Chapter 40
40
Standing on the stoop, Aaron rang the doorbell, the adrenaline of pieces starting to fall into place running through his body. Sam was standing right next to his side, with Hunter and Brad just behind.
As soon as the door opened, Harry’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want now?”
“Is your wife at home, Mr. Malroney?”
His face scrunched, and he opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Ruthanne appeared by Harry’s side. Her hand rested lightly on his waist, and she smiled out to the group.
“Detectives! How nice to see you again. What can we do for you?”
“We have a few questions for you and your husband.”
“Of course, please come in.”
The four detectives stepped inside the roomy entry foyer.
“There’s a whole lot of you coming in now,” Harry grumbled. “Do I need to call my attorney?”
Ignoring Harry’s question, Aaron introduced, “This is Detective Simmons and Detective Stowe. We’re investigating two separate crimes that now appear to be tied together.”
“Oh, how interesting,” Ruthanne said, her gaze moving between the four detectives.
Harry’s eyes narrowed, and his arm snaked around Ruthanne’s waist, but he remained silent.
Continuing, Aaron asked, “Mr. Malroney, I know that you have security cameras on this house, and we know you mentioned all your rentals have cameras. Do you have the ability to see, record, or go back to view from those cameras?”
“What kind of damn fool question is that? Of course I do. In case you’re wondering, I also have security cameras inside all the homes. I’m not having wild parties, smoking dope, and destruction of property going on! God knows, renters will try to bring in their pets and then claim the goddamn urine smell was there before they arrived!”
Ruthanne quickly jumped in. “There are no security cameras in bedrooms or bathrooms, just to be clear. We’re not voyeurs!”
“Voyeurs?” Harry shouted, then looked down at his wife, his eyes wide. “Don’t give these men any ideas, or they’ll come after us for all kinds of perverted claims!”
“Now, dear, I’m sure you’re exaggerating.” Ruthanne turned toward Aaron. “You also said you had a question for me?”
“Yes, ma’am. You mentioned the last time we were here that you didn’t like living right on the beach, and you moved. Where was your previous house?”
“It was just down the lane a little way, but was right on the beachfront, and I remember telling you that Harry didn’t like people just being able to walk right up to the back door.”
“People have no sense of private property! We had people actually walk up to the house and peer into the windows!” Harry continued to grouse.
Ignoring him, Aaron continued, “And which house was that?”
“We used to live in the house that we now rent. The house that the Mathersons are staying in.”
Turning back to Harry, he said, “Mr. Malroney, we need to see the video feed to that house. Detective Stowe will give you the dates.”
Harry opened his mouth, then snapped it shut, his gaze assessing. Narrowing his eyes, he stepped toward them. “You’re on to something.”
Aaron glanced at Harry’s expression, begrudgingly acknowledging that Harry was as intelligent as he was belligerent.
Harry pushed, “If something is going on with the people renting our place, I want to know about it.”
Sam jumped in. “At this point in our investigation, Mr. Malroney, there’s nothing you need to know other than that our investigation requires your security camera data. We don’t have a warrant, but we can get one. That will undoubtedly waste time that could be vital to our investigation.”
Harry sucked in a deep breath through his nose, his lips pinched. Ruthanne looked up and said, “We have nothing to hide, and I have a feeling this has something to do with Bill Gaston.”
“Yes, ma’am, it does.”
At that, Harry nodded and stepped back. “I have it on my phone and can feed the video to my TV.”
“Follow us, Detectives,” Ruthanne invited, her smile still in place but no longer reaching her eyes. She led the way to the comfortable, large family room with a wide-screen TV.
Harry spent a few minutes using his phone with Brad, talking him through the needed dates. Soon, the front view of the beautiful house on the beach came into focus. Fast-forwarding, they saw what they suspected.
Ruthanne sucked in a gasp. “Bill went there instead of here. Oh, my… he must have used our former address.”
Brad then had Harry move the video feed to one from the back of the house. Aaron twisted his head around. “Mrs. Malroney, I think you should wait in another room.”
She blinked at him, her head tilted slightly in a silent question. Aaron shot a gaze at Harry, who immediately nodded. He looked at his wife and said in a voice so soft Aaron was surprised.
“My dear, perhaps the detective is right. Why don’t you wait in the kitchen, and I’ll let you know when we are finished.”
An anguished expression crossed Ruthanne’s face, and she blinked back tears. “Oh, Harry. Do you think it will show?—”
Harry stepped closer to her and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. “I think that I don’t want you to see or hear anything that would be upsetting. I promise to let you know what the detectives are dealing with when it’s over.”
She held his gaze for a long moment, then slowly swept her gaze to the four detectives before forcing another polite smile onto her face. Inclining her head, she said, “Detectives, I will leave you to your work. But know it is with great appreciation for what you do in your chosen career.” With that, she turned and walked out of the room.
Harry watched her go until she disappeared from sight. Then heaving a great sigh, he turned back to the room. “Let’s get this over with.”
It didn’t take long for them to fast-forward, seeing what they now suspected. Turning, Aaron nodded toward Hunter, who stepped forward.
“Mr. Malroney, I need you to send a copy of everything we just watched to my phone. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask for it now so that we don’t take a chance on losing it.”
The ire seemed to have leached from Harry, and he simply nodded. Tapping on his phone, Hunter finally nodded and said, “Thank you.”
As the detectives turned to leave, Aaron looked back at the hound dog expression on Harry’s face. Walking back over, he held the older man’s gaze. “I’m sorry for the loss of someone that you knew. And I’m sorry for the difficulty your wife will face in dealing with this. But know that I have a woman I love who was shot during the course of this investigation, and what you’ve given us will help me protect her. I think that’s a trait we both have in common.” Aaron reached out his hand to shake, having no idea if Harry would reciprocate.
For the first time since he met the man months ago, Harry didn’t glare nor fire off a pointed verbal barb. Instead, he simply nodded and shook Aaron’s hand.
“I assume you want me to hang onto this?” Harry asked, looking down at his phone.
“Yes. We have what we need for now, but I’m sure the county prosecutor will want all of it.”
Harry nodded, then said, “I’ll let you see yourselves out, detectives. I want to see to my wife.” With that, he turned and walked out of the room.