CHAPTER 12

Joe could have sworn his jaw had dropped to the floor. His hand instinctively felt around his still-intact face.

"B-But…how? Where? When?" Joe managed to say, not knowing which questions to ask first.

"I think you should sit down first," Lyn suggested, as she gently led Joe to an empty old-looking blue sofa. She pulled the letters from her pocket and placed them on the coffee table. Then she sat next to Duncan.

Joe sat down, feeling like a zombie. Then, as if he suddenly was out of a trance, he turned to the couple with a serious look.

"I think you should start from the beginning," Joe suggested.

"You're right," Duncan agreed. He took a deep breath before he began. "Actually, Lyn and me - we have been married for three months," he began.

"Three months!" Joe sputtered. "You really have been busy," he commented.

Duncan reddened in embarrassment. "Anyway, we were in the same programming class for a couple of years. I didn't noticed her until a year ago," he said.

"That's because the professor had assigned us to be partners for a project," Lyn explained, with an amused grin toward her husband. "Or else he couldn't have known I existed."

Duncan cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed to be telling the story. "Well, yes, we became friends right away after that," he said simply.

Joe could tell Duncan had left out something. He glanced at Lyn, who rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"No, we didn't," Lyn corrected, glaring at her husband in mock anger, "All he did were making fun of me – saying things like, what a spoilt brat I was and so on, which I have to admit I was," she said with a wry smile.

"Duncan? I don't believe it," Joe said, shaking his head.

"Well, yeah, I have to admit I did that," he flushed, "And also because I found out her father is part of the owner of Lee & Bauer, the company that had demolished my original home," Duncan explained hastily. "I guess I didn't want anything to do with her at first."

"But did you know that Lee & Bauer are thinking of having Datatronics under their wings?" Joe asked.

"I've heard about that," Lyn admitted. "It's kind of ironic. My Dad seems to be everywhere, you can't hide from him."

"We have to deal with him one day, Lyn," Duncan said with a serious tone. "Or maybe I have to face him someday." He grimaced when he said that.

"I know that," Lyn sighed. Then she turned to Joe. "I think you've already known my Dad has set me up to marry another guy. My Dad wanted me to marry someone from a reputable family," she turned to Duncan with a mischievous smile. "I know Duncan is a bit of a bad boy – but deep down he's got a heart of gold."

Duncan flushed. "I'm not a bad boy," he protested.

"Yeah, I can see that," Joe nodded with a grin. Then he began telling them about Mr. Bauer's request to find Lyn.

Duncan groaned. "Great, now I'm not only supposed to be a murderer, but a kidnapper, too?" he said, shaking his head in amazement. "What's next? A robber?"

"I hope not. What happened next?" Joe asked, changing the subject back to its original topic.

"I think I'd better let Lyn tells the story," Duncan replied, glancing at his wife with a smile.

"It's nothing much really," Lyn said, blushing. "We have made a compromise to put our grudges behind if we want to work on the project as a team. And the rest as you say is history."

"We tried to keep our meetings a secret because of her Dad," Duncan said, "But somehow he managed to find out about it. We just rented this place a couple of weeks ago."

"So, Mr. Bauer doesn't know both of you are married," Joe said.

"No, not yet," Lyn said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"What about Mrs. Streetman? Does she know about this, too?" Joe continued asking.

"No, she doesn't. And I almost spilled the beans with Mrs. Streetman about this, too, when I was talking to her about Lyn," he admitted in embarrassment. "I couldn't afford to tell her, just in case Mr. Bauer's men were listening."

"Do you guys want some soda?" Lyn suddenly asked, changing the subject.

Both guys declined. "Well, that leaves me then," Lyn said before heading to the kitchen.

"Well now, let's talk about McGuire," Joe suggested, turning to Duncan after Lyn had left.

At the mention of the name, Duncan's gray eyes flashed. "That guy had a lot of nerve dragging me into this."

"But you did visit him at his house a few times before, right?" Joe prompted.

