“You’re too much of temptation,” I answered honestly.
“What if I tell you thatwe’ll keep it PG13 andwork-related? In a couple hours, I’ll have Paul Kilnery’s address, and I’ll get Petunia’s school information from Cater. We can regroup, and if it justhappens to be over food, well, we need our strength to catch the bad guy.”
I chewed my bottom lip as I stared into his eyes. “That’s the lamest excuse I’ve heard yet.”
“But you want to. I can see it in your eyes. I’ll text you the address.”
Max turned and headed back into the house, as if not wanting to wait around long enough for me to change my mind.
I hurried down the drive to my car and waved at the security guard at the gate. Knowing Amelia and Petunia were tucked away relieved some of my stress. I had five days till the wedding, five days to figure out the stalker’s identity and take him out of play.
****
At the FDG compound, I headed straight for the forensic floor and dropped off the business card with instructions to run fingerprints and do a complete workup on Edna Sinclair’s background. Something told me there was more to her story, and I never ignored my gut.
I was heading for my office when Ms. Delany followed me inside. “Do you have any updates to report?”
“Not yet,” I said, sliding behind my desk. I turned my computer on. “The park cameras were a bust. They only covered the parking lot. The school is like this place; the security is top-notch. The teacher is hiding something, I can feel it, so I’m having her prints run but I still can’t find out who this Larry character is that Petunia sees in the park and at school.”
“You think this Larry is your guy?”
I tsked. “Hard to tell, until I talk to him. For all I know, I’m chasing an imaginary friend. The threats the fiancé mentioned are probably credible. I’ll be talking to the biker tomorrow.”
Ms. Delany cupped her fingers together. “Well, I might have something for you.”
I raised a brow. “I could use a break.”
Ms. Delany smiled and nodded toward the door with her head. “Come into my office.”
I followed her and closed the door behind us. She stepped behind her computer and clicked a few buttons. The wall across the room opened, revealing her monitors. It was where I’d gotten the idea for my home edition.
“I had to call in few favors to get this done, but I’ve had satellite watching the property since your arrival. I think you’ll find some of this very interesting.”
A few clicks of the keyboard and images appeared, crystal clear and close enough to see the bouncy house in the backyard.
“Great visuals,” I said.
“You can thank the NSA, or maybe it was the CIA,” she answered.
Shehadpulled strings.
A few clicks later and it showed the house again. This time the time stamp read three a.m. Someone had parked a dark sedan on the road behind my car.
“Who's that?”
“The camera couldn’t getan angle of the license plate, but a man was reaching down below your car as if hiding something beneath it.”
“What the hell is he doing?” I gawked.
“Not sure, but you might want tocheck it out. Other than that one guy, there wasn’t much going on.” Ms. Delany clicked on a few more screens. “I’ve got you sneaking up into the home on the day of Petunia’s birthday. I’ve got security escorting Johnny out. I’ve got staff at the door watching before they disperse, and then everything is quiet after the party other than our teams there to revamp the system, until we get to the guy behind your car.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll check my car. If it’s a tracker, I may have a little fun with whoever is watching me.”
Ms. Delany’s lips twitched. “Enjoy yourself, dear.”
“I have every intention of doing just that.” I wiggled my brows and left the office.
