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“What did you find?” I asked.
“It’s a battery pack that was in the hole and the cord attached to it leads…well, I’ll be damned. Look at this.” He reached into a V in the branch that was directly facing Bree’s house. “It’s a camera.”
“A camera?”
“Yeah and…” he held the camera up to his eye, leaning as close as he could to the original position in which he had found it. “It’s pointed toward her bedroom and it’s on a powerful zoom lens. I can see her bed from here.”
“Crap,” I said. “Bring it down here.”
He dropped out of the tree, holding up the camera. “Well, I think I can definitively say that this wasn’t put there by any ghost. Whoever placed the camera knew exactly what he was doing.”
I turned back to Bree’s house. “Where there’s one, there are bound to be more. Let’s go check out her yard and house.”
As we headed back to the gate, I wondered how we were going to tell Bree that some pervert had been watching her, and—if we were right—had most likely installed other surveillance gadgets around her house. Somehow,creepy humanblewirritated ghostright out of the water.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Bree was waiting for us,an expectant look on her face. She glanced at us, her expression suddenly giving way to worry. “You found something, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we did,” I said. “It’s not what you think, either. In fact, I hate to tell you this, but it’s worse than a ghost.” I draped my arm around her waist. “Come on, let’s take a walk over to the picnic table.” Just in case anybody had bugged her house, I didn’t want them to know we had found them out. That would come soon enough as it was.
Looking confused, she let us walk her over to the picnic table that was sitting in the middle of her front yard. The evening was cooling off, it was probably in the mid-60’s, though still pleasant. Overhead, the sky showed the first sprinkle of stars amidst that twilight silver, streaked with poofs of white clouds. Birdsong echoed through the air, reverberating through the evening, and the crickets chirped away on Nature’s version of the Dating Game. The scent of warm grass and dusty air laden with pollen hung heavy around us. It would have been the perfect time for a late picnic.
“What did you find?” Bree asked. Her voice was shaking—our nervousness had rubbed off onto her. “Was there anything out there? You said it’s worse than a ghost? Is it a demon?”
“No demon. You sensed something all right—but whoever they are, they aren’t dead. Bran, show her what you found.” I motioned for him to set the camera on the table.
Her eyes widened as he did. “What the hell?”
“The camera’s super sensitive, and it was set on zoom to the point of where he could see directly into your bedroom. He…well, I suppose itcouldbe a woman, but I sensed masculine energy. Anyway, we want to check through the house for any other cameras or surveillance items.” Bran shrugged. “I’d say you have a stalker.”
Bree paled, her face white. “Crap. You’re right—this is worse than a ghost. Who the fuck has been watching me?”
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Grams said. “Do you have any disgruntled ex-boyfriends? Girlfriends?”
After a moment, Bree shook her head. “I don’t date often, and most of the guys I used to date are married now. I can’t think of anybody who was so upset when we broke up that he’d want to stalk me.”
With a glance around us, Grams said, “We should go through the house before whoever it is realizes that we’ve found their camera. Once we’re inside, say nothing. We don’t know that there isn’t some sort of bug inside, as well.”
“I don’t have a bug scanner,” Bran said. “How do we find one if there is?”
I called Daisy. “Hey, this is Elphyra. Do you have anything that can scan for bugs?” I quickly outline what had happened. “We’re thinking that if somebody set up surveillance on her from the graveyard, then there’s a good chance they’ve been inside and have installed other bugs.”
“That’s troublesome. Bree should file a report with us. And yes, actually. Idohave a couple handheld bug zappers. Not only do they find bugs, but they also can fry them. I’m about to head out for a meeting. Would you like me to drop them off? It’s on my way.” She sounded out of breath, as though I had caught her on the run.
“That would be great. We’ll talk to you in a few.” And with that, we went back to the table and waited.
* * *
Daisy showedup ten minutes later. We were still waiting outside. She pressed the bug zapper in my hand and quickly showed me how to use it. “The light turns green when you’re within a foot of a recording device. If you press the yellow button—that one right there—it will fry the bug. Or you can smash it, if you like—once you find it.”
“Can you take a report?” I asked.
“I’m on my way to a meeting,” Daisy said. “I can’t stay, but I’ll drop back in about forty-five minutes and I can take a report then. I’d send a man to help with the bug search, but honestly, we’re so short-staffed right now that I’m afraid I can’t spare anybody.”
We thanked her and, as Daisy headed for her car, the rest of us headed toward the house.
I was carrying the device, and—as we entered the house—I swept it around. Bree didn’t have a landline so any bug couldn’t be attached to the phone. The fact that she was a minimalist made the hunting easier. As we neared the kitchen, the handheld unit vibrated in my hand and I looked around. I was standing near a clock. I pointed to it and Bran lifted it off the hook holding it on the wall. He turned it over and sure enough, there was what looked like a miniature motherboard attached to the back. It was attached to a camera.
