AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There has to be something on this computer to point me in the right direction. To answer my question once and for all.
Chewing on my lower lip, I try Nina’s Gmail account but am locked out after three failed password attempts. I could check the credit card statements, as I assume the security fee is automatically deducted each month, but that would take forever.
I begin clicking through files.
Ten minutes, thirty minutes, an hour passes. I am literally sick to my stomach. Everything on this computer is related to James’s disappearance.
I am about to give up when I decide to check the apps on the computer.
Bingo—1st Choice System Security.
I click into the app, which brings up a slew of options. I click on “Cameras.”
I blink, shocked that the security cameras are currently active and have been since we moved in. I had assumed they’d been disabled, considering I haven’t touched them since Nina’s near death.
My pulse begins to quicken.
I scan the long list of cameras. Each has their own name and identification number.
Driveway Entry
Mailbox
Garden West
Garden East
Front Entry
Garage West
Garage East
And on and on the list goes.
After clicking into a few, I see that the cameras record on twelve-hour loops. Once twelve hours pass, the file is saved into this app, and then the recording erases from the camera and begins recording anew.
I scroll back up and click on the Garden West camera. Inside this file are hundreds more, organized by month and day. I open the file of the day Meredith was found dead of a Xanax overdose. Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t give a clear view into the master bathroom window, where Nina’s Xanax is kept—the Xanax that Meredith supposedly overdosed on.
I squint, tapping my finger against the keys.
I click into “Porch,” hoping to get a shot into the guest bedroom where she died. No luck.
I click into “Patio East.” As expected, the camera records the east side of the patio, which runs the length of the kitchen. Thanks to the wall of windows, I am given a clear, unobstructed view into the kitchen.
I click on the same date, press play, lean back, and watch.
After five minutes, I get bored and hit fast forward, but immediately pause when I see Lavi (James) come into the kitchen. I watch as he makes Nina’s lunch, then leaves.
Time stamp: 11:17 a.m.
Two hours later, at 1:58 p.m., Meredith enters the kitchen. I watch as she rummages through the fridge, then selects a bottle of wine from the pantry. She pours a glass, leaves the bottle on the counter, then disappears.
2:14 p.m.: James enters the room. Pours water into the tea kettle and sets it on the stove. I watch as he picks up the bottle of wine Meredith had opened earlier, studies the label, then sets it back down. James makes tea, then leaves the room.
2:37 p.m.: Meredith refills her wineglass, then disappears.
3:18 p.m.: Meredith enters again, refills glass. Disappears.
