Page 120 of Hard Heart

“What?” I jogged after her as she strode in Jester’s direction. “As in, it’s wired into the house?”

“Did you people install a camera in the hallway?” she asked Jester.

He took a drag on his cigarette and ground out the end with his boot. “Why would we wanna do that?”

“As a security measure.”

“Nah, the old lady across the street calls us if anyone’s nosing around. Ain’t nobody got time to watch a camera.”

“Then they’ve been in the house.” She kicked an empty plant pot and cursed. “I’m going to rip their fucking eyes out.”

“She doesn’t mean literally,” Ari assured me as Alexa stomped off into the house again.

“No, that’s my job,” Jerry said.

The horror of that visual barely registered. I was still processing. A camera in the hallway? “Does the camera also have sound?”

“I’ll check with Alexa. Why?”

“I was here recently with Raelene, and I can’t remember what we talked about and where.” I racked my brain, trying to retrace my steps through the house. “We stayed for a while. I don’t think we mentioned anything important in the hallway, but they might have seen us carrying stuff out. And what if there are more cameras? If there was one in Ruby’s bedroom, we’ve got a problem.”

“What were you discussing in there?”

“Did you know there are little cubbies built into some of the walls?”

“Of course,” Jerry said, as if it were a no-brainer. “We checked Ruby’s, and it was full of candy.”

My face must have betrayed my confusion, and the others looked at me curiously.

“Then where did the clothing come from? Do you think they planted it, whoever ‘they’ are?”

“Clothing?” Ari asked.

“Yes, clothing. The bedroom door was stuck, so I was trying to get out, and the wall popped open. That’s when I found it.”

“Wait a second…” Jerry’s tone was less snarky than usual. “By the door?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it? The cubby by the door.”

“Ruby’s cubby was in a panel beside her desk.”

“Then I guess she had two? Levi said he built it for her.”

“Son of a bitch. Justin built the one by the desk. Levi must have built another.”

Ari looked puzzled. “Why would she keep clothing hidden in a wall cubby rather than hanging it in her closet or folding it in a drawer? Where is it now?”

“At the lab.”

“Why did you take it there?”

“Because there were stains.”

“Bloodstains?”

“More like semen. Each item was in a bag, and the bags had letters on them. Raelene and I guessed they might be initials. RA and FT.”

I’d told them almost everything. Might as well tell them the rest. If our mystery opponent decided to pick off witnesses one by one, the more people who knew the better, and besides, they’d be able to help with the search.