Page 50 of Head Room
“Hah,” Mike crowed.
“Hey,” I objected.
Diana continued blandly, “You were debating taking on this investigation because you were concerned about it interfering with the wedding—”
“I didn’t—”
“—specifically, running up against your mother and Tamantha’s wedding preparation schedule.”
“Well, that’s understandable.Mrs.D and Tamantha — that’s a formidable duo.”Mike’s small shudder was visible through the screen.
As I said, he’s my friend.
“I don’t get what the big deal is — they’re planning the wedding, not you,” Jennifer said.
“I do have a little to do with it.”
My grumble didn’t put a dent in Jennifer’s attitude.“We have days and days before your part, so let’s get started on this.”
Diana made a sound.Mike found a need to put his hand over his mouth.
With dignity and an altruistic view to the greater good, I set aside my righteous indignation, and recounted what happened in chronological order, with Diana picking up with her description of the fire scene.
“I’m sending you all the footage,” she said.
“I’ve already accessed what Nola Choi shot.I’ll get it out to everybody,” Jennifer added.
“How—?Do you have a backdoor—?No, wait.Don’t tell us,” I said.
“You took the words out of my mouth,” murmured Mike.
For years, the rest of us withstood the temptation to let loose Jennifer’s hacking skills, not wanting to risk her getting in trouble.
Now we might need to protect the station’s security, since she was no longer an official employee.
Mike recovered first and said, “Could whoever burned the cabin have done it like they used to in the old days for the nails?”
“Nails?”I asked.
“They were expensive, hard to find.Get an old building that wasn’t needed anymore, burn it down, sift through for nails and you had a supply.”
“There was a dead guy in the cabin.Why burn it down for nails when there was a dead guy there?”Jennifer asked.
“I was trying to cover our bases.”
Before Jennifer could respond with what her expression indicated was not going to be praise, Diana stepped in.“There will be a separate file coming through now showing another element — a pattern in the fire.”
That recentered all our attention as she explained.
We each called up the video.
Yes, Mike was driving, but he was well out of Cody and an old hand at this.
“I don’t see—.Oh.”Jennifer’s self-interruption faded into absorption as she observed the pattern.
Mike whistled.“Good spotting, Diana.”
If she basked in the praise, it was at warp speed.
