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“Yes, why?”
“Could I take a look at the video footage?”
She waved her hand at Rae. “If you can figure out how to do it. My son always has to come over and review the tapes. They’re back in the office. I’ll show you.”
They stood and walked out of the room. I waited for her to go, then got up and started searching the house. I felt bad for snooping on the woman that was helping us, but she could have information and not know it. I quietly opened all the drawers in the kitchen until I found her junk drawer. She had all kinds of things in there, but it wasn’t until I reached the back that I found the key with Carolyn’s name written on the tag.
I shoved it in my pocket and sat back down at the table. She must have had it in case of an emergency. A man like William had to have security measures, but that was something Rae could handle. I shot Fox a quick message.
Me: I need you to get inside Williams’ house.
Fox: No problem.
Me: I have the key.
Fox: Like I need that.
Me: Rae will have to take care of the cameras.
Fox: Cameras? Why would you think they’d be a problem?
Me: Just come get the key.
Fox: No need. I broke into his house the moment you stepped out of the car.
I sighed and quickly replaced the key. Just as I was sitting down again, Mrs. Kranski came back out, waving her hand.
“Honestly, I don’t understand how computers work. I tried to take a computer class, but it just wouldn’t stick.”
“Rae’s very good with computers.”
“That’s what she said. Oh, I didn’t offer you anything to drink.”
“I’m fine.”
She sat down beside me and smiled. “Carolyn and I had a standing Wednesday lunch date. She would come over with her son and he would play while we had finger sandwiches and tea.”
“Wednesdays?”
“Yes,” she smiled. “It must have had some significance because there was one week I couldn’t make it on Wednesday. She insisted it had to be Wednesday or we’d just wait for the next week.”
“She had Wednesday dinners with her aunt,” I said quietly. “After the divorce, I continued them. Her aunt was very lonely.”
“That must be why.” She pressed her lips together, and I felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She had been really close with Carolyn.
For the life of me, I couldn’t reconcile the version of Carolyn this woman presented with the woman I knew. Then again, it had been five years, and it seemed Carolyn was forced to be someone she wasn’t.
Looking back on it, I remembered the holes in the wall when I came home and the food containers littered all over the living room. It seemed more and more likely that Michael came back and ripped her out of her life and forced her to live with him. And I hadn’t done a thing to stop it.
“I think we have everything we need,” Rae said as she walked in. “Thank you so much for the help. We’ll let you know if we find out anything about Theo.”
“I would appreciate that.”
I followed Rae to the door and after saying our goodbyes, we headed to the car. Fox was patiently waiting in the back, but I could tell he was eager to talk to us. I got in and immediately turned around. “What did you find?”
24
RAE