"I know, I know. He sounded troubled when he called me to see him, a few weeks ago – so I came, out of curiosity," Duncan said and started pacing around the living room. "He thought someone had been making illegal copies of the software that he had co-wrote with his colleagues, and distributed it around. He didn't trust anyone from ElectroSoft ever since he found that CD – that's why he asked me instead, he didn't know who else he could turn to," he added in a rush.

"Whoa, slow down for a minute, will ya?" Joe told him. "Are you saying that CD is pirated?" he asked in disbelief.

Duncan sighed. "Sorry," he replied sheepishly. "I tend to talk nonsense when I'm worried. I think I'll start from the beginning."

"Good idea," Joe agreed.

"As you know, McGuire and me weren't buddy-buddy," Duncan began.

"I've heard about that. He accused you for taking his ideas for that software that you have developed," Joe nodded.

"I think his accusation was baseless. I mean, what McGuire had developed wasn't a new idea either. It has been used long before of what he had produced. And what I did was just improving the old ideas," Duncan explained to Joe. "I don't see anything wrong with that. People do that all the time."

"Maybe McGuire hated the fact of his software came out almost at the same time as yours?" Joe prompted.

"Or he hated the fact that he had a competition," Duncan added with a slight grin. "He took it quite hard that he wasn't the numero uno guy in this field anymore."

"So, he even challenged you on computer games?" Joe asked.

Duncan raised his dark brows in surprise. "You know about that?" he asked.

"Well, Mr. Bradley told us about it," Joe replied. "And we even checked in your computer," he added sheepishly.

For a moment, Duncan looked as if he wanted to scold Joe, but finally, he just laughed. "I take it that you were looking clues of my whereabouts," he said.

"Yeah, not that it helped much. There's nothing in your room that shows if you have any friends at all. I was beginning to think that you're an introvert or something," Joe replied with a grin.

"It's hard for me to make new friends ever since I came out from detention," Duncan explained grimly. "Ever since my Mom died, I don't have anyone that I trust whom I could turn to for help," he went on. There was a distant look on his face as if he was remembering the hard time that he had experienced. "From that moment, I wanted to change my life for the better. So, I studied hard through high school, did some part time work, and applied for scholarships. I got turned down a lot of times. I was about to give up until I got a reply from Datatronics. I almost turned down that offer because I didn't know much about Datatronics. The company was only one year old that time," he explained.

"But you did take it," Joe said.

"I had to, and I'm glad I did," Duncan said in relief. "And I hope they don't sack me right now. I didn't show up for work today," he added worriedly.

Joe couldn't imagine the difficulties that Duncan had been through. While Duncan was struggling with his life, Joe was breezing through his years in school without thinking of where the money came from, or where to get job to support his living. The thought made Joe conscious of other people who might be experiencing the same thing as Duncan's – or how he had taken everything in his life for granted.

"People are going to talk when I started classes again," Duncan went on heavily. "Just like they did when they found out about my past. Those looks, and whispers…"

"But you don't have to worry about that," Joe assured him. "You already have Lyn. She doesn't seem to bother much about your past."

"She's different," Duncan replied with a sudden smile. "I don't know how to explain it, but…"

"Don't worry, I get idea," Joe put in with a knowing grin.

Duncan looked relieved. "Anyway, back to McGuire," his friend said with a sigh. "Bob had mentioned to me once that he accidentally had found some of ElectroSoft's software being sold in a cheap warehouse sale in Riverside a month ago," Duncan told him, "Only the invited ones knew about its existence."

"Sounds like someone didn't want it to be widely known," Joe commented.

"Yes, that's what made Bob suspicious. However, he managed to get hold of a copy of that software," he went on. "And guess what?"

"What?"

"The software that he bought isn't in the market, yet. It's supposed to be out a couple of days from now," Duncan told him.

"Are you saying that someone from ElectroSoft could have given out the program to an illegal dealer?" Joe asked him.

"Right, and I think Bob had suspicion on someone, but he wouldn't tell me who it was. He wanted to be sure before he could name any names," Duncan replied thoughtfully.

"Hmm, that sounds something like Frank would do. He would always tell his ideas until it's almost too late," Joe remarked, shaking his head.

