“I’m out of shape,” Jo gasped as she crested the hilly terrain, struggling to keep up with Nash’s long legs.
“You’re in perfect shape.” Nash slowed long enough to give Jo his most seductive gaze. “Every inch of you.”
“I wasn’t fishing for a compliment, merely stating the obvious.”
“And I was merely stating a fact.”
The couple reached the fence line separating her property from Dave Kilwin’s.
Nash easily cleared the split rails and then waited on the other side while Jo swung her leg over. She teetered on the top rail, lost her balance and toppled over. “Oof.”
Nash swooped down and scooped her up. “It’s a good thing we don’t engage in covert operations on a regular basis. We would definitely need more practice.”
“The good news is Dave has Sandi and Buzz sequestered in the main office. We have at least fifteen more minutes to slip in around the back, let ourselves into Leah’s unit, set up the surveillance equipment, and hide in the closet. He sent a text letting me know the closet door was unlocked. Do you have your handgun?”
Nash patted his pocket. “It hasn’t gone anywhere since the last time you asked me ten minutes ago.”
“Sorry. I’m just nervous. What if nothing happens? What if Carli misread what they were saying?”
“Then we sit in a dark hiding spot together for several hours and make out.” Nash made googly eyes at her.
“Nash Greyson,” Jo laughed.
“What? I see nothing wrong with taking advantage of the perfect opportunity to be alone and in the dark with my love.”
“We need to be on our toes.”
“I know, and I plan to. Maybe this will score some brownie points for me.”
“Yes. Let’s bank those brownie points.”
The Kilwin farm and outbuildings appeared, and the couple veered right, careful to steer clear of the main building and attached office.
“The units are this way.” Jo slipped in alongside the back of the housing units. They turned left and came up on them from the far side. Thankfully, Leah’s unit was near the end.
“Do you have the key?” Nash asked.
“Right here.” Jo’s hand trembled as she slid the key in the lock and turned the knob. With a quick look around, she slipped into the room. Nash followed right behind her.
She paused long enough to collect her bearings and give her eyes time to adjust to the lack of light. “The air duct vent is over here.” Jo led him to the vent and watched as he released the tabs and set the cover aside.
Nash reached inside his backpack, removed the surveillance camera and audio recording device and carefully placed them on the narrow ledge. “I put new batteries in both so we don’t have to worry about them dying on us.”
“I hadn’t even thought about the batteries. Good idea.”
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and checked to make sure the devices were sending a strong signal. “We’re good to go.”
“I hope this works,” Jo said.
“All we can do is try.” Nash carefully replaced the air duct cover, checked the app and devices one more time and gave her a thumbs up. “It’s not 100% unobstructed, but clear enough to see who shows up. Let’s go.”
The couple exited Leah’s unit and turned left, heading toward a door marked storage at the end of the long corridor.
“This must be it.” Nash turned the handle and eased the door open. He ran his hand along the wall and flipped the lights on.
Jo’s heart plummeted when she saw the cramped space. “It’s tiny.”
“Nah. More like cozy.” Nash nudged her inside. “Perfect for smooching and cuddling.”
“I…”
“I know.” Nash’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Today is all business. The snuggling and smooching will have to wait.” He let Jo find a comfortable spot and followed her in, closing the door behind them. “See? This isn’t so bad.”
He fiddled with his phone and clicked on the surveillance app. Leah’s unit, with a view of the entrance door, appeared. “This is working like a charm. Remind me again why we stopped using this equipment.”
“Because the sales guy talked me into upgrading to a much more expensive set of surveillance equipment.” Jo checked her watch. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to put it to good use.”
The minutes ticked by…ten, fifteen, half an hour and then an hour. Jo shifted slightly to ease the throbbing in her lower back. Next it was her knee and then her shoulder twinged.
Nash watched as she massaged the back of her neck. “You don’t sit still very well,” he teased.
“This floor is hard,” Jo said. “I can’t help it if you can sit for hours and not have to move. What’s your secret?”
“Years of military training.”
Jo tilted her head. “Do you miss it?”
“The military?” Nash shrugged. “Sometimes. It wasn’t all bad—traveling, seeing the world, making friends and friendships that would last a lifetime. I was a little wild in my teen years. Looking back, the military was something I needed.”
“Knowing what you know now, would you do it again?”
“I would. I think most people need discipline, to learn how to keep their mouths shut and do what they’re told, to have a schedule and work with others as a team.”
“You argue an excellent case,” Jo said. “You should have been a recruiter.”
“I thought about it. Instead, I moved back to Divine.”
“I’m glad you did.”
Their eyes met, and Nash smiled. “So am I.”
Jo peered at her watch. “The afternoon employee break is over. If Sandi and Buzz are going to make a move, it will have to be soon.”
A dull thump echoed, and Nash pressed a finger to his lips. Without making a sound, he slowly stood and slid his hand into his pocket.
Jo froze, fearing if she moved she would make noise and give them away.
The couple waited. Nothing happened, and it grew quiet again.
“False alarm,” Nash said. “I thought someone was going to bust us.”
Jo grinned. “Me too. I’m not sure how we would explain why we’re hiding inside Dave’s storage closet.”
