After showeringand then shopping with Zander for a few things online, Eve sat in the boardroom with the entire JTT assembled.
“‘No power. No cameras.’ You’re sure that’s what Yolande said?” From where he stood across the table, Chase Mackenzie’s black gaze held hers. Systematic in his challenge of the operational plan his teammates had put together, his expertise and knowledge showed in every question asked and potential complication identified.
While Adam was the clear leader of these men, Eve could see the quiet command Chase possessed and how his teammates responded to his presence. Beyond the obvious respect, they trusted him with their lives.
It was enough for Eve to trust him with hers too. “I’m positive.”
“And you’re not able to confirm any onsite surveillance?” Chase directed his question to Jay who shook his head.
“There’s no public monitoring source associated with the manor. If there’s a system in place, it’s closed circuit.”
Chase nodded. “How big was the power outage the night Eve was rescued?”
Jay tapped a couple of keys on his computer and a series of reports from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power projected onto the SmartBoard. “Storm knocked out a transformer.” Another tap and a city map with a grayed-out section filled the other half of the screen. “The grid it supplied went down for three hours and nineteen minutes in a twelve-mile radius. We can replicate it. No problem.”
Chase studied the board before bending over the map on the table in front of him, his hands balled into fists as he pressed them into the wood.
“What’s bothering you?” Adam asked, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder beside him.
“Generators.” Chase traced his finger along the proposed route to the manor. “Who’s got them, and what are they powering?”
Adam acknowledged the question with a sharp nod. “Even if they’re not transmitting publicly, chances are good there’s a couple of CCTV systems hardwired into backup power supplies. We assumed we’ll be captured on a recording somewhere and have implemented risk-mitigation measures.”
“Vans are blacked out and untraceable,” Zander said. “The route’s not the weakest link.”
“Nope.” Chase pulled the blueprints of the manor and grounds to the top of the pile. “The manor’s internal surveillance system is the weakest link.” He lifted his head and recaptured Eve with his intense gaze. “If the CCTV is hardwired to the Generac it’ll be recording. No way to know what’s being captured until we get there.”
“What?” Startled, Eve’s back straightened as her fingers curled around the arms of her chair, her grip tightening involuntarily. “There’s no record of any CCTV system being installed, and I never saw any surveillance equipment inside the manor or in the cell under the garage.”
“Were you looking for any?” Gray asked.
Eve shook her head. “I never thought…there was never any indication…”
“Don’t feel bad,” Gray interjected when Eve’s ramblings petered to a halt. “Most people don’t look for hidden cameras in their own home. You had no reason to be suspicious. But Yolande did the cleaning, right? If she was thorough, she would have discovered the surveillance. It’s probably how she found you.”
Chase nodded. “Gray’s right. Yolande said so herself, ‘No cameras. No power.’ She knew about the surveillance, but unless she had some electrical background, she wouldn’t have realized the system might be connected to a backup generator.”
“Motherfuckers,” Zander grumbled. “They had you on camera the entire time.”
“But…” Eve protested. “Most of the time it was pitch black in the cell. There wouldn’t be anything to see.”
“Night vision,” Cody said, and the reality of the situation constricted her lungs.
Bile, bitter and distasteful, hit the back of her throat. Oh, God! Was it possible? Had she and the other women been on camera the whole time? Even as they’d wept and lost hope, alone in the dark. Had the judge been watching? Had he no conscience? No feelings? No regrets? That wasn’t her impression of the man who raised her. The man who encouraged and supported her to find her place in the world. “Why?” she blurted, as another blow hammered away at her already shattered heart. “Why would he do that?”
The fingers that found hers came as a surprise, and Eve turned to face Gray. “He wanted proof,” she said, accentuating her words with a comforting squeeze of her hand.
“Proof? That makes no sense. Why would he want video evidence that would implicate Bryan when—” Her mind followed the path laid out before her. Her thoughts moving faster and faster, selecting and discarding possible scenarios until she reached the proper conclusion.
The killer.
The accomplice who did the Matthews’ dirty work.
While the judge planned to take Bryan out of the country, situate him in Dubai where he’d be safe from extradition, no such pardon had been applied to the person who murdered the women.
He was the real criminal in the eyes of the judge. Not himself. Not his son. The killer. And the judge wanted him behind bars. His way of trying to save Eve from suffering the same fate as the other victims? Maybe. His way of trying to protect Bryan from a madman? Definitely.
“We have to find the CCTV,” Eve said, her brain already filtering through possible locations as she pushed her chair back from the table. Not only did a surveillance system put the JTT at risk, but if there were recordings it could assist with identifying the victims and finding the killer.
