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“Um ... no, I’m sorry, I don’t have anyone with that birthday here.”
Lainie’s body actually vibrated. James laid a hand on her forearm. She shot him an “I told you so” look, clasping her hands beneath her chin. “Then where’s the headstone that was on the grave? I believe it’s 12R2.” James raised a brow at her and she shrugged. “I came to visit the grave and had to know where it was. I asked the other guy that works here.”
“You must be talking about Vernon Rosen. Older guy in his seventies?”
“Yes, that was him.”
“Sadly, he was attacked coming out of here two weeks ago. He was in a medically induced coma, but just yesterday they brought him out of it and he’s talking. But he has a head wound and doesn’t remember anything from that night. Honestly, no one expected him to live. The police chalked it up to a junkie looking for something to finance his next fix.”
James’ internal radar blipped. “Was anything stolen?”
“The petty cash from Vernon’s desk. It had about three hundred dollars in it. Guess he was happy with the cash because he left all the computers alone.”
“Too bulky to carry,” Cole muttered.
“I guess. The security footage was less than helpful in identifying the person, as he wore a ski mask, gloves, and was dressed in black.”
“I see.” James looked back at Cole, who was looking at him.
Chad cleared his throat. “All right. Plot 12R2. I can find that.” He tapped more keys and frowned. “We have that as an available plot for sale. No one is buried there.”
Lainie stared at the man and James wished he could read her thoughts. She turned her gaze to him. “I may scream.” The flat calm of her tone belied her words. “Can I scream? Because I think I need to scream.”
“Not just yet,” James said, hoping his compassion came through. He turned back to Chad. “Okay, we kind of expected that. What about security footage out there. We noticed the cameras around the place.”
“Sure. I just need to know at what point to pull it up.”
“The night of the attack,” Lainie said.
James nodded. That would have been his first guess.
With a few more clicks, Chad pulled up the footage from that night. “The attack happened after dark around nine o’clock. And this is the camera aimed at that section of the cemetery.” He ran the footage forward. Then leaned in with a frown. “Wait. That’s weird.”
“What is it?”
“The footage stops. And doesn’t pick up until the next morning.”
“He scrubbed it,” Lainie said. “He’s always one step ahead. What in the world?”
Cole rubbed his chin, his eyes narrowed, forehead pinched. “I have a feeling we’re just following the trail and watching his plan unfold.”
“What plan?” Lainie nearly shouted. She shot out of the chair andpressed her palms to her eyes. “What plan? And what does it have to do with me? Whyme?”
James stood and slid an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know, but I think we’re closing in.” He sighed. “We don’t have all the pieces yet, but we’re getting there.” He turned his attention back to Chad. “So, how do we prove that Adam’s grave is Adam’s grave?”
The man seemed to be at a loss for words. “I really don’t know what to tell you. According to our records, no one is buried there.”
Lainie stiffened and James dropped his arm. “Who’s buried in the new grave behind Adam’s?” she asked.
Chad clicked the keyboard again. “A teenager by the name of Joshua Clark. His funeral was three weeks ago.”
She winced and nodded. “Okay, teenagers have friends. We need to find those friends and see if any of them took pictures. If they did—”
“They might have gotten a shot of Adam’s gravestone.” James kissed her forehead. “You’re a genius.”
LAINIE THOUGHT GENIUSmight be stretching it, but shewasdesperate. She hated to question the grieving teen’s friends and family, but they had no choice.
“Can you give me their number?” James asked.
