� Looking at the boy, he said, �Play with something else for a while, William.�
William set the controls on the floor and wandered over to a racecar track to play. Ezra, however, was staring at Duncan Bright. The man clearly did not have a fondness for children.
***
Ezra returned to the Saloon after spending the whole day working with the Research and Development team and playing with the children. He was tired, but he thought he�d finally hit on something that might break the case. As the others gathered at the table with him, he said to Chris, �If any of them is a corporate spy, it�s a member of the research and development team. They�re the only ones who have access to the programming of the new toys.�
Chris nodded and asked, �Any suspects so far?�
Ezra looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked JD. �Is there anyway to get access to someone else�s email?�
JD frowned. �You�d need their password. I have a program that will get it. Why?�
Ezra shrugged. �I think the spy is Duncan Bright, but we�ll need proof,� the southerner explained.
Chris nodded. �JD, get him that program,� he ordered. �Ezra, Try to get there before anyone else tomorrow. Get into Bright�s email and see if you can find anything incriminating. If you do, email it to JD right away.�
***
Ezra arrived early on his second day of work, hoping to be the only one in the office. The southerner smiled slightly and headed over to one of the computers. He turned it on and, using the program JD had given him, quickly signed in as Duncan Bright. Although he was the son of the owner, something about the man was rubbing Ezra the wrong way. It probably had something to do with the man�s obvious dislike of children.
It was clear from the way he interacted with them, that he didn�t care for them at all. Did a man like that belong in a toy company? The simple answer was that he didn�t and if he stayed with the company it was for some other reason. Ezra highly doubted that it was out of any loyalty to his father. That left only greed.
Ezra scanned all the outgoing mail and shook his head. With the cursory glance he had given them, he hadn�t seen anything. Taking a chance, he decided to forward all the messages in the box to JD, in the hopes that the young man would see something he hadn�t. As soon as he was done, he removed the disk with JD�s program and turned off the computer.
He was just in time too, because Calleigh and Kim arrived only moments later. Ezra smiled charmingly at the women and they got to work on the Civil War toys that had been mentioned the day before.
Justin arrived a half an hour later with the twins and William in tow. While Justin joined his teammates, the children began testing toys that were still in development. Another hour went by before Ezra realized that Duncan had not arrived. He frowned and asked the others, �Where�s Duncan?�
Leigh glanced around and shook her head. �I don�t know,� she replied. �He�s usually here by now.�
Ezra was bothered by the man�s absence but there was no way for him to slip away unnoticed until lunchtime. When the lunch break arrived and Duncan was still absent, the southerner quietly left the office and headed directly to the Boarding House.
***
Ezra peered into the Boarding House and frowned. He couldn�t see any of the other LAW men in the area. Just as he was about to give up and leave, he heard footfalls on the floor above him. Peering around at the rooms, he noticed that the door to JD�s room stood open.
Cautiously, he peered into the room and was surprised to see Duncan Bright in the room, holding a gun on JD. Hearing the southerner enter, Bright turned the gun on him and yelled, �Don�t move!�
Ezra stared mutely down at a pistol in the criminal�s hand and nodded. He was so absorbed in the scene before him that he didn�t hear Vin and Chris rush in behind him. He didn�t even know anyone else was there until Chris spoke.
�Drop it,� Chris said harshly, bringing forth his own gun.
Duncan blinked stupidly and the gun fell from his hand.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Ezra knelt and retrieved the weapon, while Vin and Chris took hold of the man. �Why did you do this?� the southerner asked calmly.
�I want it back,� was all Duncan said.
�What?� asked Vin, frowning in confusion.
Smiling, JD said, �This.� In his hand was a small disk.
Ezra realized that it was a disk JD had made from the email he�d forwarded earlier in the day. �Proof of his duplicity?� Ezra asked.
JD merely nodded.
Chris frowned and asked, �But how did he know that JD would have the proof?�
JD shook his head. �He must have attached a program to his email, so that he�d know if anyone besides him activated it.�
�He woulda got away with it too,� Vin said. �But we got worried when we saw Ezra�s car parked outside and came in to see what was going on.�
Ezra smirked as Chris led Duncan out of the room. The man would be going to jail for a long time.
End