"So, anyway, I happened to stumble on that warehouse myself yesterday after I did a little searching. Those guys who sell these things are pretty suspicious of newcomers. I had to talk my way just to get one software," Duncan added. He reached out for a CD on the coffee table that was lying beside the laptop. He handed it to Joe.

"Hey, this looks exactly like the one you've given me," Joe remarked.

"It is the same program," Duncan acknowledged. "It's a good thing Lyn brought her laptop here yesterday," he said. "I can check out the program myself."

"You managed to figure out the program? Frank couldn't even get it started on his computer," Joe told him in surprise.

"That's because you need a dongle for it, but in this case, you don't have to. There's already a file inside this CD you can use to override the dongle," Duncan explained.

"Huh?" Joe asked in bewilderment.

Duncan quickly explained about the use of the dongle and its significance. "You only have to plug it into one of the computer ports and your program will start properly," he finished.

"Wow, that means someone is really desperate to cover his operation," Joe mused. "I think we need to check on more on ElectroSoft's employees. But I need to know what happened on the day McGuire was murdered. What were you doing at McGuire's house on that day?" he asked, turning to Duncan.

"He called me and wanted to meet me, but when I arrived there, he was already dead. I guess, I panicked and ran," Duncan replied with a troubled look. "You've caught me that day when I was about to head back to Riverside. I was also running away from Mr. Bauer's spies. I was afraid if he had sent his spies or the police to follow me."

"What about the letter McGuire had sent you? What can you make out of it?" Joe asked curiously. "Do you know who Wirth is?"

Duncan shook his head. "Aside from the CD, no. I'm not sure why Bob wrote the note if he knew I didn't know a guy named Wirth. But that's the problem with Bob. He expected everyone to know what he was thinking," he said in frustration.

"You sure know a lot," Joe commented, "Why don't you turn yourself in, and tell your side of the story to the police?" he suggested.

Duncan hesitated. "I don't know, Joe," he said. "If you haven't forgotten, someone's trying to frame me here. I don't want to go to jail. You've already known I used to be in detention – and that one time is enough for me. I don't want to go through something like that again."

"But I think Joe's right, Duncan," Lyn suddenly said. She was standing at the kitchen doorway. "How long are you going to keep hiding?" she pointed out. She walked into the living room.

"Come on, we can help you clear your name. We can go to the police right after this," Joe coaxed Duncan.

Duncan was silent for a few moments, frowning thoughtfully. "I guess you're right," he replied finally with a resigned sigh. He sat down on the sofa.

"Of course he's right," Lyn spoke up, sitting beside him. "I'll give you a knock on the head if you refuse."

Duncan grimaced. "All right, all right. I don't want to get another black-eye from you," he told his wife.

"She gave you a black-eye?" Joe gaped at his friend, who looked sheepish.

"Oh, only when his ego gets too big," Lyn replied with a laugh. "Thanks to my black-belt in karate."

"Whoa, I'm not going to mess with you," Joe joked. "I'm glad my girlfriend, Vanessa, doesn't punch me like that," Joe said, referring to his girlfriend, Vanessa Bender. "And I'd better keep her away from you, Lyn. She might be getting ideas if she hangs out with you."

"Hmmm, this sounds like fun," Lyn said with an evil glee. "I could teach her some things on how to handle guys who got too much machismo in them."

Duncan rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, brother," he said. Then he stood up and went to get his leather jacket from the closet. "Come on, let's get going then," he said to Joe.

Joe agreed and followed behind him. "Nice to meet you, Lyn," he said to the young woman. He had to admit Lyn was a nice person – not like her stuck-up father.

"Me, too. Be careful, guys," she told them and gave a quick kiss to Duncan. "Call me if you need some help," she said before the guys went out.

The two guys headed toward the Hardy's van. Joe hadn't managed to unlock the van when a black car suddenly pulled to a stop behind the van.

Joe tensed when he recognized the car. It was the same one that had tailed him this afternoon. A couple of menacing looking men in dark clothes climbed out of the car pointing their Uzis at Joe and Duncan.