“No, you don't know me. My name is Sue Campbell and I'm a close friend to the family that lives in that house,” Sue said quickly, pointing at the Delaney's. “I was just wondering if you know them?"
The woman looked at the house and seemed to relax a little as she scooped her little brown dog into her arms. “Why, yes. I felt so bad for Dottie and the children. We took up a collection, but they haven't been back so we haven't given it to them yet. A shame. Robert was such a nice man. He always helped me with my water heater and such when things went wrong.” She gestured down the street on the left. “I live right down there three houses. I've been living there for thirty years.” She hesitated. “I'm Ellen Colby. Everyone calls me Ellie."
“Ellie, I'm really pleased to meet you. I would like to ask, did you ever see that rather nasty woman that screamed at Dottie a few weeks ago?"
“Oh, yes, I could hear her clear to my front yard. She had a foul mouth that one. Seems strange that a woman dressed like that and driving such an expensive car should talk like that. Guess you just can't judge anyone by their money."
“Did she drive a silver car?"
Ellen Colby looked surprised. “That's right. How did you know? Were you here that day?"
Sue shook her head. “I was just wondering if that was the only time that woman came and hurt Dottie's feelings."
“She must have been in the neighborhood bothering someone again the day Robert killed himself,” Ellen said. “That car of hers was parked half a block down the street."
“Silver Mercedes?” The woman's car was back on the street the same morning Robert died? Why didn't Tim know about this? He said he talked to neighbors. Sue could barely contain her excitement.
“Exactly,” Ellen answered. “I noticed it was gone about an hour before the police seemed to fill this street and they took poor Robert away in an ambulance.
“Did any of the policemen ask you about it?"
“No. But, I haven't been home. My son arrived that afternoon to take me for a visit with relatives in Sacramento.” She placed the little dog back on the ground, petting its delicately refined head. “I came back yesterday.” She stared at Sue. “Why would they want to talk to me? No one saw Robert take his own life."
Sue took her pad and pen from her purse, wrote her name and Abby's phone number down and handed it to Ellen. “They just usually talk to neighbors when something bad happens,” she said. “If you should remember anything else about that car, would you call me, please?"
“Hi, Mrs. Colby,” Mike called from the car.
Ellen Colby looked at him. “Why, is that you, Michael?"
“Yes, Ma'am, it's me."
Sue waved to the children to get out of the car, surprised that Mike would be acquainted with Mrs. Colby.
“This is my mom,” Mike said as he approached. He squatted and scratched the little dog under its chin. “Hi, ya, Tiger."
“You have a pretty nice son, Sue.” Ellen smiled. “Michael and Robert Jr. saved my Tiger from near death,” she said. “I'll always remember.” She sighed, looking at her watch. “I have to hurry home. My son calls me at five, and if I don't answer, he'll probably have my sister on my doorstep by five thirty. I'm too tired to deal with my sister today.” She started down the sidewalk. “If I think of anything, I'll call,” she promised, waved, and kept walking.
Sue turned to speak to Mike but he was gone. She looked at Andee. “Where'd he go?"
Andee pointed at the house. “He went in there."
Sue hurried after him. She didn't want him in the house. She didn't want to go in there without Jacob. “Mike, where are you?” she hollered from the foyer. “You aren't supposed to be in here."
“I'm in the den,” he called back. “Hey, Mom, did you know there was a camera in here?"
Sue entered the room and stopped. “You knew you weren't to come in the house—” He was standing on the chair Jacob had left near the desk and reaching for the air-conditioning vent. “For Pete's sake, Mike, don't touch anything."
His hand dropped to his side. “There's a camera behind that vent plate,” he said. “If I tip my head sideways, I can see the lens, and the little red light.” He paused, looking at Sue. “At my last class, Bud showed us some ways to make a camera nearly invisible."
She walked closer. From where she stood, she couldn't see any thing behind that vent. After helping him down, she took Jacob's cell phone from her purse and dialed Abby's number, hoping they were there to answer. “Hi, Abby, is Jacob still there? Can I talk to him, please?"
