Chapter 17
ALEX
Alex’s heart hammered as he checked the Harrington security cameras again, waiting for Grant and Julia to return home from the police station.
While he’d vehemently disagreed with Julia’s decision to tell the cops she’d seen Lydia alive after Grant and not mention that so had several other people, he understood her impulse. He’d do the same thing if it was Ava.
Finally, a car pulled up and the Harringtons made their way into the house.
He flew from his chair, racing to the foyer. He hurried down the stairs as the butler shuffled toward the kitchen. “Thank goodness you’re home. I have news that will change everything.”
He grinned at them as Grant frowned.
“You found something?” Julia asked, her voice intrigued but weary.
“I did. Come on.” Alex waved for them to follow him up the stairs as he took them two by two.
He hurried back to his room and plopped into his chair, glancing over his shoulder. No one followed him. His shoulders slumped as he tried not to take it personally. Maybe they had to finish discussing some business from the police station ordeal.
Alex drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited for someone to appear for his big reveal. After what seemed like an eternity, Julia knocked on the door before she and Grant pushed inside. “Hey, sorry we got sidetracked.”
Alex twisted to face them. “No worries. Though I’ve been dying to share this with you. I think you’ll be pleased.”
Julia crossed to glance at his computer screen over his shoulder. “Tell me you found someone else who went to Lydia’s after Sierra.”
“No such luck, but…take a look.” Alex waved a hand at his screen as he loaded the video.
Grant joined her, sliding an arm onto her shoulder as he studied the screen.
“I was working on our Project Protect Princess when I discovered something. This is delicate work. Previously, I’d played it on fast speed to see who showed up. But when I watched on normal speed…well, let’s take a look, shall we?”
Alex arched an eyebrow as he pressed the space bar on his computer. The video advanced forward, showing Kyle appear, followed by Grant, then Julia. Worthington arrived, followed by Alexander, and finally Sierra.
He slowed the video as an upset Sierra emerged from the apartment and fled down the hall. He held a finger in the air. “Wait for it…wait for it…there.”
He poked a finger at the screen before he glanced at them, his features expectant.
Julia furrowed her brow as she leaned closer. “Play it again.”
Grant narrowed his eyes at the screen.
Alex backed the video up to Sierra’s departure, then pressed play. “Did you see it?”
He shifted in his seat as he waited for their responses.
“Yes,” Julia answered. “So, what does it mean?”
“Wait, wait, what are you seeing?” Grant asked.
Alex backed up the video again and played it in slow motion. “There.”
He froze it on what appeared to be a glitch in the video. The hall distorted at an odd angle.
“That weird shimmy?” Grant questioned.
“Yep. That weird shimmy, as you put it, is actually indicative of the feed having been tampered with.” Alex wiggled his eyebrows, pleased with his significant catch.
“Someone replaced the footage?” Julia asked.
“More like someone replaced the live feed with a fake one,” Alex answered.
Julia crossed her arms as she stared at the screen. “Allowing someone to slip into that apartment undetected and kill Lydia.”
Alex shot a finger at her. “Bingo.”
“Is there any way we can get the original footage? Or figure out who this came from?”
“I’m doing some digging, but the short answer is…probably not.” Alex crinkled his nose at the inability to solve this with a little digital digging. “But I’ll see if I can see any anomalies that would give us a clue.”
“Thank you, Alex. I still think this footage should stay missing for a while. The police will never notice that glitch or believe someone else did it.”
“Right,” he agreed. “The best thing we can do is keep searching for the culprit.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Grant asked.
“Short of getting someone to admit they did it, no. I’ll search the other feeds to see if anyone of interest appears. And I can tap the city’s CCTV to search the streets.”
“Good idea,” Julia said. “If you need any help reviewing footage, let me know. I’d be happy to help.”
“I may take you up on that, Sunshine. I was going to ask Ava to be second eyes right now, but she has some…other things vying for her attention.”
“I can help, too,” Grant offered.
“Might not be a bad idea considering you may recognize more people than I would who could be suspects. Let me get you set up with a viewing device,” Alex said as he reached into his bag for another laptop.
“Mind if I change clothes first?” Grant asked.
“Get comfy, G. I won’t mind.” He grinned as he rubbed his silk robe.
Grant narrowed his eyes at the man. “I just meant…never mind.”
A knock sounded at the door before he could step out. “Come in!” Alex called as he twisted to eye the door. “Worthy! That doesn’t look like a midnight snack.”
