31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
“We should wait for the police. Something I never thought I’d say,” Ezra murmured.
“No. I’m texting Camila right now. She’s in with Perry, but I’ve given her the gate code. I’m done with all this and waiting around will accomplish nothing. She can take pictures and dust for fingerprints or whatever without me.” Magnolia simply wanted to get home to her son. “I’m also reaching out to our IT department…” She trailed off as she composed another text asking them to pull security footage from the last few hours. No doubt the police would want it, and she did too.
Ezra steered away from the curb, his jaw tight, but at least he didn’t push back. She hadn’t even wanted to call him, but she was shaken, frightened . She’d been so relieved to have Perry locked up but now… A shudder rolled through her.
Ezra called Berlin using the SUV’s Bluetooth system.
“Heya,” she said, slightly out of breath. “What’s up?”
“Someone slashed Magnolia’s tires at work. Are you still logged into her security?”
“Ah, yeah. Let me pull it up.” She was silent for a long moment, then… “Huh. About an hour ago someone inputs the code at the gate, walks in, then quickly slashes the tires. They’re wearing a hooded, bulky jacket. It all happens fast and whoever it is knows exactly where the cameras are. ”
“Man or woman.”
“Man. Or a very large woman, but body language and shoe style suggest a man.”
“Send it to me and Magnolia. She’s already reached out to Detective Flores. It might not do any good, but they can add it to their file.”
“All right. I’m going to see if I can track this person using other cameras, try to get a face.”
“Austin Jameson was hanging outside her office when I picked her up so focus on him.”
“Will do. By the way, have you decided to pull your head out of your ass with her and—”
Ezra quickly hung up, smashing his finger against the dashboard screen.
“I knew I liked her,” Magnolia murmured, not bothering to hide her snicker. “So why were you so close to my office?” She groaned as he pulled up to a red light. Great, traffic had decided to be a major jerk tonight of all nights.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“You…could have called me.”
He sighed and she tried not to look at him, even as she wondered if he’d intentionally rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows to show off his forearms. “I didn’t want to bother you at the office.”
“I hear a little bit of judgment in your voice right now.”
“I didn’t think you should have even gone to the office this afternoon, but I wasn’t going to let you go without protection.”
She wanted to argue with him but someone had just slashed her tires. Someone who couldn’t be Samuel Perry. And fine, she sort of loved that he was so protective even if he was trying to protect her from him or whatever misguided crap he was thinking. As she started to answer, her phone rang.
When she saw her father’s name on-screen, her finger hovered over the green button, but she ended up declining. Talking to him now wasn’t the best move.
A moment later, her phone rang again, this time from her mom. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hello, darling.” Her mom’s normally light voice had a slight edge to it. “Great news that the police found that monster.”
“Ah yeah, really great.” She decided not to tell her mom about her tires being slashed just yet. She wanted to see what the PD or Berlin could find. “Did you want to come over for dinner tonight? Lucas’s girlfriend is staying with us for now and you can meet her. I’m making tacos.” Her mom’s favorite.
Her mother cleared her throat slightly. “Ah, not tonight, we’ve already eaten. But I did want to talk to you about something. Your father and I decided to take your advice and invest in that new parking lot construction but we had some questions and were hoping you could stop by and answer them. I know your friend Camila decided to invest as well so I’d like to hear her thoughts.”
Ice slicked down her spine, but she answered. “Sure. I’m just headed home. I had some car issues but I’ve called for a ride. Can you drive me home afterward?”
“Of course, darling. See you soon.”
“Something is wrong,” Magnolia said as soon as her mom ended the phone call.
“What did she say?”
“It was weird. She turned down tacos, something she would never do. And she declined to meet Lucas’s girlfriend, which she would definitely not do. But then she mentioned this investment opportunity one of their friends had asked them about. I advised against it, but she said she was taking my advice to invest. Then she mentioned Camila investing, but…Camila doesn’t know anything about that as far as I know.”
Ezra dialed Berlin back without responding. “Hey,” he said when she picked up. “Log into Magnolia’s parents’ security system. See who’s at their house and if something is going on.” He made a right-hand turn at the next light in the direction of her parents.
“Yep, hold on.” She was silent but Magnolia knew she was working hard. “Their system is offline completely. Their cameras too. I’m looking back to when it went offline…” She cursed slightly. “It’s only been off twenty minutes. Before everything goes offline there’s a short shot of someone in a bulky hooded jacket—the same one at Magnolia’s office—knocking one of the cameras out with a baseball bat. Not long after, the system goes down completely.”
Ezra cursed slightly. “Call the others, tell them to get there quickly. I’m with Magnolia and we’re maybe seven minutes out. I’ll park down the road and make a quiet entrance.”
“On it now.”
As Berlin hung up, he turned to Magnolia. “Contact Camila and let her know what’s going on. But no sirens.”
With trembling hands, she dialed her friend, but Camila didn’t answer so Magnolia texted her to let her know the situation. Then she called Lucas and nearly cried when he answered.
“Hey, Mom. Are you almost home?”
“Hey, hon. I’m currently dealing with something but I need you to do something for me. Can you set the alarm and make sure all the doors are locked? Then I want you to go upstairs into the game room and lock the door.”
“What’s going on?” he asked even as she heard the security system arm in the background.
“Honestly I’m not sure right now but I just want you to stay safe while I figure it out. Don’t answer the door for anyone. Okay?”
“Okay. Emma and I are heading upstairs now. I’ll keep my phone on me. Is Ezra with you?”
“He’s right next to me.”
“Okay, good. Be safe and please keep me updated.”
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Sighing, she set the phone in her lap and turned to Ezra. “What’s the plan?”