Page 40 of Skeletons in the Closet

After driving for a good fifteen minutes, I finally asked, “Where are we going?”

“Rowell Housing. I looked into them. Sean is rarely at the office. He shows houses, seeks property deals, and handles the bank stuff. The paperwork lands on his wife’s desk. Beth is the one behind the computer, but Beth goes home at three o’clock every day to get the kids from school, and a know-nothing high school kid comes in from three to six to answer the phones, clean up, and lock the door. He schedules appointments, if necessary, but doesn’t do much else. Picks his fucking nose.”

“Attractive.”

Diem pulled into a plaza on Ellesmere Road and parked a distance from the Rowell Housing office before killing the engine. “Here’s the deal. We’re going to go inside and tell the kid we’re there to fix the internet. He won’t know what we’re talking about because he’s probably been playing his stupid phone games all afternoon. But I have a device”—Diem removed a square black plastic box from his pocket—“that will back up our story.”

I took the device from his hand and turned it over. It was the size and shape of a walkie-talkie I’d had as a kid. “What is it?”

“Wi-Fi jammer.”

“No way.” My brows hit my hairline. “Is it legal?”

Diem pressed his lips together. He breathed audibly a few times before muttering, “No.”

“Cool. Very James Bond. Where’d you get it? Wait. Don’t tell me. Does YouTube deliver?”

He deadpanned and snatched the device back. “No.” His neck colored, and he muttered, “I got it on Amazon.”

I burst out laughing. “You’re shitting me.”

“Can I finish explaining?”

Still chuckling, I urged Diem to go on.

“We need to get in there before the kid locks up. I’ll fuck up the Wi-Fi signal, then go in and say Beth called us to check the internet because it’s been sketchy all day. The kid will gawp with confusion because he’s stupid. He’ll check his phone and realize he’s sucking up his daddy’s data and not hooked to Wi-Fi anymore. He’ll probably have a mini-heart attack if he’s been watching porn videos, but that’s not my problem. What I need is to get on a computer and access Beth’s email. She used a work account when communicating with Olivia. I want to see what else I can find.”

I clucked my tongue as I rolled Diem’s plan around my head. “No. No, I don’t like it.”

He frowned. “Excuse me?Whatdon’t you like?”

“Your plan. It has holes. What if he knows he’s had Wi-Fi this whole time, and you’re lying?”

“He won’t.”

“What if he wants to call Beth and double-check your story?”

“He won’t.”

“You don’t know that. You think he’s going to let two strange men who aren’t in uniform and have no visual proof of who they work for into the office and onto a private computer without asking questions?”

“Yes. I told you, he’s a dumb high school kid. I talked to him on the phone earlier, and the amount of stupid falling from his mouth was painful. I’ll slip him fifty bucks if he asks too many questions. It’ll work like a charm.”

“Do you bribe everyone?”

Diem grunted and shrugged. I had a feeling he did. With his social skills so compromised, it was likely how he got things done.

“He won’t call Beth,” Diem reiterated. “He’ll want to get us in and out as fast as possible so he can go home and jerk off. Trust me, the kid is a few crayons short of a box. Too much video games, porn, and marijuana will do that.”

“Do you speak from experience?”

He scowled.

“I still say it’s risky.”

“Then stay here. I knew I shouldn’t have brought you. It’s not your job anyway.”

I chuckled. “You’re cute when you’re pissy. I have a better idea. Have you developed any sort of acting skills in the last five minutes?”

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