Page 80 of Montana Manhunt

“They’re great. Thanks for asking.” She dropped into Ellis’s seat and pulled a yellow legal pad and pen from her large bag. “Tell me what’s going on. I have a feeling the detectives won’t be patient for long.”

Noah rattled off a report to the Fortress lawyer, ending with, “Ellis and Freeman are gearing up to charge us with planting that bomb.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

“Do you have the materials necessary to create the bomb?”

“No,” Noah repeated.

“I do,” Grant said. “The security footage Zane sent will show that we carried nothing into Camilla’s apartment and carried only photographs and journals from the building.”

“Anything else I should know?”

“Both Noah and Grant were injured after the explosion,” Violet said. “Shrapnel wounds. They were treated at the hospital, but need to rest soon.”

“I’ll make that happen.” Casey pushed back from the scarred wooden table and opened the door. “We’re ready,” she said to the detectives waiting in the hall.

Ellis and Freeman returned to their seats, and once again pulled out their notepads and pens. Seconds later, the red light appeared beneath the camera to signal that Noah and his teammates were being recorded.

“Ask your questions, Detectives,” Casey said. “Make them count because you have 90 minutes. At that time, we’ll end the interviews.”

“Wait a minute,” Ellis protested. “You can’t do that. We have an investigation to conduct.”

“And we’ll cooperate within reason. Noah and Grant were injured. They’re under doctor’s orders to rest. I’m sure you don’t want them to go against medical advice. Let’s get busy, boys. The clock’s ticking.”

The detectives exchanged grim glances, then got down to business. They took Noah and the other operatives through their arrival at the apartment building, their every move inside Camilla’s home, and their exit from the building several times.

“You have 30 minutes,” Casey said to the detectives. “Anything in particular you want to focus on?”

“We watched the security footage while you consulted with your lawyer, Violet,” Ellis said. “Didn’t look to me like you were carrying pictures from the apartment.”

“Rayne collected pictures for me.”

Freeman frowned. “What did you take from the apartment?”

“Cami kept a journal every year since she turned thirteen years old.”

“Where were they?”

“Her home office.”

“Where are they now?”

“The SUV. Look, do you really want to waste your time reading about a teenage girl’s troubles?”

“You said she kept a journal every year.” Ellis studied Violet’s face. “Did you find journals for last year and this year?”

Her hand clenched into a fist under Noah’s hand. Violet nodded.

“We don’t need the earlier journals, but we’d like to see the ones from the last two years.”

Violet glanced at Casey.

“Detective Ellis, since my client just lost her twin, I don’t think it’s too much to ask you to copy the journals and give the originals back to Violet.”

Both men scowled. “That’s not the usual procedure,” Ellis snapped.

---