Page 107 of Fortune's Control
“Three or four days. I miss you, and this town is miserable with no one to entertain me.”
Shane came back outside. “The house is empty, and Pirate is asleep on my pillow.” He said the last part through gritted teeth. “Did you find Emma?”
“On the phone with her now. She plans another visit soon.” He nodded as I returned to the call. “Please be careful.”
“He’s there with you, not here with me. You be careful. Seriously. I mean it, Lilah. Don’t trust anyone except those guys. Plus, Sophie and Lainey. You can trust them too, but no one else.Got it?”
“Got it.”
We ended the call as Jack and Sophie came back down the stairs.
“It’s a mess, but nothing is missing. No permanent damage either. The drawers and cabinets were emptied. My guess is whoever did it was looking for something,” Jack said. He pointed at Sophie. “She’s staying in the main house, and I already informed her I’m staying on the couch again.”
“I refuse to be afraid of some pathetic little worm with a goatee and a hoodie. That’s loser fashion,” Sophie said as she entered the house. “And shut up, Jack.”
“Do you plan to tell me to stay away from her?” he asked Shane. Jack’s tone implied he had no intention of doing so, regardless of Shane’s response.
“Why would I do that? Be her shadow, so I know she’s taken care of. It’s a simple decision. For now, let’s check those cameras.”
*****
“Is that him?” I asked.
We watched as a hooded figure walked past the pool in slow motion. He scanned the yard and moved toward the house before changing his mind.
“He’s been here before,” Shane said, and paused several frames to find a clearer picture. “Do you recognize him?”
“I can’t see his face.” He resumed the video, and we watched as the hooded man climbed the staircase and disappeared. “He knew to search the apartment.” But why? “Those pictures. The ones I showed you, remember? I found those shoved under my door. Maybe there’s a clue in them.”
“Maybe, but why not take them earlier?”
“Then he’s angry at me, or trying to frighten me.” It wouldn’t work. All I felt was anger. The hooded man emerged from the apartment, and I gasped. “He took it off. Shane, that’s him. He’s the one I saw that night. He killed Sandy Cooper.”
I banged a finger on the man’s face. Shane paused the video on an image of the man staring into the camera.
“He realized no one was home and got lazy. That isn’t the guy in the detective’s pictures,” Shane agreed.
“He’s also the one who chased us down in his car.”
Shane called his sister. “Do you recognize him?” he asked after giving her a chance to study the picture.
“That’s the freak loser who tried to run us over. Give me a car, and I’ll return the favor.”
Jack stayed silent while never taking his focus off her.
Shane took a screenshot and continued the video.
“Can you go back to that image? I want to see him again.”
Shane did so, and I leaned in so close my nose almost touched the monitor.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Remember when I said something was wrong? I knew it wasn’t Wilson Skane, but I couldn’t figure out how I knew. I’m trying to figure it out.” It was more than his appearance. The man in the photo could be Wilson Skane’s relative. They were the same height and build, with the same stupid goatee. “I never met him up close, but I heard them argue several times.”
The doorbell rang, and my thoughts dispersed. Whatever tendril or clue lay out there, it vanished.
“Who is that? Our friends enter through the back door,” Sophie said.
