Page 54 of The Pretender

“Was she connected with Tabitha?” Gabby asked.

“No.” Harris didn’t actually know if that was true. “I mean, it’s possible Tabitha was on her organization’s website, but I don’t know. I’ll ask.” Gabby blinked a few more times than was normal, so Harris dropped that topic. “But we’re off track here.”

“Good summation,” Damon said in a tone that suggested Harris had blown it.

“I’m still confused,” she said.

Before Harris could go back and clean up his comments, Damon started talking. “Bottom line, we think your uncle is a dick and that you’re more than likely innocent.”

More than likely?“Damon.”

“What?” Damon shrugged. “That’s a positive statement.”

“It’s okay.” She put out her hand when Harris started to say something else. “Better than I usually get, actually.”

Damon stared at her for a second with his eyes narrowing. “What were you digging out of the wall?”

She glared at Harris. “You told him.”

“He saw it. Our mutual friend has surveillance equipment on the island. Really well hidden, but it’s there.” Harris didn’t see any reason to hide that fact. She wasn’t the one running around causing trouble. And if she did decide on another midnight digging session, she might actually ask him to come with her. Clearly this three-mile stretch of land was not as safe as they’d hoped.

Her face lit up. “Then you know who started the fire.”

“I like your practical side.” Damon winked at her. “I was actually going to review the video but then Harris came in here talking about...” This time Damon shook his head. “Something.”

“Let’s look.” She glanced around the floor and to where the table used to be. “Wait, where?”

“You may not like what you see.” Thinking about who could be on that tape worried Harris. She’d been abandoned by so many, some willingly and others not. She didn’t need another body blow.

She made a huffing sound. “You do understand my family history, right? It’s hard to shock me at this point.”

Wrong. Something deflated inside Harris. “Don’t ever say that.”

She frowned. “Why?”

He slipped his hand under her elbow and guided her back into the hallway to the office Damon had been using for days. “It invites trouble.”

Ten minutes later, Damon had the video cued up. He ran it off his laptop, but Harris knew Wren had reviewed it first. Since his cell hadn’t started ringing, Harris figured the video didn’t provide many clues. Wren would be barking out orders if it did.

Now it was their turn to pick the video apart.

Harris and Gabby hovered over Damon’s shoulders. The laptop screen was divided into eight small boxes, each one showing a different part of the island. The timestamp indicated the video had taped last night.

The images were grainy but easy to make out. The buildings. The front porch of the main house. The darkness. Wren should have installed the sensor lights he had at his house. That would have made all of this easier.

The images flipped by at timed intervals, showing different angles. Gabby pointed as one flashed on the screen. “There. Stop.”

Damon slowed the images down, focusing on a figure appearing by the retaining wall by the pool as if rising out of the water. Tapping on the keyboard, Damon followed the person’s trail then sat back hard in his chair. “I see a person in a hoodie.”

“Not Kramer.” That was the part Harris picked out. Kramer had a specific walk. He didn’t run and didn’t stand up perfectly straight. No, this person moved with speed and agility. Harris tagged him, and he was pretty sure the person was a younger man.

Gabby frowned at him. “You can’t think that Kramer would set fire to the house.”

That was exactly what he’d thought. The guy had access to everything. It made sense that he could come and go unnoticed. “Disgruntled employee who has always been on the fringes of a wealthy family. They pretend he matters, but he’s never really invited into the inner circle.” When she continued to stare at him, Harris shrugged. “It happens.”

“None of that is true.”

While he appreciated her near-automatic response to protect the people she cared about, Harris wasn’t really in the mood. “He’s an employee, Gabby. Don’t think he doesn’t get reminders of where he stands in the Wright family every single day.”

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