“Jacob, come to the Delaney's. We have something to show you.” If Mike was right, she then understood why she constantly felt watched when in the room.
“What the hell are you doing there?"
“Just come. You'd better call Tim to meet you here."
He didn't even say good-bye. She shoved the phone back in her purse and faced Michael. “You may have saved yourself from being grounded this time, Mike. But when I tell you not to go somewhere, I expect you to listen.” She hesitated. “How did you get in here, anyway?"
He looked at the floor. “I'm sorry, Mom. The lock on the front door has always been screwed up. If you turn it the wrong way and giggle it up, the door opens.” Excitement took over his tone as he continued, “Robert Jr. told me his dad looked at security cameras and talked about putting one in. I just wanted to see if he had."
She led him outside to the car where Andee stood waiting. “You could have talked to me about it. Next time I'll expect that you will."
* * * *
Jacob couldn't dial the phone fast enough. Once he had Tim on the way, he jumped in the van and headed for the Delaney's. He didn't care much for the nervous tension he'd heard in Sue's voice. What could be going on, he didn't know, but the kids were with her. He berated himself for not following her back to the house and keeping an eye on them, especially since someone was out to hurt him—one way or another. He'd let himself get distracted. It wouldn't happen again. He didn't breath easier until he saw them standing safely beside Sue's car.
Sue, in her white, sleeveless pullover and summer skirt, her ash-blond hair still neatly in a French braid, didn't look like any dire emergency had occurred.
After pulling onto the Delaney's driveway and parking, he counted slowly to ten before getting out and approaching them. When they didn't show up at Abby's right away, he'd wanted to go right back looking for them. But Abby had been right about waiting. He didn't have any idea where they had gone—if Sue hadn't called when she did, he would have called in the police department.
“This better be good,” he said, clenching his teeth.
Sue realized what she'd done to him by taking her innocent detour and not telling him about it. She touched his arm. “I'm sorry, J.T.,” she whispered. “The kids just wanted to drive by, and I didn't think—"
“Right,” he interrupted, “you didn't think.” He took a deep breath, bringing his emotions under control. “Sorry. Okay, so what's going on?"
After Sue told him about her talk with Ellen Colby, she looked at Mike. “I think Mike should be the one to show you his find.” When she glanced at Jacob's over-bright blue eyes, she understood how very much her actions had upset him. He loved them. She'd scared him. “You might want to wait for Tim, though. If it turns out to be some sort of evidence, we wouldn't want to compromise it."
She barely had the words out when they saw Tim's car coming down the street. There would be a little reprieve, but she had a feeling that Jacob was harboring a lengthy lecture. It made her ears burn just thinking about it.
Sue placed her arm around Andee's waist as Andee leaned her arm on Sue's shoulder. She gently squeezed her daughter as they watched Jacob, Tim, MacBean, and Mike entering the house. “Wouldn't that be something,” she said, “if all that happened the day Robert died got recorded by a camera."
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Chapter 18
He had never even thought such a thing before, but right this
minute Jacob sure as hell could visualize giving Sue a good shake for scaring him crazy. Nerves. Frustrated terror, he thought, following Tim and Mike into the Delaney's den, just a royal case of shattered nerves. For the whole hour it took Sue to call and tell him where they were, he'd paced a deep path in Abby's floor. He'd had twenty visions of what might have delayed them—none of them good.
Forcing the churning torment from his mind he focused his attention on Mike, who stood in the middle of the room, pointing at a long, narrow vent near the ceiling in the den. He stepped up on the chair Mike had placed beneath the vent. “I see a tiny red light, Tim. I guess you better be the one to remove this cover.” After he climbed down from the chair, he added, “You'll need a screwdriver."
Tim took out his Swiss Army pocketknife. “This ought to do it,” he said, flipping up the short screwdriver nestling beside a miniature pair of scissors.
It took only seconds for him to hand the vent cover to MacBean. “Now all we have to do is find what this is connected to—and where. That's one little camera, but it seems to have a wide-angle lens."
