Page 46 of 4th Silence

I hope.

He frowns, unconvinced.

My sister works her magic. “This is circumstantial, and nothing will probably come from it, but we do need to review it with our team. You don’t owe the Hartmans anything, remember? They fired you over this, and it wasn’t your fault.”

He doesn’t move. Doesn’t say anything. I try another tactic. “You made a copy and kept this tape. You’re in a legal gray area.”

From his body language, I’m pretty sure he’s not our killer, and if he is? He’s a better actor than Mary. I see him wavering.

“We’ll pay you.” I dig in my purse and pull out the last of my cash. “A hundred dollars.”

Gordy’s eyes get the glint of someone who’s reconsidering his loyalties. Since Meg has hit on one of his emotional triggers, he can justify giving us the copy and making a buck at the same time. “Let me see what I can do.”

Meg gives me a high-five behind his back.

Less than ten minutes later, we walk out with a copy of the true original. It’s on another blasted VCR tape, but Matt should be able to convert it to a digital file without too much trouble.

“Could the hockey stick be the murder weapon?” I ask Meg.

She shakes her head. “Even if the killer used the end, it wouldn’t have cracked her skull like that.”

“Couldn’t hide that in a purse, either,” I mutter as I merge onto the freeway.

“Are we taking this to JJ?”

“Eventually,” I say.

“Mom is going to love you forever. This could crack the case open.”

“Mom is going to have to give me a loan. And before we show it to her, we’re going to confront Mary.”

Meg whips her head to look at me. “You can’t be serious. She’ll have us thrown in jail.”

I grin. “Not if I break her first.”

“You’re not waiting to hear back from Gerald?”

“Nope. I’ve got a feeling he’s going to give us nothing but excuses, and after what we saw on this tape, we know Mary is the one who left the house and hid something in the cottage.”

“What are you planning?”

“To bluff my ass off and get a confession. You up for playing bad cop/good cop?”

“Only if I get to be the badass.”

We both know that’s not her style. I pat her arm. “Let’s play it by ear.”

14

Meg

* * *

Charlie is an expert at playing things by ear.

Me?

I like a certain sense of order and having a plan. Some might call me methodical. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but there’s peace in knowing what comes next.