Page 124 of Healed Heart
“Like I said, wasn’t hungry, so I grabbed the bag of potato chips off the top of my refrigerator, opened them, ate a few chips.They were dry and crackly down my throat, I remember that.I drank some water, and then I went back to the computer.I was going to look on Facebook, and that’s when the electricity blipped.”
Henry widens his eyes.“The electricity blipped?”
“Oh my God,” I say.“It did.I came home that night after studying at the library, and I had to reset all my clocks.”
“Yeah, it happens around here sometimes,” Jason says.“More often during the summer, when there’s a storm, but sometimes during the winter, when it gets cold or snowy.”
“So the electricity blipped,” Henry says.
“Yeah.So I had to go reset my motion sensor.It has a battery backup, but it beeps after a blackout until I hit the reset button.And I don’t know about you, but that noise drives me insane.”
Henry holds up a hand.“Wait, wait, wait… You have a motion sensor?”
“Yeah,” Jason says.“It’s not connected to the police or monitored by a security company or anything.It’s just a cheap motion sensor light system inside the house.I installed it when I first moved in because I hate walking into a dark room.Ever since I lost Lindsay and Julia, it just helps a little.Half the time I forget it’s even there.”
“What kind of motion sensor is it?”Henry asks.
“Oh, I forget the name of the company, but it’s one of those smart home motion sensors.”
“Smart?”Henry wrinkles his forehead.“So it probably logs data.”
Jason strokes his chin.“Yeah, I think so.I have an app on my phone.Half the time I forget it’s there, like I said.I never check it.”
“Yeah, but this is your alibi, Jason.”Henry snaps his fingers.“It will show movement at your home that night.”
Jason raises his eyebrows.“Oh my God.I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”He frowns.“But I’m not sure it will help at all.It may show that someone was in my home, but how do I prove it was me?”
“Does anyone else have a key to your house?”
“No.”He shakes his head.
“Then we can assume it was you.I mean, if your house was broken into, you would’ve called the police, right?”
“Yes,” I say.“There would be evidence of a break-in, Jason.”
Jason grabs his phone out of his pocket.“Here’s the app.Man, I had the thing installed right after I moved in almost three years ago.God, I hope I remember my login information.”
“You remember, Jason,” I tell him.“You have to.You can reset your account if you have to.”
He fiddles around with it for a few minutes.“Got it.Third time’s the charm.”A moment later.“Oh my God.Here are all my logs.”He scans the screen.“Looks like there’s a slight bleep, probably when the electricity blipped and the Wi-Fi went down for a couple of minutes.But other than that, it’s all here.”He slaps his hand against his forehead.“I never thought I’d be glad I was pacing around my house all night.”
“You think anyone could’ve seen you through your windows?”I ask.
“No, I keep my drapes shut for the most part.”
“I don’t think it matters,” Henry says.“This should be enough for the DA to drop the charges.Did you tell Blake any of this?”
He shakes his head.“I didn’t think it was important.And he didn’t ask me about an alarm system or anything.”
“Yeah, he’s old-school.”Henry gets to his feet.“But we need to call him.This could be exactly what you need to get those charges dropped.”
“Yeah.I’ll call him first thing in the morning,” Jason says.
“No,” Henry says.“We’re going to call now.”He pulls out his phone.“My family calls our attorneys at all hours.For what we pay, they always answer.He won’t mind hearing from me.You mind if I do the honors?”
“Please,” Jason says.
I launch myself into Jason and throw my arms around him, kissing his stubbled cheek.“Oh my God, Jason!This could be it.We’re going to get those charges dropped, and then we can work on proving that Ralph is the one who killed Lindsay.”
