“Well, I be, too! In fact, I was wondering if I can go to the city for the fireworks show on Saturday night. I don’t know why they on the third, but they is!”
“Let me ask the other guys at breakfast, then I’ll let you know. But as far as I’m concerned, that’s fine with me.”
“Thank ya, Master Webster! Thank ya! That’d be nice of ya!” Blount picked up his bucket and backed toward the open door. “Oh! Speaking of breakfast, I almost forgets to tell ya that it’s ready to eat.”
CHAPTER 11
ARIANE’S place appeared to be in order, with the exception of her splintered door. An off-white sofa sat against the wall to the left and faced a tasteful entertainment center that held a television, stereo, and DVD player. A leather chair rested in the corner of the room under a halogen lamp.
Jones walked to the security panel near the front door and pushed the button for a system check. Within seconds, the unit beeped and a digitized voice filled the room. “The crime alert system is operational. Current status is deactivated. Push one to activate the system.”
“The unit is working, which means she probably turned it off to answer the door. Either that or she forgot to turn it on last night.”
Payne shook his head. “When I walked her to the door last night, I made sure she got in and turned the system on before I left. In fact, I always wait until the damn thing beeps.”
“Then she turned it off for some reason. And my guess is to open the door.”
Payne swallowed deeply while opening the tiny black box that was mounted to the inside of Ariane’s front door. He removed the recordable DVD from the peephole surveillance system and carried it to the player. “I don’t know if we’ll see anything, but it’s worth a look.”
After slipping the disc inside, he hit play and waited for it to begin.
“How does this thing work?” Jones asked.
“It’s activated by movement in the hallway. That way it doesn’t record hour after hour of nothing.” Payne pointed to the black screen to show Jones what he meant. “Since the opening is blocked, the camera interpreted that as someone standing directly in front of the door.” Payne glanced at his watch, then looked at the electronic counter on the DVD player. “What time did Mr. McNally say he saw Ariane?”
“He said it was about an hour before we talked to him.”
“Well, I got here about seven thirty, and there was no black van in the parking lot, so I’d guess we’re talking about seven or seven fifteen, right?”
Payne skipped back several minutes until his own face filled the screen.
“When was that filmed?” Jones asked.
Payne studied the image and recognized the clothes he’d worn the previous evening. “That was from last night, but I’m not sure if it was before or after my date with Ariane.” The faint beeping of the security system could be heard through the TV’s speaker as Payne’s image turned and walked away from the door. “See, I told you she set the damn system last night. I told you!”
Jones started to defend himself when a figure flashed across the screen. “Whoa! What was that?”
“I don’t know,” Payne said as he hit the pause button, then frame advance.
The picture crept by at a sluggish pace. After several seconds of nonaction, a gloved hand emerged from the right side of the screen. Moving an inch at a time, the arm eventually reached the lens of the peephole, and once it did, the picture immediately went black.
“Damn!” Payne cursed. “Not a goddamned thing!”
“Be patient.” Jones grabbed the remote from Payne and slowly rewound the image to the moment before the tape was applied to the door. “Just because we didn’t see a face doesn’t mean it’s a total loss. There’s more here than you think.”
“Like what?”
“What color was the man who put the tape on the door?”
Payne stared at the screen. “I can’t tell. He’s wearing black gloves and long black sleeves.”
“True,” Jones muttered as he placed his finger on the image. “But look closer. There’s a gap where the glove ends here, and the sleeve begins there.”
Payne moved closer to the screen and stared. “I’ll be damned! You’re right. I can see the edge of each garment.”
“You thought they overlapped because of his skin. Whoever put the tape on the door is black. Not coffee and cream like me, but pure black. I’m talking hold the milk, hold the sugar, hold the freakin’ water black.”
“Hey,” Payne interrupted. “What’s that on his arm?”
“Where?”
“Right between the glove and sleeve. Is that a tattoo?”
Jones crouched in front of the TV and considered the question. Unfortunately, the image was too dark to see things conclusively. “Hang on a sec. Let me change the brightness on the TV. It might help.”
Payne stared at the screen as it brightened. “It might be a tattoo, but I honestly don’t know.”
“Don’t worry. I know a way we can find out. I have a computer program at my office that lets me blow up video images, alter color schemes, manipulate contrast, and so on. I’ll take the disc over there and see if I can learn anything else.”
“Sounds good to me.” Payne reached for the eject button, but before he pressed it, Jones grabbed his arm.
“Listen,” he said in a sympathetic voice, “I wasn’t going to mention this, but I have to be upfront with you. There’s still one thing we need to check. I was going to wait until later, but I feel you deserve to be with me when it’s done.”
“What are you talking about? What do you need to check?”
Jones placed his hand on Payne’s broad shoulder and squeezed. “The peephole camera records image and sound, right? I mean, we heard the alarm system beeping, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, so?”
Jones swallowed hard. “The video of what happened this morning is obviously unwatchable because of the duct tape, but there’s a good chance that we might be able to hear this morning’s events after the peephole was blocked.”
“Oh, God, you’re right! Put it on!”
“Jon, keep in mind if something did happen to Ariane, it might be painful to-”
“Put it on! I’ve got to know what happened.”
Jones nodded, then hit the appropriate button on the remote. After several seconds of silence, the faint sound of a doorbell could be heard from the blank TV screen. It was followed by a loud, rhythmic knock.
“You’re early,” Ariane complained. “I’m still getting ready.”
A brief silence followed her comment before a faint giggle emerged from the speaker.
“First you’re early, now you’re covering the peephole!”
Beeps from the security system chimed in the tape’s background.
“I’ll tell you what, Jonathon, I’m going to kick your butt all over the golf course. There’s no doubt about that!”
Her comment was followed by the click of a deadbolt, the twist of the door handle, and-