After Tim told them to scatter and start searching, it took several minutes for Mike to notice a hinged panel in the back of the storage closet in the den. “Hey, Dad, I think I've found something. My teacher said this is a good way to hide equipment if you're serious about security.” He opened the panel. “Wow, is this neat. There's three VCRs in here."
Jacob came to stand beside Mike. He placed a hand on his son's lean shoulder. “Great work, Mike. It pays to have a camera nut in the family. Especially a nosy one."
Mike grinned, patting himself on the chest. “Thanks, Dad. I owe my nose to you."
Stepping back so Tim could get through, Jacob laughed. “I hope that's a good thing.” He turned Mike's lanky body around, facing him toward the door. “Go out and tell your mom and Andee what you found. And, tell them we're almost finished in here.”
Tim retrieved eight dated tapes from a shelf under the ones bearing the equipment, and then took one from each of the VCRs. “We'll take these back to the office and see what's there.” He glanced up at the camera. “Obviously no one but Robert knew the thing was here. If he wasn't alone when he died, the perp didn't know about it either. I know what a little time and paint did to blind yours, J.T. And this one is untouched."
Jacob turned to find Sue standing beside him. “Where's Andee,” he asked, completely unable to keep irritation out of his voice. He wanted the kids in sight at all times—unrealistic or not. He believed in the old ounce of prevention. Maybe it was the past couple of hours of nerve stress, maybe not, but his internal alert system seemed wired.
“She's sitting on a chair by the front door talking to Mike, Jacob. I'm sorry if we—"
“Dad, Mom,” Andee called from the other room.
Sue hurried out the door with Jacob on her heels. Andee was standing beside the front room window and Mike was writing on a pad. “What?” Except for Andee's wide-eyed expression, Sue didn't see anything wrong.
“I heard you talking about that silver car,” Andee said excitedly. “I think it just drove by the house."
Jacob looked out the window. “Well, it isn't there now."
Andee took the pad from Mike, tore a tiny sheet of paper from it, and handed it to Jacob. She shoved the pad with its Lilliputian pen in the fanny-pack she wore around her waist. “I said the license plate number, Dad, and Mike wrote it down. I wished I could've seen who was driving."
Sue hugged her. “Good, girl. I should have gotten a number when I saw the car at the airport.” Thinking about details and crazy-quilt puzzle pieces were J.T.'s specialty. Deducing the way he did just wasn't as effortless as he could make it look. The way Mike and Andee had always picked up on details made her wonder if it was really a gene thing.
Tim came out of the den. “What's going on?"
Jacob handed him Andee's paper. “You need to find out who owns this car, Tim. The guy at the airport climbed in one like it. A neighbor told Sue that a similar car was here twice. Once when a female agent was screaming at Dottie, and again the day Robert died."
“What neighbor?” Tim asked, surprised.
“Ellen Colby,” Sue furnished. “She said she went to visit relatives right after the police arrived here.” Sue pointed out the window. “She lives right over there."
Tim handed the tiny paper to MacBean. “Use the car radio. We can get an answer right now.” He turned to Jacob. “Let's lockup and get out of here. I want to get these films going."
Sue could tell by Jacob's face that he wanted to go with him. “Can J.T. tail along with you, Tim?"
“I intend to see you home,” Jacob interjected, looking at his watch. “Abby's waiting, and none too patiently."
Sue stared at him a moment. “I can get the kids to Abby's, Jacob. I don't need a baby-sitter to go ten blocks. Besides, maybe we should see the tapes too."
She might be right. But there was a crazy out there somewhere who liked hurting people—his people. “I can't have you going alone."
“We'll all be together,” Mike declared, standing as tall as he could stretch his slender body. “I'm not afraid, Dad."
“Me either,” Andee admonished. “I haven't taken all those defense classes for nothing."
Tim smiled. “J.T., I think it would be a good idea for all of you to view these with us. There might be something, or someone on the tapes one of you could recognize that we wouldn't."
