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A low moan drifted into the hall from Billy’s suite.
Tessa and Ben hurried to the doorway.
A man lay across the threshold, his legs keeping the door from closing.
Tessa pushed the door out of the way and knelt beside him. “It’s Matthew.”
“Matthew?” Ben looked confused, then his eyes widened. “The kid who helped Adriene and Stacy.”
“Yes. Call 911.”
While Ben dialed, Tessa fetched a damp towel from Billy’s bathroom, and wiped away the blood dripping from the corner of Matthew’s mouth.
“An ambulance is on the way,” Ben said.
Matthew groaned again and then blinked. “What? Why am I—” He blinked again. “Tessa?”
“It’s okay. You’re going to be fine.”
Matthew tensed. “There’s a guy in Mr. Barnett’s room.”
“He ran off,” Ben said. “Do you know who he was?”
When Matthew tried to shake his head, he winced in pain. “I noticed him spying on Mr. Barnett downstairs. When Mr. Barnett left, he came up here, so I followed him. The door was propped open. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I looked inside. That’s when he attacked me.”
“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Tessa said. “You need to rest. The paramedics will be here soon.”
Despite the pain he was feeling, Matthew struggled to keep the smile from his face. His hope had been that confronting the suspicious man would ingratiate him with Billy. He had never considered the possibility that his actions would result directly in Tessa comforting him.
Still, best he not look weak in front of her. “I’m... I’m okay.”
“Maybe you should look at yourself in a mirror before you say that. Just relax. I’m here with you.”
His heart fluttered. “Thank you.”
31
Evening traffic kept Teddy from reaching the Novaks’ mansion until a quarter after six.
Vulin ushered him into the library, where Novak and Mori waited.
“Did a new video arrive?”
Mori nodded. “We think so.”
“ ‘Think so’?”
“Carl found this on his office desk a few minutes ago.” Mori held up a small plastic bag. Inside was a thumb drive.
“I’ve never seen it before,” Novak said. “And it wasn’t there a half hour ago.”
“Have you tried to see what’s on it?”
“I thought it better if we waited for you,” Mori said.
The lawyer opened his laptop, then unzipped the bag.
Teddy held up his palm. “Hold on. Has anyone touched the drive?”
