by Box Set
“No,” Hearst said. “Rob routed this through a bunch of servers and he piggybacked it all in such a way… The short answer is that we’re safe. The guy won’t know we’re on to him.”
“Good.”
“There’s more,” he said. “Are you ready?”
I nodded. Hearst made a few adjustments and I saw that the camera in the bedroom was infrared. Sharon lay in the bed in the dark, curled into the fetal position.
“Is she crying?” I asked as my heart broke a little for her.
He enlarged the image of her bedroom and did something to trigger the sound. There was some noise interference, but the sobs weren’t hard to make out.
“He watches her lay in bed and cry? What kind of monster does that?”
Hearst turned off the sound before I could suggest it. He shook his head. “This guy that we’re dealing with… I’m not sure he’s human.”
“Poor Sharon.”
“And the kids too. Can you imagine what will happen if that guy gets hold of them?”
“Six cameras,” I said. “And he watches her cry. He watches her sleep. How can those security firms justify doing this? They are sleazy, but this is beyond breaking the rules. This is helping him stalk his prey.”
“Rob found eleven listening devices in the house. Four of those are attached to cameras. Well eleven that are active. There could be additional bugs that are activated by sound or motion.”
“This woman doesn’t need a private investigator. She needs a team of Navy Seals,” I said. “Can we disable all the surveillance without them getting suspicious? Did Rob have any ideas?”
“He hasn’t come up with anything yet. He said the most he could buy her right now was maybe a twenty minute head start.”
“Twenty minutes is nothing,” I said. “She couldn’t run and hide without more time. She couldn’t even drive to the police station in that amount of time.”
“Maybe we can come up with something,” he said. “Even if you make contact with her tomorrow, you won’t be able to get her out of there. It’s going to take some planning.”
“What would she need to run?” I asked. I hated to think about it, but I wasn’t sure she’d have a choice. “New identities for herself and the kids. Birth certificates for them. A driver’s license for her.”
“Pretty simple. We can get those without any trouble.”
“She’ll need money though. Another vehicle. She’ll need to change her appearance.”
“The kids are a problem. She’ll need to change their names. I wonder if she could dress the younger one as a girl for a while. If they’re looking for a woman with two boys, it could help.”
I nodded. “Good idea. The only real problem is buying her enough time to escape and getting our hands on some money.”
“Maybe Rob can help us with the money.”
I raised a brow. “How?”
“He could Robin Hood it.”
“Steal from the rich and give to the poor?” I asked. “Take Doug’s money and give it to Sharon? Could he manage?”
Hearst picked up another piece of apple. “There’s a reason he’s off the grid.”
I figured I was better off not knowing the exact reasons. In case anybody asked me about the guy.
“He’s been around the block a few times,” he said.
“Like, the prison block?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know for sure.”
“How old is this guy?” I asked. I’d pictured him as an overweight thirty-year-old gamer type, but maybe he was even older.
“Twenty-four,” Hearst said.
“He’s younger than Graham?”
“Crazy, right? The guy’s a genius.”
“Good. He can probably get the money then. Without the money, Sharon doesn’t have a prayer.”
“She needs a guardian angel. That’s for sure.”
I glanced over at the screen. “I wonder why he doesn’t watch the kids.”
“What?”
“He supposedly wants custody of them. Even if he is a monster, they do share DNA. Shouldn’t he want to see what is going on with the kids?”
Hearst nodded. “You’re right. He should be monitoring them. Either he’s using different technology, or he’s using them to control her.”
Different technology. I couldn’t believe it hadn’t occurred to me before. “Baby monitors,” I said. “He’s watching them through the baby monitors.” I looked over at the screen. There was a small screen next to Sharon’s bed. I’d assumed it was a laptop. It may have been. But what she had up on the screen was the images of her children sleeping in their rooms.
“We have to stop this guy,” my friend said. “What’s your plan for tomorrow?”
I filled him in on my fundraising cheerleader approach and the McDonald’s idea.
“I think it might work,” he said. “What time are we doing this?
I looked at him in shock. “I know you’re worried, and I appreciate the offer. There’s no way you can come anywhere near us tomorrow. You know I support your individuality and all, but it isn’t… You aren’t… You just can’t.”
“I’ll blend in. Don’t worry.”
I’d known him for more than two years. He’d never come anywhere close to blending in. Even in a room filled with tattooed, pierced teens all dressed in black, he would stand out. He was tall, and he was good-looking. “I don’t know, Hearst.”
“I can do this, Townsey,” he said. “Stop doubting me.”
The doorbell rang and he went to get our pizza.
Stop doubting him. I guess it was possible. After all, I was going to turn into a cheerleader by noon. Maybe it was a day for miracles.
After we gobbled down the pizza, I drafted an email from Carol to Graham with the updates. I didn’t mention hacking into the bank account of course. I filled him in on the number of cameras and listening devices in the house without giving him any indication of how Carol had uncovered that information.
Hearst read it over to make sure there wasn’t anything to tip Graham off to Carol’s true identity. He nodded. “This is all good. He has enough to go on if something goes wrong tomorrow. He’ll have an idea about where to start looking for us.”
