Page 54 of Juan

“If we have evidence of activities linking the money to the drugs or murders, yes,” Grace answered.

“It’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation,” Ryan added.

“We need evidence that links Anthony to the deaths to get warrants on his financials, or we need the evidence on crooked financials to get a warrant to conduct a full investigation that would lead us to his connection to the deaths,” Grace said.

“And the evidence Callie found so far isn’t enough?” Amber asked.

Callie wagged her head. “It’s getting there. If there was a very sympathetic judge, maybe.”

“And if it’s not enough and we file now, it looks like a witch hunt,” Leo said.

“Which I assume we don’t want,” Amber said on an exhale. “I’m guessing that might make future requests harder.” Grace nodded. “So the plan is to get either evidence of the murders or more evidence on the financial information and use whichever we get first to propel an official investigation,” she said, mostly to herself. Then looking up, she asked Leo, “You said you were here as backup, but any news on the physical evidence the state police collected and sent to HICC?”

Leo waggled his eyebrows. “Yes, but nothing concrete yet. I can say, though, that they collected enough good samples from the pieces they gathered to run the tests the lab wants to run. They’ve started those and results should be in tomorrow.”

“Between that and figuring out the algorithm, tomorrow could be a big day,” she said. The others nodded.

An awkward silence filled the room. Amber’s gaze drifted among the four guests. Callie and Leo steadfastly looked at their computers. Ryan and Grace shared a resigned look.

Finally, Grace sighed and rose. “We know when we’re not wanted.”

Ryan rose as well. “I know I don’t need to say this, but I will. If you find something, think carefully about how you use it.”

“You’re both welcome to stay for the barbecue,” Amber said. “I think Dottie and Clara are in the garden, and Adrian might be as well. The guys, and Daphne, are in the garage. A new restoration project came in they are all excited about.”

“I’m headed home for a family dinner. You’ll keep me posted?” he said, directing the question to Grace, who nodded.

“I’ll head out to the garage. Kind of curious about this restoration project,” Grace said.

Amber suspected she was curious to see if Dulcie was out there as well, which he was. But rather than comment, she held her tongue, then turned to Callie and Leo when the door closed and said, “I’ve been going through the pictures Toni took and watching some of the video from today. There’s not much that stuck out to me, but we can go over it together.”

Concern etched Callie’s brow. “You don’t need to watch it with us. I’m sure once was quite enough.”

The smile that touched her lips was half wry, half resigned. “This will be my third time. Spencer watched it with me the first time. I watched again so I could take some notes. That’s when Zoe woke up from her nap and he offered to take her to the garage.”

“We don’t have to do it again,” Leo repeated.

Amber shook her head. “It’s a bit cathartic in a way. It was the scene of so much pain and fear. My nightmare. But now…” She exhaled and pulled the computer back in front of her. “Now it’s starting to just look like a house. One where bad things happened, but a house nonetheless.”

Callie and Leo shared a look, but she took the choice away from them by opening the first file of photos. “I’ll make sure you have these, but for now, go ahead and click through.” She slid the computer in front of Callie. Leo shifted to sit beside her and they began scrolling.

“You have video, too?” Leo asked, his eyes on the screen.

“We do. Spencer can send you the link to the feeds.” She paused, then added, “I’ll be honest, I haven’t watched any live feed. Looking at the video Toni took last night while he was sleeping, and pictures of the house, is something I can manage. I didn’t want to push my luck and risk seeing him in living color, though. Not very strong of me—”

“The man nearly killed you, Amber. You have every right not to want to see him again,” Callie cut her off.

Amber fell silent. In her head, she knew Callie was right. In her heart, she still felt a little like a coward.

“Did you notice anything different or off?” Leo said, cutting off her spiraling train of thought.

“A few things. But it’s been over a year, so it’s not too surprising,” she replied.

“What did you notice?” Callie asked.

Amber picked up the pad of paper she’d scribbled her notes on. “The paint color has changed in the foyer. It used to be more of a cream. It’s got a gray cast to it now. The hall table is new, too. There’s a new painting in the front room.” Leo flipped through to the pictures of that room. “That one,” she said, pointing to a pretty, if not unique, watercolor of the seaside.

Callie made a note before asking, “What else?”