He held up his hand. “Hear me out, Chief. She had a car pass to the complex. She had a key to the kennels.” Alex heard Kyle straining to keep his voice—and anger—in check. “She was up at the ranch visiting with us and you remember how she was alone in one of the bedrooms. That’s where the trapdoor is that leads to the attic where we store the decorations. She was in there long enough that if she had the intel, she could have easily pulled down the attic door, climbed up the ladder, and opened the first box she came to. The star was lying right on top. She’s had plenty of opportunities to snag Camo’s toy. And the dogs all know her well enough that they wouldn’t bark. Jodie can attest to that—hell, Alex,youcan attest to that.”
“It’s all circumstantial,” Alex said in her defense. “Anyone could have driven her car in here.”
Kyle remained unconvinced. “Chief, I know you want to believe in her. But she was acting weird the night of the party. The way she hot footed it out to her car right after? She could’ve stashed everything in her car then. And then she just coolly walked back into the party.”
“It wasn’t her,” Alex insisted. “There has to be another explanation.”
“Are wecertainher HOA was trying to kick her out?” Gina asked. “She could have been using it as a ruse to gain our trust and get in here.”
Alex clenched his fists. “No, the HOA pushing her out is legit. I laid eyes on the bitch myself, out walking her dog. She shot daggers at Sylvie.” Alex shook his head vehemently. “Sylvie wouldn’t need to come up with something elaborate like that to get in here. She’s known Arden for years. She could have played up their relationship and come to the ranch at any point. Hell, Arden was the one who invited her. And all the people who board horses at the ranch have gate passes to come and go as they need to. Sylvie had access to the kennels already anyway, just like Stan and Frank.”
“But she was the only one with a key, unless you’ve been handing them out,” Kyle said.
“Fuck no! Come on, Kyle. You know me.”
“I thought I did. But love makes you do crazy shit.”
Alex jerked back. He felt his blood pressure rise and pound in his ears. “There is no fucking way Sylvie is with Capitoline. They’ve been watching us, closer than we knew, inside and outside. They know our enemies and our allies, and they’ll use them both against us if they can, especially our allies. All this shit is meant to turn us against each other, make us paranoid.”
Alex’s mind reeled. He hated the swirling storm of emotions tearing through him. Anger at Kyle. Fierce worry for Sylvie. Dread at thinking that he’d been betrayed by a woman he loved—again. It was like he was out at sea in the middle of a hurricane with the wind and the waves tossing him every direction.
So, find the calm at the center before you open your mouth again. Arguing isn’t getting us anywhere. This isn’t just for you, but for Sylvie.
She didn’t betray me. She’s in danger and I’ve got to convince them of it.
Sylvie had told him once that every criminal leaves something and takes something from the scene of a crime. Whoever left the box could have left something else, something pointing to who they were.
“Let me see the footage again.”
Kyle shook his head and blew out a breath. “It’s all fake, Chief. Whoever else is behind this knows their shit.”
“You’ve sent it to Tex?”
“Affirmative, and he agrees.”
Alex lunged for the laptop. “There’s got to be something in the footage…”
Wait. Foot.
Alex turned and stormed out of the room toward the parking lot. Gina caught up to him first, with Kyle, Flint, Brock, and Mack right behind. She grabbed his arm.
“I’m not going AWOL, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said as he jerked his arm away. He slammed his hands against the door and pushed through, his eyes on the gravelly parking lot, praying the evidence was still there and not obliterated by the other SUVs.
Yup, there it was, off to the side. Sylvie always parked her Mustang way over on the edge of the lot, partially to stay out of the way, and also because she didn’t want to risk anyone dinging her baby. He studied the tire tread in the gravel and what was next to it, then walked to the center of the lot. He put his hand out to stop the others from coming closer.
“Not another step. Gotta see this.” He stepped carefully around the SUVs, his eyes glued to the ground.
And there it was. His proof.
He signaled for everyone to come closer. When they got to him, he pointed. “There’s the tire tread for the Mustang, right?” He pointed along the tire track, partially obliterated by another tread, but there was enough left for his purposes. “And there’s a footprint stepping out on the driver’s side. Now, over here,” he walked to the edge of the lot and everyone followed, “same tread, but look at this footprint. Smaller, different boot, see?” He looked up finally. “This is whereSylviealways parks. Always. Whoever drove up here last night didn’t bother with that little detail. He—and it’s a fucking man, you can tell from the print—parked in the middle of the lot. Measure the prints and compare, hell, make a cast of them, anything. They aren’t the same. Bet if I brought Chewie out here to scent her on that newer tread, he wouldn’t catch it because it wasn’ther, Pup.”
Kyle, Gina, Brock, and Mack stared at Alex. Gina finally crossed her arms and shifted her weight. She turned to Kyle.
“He’s right, Pup. The camera’s lying, but the physical evidence is telling the truth. You can also see how this tread is weathered, but the other is fresh. It wasn’t Officer Madden last night.”
“Whoever it was, they’ve got Sylvie,” Alex said. “She’dneverlet anyone drive her baby.”
Kyle closed his eyes. “Jesus Christ. Chief, I’m sorry I doubted you. And Sylvie.” He opened them again. “Let’s get Wolf and Jake, then fucking find her.”
