“Give me that.” I tried to yank the computer out of Morrie’s hand, but he clutched it to his body.
“Careful with my precious,” he pouted. “I’ve seen you on the dance floor. I don’t trust you with this computer.”
“Stop playing around and listen to me – the video’s fake.” Morrie and Heathcliff looked up in surprise. “I mean, it’s really Alice talking, but she’s not filming it herself. There’s someone else in the room, behind the camera, making her say what she said. I don’t think she killed Hathaway at all.”
“Interesting.” Morrie rested his head on his hands. “What makes you think that?”
“Show me the video from the start,” I said, bracing myself for the horror of watching Alice’s tear-stained face again. Morrie hit play.
“If you find this tape, it’s because I’m dead…”
“No, back further. Go right to the beginning, where she’s fiddling with the camera.”
Morrie flicked back a few frames. There was Alice, standing up and leaning over to the left to adjust something on the camera.
I jabbed my finger at the screen. “I watched Ashley do vlogging in our flat all the time, so I’ve seen a person adjust their camera before a shoot. They always lean into the side where the buttons are. Only I saw Alice use her camera the other day – it’s the exact same camera Ashley used. The buttons are on the opposite side.”
“So she mirrored the screen,” Heathcliff growled. “Isn’t that simple to do on those fancy app thingies?”
I pointed to the timestamp in the corner of the screen. “Those little app thingies wouldn’t keep the timestamp. Morrie, can you confirm this is raw footage?”
Morrie tapped a few buttons. “Yes, this video was uploaded directly from the camera, nothing altered.”
“I don’t know,” Heathcliff said. “It seems a little flimsy.”
“I agree, but I can’t think of another explanation to fit all the facts,” I said. “There are all those pauses through the video, and the way she kept looking off to the left, as though she were deferring to someone sitting there. Maybe reading prompts?”
Morrie rubbed his cheek. “Okay, okay, say you’re right. What are we going to do with this? Taking it to the police is an option, although we’ll get in trouble for having the memory stick.”
“We should just hand it in, say we found it on the grounds. But it wouldn’t matter, anyway. They’re going to say it’s not enough evidence.” My head fell into my hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
“We solve the murder,” Heathcliff growled. “It’s the only thing to do.”
“My, haven’t we changed our tune?” Morrie grinned.
“More like I don’t want some sadistic bastard who makes innocent women make their own confession videos anywhere near Mina or my shop. Don’t forget the murderer left the message on her door. YOU’RE NEXT. Over my dead fucking body.”
“Agreed. But if we’re going to figure this out, we need more time,” Morrie cried. “All our suspects are leaving.”
“I know.” I held out my hand. “Hand me your mobile.”
Morrie looked horrified. He clutched the tiny rectangle to his chest like it was his firstborn. “Why do you needmyphone?”
“Because you’ve got that fancy tech on there that means calls can’t be traced. And that app you showed me that distorts your voice.”
“Oh, you’re going to do something illegal,” Morrie grinned. He tossed the phone to me. “Don’t let me stand in your way.”
Please, don’t make me regret this.Heart pounding, I dialed Inspector Hayes’ private number (which Morrie had on his phone because of course he did) and clicked on the app. He picked up on the second ring. “Hayes,” he snapped in his businesslike manner, just as Quoth and Lydia walked back into the room. Heathcliff shushed them as he ushered them to sit on the bed.
“Good afternoon, Inspector Hayes,” I intoned, frantically gesturing for them to be silent and shut the door. My voice came out sounding like a deep, sexy robot. “I understand you have your hands full with another murder investigation. I hate to take up your time, but I fear this matter is of vital importance.”
“What are you talking about?” he demanded. “Who is this?”
“You can call me a concerned friend. I’m concerned, you see, because I have planted a bomb in one of the cows in the field behind Baddesley Hall. I can detonate it at any time from my vantage point here. I don’t want to do that, but I’ll be forced to if you don’t comply with my demands.”
Quoth’s eyes bugged out of his head. Heathcliff regarded me with an intense stare that made my whole body want to shrivel up into a ball. Morrie leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. His smug smile said to all the room, ‘I created this monster’.
Yes, you did, you wanker.
