6. Renee
Renee
The spot Renee found between two other cars was the perfect location.
She backed her unassuming black compact SUV into it so her car would face the front door of the apartment she was surveilling.
There were cars between her and the walkway, but she had a good enough view of the path the woman would have to take with the dog to bring him out for his walk. That is, if she took him for a walk.
Jessica had been so certain her dog was being neglected. Renee had a hunch this was all going to be for nothing. It usually was.
Not that anything about this case was normal. Child custody cases? She hated them, but they made sense. A dog custody case? It was the weirdest case she’d had all year. At least that long.
She left her car running because it was too hot to do otherwise, and besides, she wouldn’t be there too long that morning.
Late September in Louisiana was such a tease.
Everyone else seemed to enjoy their switch to fall weather, but all they got down there was hot breezes instead of skin-searing temps.
And then there was storm season to worry about.
Nope. She wouldn’t worry that into existence.
Renee unzipped her bag and carefully removed her camera. She aimed at the front of the apartment building and took a few test shots of the area. Once she got the settings the way she wanted them, she placed the camera in her lap and sighed.
Now came the worst part. The waiting.
At least she wouldn’t have to wait too long that morning. Jessica had said there was a small window of time between when her ex woke up and when she left for work, so assuming she kept the same schedule, Renee shouldn’t have to be there for more than an hour.
She drank her coffee and scanned the complex.
There was nothing much of note. Small, square blocks of buildings with what looked like eight units in each.
The buildings were all made of reddish bricks and had rust-colored doors.
The complex appeared older, but it also looked like those doors had gotten a fresh coat of paint sometime in the past year.
Tiny flower beds dotted the small patches of grass, and weeds poked up from the mulch, no doubt neglected areas in the intense heat and quick growing season.
A woman passed by, walking her own dog, a miniature, yappy-looking one. She took note of the running car, so Renee hurried to look down at her phone. Hopefully, the woman just thought she was waiting to pick someone up. The last thing she needed was suspicion right when she was starting a new job.
As the woman looked away and walked out of sight, Renee’s phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced at her subject’s door. Still quiet there. She opened her app to read the message.
Anything nefarious yet?
She smiled at Ben’s text as she took another sip of coffee.
Nothing yet. I still think you’re going to be sorely disappointed by the interest-level of this case.
Maybe so, but it’s more interesting than what I’ve got on my plate at work today. Keep me updated. [winking emoji]
She quickly returned her attention to the apartment door, not wanting to miss an exit, but there was nothing yet. Minutes passed. Then more minutes. The window of time for Jessica’s ex to take this dog on a walk before work was shrinking.
Then, the door opened.
Renee grabbed her camera and held it up, steady in front of her face.
She snapped a shot just as a woman dressed in khaki slacks and a black blouse with short blonde hair exited the apartment with a leash in hand.
The dog attached to the leash was medium-sized, black and white, and pretty cute as far as dogs went.
It bounced around as the two of them walked a short distance to a patch of grass beside the walkway, where the dog immediately stopped to pee.
Renee took a few more photos while the dog did its business. Then she watched to see where they went next.
To her surprise, they immediately walked back toward the apartment.
She focused on the job and took photos as the woman led the dog back into the house and shut the door behind them.
No real walk.
She didn’t even bother picking up its poop.
Renee checked the camera window to make sure all of her photos came out well. The timestamps would complete the picture they made.
Maybe Jessica had been right to be concerned. The energetic dog did seem like it could have used more exercise than a quick stroll to the grass and back.
But maybe this wasn’t the complete picture. Maybe the woman was just running late that morning. Maybe she’d take him out for a longer walk after work.
Renee waited until the woman exited again and left, then she packed up her camera and headed back to the house. She had plenty to keep her busy for the day until she returned that evening to find out the whole story.
At five-thirty-five, Jessica’s ex returned to her apartment from work and disappeared inside. Renee once again had her camera ready and waiting.
She’d been able to get a good bit of work done in between surveillance times that day.
Paperwork mostly, wrapping up a case and billing out for the other two.
And she’d even had time to go through her aunt’s bathroom, clearing out old medicines and supplies no one else would want or need.
It was definitely one of those unemotional spots she could easily start with while the weight of the job and the reality of her loss slowly sank in.
Her aunt had been such a steady presence in her life. Renee had spent so many nights in that house while her mother and father were off at one party or another, and weekend days when her mother was out showing houses while her father played golf.
It was a second home for her, and Aunt Ellen had always felt like more than an aunt to her.
Even once she was a teenager, Renee would still take opportunities to spend nights at her aunt’s house, catching up and enjoying her company.
