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“You weren’t in the neighborhood, were you?” Kaden’s tone was deliberately casual. “You might have noticed who was driving around.”
“Noon.” Wayne tapped a finger on the table as he shuffled through his memory. “I wasn’t even in town. I was headed to Grange to visit Drew. Sorry.”
Lia exchanged a quick glance with Kaden. If Wayne was telling the truth, he couldn’t have been the one who threw the brick at her.
“How’s Drew doing?” Lia asked.
Wayne shrugged. “About the same.”
“Do you remember who else was at the hospital?” Lia asked. Wayne might be eliminated, but it still left a long list of potential suspects.
“Not really. There were people coming and going. No one gets to go back to the room except his mother, so everyone is crammed into the waiting room. Why?”
“I thought I heard Cord’s truck drive away after I was attacked.”
“Cord?” Wayne released a sharp laugh. Then, realizing Lia was serious, he shook his head. “No. No way.”
“It could have been a coincidence,” Lia hastily added, caught by surprise at Wayne’s adamant refusal to believe Cord could have been the brick thrower. She didn’t think he liked the kid. “He might just have been passing the store at the same time.”
“No, I mean it couldn’t have been Cord,” Wayne insisted.
Lia frowned. “Why not?”
“He was at the hospital with me.”
Kaden leaned forward. “You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.” Wayne glanced from Lia to Kaden. “I gave him a ride over to Grange. Is that all?”
“No.” Kaden placed a piece of paper on the table in front of Wayne. “We found this in the office this morning.”
“‘You’re next, ’” Wayne read out loud. He lifted his head to send Lia a puzzled frown. “What does it mean?”
“We’re not sure. But we checked the security camera.”
“So you know who did it?”
“Not exactly.” Lia opened the laptop and quickly brought up the security footage. She fast-forwarded until she reached the section where the prowler entered the store. “We thought you might be able to recognize the intruder.”
Wayne leaned toward the screen, his expression intent. “It’s too dark to see much,” he muttered as the flickering image headed into the office and crossed to the back of the room. “Looks like they took something from the table.”
“Files from my brother’s search for his fiancée, Vanna Zimmerman,” Kaden revealed, his voice sharp.
Wayne glanced up. “The one you think is the skeleton?”
“Yes.”
Returning his attention to the video, Wayne pointed at the screen. “They keep their back to the camera.”
“You’re right.” Lia belatedly realized the mystery person managed to avoid ever looking directly toward the camera. Luck? Or knowledge of where the cameras were located?
As the footage came to an end, Wayne shook his head and sat back. “I can’t tell who it is. Sorry.”
Lia closed the laptop, carefully considering her words. “Did you notice how they got in?”
“You mean the front door?”
“I mean they got in with a key,” she gently pointed out.
