what we came for?” His eyes were asking the question—Did she have it?
Casey nodded. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Chief Reardon stood aside to let Eric pass, but moved his shoulder back into the doorway when Casey approached. “Interesting to see you here, Ms. Smith.”
“And you.”
“I suppose you remember our conversation earlier today.”
“Of course.”
“That’s good. I wouldn’t want you to think I forget about folks who are new to town.”
Casey met his eyes. “Oh, I would never think that. Chief.”
He held her gaze for a few more moments before turning so she could pass. Eric looked at her with some confusion, but she gave a small shake of her head, moving past him toward the front door.
“See you later, Denny,” Eric said.
Casey didn’t hear the chief reply. And she didn’t look back. All she wanted to do was get far out of his line of sight.
Chapter Thirty
“Okay,” Eric said, driving away from Ellen’s house. “I am officially freaked out.”
Casey didn’t answer, feeling enough the same way she was afraid her voice would show it. Instead, she closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing, trying to ignore the fact that she was, once again, in a car.
“You have the CD?”
She opened her eyes and pulled it out from the back of her pants, wiping it on her shirt. “Got it. Shall we listen to it?”
He looked at the disk, licking the sides of his mouth. “I guess. That’s what we got it for, right? And maybe…” He hesitated. “Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it really is an album—or a movie—Hunter got off the Internet.”
“Sure, it could be.” But Casey knew it wasn’t. She could feel it. She slid it into the CD player.
Nothing.
“So it’s not audio,” Eric said. “It’s a DVD. We have to watch it.”
Casey ejected it from the player. “Where should we go?” She really didn’t want to go to Eric’s place, just the two of them, this late at night. “How about your mom’s place? They’ve got that great TV.”
He grimaced.
“Oh,” Casey said. “Another present from your dad?”
“Irritating, but true. And I have to admit Mom and Rosemary have really enjoyed it.”
“Unlike the Orion.”
He grinned. “What Orion?”
The lights were still on at The Nesting Place, and the women came hurtling into the foyer at the sound of the front door.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re all right,” Rosemary said, crushing Casey in a hug. “You were taking so long. And you.” She pointed at Eric. “What are you doing here?”
Lillian hung back from the group, her eyes shadowed, waiting for Eric’s response.
He cleared his throat. “Um, Casey and I sort of…met up…at Ellen’s house.”
Rosemary frowned. “You went there.”
“Yes.”
“On your own.”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “And you found Casey going through Ellen’s things.”
“Well…” He glanced at Casey. “She sort of scared the crap out of me, but I’m over it now.”
Casey held up the DVD. “We found something.”
The women’s eyes locked onto the disk.
“We think,” Eric said.
“Well,” Rosemary said. “Let’s watch it. Or is it something to listen to?”
“Watch, we think.”
“Then come along.”
Together they trooped into the parlor, where Rosemary held out a hand for the disk, then ceremoniously placed it in the DVD player. She remained standing, her eyes on the screen. Casey stood beside her, with Eric on the other side of the TV. Lillian alone sat, but pulled the ottoman close so she could be within their little circle.
An image came suddenly onto the screen. HomeMaker. A wide-angle of the parking lot. The picture, a date at the bottom which said the footage was two weeks old, narrowed slowly, coming to rest on the first row of cars.
“There’s Karl’s car,” Eric said. “And Yvonne’s. And that one…it’s mine.”
“Whose are the other two?” Casey asked.
“Don’t know.” He looked down at Lillian, but she shook her head.
“Wait.” Casey pointed at the car on the far right, one of the two unidentified ones. “There’s somebody in there. Two people.”
They all leaned toward the screen, as if that would help them to see more clearly.
Rosemary let out a sound of exasperation. “It’s impossible to tell who it is.”
“Maybe they’ll get out of the car.” Casey hoped so, because otherwise this was a bust. “Here they come.”
A man got out of the driver’s side and crossed around the back, opening the passenger door. He held out his hand and a woman took it, stepping from the car.
Rosemary narrowed her eyes. “Who are they?”
Eric shrugged. “Never seen them before.”
They walked into the building, leaning on each other, the man’s arm around the woman’s waist.
The picture switched suddenly to the inside of the office, and Yvonne, Karl’s secretary, whom Casey had met earlier that day—came into view, as seen from the vantage point of Ellen’s desk. The image was lopsided, as if the camera were strapped to something, or set in a place that would be hidden, perhaps by the computer. The date was the day following the footage of the parking lot.
“What are we looking at?” Eric said. “I mean, other than the office?”
“Karl’s door.” Casey pointed to the left of the screen, where the door was clearly visible past Yvonne’s left shoulder. “Maybe somebody’s in there who will be coming out soon.”
“Is there sound?” Rosemary got the remote and turned the volume up. They heard the generic sounds of air- conditioning, computer keyboarding, and the occasional comment or question from Yvonne to Kathy.
Minutes passed in which they watched Yvonne work on the computer—words flying across her screen as she typed—talk on the phone, and file papers.
“How did Ellen get this?” Eric asked. “She certainly wasn’t working there anymore.”
Casey considered it. “Either she got someone else to plant it, or she snuck in and placed it herself, using a timer to start filming when she wanted. Is there someone who would help her with that?”
“Here we go,” Rosemary said. “Look.” Karl Willems’ door opened.
Yvonne looked up at the open door, and even as she continued working smiled up at Karl.
No, she wasn’t smiling at Karl. She was smiling at the person behind him, who came through the door directly on the CEO’s heels.
It was Eric.
Chapter Thirty-One