I gave him a puzzled look. “He doesn’t know we’re involved.”
“He’ll figure it out pretty fast once we disappear,” my friend said. “What time do you want to get to her house?”
Such a pessimist. “Eleven maybe? We can get to the fast food place around eleven thirty or twelve. There should be plenty of chaos to keep anyone from paying too much attention to us.”
“I’ll pick you up at ten thirty. I have an idea where I can get a car to use tomorrow.”
The car. I hadn’t thought about that yet. Either of those security firms could easily run our plates. How many other problems had I overlooked?
I sent the email to my brother. Hearst was right. He’d know where we were if something went wrong.
“If your brother contacts Carol tomorrow and tells her that he has this handled, will you let him take care of it?”
It didn’t seem likely.
“Will you at least discuss it with Graham before you get involved?”
“Possibly,” I said.
Hearst frowned. “You didn’t say anything in that email about making contact with her tomorrow.”
“No. I didn’t.”
“So your brother won’t know that he needs to reply quickly.”
“Probably not.”
“Let me make this very clear, Townsey,” Hearst said in a firm tone. “If you don’t wait for me in the morning, and if you try to go without me, I will tell your brother. I will tell him everything, and I will help him find you. Then I will help him lock you away in your room for as long as it takes for you to make better decisions.”
“You sound like you’re already angry with me, Hearst. I haven’t ditched you. You just think I’m going to. And I’m not. I know it’s dangerous. If you can blend in, you can com
e. If you can’t, I will tell you to your face.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” I said.
“Let’s watch something on television for a while,” he said with a sigh. “I’m having trouble getting the images of that crazy, evil man out of my head.”
I was too. “Sounds good. A comedy.”
“Big Bang Theory?”
I nodded.
I put away the pizza while he selected some on-demand episodes.
It was late, and I was getting sleepy. I glanced around to make sure we hadn’t left any evidence of our investigation in view. My brother wasn’t exactly the party animal so he could get home anytime.
I decided to dim the lights a little bit. You know, to save energy. I curled up on one sofa and Hearst took the other. I didn’t want to risk falling asleep and waking up to my brother’s accusing face again. I guess Hearst didn’t either. Or maybe Hearst was too angry with me to get too close.
Chapter 11
My brother woke me when he got home.
“Go on to bed, Townsey,” he said. “It’s after two.”
I rubbed at my bleary eyes. Hearst was still asleep on the other couch.
“He can stay there for the night,” Graham said. “I’d feel bad making him drive home so late.”
I nodded, too tired to speak.
My brother went to the fridge for a bottle of water and pulled out the pizza box. He removed a slice and put the box back in the fridge. Then he made ridiculous noises as he ate the pizza. Like it was good and he was strongly agreeing with our decision to order it.
I made it to my feet and started the long journey to my room. He must have woken me at the wrong point in my sleep cycle because I couldn’t shake off the grogginess.
I crawled into my bed, thrilled at the prospect of lying there for as many hours as I could.
Graham had stayed out past midnight. It was a sad statement on his life when he had to go out with a police officer to loosen up a little. Poor big brother. I was glad I could help him. Even if I had to be Carol to do it.
* * *
My phone alarm woke me at nine. I couldn’t believe I’d slept so long. Of course, after I got in my bed, I had hours of nightmares about being watched and stalked. My nightmares were Sharon’s actual life.
If Hearst was going to get us a car, he needed to get moving. I got up and went to the living room to wake him.
He was long gone. Nothing left of him but black eyeliner smudges on the couch cushions. Well, not really. But I imagined them there.
Then I remembered that he had to get a car and turn himself into a normal teenager by ten-thirty. Yeah, that was not happening. It would take hours for him to make himself look like a real boy. Pinocchio had a better shot at it than Hearst would.
I giggled at the thought of Hearst as a wooden puppet. Maybe I was easily amused early in the morning. Or maybe I was delirious.
I went back to my room and took a shower and dried my hair. I didn’t want my brother to see me dressed up, and I couldn’t risk him catching me with the supplies either. I should have gathered what I needed last night.
I found some sparkly eye shadow in my bathroom drawer. It had been part of a gift set at Christmas one year, and I had saved it for Halloween. I’d never used it, but I was thinking Cheerleader Townsey might need a heavy-handed swipe across each eyelid.
I still needed to design and print the fake catalog and the note to Sharon to show her at the door. We could stop at a drug store for the pompoms on the way. Maybe I could add a coordinating scrunchie or a temporary tattoo to my costume.
After a few minutes online, I found an actual fundraising catalog to download and print which saved me some time. Then I considered typing up the note to Sharon. Maybe I should hand write it. I nodded to myself. Handwrite it on Paxton PI letterhead. That would help with her comfort level. As long as I didn’t lose the paper and leave a trail for Doug and his thugs. Maybe I should chew it up and swallow it after she read it. I sighed. Now I was taking those movies too seriously.
