The woman swiped her card key into the security lock, making the door buzz open. Cara and Coop followed behind her as she stopped at another door and swiped it again. She stepped back and let Coop and Cara enter the dark room.
Coop flipped a switch, and a low light illuminated their surroundings. Boxes filled the room labeled napkins and condiments, and there were a few empty hotel bags that were distributed to the guests’ rooms for dirty clothes. Cara peered in one as Coop moved to theadjoining wall, about where the plant from the adjoining dining room would be hung. He shoved some boxes aside and grinned.
“Ma’am, do you have a cell phone?”
“Sure.” She pulled it out and handed it to him.
Coop took a picture before his fingers flew across the screen. He handed it back to her. “Don’t delete that picture until you’re told by either Agent Howard Stallman or me. He’s en route. I emailed it to him for safekeeping.”
She nodded and shoved the phone back into her apron.
“Cara, hand me one of those plastic hotel bags.”
Cara handed it to him. Coop used the bag to scoop up something near his feet without touching it with his hands.
“What did you find?”
“Evidence.”
He grabbed another bag, picked up a few more items, and placed them in the bag. Her wallet and his, their phones, along with the black satin bra she’d worn the night before, were among the items.
“Oh my God.”
“I know.”
“Coop, you realize who did this? He deleted the video. We won’t be able to prove it.”
“We’ll prove it.” He smiled and moved out of the room, taking her hand. He pulled the door closed.
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you not to tell anyone that we were in here. Do you understand?”
“Of course. You might want to hurry, though. We have a shift change in thirty minutes.”
“Which is the fastest way out without us running into anyone?”
“Follow me.”
Chapter Thirteen
Hours later,Cara was in the shower as Coop spoke to his friend and co-worker. Agent Howard Stillman had been his new partner since Betty had decided to retire. The man was like a brother to Coop.
“He filmed us.”
“Filmed you doing what?”
“He filmed us in a compromising position. He showed her the video and claimed that it was caught on a security camera. Looks like he enjoyed himself.” Coop handed over the plastic bag containing the used and dirty dishtowel that he’d found on the ground, near the hole in the wall.
“Sick fuck.” Howard grabbed the bag. “We’ll get his DNA off this.”
“You need to move fast. If he knows we were in that room, there’s a chance he’ll destroy his phone, especially if he’s aware that we can retrieve the deleted video. They’ve had a rash of robberies. There are corridors that the staff uses to move through the building undetected. When you arrest him, make sure you check out the tunnels. If I had to guess, either one of the staff or he is using them to smuggle out the stolen stuff.”
“I’ll handle it.” Howard gestured toward the cabana. “So is that the girl? Did you really tie the knot, like Betty saw in her vision?”
“That’s her, but she doesn’t know that Betty told me about the vision. If she knew her aunt even had the vision, she’d be pissed that I had purposefully avoided her for the last six months.”
“I think she’d be more pissed that you were the reason your brother broke things off with her.”
“What?” Cara’s anger was palpable, in the tremor that racked her body and the way her eyes slit at him. Her cell phone was clutched in her hand, and she looked like she wanted to launch it at him like a weapon. “You what!”
