Melody Hartwell. The writer had been too surprised at my sudden appearance to gripe at me for ruining the flow of her work or lob anything in my direction. Not that she’d been typing when I unlocked the office door. I didn’t understand writers, but then again, I’m not sure she understood my work either.
“They’d be able to get all that with a warrant, right?” I asked.
“They can certainly make an argument for probable cause, so yes, I believe they’d get everything connected with your investigation one way or the other.”
I sighed. I didn’t like the idea of the cops digging through my files, but if it kept them from tearing apart my office and my house, I could live with it.
“Go ahead,” I said. “You’ve got my permission to release all of it.”
“Good,” Norton said.
He hung up after telling me to take care of myself and that if he saw me at his office today attempting any other work, he’d fire me.
I sat in my bed, my arms wrapped around my knees, and stared at the thumb drive I’d left on my nightstand. I’d made it the night before at my office after I’d emailed copies of everything I had on Melody’s case to Norton. It held a duplicate of everything on my office computer about Melody’s stalkers.
As soon as I got myself together, I intended to go through everything on that thumb drive with a fine-tooth comb. The police would be going over all my files, but they’d be looking at the pictures and notes for evidence they could use against Ryan. I had a different purpose in mind. I intended to use my files as a starting point to prove Ryan was innocent.
CHAPTER 15
SAMANTHA WAS STILL ASLEEP when I plugged the thumb drive into my laptop.
I’d brought the laptop out to my dining room table so I wouldn’t disturb her. She usually slept with her door only partly closed in case the cat wanted to curl up on her bed. This morning the cat was grooming on the living room couch, stretched out in a pool of sunlight streaming in through the front window.
The day had all the promise of being a scorcher. I didn’t know why a cat, who came equipped with a permanent fur coat, would seek out a sunny spot on a hot day, but this wasn’t the first time I’d seen her do it.
Since I wasn’t going to Norton’s office and had no plans to go to my own, I’d slipped on a light cotton blouse and a pair of shorts. Instead of coffee, I was already drinking iced tea. The cat could keep the nice sunny spot all to herself. The dining room was still nice and cool.
My laptop was a few years out of date, and it didn’t have the biggest screen. I planned to replace it someday, although as long as it kept working, someday kept being pushed further and further into the future. Right now it was good enough for what I needed.
Except for the rather terse written report I’d created in a hurry for Ryan, most of the digital files I had regarding my surveillance of Melody were the pictures I’d taken on my camera. I had a digital voice recorder that I used as well, but the only things I’d recorded were the addresses of the places Melody had gone and the times she arrived and departed so I could be precise in my written report.
The digital recorder was still in my purse, and I hadn’t downloaded the recordings to my computer. I’d have to remember to ask Norton if he wanted copies of my voice files to give to the cops along with the rest of it.
When I’d looked at all my files last night, I’d been surprised to discover that I’d taken over a hundred pictures. The vast majority were of the two guys I’d spotted outside the cafe. Or more precisely, of Justin Sewell and the white SUV Lewis Richards owned.
As I scrolled through the photographs, one shot made me catch my breath. I’d been focused on Justin Sewell, trying to get a good picture of him to show to Ryan, but I’d caught Melody in the photo as well. She’d been walking to her car. What I hadn’t seen when I was
“They’d be able to get all that with a warrant, right?” I asked.
“They can certainly make an argument for probable cause, so yes, I believe they’d get everything connected with your investigation one way or the other.”
I sighed. I didn’t like the idea of the cops digging through my files, but if it kept them from tearing apart my office and my house, I could live with it.
“Go ahead,” I said. “You’ve got my permission to release all of it.”
“Good,” Norton said.
He hung up after telling me to take care of myself and that if he saw me at his office today attempting any other work, he’d fire me.
I sat in my bed, my arms wrapped around my knees, and stared at the thumb drive I’d left on my nightstand. I’d made it the night before at my office after I’d emailed copies of everything I had on Melody’s case to Norton. It held a duplicate of everything on my office computer about Melody’s stalkers.
As soon as I got myself together, I intended to go through everything on that thumb drive with a fine-tooth comb. The police would be going over all my files, but they’d be looking at the pictures and notes for evidence they could use against Ryan. I had a different purpose in mind. I intended to use my files as a starting point to prove Ryan was innocent.
CHAPTER 15
SAMANTHA WAS STILL ASLEEP when I plugged the thumb drive into my laptop.
I’d brought the laptop out to my dining room table so I wouldn’t disturb her. She usually slept with her door only partly closed in case the cat wanted to curl up on her bed. This morning the cat was grooming on the living room couch, stretched out in a pool of sunlight streaming in through the front window.
The day had all the promise of being a scorcher. I didn’t know why a cat, who came equipped with a permanent fur coat, would seek out a sunny spot on a hot day, but this wasn’t the first time I’d seen her do it.
Since I wasn’t going to Norton’s office and had no plans to go to my own, I’d slipped on a light cotton blouse and a pair of shorts. Instead of coffee, I was already drinking iced tea. The cat could keep the nice sunny spot all to herself. The dining room was still nice and cool.
My laptop was a few years out of date, and it didn’t have the biggest screen. I planned to replace it someday, although as long as it kept working, someday kept being pushed further and further into the future. Right now it was good enough for what I needed.
Except for the rather terse written report I’d created in a hurry for Ryan, most of the digital files I had regarding my surveillance of Melody were the pictures I’d taken on my camera. I had a digital voice recorder that I used as well, but the only things I’d recorded were the addresses of the places Melody had gone and the times she arrived and departed so I could be precise in my written report.
The digital recorder was still in my purse, and I hadn’t downloaded the recordings to my computer. I’d have to remember to ask Norton if he wanted copies of my voice files to give to the cops along with the rest of it.
When I’d looked at all my files last night, I’d been surprised to discover that I’d taken over a hundred pictures. The vast majority were of the two guys I’d spotted outside the cafe. Or more precisely, of Justin Sewell and the white SUV Lewis Richards owned.
As I scrolled through the photographs, one shot made me catch my breath. I’d been focused on Justin Sewell, trying to get a good picture of him to show to Ryan, but I’d caught Melody in the photo as well. She’d been walking to her car. What I hadn’t seen when I was
Similar Books
