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“Agreed.”
“And if that’s the case, then a guy with a flip phone probably didn’t have an iPad or other digital recording devices, either.”
“Agreed. Also, he’s probably not a guy who uploads digital files to porn sites, either.”
“Agreed.”
We exchange a grin and return to our respective boxes for several minutes.
“Oh, shit, Auggie.” When I look, Charlotte is holding up a clunky, metal rectangle—an old video camerathat’s about the size of a loaf of bread. The kind that records videos on a physical cassette.
I shrug. “At least, it’s not digital.”
Charlotte turns the camera onto its side. “There’s a cassette inside it.” She pushes a couple buttons, but nothing happens. “It won’t open.”
“It probably needs to be charged or plugged in to open. Is there a cord in the box?” As Charlotte pokes around to look, I say, “There are services that copy videos from cassette to CD and also turn them into digital files. But what are the odds our pervy Boomer got his shit together enough to make digital copies of his videos, when his place was pure chaos and the only phone we’ve found was a flip phone?”
Charlotte nods. “The circumstantial evidence is definitely in our favor, I’d say.”
“Assuming all this stuff represents the sum total of Lloyd Graham’s possessions. Maybe he had a storage unit packed with tons more stuff. Or maybe someone from the auction place looted his place before it was put up for sale.”
“The auction site certified nothing had been removed. That was one of the selling points—that there could be a surprise treasure trove of valuables, waiting to be discovered.”
“They could have lied, though.”
“True. And Lloyd certainly could have had a storage facility, like you said.”
“I doubt it, though. The building manager told me the former owner was a total hermit who never came out of his unit. When you go through the docs, do me a favor and look for any bills from a storage facility, okay? Anything to indicate there’s another place we need to be searching through.”
“You’ve got it, boss. Oh, fuck.” She holds up a bunch of cassettes—the same kind as the one stuck in the camera. “There’s a whole bunch of them.”
“Any CDs or DVDs?”
Charlotte sifts around. “Nope. Just more cassettes. Some blank ones, too, still in plastic.”
I head over to Charlotte’s box and take a look around for myself, at which point we discern the used cassettes are all dated by year in scrawled handwriting.
“How can we watch these?” Charlotte asks.
I frown. “I know it needs to be done, but I’m honestly terrified to do it. If this guy recorded my grandma, or anyone else—”
“How about I watch them first and report back to you? Depending on what I find, you can decide then if you want to watch or not.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“I told you, I’m a nosy bitch. Truthfully, I can’t wait to watch these. I’m dying of curiosity.”
“Sicko.”
“Guilty as charged.” She nudges my arm playfully. “Plus, you’re kind of growing on me, kid. I look forward to putting your mind at ease, hopefully.”
“Thanks so much, Charlotte. You’re kind of growing on me, too, kid.” Fuck my life. I feel chemically attracted to this woman at this point. In any other scenario, I’d lean in and kiss her now, since I feel like she’s giving me all kinds of green lights. On the other hand, I can’t ignore all the times she’s told me I’m not her type. Also, I’m still not sure I can trust her as far as I can throw her. So, I lean back and keep my lips to themselves.
“Do you think we’ll be able to watch the cassettes on the camera, once it’s been plugged in or charged?” Charlotte asks.
“I think so.Ifit can still be charged. For all we know, it’s dead-ass broken. It looks pretty old.”
“I didn’t find a charging cord.”
