CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Why are we at my condo again?” asked Jill.
“Because the hit on our equipment is coming from here,” said Fitch.
Jill stared at him as he approached the door. Running his fingers along the edge, he made sure there were no trip wires while Sor took a cloth and wiped down the handle and lock.
“Clear,” he said to the other men.
Opening the door, Jill was shocked to find her condo torn apart. She’d got all of her personal belongings out but the furniture that was there was completely destroyed, lamps broken, and holes punched in walls.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered.
“Someone was definitely looking for something,” said Ross. “I’m sorry, Jill.”
“It’s okay. I moved out a few days ago. This was all going to be sold with the condo. I just have no clue what they thought was here.”
“The equipment is here,” said CJ.
“No. We looked through everything. There was nothing here.”
“Honey, there is something here. Hiro? Can you give me a sense of direction?” asked CJ.
“ About fifteen paces south. A few more.”
“I can’t go a few more. It’s a glass patio door and then a concrete patio,” said CJ.
“ The signal is coming from two steps more on that patio.”
Fitch opened the door and stepped into the snowy, dark patio space. There were two empty pots. He picked up the first one and tossed it aside, then attempted to pick up the second one.
“Jill? Are you hiding concrete in this one?”
“N-No. I didn’t even know those were out here,” she said, shaking her head.
Fitch toppled the planter and immediately saw that the base was thick and wide. He carefully took his pocketknife, sliding it beneath the bottom lip of the rim, and popped it off.
“I’ll be damned,” muttered Moose.
Carefully wrapped in plastic, the thermal imaging camera was secured in the space beneath the pot, along with the comms device.
“He must have known. Tim must have known that something was wrong and hid the equipment. He didn’t want them to have it,” said Ross.
“It looks that way. He obviously knew what he was doing when he swapped out his own with Adam’s, but whoever asked him to do it obviously wasn’t a friend,” said Moose.
“Come on. We need to get this equipment back home.”
“What should we do?” asked Gordon.
“Do your jobs. Watch your backs and the backs of the other men. If you see anyone who looks even remotely like Alana, call us, and we’ll find her. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to investigate this yourselves. You’ve done your jobs. You’ve reported the missing equipment. Leave it at that,” said Dan.
“Yes, sir.”
“Hey,” said CJ, “you did the right thing, and we’re going to figure this out. Just be safe out there and make sure you watch your back.” They both nodded, then turned to Jill.
“We wish you all the best, Jill. I hope you’ll be happy,” smiled Gordon, bending to kiss her cheek.
“Thank you. You guys, too. Tell the girls I said goodbye. Maybe we’ll see one another again someday.”
“You never know,” smiled Ross. Ross and Gordon got into the truck and drove back toward their base. By the time the team returned to the hotel, Georgie and Brix were waiting in her room.
“Well?” she asked.
“We found it,” said Jill. “It was hidden in a pot outside on the patio. We need to get this back to your team so that they can figure out what is on this.”
“Our team,” smirked CJ. “Remember, you’re a part of our team now.”
“Right,” she smiled. “I’ll remember that from now on.”
Dan nodded at the group, kicking off his boots in Georgie’s room, raising his feet on the ottoman. He closed his eyes as he spoke to the team.
“Everyone get some rest. Autumn and Chipper will be here early to get us. We’ve got some work to do.”
“Is it damaged at all from the weather or cold?” asked Jill, staring over their shoulders.
“Nope. These beauties are made to withstand temperatures in excess of a hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit, water temperatures minus freezing, air temperatures at minus forty degrees Fahrenheit, and water depth of up to a mile.”
“That’s insane!” said Jill. The men chuckled, nodding their heads as Ryan and Sophia Ann smiled at her.
“Thank you,” they said in unison.
“We worked on this together,” said Ryan. “Sophia Ann is brilliant and was able to make the materials work in extreme weather conditions. Tim did the right thing, though, placing it in a plastic bag. It helped it to stay in good condition.”
“I’m just not sure what could be so important on there. Obviously, Adam caught something that he wasn’t supposed to. But why did Tim hide it? Why didn’t he show it to everyone unless it made him look guilty.”
“Maybe it did, babe,” said CJ. “You need to be prepared for that.”
“I know,” she nodded. “I mean, I am prepared for that.”
“I’m in,” said AJ, turning to look at everyone with a smile. Luke, Cam, Hex, and Eric folded their arms across their chests and growled. “Forgive them, Jill. They fail to understand how difficult this shit is.”
“We understand, but when you say, ‘I’m in,’ it should be followed with, here’s what I have,” said Luke.
“You’re not fun anymore,” said AJ. “Fine. Here’s what we have.” He connected the camera to the laptop which projected everything to the large screen.
“Okay, we see good formation to start,” said Hex. “They’re leading the contingent out. Tim is pointing to the road.”
“He is, and Adam is nodding, walking to check out something. Looking both ways, up and around, good formation,” said Cam. “He turns and starts to speak to Tim. Stop. Back it up, slowly.”
AJ backed the video up and reduced the speed over and over again until Cam caught a glimpse of what he’d seen the first time. As Adam turned back to speak with Tim, his camera caught someone moving toward him to his left. They’d been behind the concrete lions.
“That’s her,” whispered Jill. “I mean, it’s one of them. I can’t tell which one from that angle. She killed Adam.”
“Yes, she did,” nodded Eric. “But if Tim knew that and had the evidence, why was he hiding it.”
“He didn’t know it,” said AJ. Eric stared at the man, frowning. “No one tampered with the camera. He didn’t know it, but he must have suspected it. Why else would he have hidden this unless he knew that it captured her image and didn’t want anyone to see that.”
“Review each frame, AJ. Every damn frame, and capture as many facial images as you can. Something was going on there, and Adam and Tim knew it. We just need to know whose side they were on,” said Luke.