“We’ll look into it.”
I take a moment to think and get this interrogation on track. All this information might end up being valuable, but we needed to talk to Paola on more specific topics.”
“Do you know where the safe is in Becker’s home office?”
Her eyebrows twitch. “He doesn’t have one in his office.”
It’s my turn to frown. “Are you sure?”
She nods. “I’ve worked for Mr. Becker for four years. And I’ve been assigned to the office for two. I’m the only one allowed in there because he doesn’t like intruders in his office. I would have noticed. There’s a safe in the living room, behind the family portrait. And there’s one in the dressing room, behind the coat rack. There’s even one in the floor of the master bedroom. But not in the office.”
Hmm… The plot thickens.
After hearing Lorelei’s story, Lex went back to watch the security footage, and a few minutes after her departure, we saw Becker come out of the bedroom with a laptop. Lex had thought little of it then, but we got the image clear enough to confirm it wasn’t a Mac like all the other computers in that penthouse. Then we followed him through the available footage and saw him head to the hallway that leads to hishome office, to come back empty-handed. From our understanding of the layout, it doesn’t lead to any of the rooms Paola mentioned.
Could Lorelei have misunderstood, or is there a very hidden safe in that office?
Hoping I can still get this somewhere, I pull my phone out and open a screenshot I saved just for this. “Have you ever seen this computer?” I ask Paola, showing her a still of the laptop we’re looking for, held by Becker’s hand.
She takes the phone and brings it closer then further from her eyes, analyzing the picture on it. “No, I don’t think so,” she explains, giving me the phone back. “Mr. Becker has his office computer and tablets. No laptops.”
Fucking hell, we really need to find this computer.
“Can you give me a minute?” I ask her, eager to talk to Lex and catch him up on everything. He’s being remarkably patient with all this, but I know he’s dying to hear what Paola and I have been talking about. When she offers me a dry nod, I climb over the seat in front of me and sit down next to Lex.
“So? Is it going well?” he asks eagerly.
“Yeah.”
“Has she told you anything we can use?”
“Yes and no.”
I do my best to catch him up on everything, being as detailed as I can. Once he’s all caught up, I wait for him to process it and think of what else we should ask. “Have you asked about those evenings every month where everything goes dark?”
“Oh, good idea.”
When I turn around, I find Paola counting her money. “We’ve noticed that every few weeks, Becker has the cameras turned off,” I explain to her in Spanish. “Do you have any idea what that’s about?”
“Do you mean his special parties?” she wonders, perplexed.
“Special parties?”
“Mr. Becker has these parties now and then. We have to scrub everything from floor to ceiling, then we leave early and arrive late the next day. No one stays.”
“Do you know what that’s about?”
When she makes a motion with her hand, I hold back from rolling my eyes and give her the money. “We think it’s a sex thing.”
“Like, an orgy?”
Paola shrugs. “Maybe. Rich people get bored and need excitement in their lives. His wife never stays. That’s why we think it’s a sex thing.”
We’ve learned through Lorelei that Becker was a deviant, a violent one. Could this be the secret behind the CCTV lapses? Orgies with and for the elite?
“She thinks it’s a sex thing,” I tell Lex.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.”
