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“Well, that’s a relief.”
“But even so, I’m sure she got dressed and undressed in perfect view of that peephole.” My breathing hitches. “Fuck. What if the pervert took naked photos or videos of my grandma?” I palm my forehead. “Charlotte, I need to go throughall the stuff that was here the other day. Right away. I need to look for photos, videos, cameras, digital files, storage devices, thumb drives. Anything that might suggest he was recording my grandmother without her knowledge or consent. And then, I’ve got to destroy whatever I find and maybe even track down and notify all his victims—anyone who lived here before my grandma and got recorded, too. Who knows when he made that fucking hole, and how many people he might have victimized before my grandma moved in?”
Charlotte’s face is pale. Her green eyes, wild. “Tessa’s crew boxed everything up and moved it to a nearby storage unit for me. While they were boxing and hauling, I was busy throwing away anything that looked like obvious trash and cleaning, so I didn’t get a good look at everything that was here. For what it’s worth, though, I don’t remember seeing any cameras or devices.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t looking for that kind of stuff, either. You were busy with your own tasks, right?”
“True.”
“For all we know, the pervert—what’s his name again?”
“Lloyd Graham.”
“For all we know, Lloyd fucking Graham uploaded images of my grandma to a porn site. I can’t imagine old ladies getting undressed is at the top of the charts on porn sites, but on the other hand, the world is filled with every imaginable kind of sicko.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
“I’m not going to be able to sleep at night until I’ve gone through every box in that storage unit.”
Charlotte grimaces. “I’m so sorry, Auggie.”
“Why? You did nothing wrong. Thank you for telling me about this.”
“I’m just sorry to be the one to break such horrible news.”
“I’d much rather know about it and therefore be able to deal with it. I owe my grandmother that much. She was an incredible person. Always helping people out. Always lending a hand. The thought of someone taking advantage of her like this . . .” I shudder as rage courses through me. I’ve never been a violent person, but if this Lloyd Graham character were still alive, I’d fucking kill him.
“I’ll take you to the storage unit now,” Charlotte says. “Two pairs of hands and eyes are better than one. We’ll go through everything, together, twice as fast.”
A wave of relief washes over me. “You’d really do that?”
“Of course. I’ll do whatever I can to help.” She taps her chin and looks around the bedroom. “Hmm. The only question is where I put the damned key for the storage unit.” She rifles through the suitcase on her bedroom floor, and not finding it there, she strides out of the room with Lucky and me following behind. In the kitchen, Charlotte opens every drawer, but the key is nowhere to be found. “Hmm,” she says. “I could have sworn I put it in my suitcase or in a kitchen drawer.”
I want to scream. But somehow, I keep my voice at a normal volume and tempo as I say, “Retrace your steps. Visualize the last time you had the key in your hand. Watch yourself holding it, and then putting it down.”
Charlotte closes her eyes and remains that way for what feels like an eternity. Suddenly, she opens her eyes and shouts, “The windowsill!” She lopes into the adjacent living room and to a windowsill, and that’s where she triumphantly holds up a key. “I put it there so I wouldn’t forget where I put it!” she says brightly. And even though I’m flooded with anxiety and impatience and dying to get to that fucking storage unit, I can’t help chuckling at her adorableness.
“It was a foolproof plan, McDougal,” I deadpan.
“Yeah, I’m smart like that.” She winks and taps her temple, and then bends down to pick up Lucky who’s been begging to be lifted. “Of course, you can come with us, baby. We’d never leave you here by your little lonesome.” She kisses his snout. “You’re gonna be our lucky charm.”
My heart skips a beat. That’s what Grandma always called her beloved rescue pup.Her lucky charm.
I clear my throat. “Ready to go? I’m feeling pretty antsy over here.”
“I just need my purse.” Off she goes, before returning a moment later with her purse in hand. But as we walk toward her front door together, Charlotte gasps and stops short. “Whoops! I’m probably gonna need shoes, huh?” Off she goes again, in her bare feet, toward the bedroom with Lucky still in her arms.
When Charlotte doesn’t immediately return, I call toward the bedroom, “What’s the hold up in there?”
“Sorry! I’m changing clothes! I don’t know if the storage unit will be warm and stuffy or if I’ll freeze my tits off, so I decided to change into layers, so I’m good, either way!”
“For fuck’s sake, McDougal!” I call back. “My poor, deceased grandma might be an unwitting porn star! Hurry the fuck up.”
“Sorry! Coming!”
I look at my watch. Shift my weight. And when Charlottestilldoesn’t appear, I shout, “If you don’t hurry the fuck up, I’m gonna barf all over your carpet out of sheer anxiety.”
Charlotte appears with Lucky in her arms and calmly says, “Barf away, Augustus. I’m replacing this hideous carpet, anyway. Your puke would surely be a decorative improvement.”