“No, sir,” the butler said as he stepped inside. “I am happy to provide you with one, though, if you’d like.”
“What do you say, kids? Popcorn and sodas for the viewing party?”
“I’ll pass, thanks,” Grant said. “What is that, Worthington?”
Alex wrinkled his nose. Ava would have been far more fun to complete this project with. Grant Harrington seemed like he had a stick somewhere he shouldn’t.
“This just arrived for you, Mr. Harrington. I thought you might like to open it immediately.”
Alex glanced at the nondescript envelope and plainly wrapped box before he went back to setting up the other laptop.
“What does the note say?” Julia whispered.
Alex rose and peered over Grant’s other shoulder. Grant gave him a questioning glance.
“Sorry,” Alex said as he took a step back. “Just curious.”
Grant scanned the note and opened the box to reveal a key. Alex snapped a picture of it.
“Hey,” Grant said, “what are you doing?”
“Documenting. We have no idea what this could be,” Alex said.
“It’s nothing.” Grant grabbed the note from Julia and tossed it in the box. He shoved it toward Worthington. “Get rid of this. I never want to see it again. Lydia’s gone. Her little games are over.”
“Yes, sir,” Worthington said with a nod.
“Now, let’s do something proactive and review this footage, shall we?” Grant asked, his tone clipped with annoyance.
“Right.” Julia nodded, her voice tentative. “Yes, let’s do that.”
“Julia, put that ridiculous note out of your mind. It’s just Lydia being Lydia. Like when she showed up on our vacation or decided to live here,” Grant said.
“You’re right,” she answered as Alex passed her an open laptop. “Here’s footage of the traffic camera on the street fronting her place. See if you notice parties of interest.”
She settled in an armchair as Grant dragged another over next to her.
Alex eased into his own seat, continuing his work on the project of scrubbing the video footage of any traces of Sierra Harrington outside of her mother’s apartment just before the woman’s murder.
He broke from that project to continue his search for information that could help them nail the perpetrator of the crime.
The faster he finished this, the faster he returned to Ava, who clearly needed his help.
After an hour, Julia sighed. “Nothing.”
Alex continued typing as he directed her to another video. “Try the other feed. There’s one with a really tiny view of a back door there. It’s just barely on the screen but you may find something.”
Julia clicked around on the computer to select the other traffic camera feed. “Wow, that is really tiny.”
“I know. There’s no better angle,” Alex said, never looking up from his computer as his fingers clacked.
Julia clicked on the trackpad, her brow furrowing. “Do we know her estimated time of death?”
“Yes,” Alex said. “Just a second.”
He toggled to another screen, working to access the police files and confirm the time of death in the coroner’s report.
“How? The police were waiting on the report,” Grant said. “No one told us, and as far as I know it hasn’t been reported.”
“No, it hasn’t been,” Alex said. “Which means nothing to me.”
Windows flashed around on his screen before he finally settled on a document. “Estimated time of death from the preliminary ME’s report is between the hours of seven and nine.”
“And we know Sierra left just before eight. So, someone killed her between eight and nine.” Julia heaved a sigh as she pressed a few keys. “Ugh, this is not the best angle.”
Alex’s phone rang as they reviewed the footage. His heart skipped a beat as he spotted Ava’s name. Hopefully, she was just checking in and nothing else had happened. “Hey, Sparky, what’s the good word?”
Ava heaved a sigh. “Please tell me things are wrapping up there because we have a situation here.”
Alex eyed the Harringtons across the room from him, offering a noncommittal response. He needed their help, and he wasn’t about to lose it because they told him to leave. “Uh-huh.”
“Chris is back…again.”
“That’s not good,” Alex answered, his nose wrinkling at the thought of the annoying architect badgering Ava for a second time.”
“Yeah. This is getting annoying. So, any chance you’re coming home soon?”
“Well, I’m in the middle of a situation here…” He continued his work on the video as he answered.
“How long before you take a break?”
“A few hours,” he answered.
“Did you mention anything to Grant and Julia about coming here?” she asked.
“Not yet,” he answered, flicking his gaze to the two of them across the room. Julia offered him a consoling smile.
“Okay, well, try to work it in because we definitely need them.”
“As soon as I can, I will,” he answered.
“I mean like…no margin for error, okay?”
“Yep,” he answered with a bob of his head.
“Sorry, Raven is just…I promised and if we don’t deliver…” Her voice trailed off as she heaved a sigh.
“Chill, Avs, we’ll handle it.”
“Will we?” Her voice sounded upset.