I crept out of my room to see if my brother was still sleeping. I hoped he was, but it wasn’t like him to sleep in. He could be downstairs working. The door to his room was closed which was a good sign. I decided to go downstairs for the bug detectors and the burner phones. If he had used them recently, the bug detectors could be in his office which would be bad. If he hadn’t, they were probably in the closet which Lori had neatly organized to hold all of our assorted gadgets and gizmos.
I went out the door and down the stairs to the first floor. Then I checked to see if the door to the office was locked. We tried to keep it locked for added security, and if it was locked, there was a good chance nobody had been in there yet this morning. The door wasn’t locked. Lori wouldn’t be here on a Sunday. Maybe my brother had left it unlocked last night. Or maybe he was down here working. I should have opened his bedroom door and peeked in. Okay, maybe not. I didn’t want him peeking in my room without knocking.
I opened the door and walked in as if I were searching for my brother and expecting to find him. That way I wouldn’t look like I was sneaking around.
“Hey, Graham?” I called as I went through the waiting area into Lori’s space and through to my brother’s office.
It was empty. No sign of him. I felt silly now. I found the bug detectors in the closet, and took two burner phones from the organizer hanging on the back of the door. I stood with my arms full of electronics and realized I should have brought a bag down with me.
I spotted a messenger bag on top of a filing cabinet and stashed my gadgets inside. Then I went back upstairs. I was running out of time, and I had to finish getting ready.
I was barely through the door into the loft when my brother greeted me from the kitchen island.
“Good morning. What are you up to today?”
I froze. Rookie mistake. Then I tried to act natural. “Not sure yet.”
He nodded and went to the cabinet for a box of cereal. “Are you hungry?”
I didn’t think I should eat. I had a nervous stomach, and I didn’t want to puke all over the woman we were trying to help. “Not really. I’m still full from the pizza.”
“That was good pizza,” he said. “Actually…” He went to the fridge and opened the door. “So much for that idea,” he said with a frown. “I guess you guys already got to that last piece.”
Hearst must have had a middle of the night snack, or maybe breakfast.
“Okay, well,” I said, “I guess I’ll go finish getting dressed.” I started across the wide open space toward my bedroom, aware of the heavy messenger bag every step of the way.
“That’s quite a haul you got,” my brother said in a casual tone. “You wouldn’t happen to have equipment from downstairs in there would you?”
I stopped and searched for a plausible excuse. I could try the man-confuser misdirect and tell him it was tampons. But the bag clearly held something way heavier than feminine hygiene products.
I turned to face him. “Yeah. About that. I was going to ask if I could borrow the bug sweepers.”
“You were, were you?” He pressed his lips together. “And when you got around to asking me, exactly what were you going to be using them for?”
“For, um, Hearst.”
He waited for me to explain.
“I’m teaching Hearst how to use them. Then we’re going to practice.” This might actually work. “We’re going to take turns hiding the bugs and finding them.” I smiled, relieved to have come up with any excuse.
“And why would he want to learn to use them?”
Oh, yeah. Why would he? “He’s thinking about working with me, you know, when I take over the business.”
My brother scowled. “I’m pretty sure the devil will summon him and the other demons back to hell long before you run Paxton PI.”
“So it’s okay?”
He shook his head. “Nothing about my sister hanging around with the Angel of Death is okay, but yes,
you can borrow the equipment.”
“Thanks, Graham!”
“That boy’s parents must be the most patient, understanding people on the face of the earth.”
“They must,” I said, forcing a smile. I turned and went to my room.
After stuffing the cheerleader outfit and leggings into the bag, I tossed in the fundraising catalog, a notebook and pen, and the eyeshadow.
I checked the time on my phone. After ten already. I needed Hearst to hurry. I searched my closet for the brightest tennis shoes I could find. I chose my neon green and purple running shoes.
My phone vibrated and I saw a text from Hearst. He was waiting in the car out front.
I grabbed my purse and the messenger bag and went rushing through the two-story living room yelling bye to my brother.
When I got out front, I saw Hearst behind the wheel of a Jade Green VW Beetle. Where had he found that?
He rolled down the window. “Peppy car for a peppy girl.”
I started to laugh at his joke but then I got a look at his appearance, and it reduced me to silence.
Nothing could have prepared me for the sight before me.
“Hearst?” I whispered.
“I told you I could do it,” he said with a smirk. He reached up and adjusted the baseball cap that covered most of his dyed black hair.
I thought I knew what my friend looked like. I had seen him with no makeup on. But with his hair hidden, including the part that usually covered most of his forehead, I could really see his face. He had taken out his piercings, and that alone must have taken half an hour.
I looked at his cheekbone. “Your anti-eyebrow! You took it out.”
He shrugged. “This is important. I can always get it done again if I want to.”
He’d even replaced the ear gauges with flesh-colored ones that would blend in with his ear from more than a few feet away.
“You should get in the car before your brother comes out and sees me like this,” he gestured to himself and wrinkled his nose.
I raced around to the passenger side to get in. I sat in the passenger seat, gaping at him as he put the car in reverse and backed out.