“Thanks for the vote, Tim.” Sue didn't feel a bit smug. She would rather they could all just go home. She wouldn't mind if Jacob would put his arms around her for the next couple of hours. But, if watching the tapes would end all this mess, she was all for it. Besides, if Jacob had his arms around her, he would want more—she would want more....
* * * *
The man sat back on his leather seat, listening to every word being said down the street. Well, nearly every word, he thought. The car engine blocked much of what the cop said over the radio. It could have been a license number. He had hurried to get setup, but not fast enough. He wondered what tapes they were going to view. He wondered what the other cop had asked on the radio. Damn it to hell.
The fools didn't have to worry about him following Campbell's wife and kids. He didn't give a damn where they went. But he did want to know what they'd found in the house that produced tapes. Tapes that had their total attention. Campbell and the cop sounded too excited.
After their vehicles past the driveway he'd backed into, he started the car, pulled out from behind the trees, and followed them. Since he knew their destination, he didn't have to follow closely. There wouldn't be any problem listening to them, if they used Benson's office at the station. He'd been in that office—in the corner of the building and adjacent to the parking lot. Benson didn't even know he'd been through all the Delaney files in that office. Didn't know he could do it any time he wanted.
He parked in a spot near a dumpster bordered by palm trees and around several other cars that kept him somewhat hidden. When they all chose to park in front of the station, he breathed easier. He was almost behind the building and only a few feet from the office. He aimed his dish at the windows, switched on the sound and tape and waited.
* * * *
“This tape is dated three weeks ago,” Jacob said, taking a seat across from Tim's TV setup. “I think that's when the female agent visited when Robert wasn't home. His note on the incident was dated three weeks ago.” He watched the others take seats while Tim pushed play on the VCR.
Sue blinked her eyes, trying to ignore the squiggles Tim kept making on the screen. Finally, after several fast-forwards and plays, the picture on the screen showed no one in the den, but they could clearly hear the woman yelling obscenities at Dottie because she wouldn't let her in.
“It's too bad we can't see her,” Tim mumbled.
“Ellen Colby could probably tell you exactly what she looked like,” Sue told them. “Dottie was angry at the time, but Ellen shouldn't h
ave any emotions blocking her memory.”
“I'll see her tomorrow,” Tim said. “And see if there's anyone else we might have missed."
After watching the screen for three hours, Jacob noticed that both the children had fallen asleep in their chairs. He wished he could just scoop them up and take them home. Yawning widely, he left his chair and went to the coffee pot Tim had on a table in the corner. He poured the hot liquid into two white mugs and took one of them to Sue before returning to his seat.
“Look at that, will you,” Tim said, pointing at the screen. We've come to the morning of Robert's death."
Everyone in the room, except for the sleepers, leaned forward, and Sue sipped the strong coffee, her hand tightly gripping the mug as she felt the tension. Robert was working at his desk. The woman who entered had taken him completely by surprise. She had long, brunette hair and was wearing the blouse and skirt they'd found in the garage—and white cotton gloves. As she watched the next scene, she thanked God the children were sleeping. She wished she had joined them.
“I guess you won't come to your senses, Delaney,” the brunette said, opening her purse. She pulled a small gun from the interior, walked up to Robert, and pulled the trigger. Robert hadn't even said a word. His face looked astonished, then his head and shoulders hit the desk's surface. “See how easy that was to make you see the light,” she said. “Easy as hell."
The woman placed the gun in Robert's hand, then searched through the papers on his desk, grabbed some of them and a folder and left the room. She didn't go toward the front door but off into the rest of the house. Four more times the woman entered the room. Sue had tears blurring her vision, and amazed herself by being alert enough to notice when the woman's blouse brushed the doorframe.
“Jacob,” she began, her throat aching and stomach churning, “that woman has rather large feet, and rather large hands for how slender she is. In fact, the ring that's outlined on her left hand looks out of place too.” The ring, though covered with a glove, looked wide, flat-topped, and not making the fashion statement the clothes did—neither did the tennis shoes—they made the woman seem ridiculous.
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