He’s going to Corbeau?
Foster? Does he mean Kevin Foster?
“The house will be empty. Mrs. Foster’s nephew, Nathan, has been in and out of there for the last week, helping out. He dropped her off at her sister’s house last night.”
Ben picks up a FedEx envelope that was on the corner of the kitchen counter with all the mail he brought in earlier. The envelope is already open so he just turns it upside down, shaking the contents out. A single sheet of paper and something long and narrow falls out. He picks it up and examines it. “This fucking key better work.”
The PI says, “It will. What are you gonna do if it’s not in the gun safe?”
Oh shit. I slump in my chair while my mind tries to keep up with what I’m learning. No one is bringing the evidence here to Ben. He’s going to get it, and for some reason he believes it’s in a gun safe at Kevin Foster’s house.
Foster is my dad’s go-to guy and his hands are as dirty as Dad’s, but I’m still not sure how this is connected to him.
Maybe Foster helped Ben cover up his involvement in that accident in some way?
Ben paces around the kitchen while spinning that odd-shaped key in his hand. “If it’s not there it doesn’t exist, because I have looked everywhere else.”
I’m so distracted by this new information that I don’t realize anyonehas pulled up to the house until I hear the doorbell. This must be one of the meetings he just mentioned. I take a quick peek at the camera I placed on the front porch, but whoever is there has already passed by it.
Ben looks out of the window. “I’ll call you back,” he says, ending the call. He starts to move to the front door, then remembers the key in his hand. Glancing around as if trying to decide what to do with it, he moves to my small desk next to the fridge, where I keep my calendar and pay the household bills. He drops the key in the glass jar I use to hold pens, markers, and scissors.
The second he swings the door open, I get a clear view of who is on the other side.
My mouth drops open. “What the hell…” Standing on my front porch is my sister-in-law, Margaret.
Chapter 17
Aubrey
BEFORE THE ALIBI
Monday, September 28
Deacon and I pull into the parking lot, one row over from where Camille’s car is parked.
“Don’t be nervous. You’re holding all the cards,” Deacon says as he puts his hand on my knee to stop its bouncing.
“I know. You’re right. But what if she’s surrounded by a bunch of people when she comes out?”
“Then we’ll catch her somewhere else.”
This will be the first time I’ve spoken to Camille since she showed up at the bar to confront me about sleeping with her husband. I’ve been preparing myself for this conversation with her for the last few days, mainly to make sure I wouldn’t be blindsided like I was last time.
The PI who Ben hired has fully flipped on him and is feeding Deacon info as he gets it. Deacon was right—his loyalty lies where he financially gains the most.
Ben broke down and had to bring Vic in on his plans when he was faced with a task he couldn’t handle on his own. When you believe the information you’re seeking is locked away in a home gun safe that is five feet tall and weighs more than four hundred pounds, you’re going to need a little help getting inside it.
To break into a safe like that, you’d either need a knowledgeable locksmith, which would be hard to find considering you’re asking them to open a safe you don’t own, or you’d have to drill through the lock, which would alert the owners that their safe was breached.
But the funny thing about a gun safe is there’s always a backup way to get inside that’s honestly not that hard to get…as long as you don’t mind waiting about a week. In the model they are trying to break into, there’s a keyhole hidden behind the electronic lock face. All you need is the serial number of the safe, which can easily be found if you have a dolly and enough manpower to tip the safe on its side so you can look underneath it. Then you request a replacement from the manufacturer, which is also surprisingly easy since they don’t keep ownership records on their safes.
And that extra manpower was Ben’s PI, Vic.
Ben will receive the key sometime next week and plans to get into the safe when he knows the house will be empty.
“There she is.” Deacon points to the group of women exiting the building, leaving their Junior League meeting. Thankfully, Camille says her goodbyes and breaks away from the group, walking in a different direction to her car.
Just as I’m about to get out of Deacon’s car, he stops me. “Remember, keep it simple. We need her to think Ben has someone bringing it to him, not that he’s going to get it.”
