“Hold on,” he says. “Let’s watch the rest of it.”
“Fuck this shit. She wanted to destroy her, Quinn, and she almost succeeded.”
“You have to watch the rest. Don’t you want to see it all?”
I right my chair, sit, and start playback again. There’s no sound. I had it set to record video only. My insides are shaking as Lora drops something, a piece of jewelry. “Holy crap. There, right there; this proves it. We fucking caught her red-handed.”
“How did she not know about the camera?” he asks. “Doesn’t she do the bookkeeping? Wouldn’t she have noticed the purchase?”
“I borrowed the camera from Maddox when guests were complaining about strange noises. Anyway, forget that. The point is, Lora didn’t know about it.”
She disappears off the video, and I fast forward two hours to when the guests come back. They go to the kitchen for lunch, then some of them go upstairs. One comes back down, clearly angry. He says something to the others, and they follow him up the stairs. They don’t come down for a while, not until Lora shows up.
“Humph,” Quinn mumbles. “Convenient.”
The angry guests file downstairs. Some of them appear to be yelling. One woman rubs her wrist as she talks to Lora. “A bracelet was missing,” I say to Quinn. “An expensive one.”
Lora puts her phone to her ear. “Holy shit,” Quinn says. “She’s calling the police, isn’t she?”
“Well, she didn’t call me.”
“Don’t you think she would have? If she wasn’t trying to frame Devyn, wouldn’t you be her first call?”
We watch as they all mill about, going in and out of view for an hour until the police arrive. Lora takes them upstairs. A while later, they come out of the kitchen; she took them down the back stairs. She says something to some of the guests who try to go back in. The police block their way.
“They just found the stuff,” I say. “She led them right to it. Can she even do that? Let them search the property?”
“She does work here.” Quinn turns to me, looking pensive. “Why do you think she didn’t take the back stairs when she had the stuff?”
“I have no idea, but thank God for small favors.”
Two more officers show up. Guests are questioned by police with notepads. Suddenly everyone looks toward the kitchen. Lora and the police walk out of frame.
“Devyn just arrived,” I say, pinching my brows knowing she’s about to get arrested.
A while later, we watch her being escorted by a cop through the foyer and out the front door. At least they didn’t put her in handcuffs.
I pick up my phone.
“Calling the police?”
“Calling Lora.”
He takes the phone and hangs up. “Don’t. You have to do what’s best for Devyn. If you confront Lora, she’ll deny it, maybe even run away. You need the element of surprise.”
I look at him like he’s crazy. “I need what?”
“Give Devyn’s lawyer the video. The iMac and the necklace prove she’s innocent. Did you see Lora wearing gloves? Nope. Her fingerprints will be all over that shit. Don’t jump the gun here. Do it by the book.”
“How in the hell do you even know what that means?”
“I watch a lot of CSI.”
I call Justin and upload it using a link he provides. Thirty minutes later, he calls back, and I put him on speaker. “You’ve definitely got something here. I’ll need the original footage to have it authenticated, and then I’ll present it to the judge at Devyn’s first appearance, day after tomorrow. I’ll ask for a full dismissal of all charges. The DA is bound to agree, and then he’ll issue an arrest for Ms. Belmont.”
“The day after tomorrow? Can’t you go to the judge sooner?”
“We have to respect the process, Aaron. It’s thirty-six hours. Don’t say anything to Devyn. Although I’m fairly sure this is in the bag, I don’t want to get her hopes up and then dash them.”
“She knows something’s up. I ran out of there today when I remembered the camera.”
“You told her about the video?”
“No.”
“Good. Let me work on this. I have every reason to believe she’ll be home with you by Monday afternoon.”
“And Lora?”
“Definitely don’t let her know what you found. It may be hard for you, but it’ll be better this way.”
“Promise me something. Find out when they’re going to arrest Lora. I want to be there.”
“I’m buddies with the police sergeant. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks for all your help.”
“I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who’s clearing her name. I don’t mind telling you now that I was sure she’d be convicted. Anyway, sit tight. I’ll call you with any developments.”
I hang up and smack my hand on the desk. “What the fuck am I supposed to do for the next two days while she’s locked in a cell?”
“We’ve got a shitload of Sheetrock over at your place.”
“That’s not what I want to work on. I have another project. Can you help?”
“You know it, bro.”
“Good. Round up the troops. I’m going to need everyone to pull this off.”
“Knock, knock!” Lora says from the kitchen.
Quinn and I look at each other, wondering how long she’s been here.
She stands in the doorway, holding up her phone. “I saw you tried to call. I was in the car on the phone with my other boss. What’s up?”
“Uh, sorry,” I say, trying to hold myself back from jumping over the desk and tackling her. “Butt dial.”
She laughs. “You can butt dial me anytime. As long as I’m here, I may as well do some bookkeeping.”
She approaches the desk, and I quickly close the camera software. I don’t want her on the computer. She could find it. Hell, I don’t want her in the lodge. “Not now. Quinn and I were discussing your ideas about the ATVs. Your proposal impressed Maddox. We were putting some spreadsheets together.”
Her smile is a mile wide. “I’m glad.”
I want to puke. I want to puke on her. “We’ll be in here crunching numbers all day. You can go back to enjoying your weekend.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Oh, I’m sure. You deserve it, Lora. You deserve everything that’s going to happen.”
Quinn kicks me behind the desk.
“Thank you,” she says, miming a curtsey as if she’s some kind of royalty. She turns to leave. “Call if you need me.”
She has no fucking idea her world is going to implode in thirty-six hours.
Chapter Forty-two
Devyn
It’s like a bad movie playing over and over in my head. I’m handcuffed, taken to a van with other inmates, and driven to the courthouse. I wait in a room with guards until it’s my turn. I look at all the other people in orange jumpsuits.
It’s so unfair. If you get out on bail, you can wear your own clothes to the preliminary hearing. If you don’t, you have to show up in these hideous jumpsuits. Will wearing it somehow sway the judge’s opinion of me?