Camden pulled out his phone and called Gina, who answered immediately. He put her on speaker. “Whatcha got, Spooky?”
“Here’s what I can tell you. I plugged Anderson’s glasses into a laptop. One-hundred and twenty photos and three videos.”
“Our boy’s a shutterbug,” Jake said. “Always has been.”
“Most of the photos are crap. Blurry, as if he were in motion, a few close-ups of the guests when he was serving them, and not very flattering. Several of Bette from a distance. And Rachael too, sorry, Jake.”
“Forewarned is forearmed,” Jake said. “Not like we didn’t know this was coming.”
“A few stills of the interior of the house.”
Camden leaned forward. “Like he’s scoping the security?”
“More like for a house and home mag.” Gina paused, blowing her breath out in a quick huff. “The videos are a little more concerning. Not that every shot isn’t, when you see the whole picture through a, shall we say, skeptical brain like mine.”
“So what’s got you paranoid, Spooky?” Camden asked.
He heard her chuckle, then her tone turned serious again. “He didn’t run video until after the Bennetts arrived, which you could chalk up to coincidence, except that they were the main subjects of the videos. The kids especially, though he got some footage of Roger and Cici up on the patio by the grill when she first came out. That’s the last video. It starts with the twins running around with the dogs, pans up to the patio and zooms in on Roger and Cici, then back to the kids, until some doof comes up behind and orders a Shirley Temple. From there it’s an action movie starring Anderson as a scared shitless photog and the dog who can’t get enough of him.”
“Heh. So, what’s your overall impression, and what did he say during your friendly chat?”
“My overall impression is that he got here early and took some throwaway shots, some decent ones for extra cash, but that his main objective was to get footage of the Bennetts. The photos he took of them are crystal. I think the other photos are meant as a cover—which is the story he stuck to, that he saw an opportunity to infiltrate a Bash and took photos like a kid grabs candy in a candy store. I think if you hadn’t spotted him, he would have eventually taken a video or two of someone else to add to the cover, but that he didn’t want to fill his battery before he got the Bennetts.”
“But he denies all that?” Camden asked.
“He does. Still looks fishy to me. But again, it could be nothing and I’m just biased. Either way, My friends are keeping an eye on him now. He’ll sue to get the glasses back, but it’s funny how footage just gets corrupted sometimes.”
Camden could practically hear her shrug over the phone. “Thanks, Gina.” He looked at Jake and Costello. “Thoughts?”
Costello spoke first. “Cici Bennett is not happy about her husband’s aspirations. As soon as her kids were out of sight inside, I watched her slam three of your Tequila Sours while keeping an eye on you, Camden. She appraised you like you were a pit bull she was thinking of buying for home security. After she exchanged pleasantries with Millie Ellington and Bree Croft and moved on, I listened to them discuss how Cici’s become so overprotective of the twins lately. Later inside, she hovered around them with her arms slightly out like she was ready to catch them, and kept her body between them and the rest of the party. Her shoulders didn’t drop from around her ears until they left.”
“She was not the same woman Cam and I met the other day,” Jake said. “That woman was calm and in control, excited about moving to a white house on the East Coast, her words. The woman I watched today was fighting to keep her shit together. Roger, too, was different. Closed off, even when he smiled and made small-talk. And when Cici came out to get Bennett to hear about Camden, there was more desperation in her eyes than anything else. Roger mirrored it.”
“That was easy to see,” Camden said. Since Costello wasn’t yet in on the CIA and FBI chatter, and they weren’t in the office, he didn’t want to give it away, so he said, “Do you think they’ve been threatened, or is she only anticipating trouble?”
Costello scratched his ear. “I thought it was anticipatory. She’s definitely anxious, but it seemed generalized. But now that you’ve given me a baseline of their behavior, I’d say something’s happened between your meeting and now.”
“I agree,” Gina said.
“Make that three,” Jake added.
Goddamnit, Camden thought.Barely started the job and we’ve already missed something. “It’s late. Let’s talk more at the office on Monday. You okay being on our principals tomorrow, Gina?”
“Absolutely. It’s a cakewalk. They don’t have anything scheduled beyond Sunday services. If Cici leaves the house otherwise, I’ll let you know immediately so you can replace me while I’m on her tail.”
Camden let out a breath. “Thanks, Gina. Maybe today will convince her they need round-the-clock protection for the time being. That’d make our jobs easier.”
“Surprised she or Roger didn’t ask today,” Jake said.
“Me too,” Camden said. “Great work, team. We’ll talk Monday.” Even as he smiled at the other two men his stomach plummeted. What did he miss and why did it have Cici tied up in knots? What was her resistance to bodyguards all about? Now more than ever, he needed to make sure Elena stayed out of harm’s way. He’d pay attention to the danger signs this time, and protect the woman he was quickly falling for, and falling for hard.
Ten
Monday morning at work, Elena could barely concentrate on her tasks. Her mind kept drifting back to the party, to the scene with Cici followed by making out with Camden in the library. She’d wanted to talk to him on the way home about the Bennetts and whatever Camden had started to tell her, but Tina was overtired, swinging between chattering excitedly about staying up later than she ever had, asking Camden questions, and begging to keep Toby overnight. By the time they pulled up to the apartment building, Elena was too exhausted to form any coherent thoughts.
Camden had walked them to their door where he hugged Tina and gave Elena a chaste peck on the cheek, though his gaze was full of heat. Enough that Elena impulsively invited him to dinner Sunday night. Disappointment replaced the heat as Camden turned down her offer, saying he had a prior commitment, but that he wanted to see her this week. It was just as well—Tina spent Sunday acting more like a crab than a sweet little mermaid.
Elena was putting together a PowerPoint presentation for the next staff meeting and trying not to think about the reasons why Camden could have turned down her invitation. Maybe it was his job getting in the way, but she couldn’t help wondering, was it Tina’s behavior after the party? Was it the scene with Cici? Was it something Elena herself had done or didn’t do?
