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“He’s a bum. If it weren’t for his daddy’s millions, he’d be on the streets, probably dead laying in a gutter somewhere,” Sherlock commented. He despised rich people that treated others like crap. Sherlock couldn’t help but notice Charlie was agitated seeing the guy. “Seems he’s under your skin.”

“He’s living in an apartment with my ex-bff that I’m stuck paying for.” After telling Hemlock the sorted tale, Charlie didn’t feel as embarrassed as she had before. “He’s also a rat bastard, a cheater, a user, and a grade-A womanizer. That’s why he doesn’t work in the office anymore.”

His gaze fixed on the screen in front of him, Sherlock tossed the drink can into the trash bin, then clicked the keyboard where they could go back to watching the video. “He’s handsy with the female employees?”

“Any of them he could get near,” Charlie said. Crispen’s behavior had pissed off his father to the point he put his son out in the field doing sales. That hadn’t stopped Crispen from behaving badly.

Sherlock risked a glance at Charlie who was focused on the video. There was more to the story than she was telling them. If she didn’t want to get into it all, then he wouldn’t ask.

“How many videos did you find” Charlie asked, her voice stiff… curious if there were any other angles.

Sherlock let out a low sigh, his fingers tapping out a rhythm on the desk. “Five. Why?”

“Crispen wouldn’t come to the hotel to see me,” Charlie muttered, letting the silence linger for a moment. “Not without there being something in it for him.”

Sherlock’s expression hardened slightly. “You think your ex-bff’s out of view?”

Crispen had played her, he left her for Ashley. A girl who had a string of dead-end jobs and nothing else. She and Charlie were friends only because they grew up together. It wasn’t like they met in school and had things in common. Ashley’s goal in life was to land a rich guy and have them take care of her. Well, Charlie hoped that was working out for her.

Charlie had thought Crispen was a catch. He had the car, the job, hell the way he pitched it he had the mansion. What a damnlaugh that was. All of it was a big fat lie. The job, the car, and the mansion were all his father’s. The worst part was she hadn’t been with him for all of that. She honestly thought he was a good guy until she learned otherwise. The whole thing left her feeling betrayed, sullen, and a little heartbroken with the idea of being left for someone else.

Charlie squinted at the screen, she wasn’t sure, but it looked like walking ahead of Crispen was Ashley. “I think that’s Ashley.”

“You think?”

“Can you bring it in closer?” Charlie asked, as she leaned in staring at the screen, she was struggling to see who was walking ahead of Crispen.

Sure, give me a second,” Sherlock said, stretching a little before clicking the mouse and bringing the image closer.

Charlie’s gaze snapped back to the screen, studying the image. “That’s Ashley, but it looks like she’s colored her hair dark.”

“Looks like she’s trying to be you, Charlie.” By now she thought nothing would bother her. But this was pissing her off. “That’s creepy.”

Sherlock leaned back in his chair, watching her for a moment. She shrugged and Sherlock stopped the video. “Them being at the hotel isn’t enough to press charges,” he explained before he clicked the mouse and let the video play through.

Charlie watched as both Ashley and Crispen walked into the hotel. The hotel doors closed, leaving them with no proof the couple were the ones that trashed her room. Charlie stared at the monitor, her thoughts clearly drifting elsewhere. “Sherlock, can we fast forward to when they come out?”

“Yes. Are we looking for something specific when they come out?” he asked.

Charlie nodded. “A few things were taken. They’d have had to carry them out in a bag of some sort. A tote bag of mine was one of the items missing.”

“Let’s see what we can find.” Sherlock sat silently fast-forwarding the video, scanning for the couple to exit the hotel.

Hemlock stood back letting Sherlock do his thing. He listened and watched Charlie making sure she was good. It took a strong woman to stand there and watch two people she’d trusted and possibly loved to betray her. “Have we found anything?” he asked, letting Charlie and Sherlock know he was still there.

Without looking at Hemlock, her eyes transfixed on the screen, she answered, “Yeah. Ashley and Crispen went into the hotel.”

“What are we looking for now?” Hemlock asked from behind Charlie, looking closer at the screen he watched and waited to see what she saw.

“When they come out, I’m hoping they’ll have something of mine in plain view,” she said firmly, hoping there was something to prove they’d been the ones in her room.

“Stop,” Hemlock snapped.

Sherlock stopped the video and saw what Hemlock had caught. The couple walked out of the hotel laughing, but neither carried anything out with them. Charlie looked closer at the image. “Can you rewind, then slow it down where I can take a better look?”

Rolling his eyes at the absurd question, Sherlock backed it up to the spot when the couple first stepped out the doors, then he slowed the video down.

Charlie watched the couple in slow motion as they walked out onto the sidewalk. That’s when she saw it. Ashely’s hand was playing with a necklace as she stared down at it. “That bitch stole my necklace. My mom gave me that.”