Aiden turned sharply toward me. “Excuse me?”
“That’s Nana’s outfit,” I said bluntly. “She wears it every year during the parade. She handmade it. I’d recognize those booties anywhere.”
“Huh.” Saber scratched his jaw, the scrape loud in the quiet room. “Why would your grandmother dress in her own little outfit to plant dynamite hours before the pie contest?” He shook his head. “Unless that’s the point. For us to ask that question.”
I wanted to smack him. “She wouldn’t do that.” So that dynamite had been there all morning? What if Nana had gone back there by herself before the pie tasting contest? My throat felt tight. “That isn’t her. My grandma doesn’t move like that. She’s more graceful.”
Aiden looked doubtful, his brow furrowing. “We have to turn this over to Sheriff Franco.”
I sighed. “Do you have to do it tonight?”
“No,” he said, glancing at Saber. “But we do need to give it to him tomorrow. I made an agreement that if he gave us access to CCTV around town, we’d share anything we found.”
“Somebody must have stolen Nana’s outfit,” I said, rubbing my temples. The rain outside drummed steadily on the roof, the sound low and relentless. “Though it’s strange she didn’t mention it.”
Aiden placed his hand over mine, the warmth cutting through the chill. “We’ll talk to her.”
What good would talking do? “The stupid prosecuting attorney won’t believe her outfit went missing. This is getting worse.”
“Somebody’s obviously trying to set her up,” Aiden said.
My heart rolled over. He believed her—really believed her—even with the evidence stacking up like a wall. “My grandpa’s going to lose his mind.”
“I would,” Aiden agreed quietly. He turned toward Saber. “This is fascinating. Did you see anything else?”
“Yeah.” Saber fast-forwarded the footage. “The figure drops the dynamite and takes off, out of camera range. Unfortunately, from the angle of the camera, I can’t tell if the person came out of the shop or not. They’re not there, and then all of a sudden, they’re in the shot.”
I leaned forward. “Did you catch them anywhere else?”
“Not yet,” Saber said. “They disappear after that. There aren’t enough CCTV cameras anywhere else.”
“Shoot,” I muttered. My nerves hummed with frustration. “I’d love to see what kind of car that person got into.”
Saber leaned back, jaw tight, and clicked the remote. “Me, too.” The screen blinked once before going dark, throwing us back into the low light of the room.
Aiden exhaled and turned toward him. “What about the front of the O’Shea’s shop? Maybe somebody went in that way? Somehow got past the security, which is doubtful, and came out the back door? Maybe?”
“Couldn’t tell you.” Saber shook his head. “I’ve checked all the CCTV from the area. That’s all I’ve got so far.”
The rain outside intensified, rattling the windows and echoing through the hall. I rubbed my palms together for warmth. “I don’t see how the alarm didn’t go off.”
Saber winced. “I don’t either.”
I scratched my chin, the edge of anxiety tightening my throat. “Could somebody have gotten to the CCTV feed?”
“I don’t see how.” Saber clicked a few buttons, and the screen flared back to life, this time showing Nana’s shop. “The only blind spot’s here, on the east side. There’s one window that neither the bank nor courthouse covers. We checked it, and it’s fine. And even then, we’d still catch a shadow or something.”
Aiden tilted his head. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Saber said quietly.
I sat back, the chair’s leather creaking beneath me. The faint scent of cedar polish and wet wool filled the air, mingling with the low hum of electronics. “None of this is helping Nana.”
Aiden’s hand tightened over mine. “No, it’s not. But we’ll figure it out.”
“How?” I threw up my free hand. “If we can’t catch anything on CCTV besides somebody in an outfit that she owns, then what? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know.” Aiden’s expression hardened.
