He stopped himself, forcing his thoughts to slow.
He didn’t know. Not for certain.
But the woman in that footage had known what she was doing. She’d disabled the alarm. She’d moved with purpose.
And someone had ended up dead.
Why had the man even been back there? What had he been doing?
Had someone in this house known he would be there? Had this person sneaked outside to meet this man, and their rendezvous turned deadly?
He had so many questions.
Caleb looked back at the screen. Sutherland had frozen the image of the woman there.
He stared at the shadowed figure disappearing into the dark.
Whoever she was, she’d been careful.
He had to tell the sheriff about his suspicions, whether he liked it or not.
chapter
thirty-three
Caleb stoodnear the doorway as Sheriff Sutherland settled into the chair across from Valentina.
She sat on the couch, Pippa curled in her lap, her posture straight but not rigid. Her hands rested on the dog’s small body, fingers moving in slow, rhythmic strokes. She looked calm. Too calm, maybe.
Or maybe that was just Caleb’s suspicion talking.
The sheriff opened his notebook, his movements deliberate and unhurried. “Ms. Reyes, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me again.”
“Of course.” Her voice sounded steady, polite. “I want to help however I can.”
“Good.” Sutherland clicked his pen. “I need to ask you about last night. Specifically, about your movements between the hours of two and four a.m.”
Valentina’s expression didn’t change. “Like I told you earlier, I was in my room. Asleep.”
“You didn’t leave your room at all?”
“That’s correct. I did not.” Her voice didn’t waiver.
The sheriff paused, his gaze steady on her face. “You’re certain?”
“Yes, of course I’m certain!” She tilted her head suspiciously. “Why are you asking me this? We’ve already been over it all.”
“We have security footage from last night,” Sutherland said. “It shows someone leaving the house through the back door at approximately three a.m.”
Valentina’s fingers stilled on Pippa’s fur. “And you think it wasme?”
“I’maskingif it was you.”
She let out a short, humorless laugh. “Why would you assume it was me? It could have been anyone. I’m not the only guest here, you know.”
“I do understand that there are only a handful of people staying in this house,” the sheriff reminded her. “You’re one of them. We’ll talk to everyone again, of course.”
Caleb watched as Valentina’s jaw tightened. It was the first crack he’d seen in her composure.
