Page 111 of Nanny for the SEALs

I gave a start. “They’ll just drop her?”

“The other actors are concerned about their own safety,” Asher said. “Especially after the shooting at the hotel. Nobody wants to stand next to someone who is, for all intents and purposes, a human lightning rod.”

“And if Amirah gets dropped,” Brady finished for him, “she and The Weiman Agency will give us the boot and hire someone else.”

“Like Heimdall.” Rogan gritted his teeth. “I just know Jimmy Cardannon is salivating at the opportunity.”

“Do we have any more evidence that Heimdall was behind the shooting at the hotel?” I asked.

Asher shook his head. “The gun recovered from the scene was black-market—no serial number. There were no fingerprints. The hotel room wasn’t registered to anyone. The shooter stole a hotel janitorial keycard to gain access.”

“The fucker got away, too,” Brady cursed. “He ditched his ski mask and blended in with the crowd after the fire alarm. Walked right out the building.”

“I’m convinced,” Rogan said definitively. “That event proves that it’s Heimdall.”

Asher blinked in surprise. “How do you figure?”

“In the first attack, at Amirah’s house, there were two attackers. At the hotel, there was only one. This makes no sense if it’s two stalkers working together. But itdoesmake sense if it’s all coordinated by someone like Cardannon. Two hired goons for the first job, and just one for the second.”

“That’s bullshit,” Brady said. “We don’t know there was only one guy there. The second one might’ve been down near the party. Or on another floor.”

“You really believe that?” Rogan shot back.

Brady jabbed a finger in his direction. “I’m just pointing out reasonable doubt. I think Heimdall’s responsible too, I really do, but we don’t got the proof yet.”

“Oh.” Asher sat up straighter in his chair and adjusted his glasses. “That reminds me. The hotel sent over the security footage from that night. I found something that implicates Heimdall.”

“Well, shit,” Brady said, shoving back from his chair. “Why didn’t you say so?”

The four of us went into the office and watched Asher login to the computer. He clicked through several directories before finding the video file he wanted. The video maximized on the screen.

It was security footage, probably taken from a camera mounted in the ceiling, based on the angle. It showed the entrance to the sushi restaurant that was in the hotel lobby, next to the front desk. From this vantage, we could see the first five tables inside.

Asher let the video play for a while, then suddenly paused it. He pointed at a bald man who was walking into the restaurant. “There. Just after seven o’clock. Recognize him?”

“It kind of looks like Jimmy Cardannon,” Rogan said. “But we can’t really be sure. He’s facing the other way.”

“Oh. Yes. Um. One moment.” Asher fast-forwarded the video. The man zoomed into the restaurant, then reappeared at one of the tables just inside the open door. Asher paused it again.

“Fuck me sideways,” Brady muttered. “That’s Cardannon, all right. I’d recognize his ugly mug anywhere.”

“I knew it.” Rogan slammed a fist down on the desk, causing the keyboard to bounce. “It can’t be a coincidence that he was there that night.”

“Who does he meet with?” I insisted. The ski mask had obscured the shooter’s face, but I was confident I could recognize his build and clothes. Maybe I could help nail him after all!

“Unfortunately, nobody,” Asher replied.

“What do you mean, nobody?” Rogan pushed forward and clickedplayon the mouse. We watched the video continue at 4X speed, then 8X. Cardannon received a plate of food, wolfed it down rapidly, then nursed a drink before leaving. Altogether, he had been there for an hour and twenty minutes.

“What about the other footage?” Rogan insisted. “He must have met with the shooter. If we have video of him going up to the room on the ninth floor, then we have him dead to rights.”

“Cardannon never went upstairs,” Asher replied calmly. “He never met with anyone. He uses valet parking in front of the hotel, eats dinner at the restaurant, then immediately leaves.”

Rogan let out an angry groan. I had never seen him this frustrated before. It made me feel even more guilty for screwing things up at the hotel.

“We can take this to the police,” Rogan said. “Tell them everything we suspect about Cardannon and Heimdall.”

“Takewhatto the police?” Asher asked. “It is not illegal to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant.”

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