Aunt Ellen never married or had kids, and Renee got the impression that she loved her single life but thoroughly enjoyed Renee’s visits at the same time.
Now it was just Renee alone in that big house. Temporarily, at least.
Her phone buzzed with a text. It was from her other best friend, the one who lived in Baton Rouge.
She’d met Felicia at a coffee shop while waiting an obscene amount of time for their drinks.
They hit it off right away, and Felicia had been a steady presence in her life for the past year.
She was like Renee’s Baton Rouge version of Ben, no-nonsense and loads of fun to be around.
Felicia was just checking in on Renee and how things were going in Oakview, so Renee would get back to her later.
A neighbor drove by but didn’t seem to notice Renee sitting in her car.
Then another. Typically, no one paid her much attention during evening surveillance sessions.
They were all in a hurry to get home after work and didn’t notice much around them.
And since she didn’t run her car during longer surveillance sessions, she drew even less attention.
Sure, it was hot out, but that’s what windows and tank tops were for. Worth it to go unnoticed.
A woman approached from the right side of the parking lot. The same woman from that morning, walking her own tiny dog once again. This time, she was obviously doing her best not to look directly at Renee, but Renee could tell the woman was aware of her presence.
Not good.
But it shouldn’t be a problem. Renee was going to take a few shots of Jessica’s ex walking their dog, then she wouldn’t be back in this place again.
The woman continued her walk and eventually disappeared around the corner of one of the apartment buildings. Renee relaxed against her seat and glanced at the time. Shouldn’t be long. She imagined that dog would need to go out pretty quickly after being cooped up all day.
As expected, the door opened a few moments later, and Jessica’s ex exited with a leash in hand and an exuberant dog leading the way.
He pulled her to the grassy area, then bounced around, tugging on his leash toward the sidewalk.
Once again, the woman turned around and, with much effort, guided the dog up the short walkway and back inside the apartment.
Renee immediately checked the photos she’d taken and deleted a few duplicates. She made sure she got shots of the woman’s face and the dog itself. Everything looked good.
Except this wasn’t good. Or, at least, it wasn’t good enough.
Maybe this was just a quick potty break before the woman had to make dinner or do something else. There was still time to take the dog out for a longer walk that evening.
That meant her job here wasn’t done yet.
Renee sighed.
Contrary to what most people assumed, surveillance was her least favorite part of the job.
Sure, she enjoyed it when she discovered some piece of what felt like a mystery or got just the right evidence someone needed, but she hated all the downtime.
She much preferred doing research and background checks or interviewing people.
She even preferred writing up timesheets and invoices to sitting around doing nothing.
She pulled up the app where she kept track of all her notes and began typing. She found that her phone drew much less attention than having a laptop in the driver’s seat, and she could easily sync the documents with her computer and tablet.
Once she had typed up all of her observations so far, she opened her podcast app and put her earbuds in. It was the best way she’d found to pass the time, and it allowed her to still keep an eye on her subject.
On today’s podcast menu was a feast of weird facts.
She had an episode talking all about otters that she’d been looking forward to for the past couple of weeks.
And next up was a historical debunking episode.
She couldn’t remember exactly what it was supposed to be about, but it was from a show that always delivered.
After that, she wasn’t sure what else was in the queue, but she knew it would be something light and fun. Never true crime. Nope.
Three hours and three podcasts later, Renee had a sinking feeling in her gut. No ex. No dog. No walk. That meant she was going to have to disappoint her client.
Many people took a little joy in finding out their suspicions were correct. They felt self-righteous. Vindicated. Sad, sure, but also kind of delighted at having guessed the truth.
Jessica, Renee suspected, would not be so happy to hear the truth. Renee could tell from the look in her eyes that she really hoped she was wrong. And Renee had been convinced that she was.
She hoped the ex came out for a long casual walk with this dog before sunset. She wanted to give Jessica good news.
Why did she care?
She didn’t know this woman from any other client. She prided herself on not getting emotionally involved in any of her cases. So why was she having feelings one way or another about the direction this case was taking?
Because those big, golden-brown eyes had been pleading with her when she sat down in the front room with Renee. All Renee had wanted to do was wrap her up in a blanket and feed her cookies.
Totally inappropriate.
The apartment door opened again. The sun was setting, but it wasn’t too late for a walk around the complex. Surely that’s what she was about to witness.
But once again, the woman led the dog to a small patch of grass, then immediately back inside the house.
Crap.
Renee made sure she got the photos she needed, then packed up her camera. It was not the way she’d wanted this to go. But it’s the way it went.
She started her car, then, before she headed out of the parking lot, she sent a quick text.
When can we meet again?