Nash resumed his position, and Jo readjusted hers.
Another hour passed. It was closing in on five o’clock. Jo was starting to suspect they were wasting their time. Carli was wrong and nothing would happen. “Do you think…”
Tink. A small sound resonated from Nash’s phone. It was followed by the muffled voices of a man and a woman.
“…in the back. If Dave hadn’t pulled us away for his stupid meeting, we wouldn’t have had to put this off until now,” the woman said. “Let’s get in and get out before anyone sees us.”
“Where do you want to put them?” the man asked.
“When the investigator searched my room, he tore my dresser apart and turned the drawers over. I say we stick them under the drawers, kind of loose, so they’ll fall out.”
While the couple talked, Jo sent a text to Dave, who promised he was on standby.
“You know how I feel about this. We could easily get caught.” Buzz hovered near the door.
“We have to do something before the cops start taking a hard look at us.”
“You mean taking a hard look at you and finding out about you and Shane?”
“Shut up,” Sandi snapped. “You have a big mouth.”
Buzz ignored the comment. “What about the cash?”
“I have it. It’s in my car. I’ll give it to you as soon as we’re out of here.” Sandi appeared and hurried over to the dresser.
Jo leaned in, watching as the woman removed the second drawer from the top, tucked something red in the bottom and slid it back in place. “Done. This should do the trick. The cops are going to search the place again and Leah will be on the hook.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Buzz reached for the door handle.
Jo could see him cautiously ease it open and then motioned for Sandi to follow him out.
Nash clicked out of the app and tapped the screen. He shoved his phone in his pocket. “I sent Dave a text, letting him know Buzz and Sandi were in Leah’s room. Let’s go.”
“No.” Jo stopped him. “We need to wait for a few minutes. Buzz said something about Sandi giving him cash. I say we follow them to her car and wait for the transaction to take place.”
“Good idea.” With Nash leading the way, the couple slipped out of the storage closet where they glimpsed Sandi and Buzz making a beeline for the main building and parking lot.
The couple rounded the corner and could see Buzz and Sandi standing near the passenger side of a four-door sedan, their heads close together.
Dave emerged from the main office and stepped over to where they stood talking.
Moments later, a police car flew into the driveway, followed by a second.
Things moved fast as the officers surrounded Buzz and Sandi.
“Let’s roll.” Nash grabbed Jo’s hand, and they jogged toward them.
“…have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sandi said. “Buzz and I have been working all afternoon and meeting with Dave.”
“You broke into Leah McEllish’s room,” Dave said. “We hid a surveillance camera and recording device inside and caught both of you in there.”
“We overheard them talking about Sandi paying Buzz cash after they left Leah’s unit,” Jo said.
The color drained from Sandi’s face. “I…don’t…”
“It’s all been recorded,” Nash said.
“And inadmissible,” Buzz smirked.
Nash pointed to the bulge in Buzz’s jacket pocket. “What’s in there?”
“Nothing.” Buzz placed a hand over the front of his jacket.
Detective Vine stepped closer. “Mind if we take a look?”
“I…”
“If you have nothing to hide, show us what’s in your pocket.”
Buzz reluctantly unzipped the pocket. He pulled out a large wad of hundred-dollar bills. “I just…it’s…”
The detective held out his hand. “How much do you have?”
Buzz made a choking sound and handed the money to him.
Jo held her breath as he began counting.
“Five grand. That’s a nice chunk of change to be carrying around.” The detective waved the bills in the air. “Where did you get this?”
“I…uh. Picked up some extra cash working side jobs.”
“Where?”
Jo could tell Buzz was panicking, and shot Sandi a terrified look. “Here and there.”
“Local places?” the detective probed.
“Uh-yeah.”
“I would like the names of those places.”
Buzz’s face turned bright red. “Sandi gave it to me after I helped her.”
“Helped her with what?” the detective asked, turning his attention to the woman on his right.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about. He’s lying,” Sandi said.
“It was all Sandi’s idea,” Buzz blurted out.
Detective Vine motioned to the other officers. “Don’t let them leave. I want to see the surveillance recordings and take a look inside Leah’s unit.”
“I’m going to sue you,” Sandi threatened. “This is unlawful detainment without cause.”
Dave, along with the detective, Nash and Jo, strode across the parking lot and made their way to Leah’s unit.
Using the key Leah had given her, Jo opened the door and stepped aside.
Nash showed the detective where they’d hidden the recording devices and then played back what they had captured.
“Let’s see what we have.” Detective Vine flipped the drawer over.
Two envelopes fell out. “These envelopes are addressed to Leah.”
He flipped the flaps on the top one and removed a card. “If you can still make it, let’s meet around six thirty over behind the barn.” The detective held the card up. “Is this Shane Barr’s handwriting?”
Dave studied the card. “The outer envelope doesn’t look like his writing but what’s inside the card does.”
He held up the second envelope with Leah’s name scribbled across the front. “Is this also his handwriting?”
“I don’t know,” Dave said.
“We’ll have a handwriting expert analyze the envelopes and cards,” Vine said.
“They could have swapped out the envelopes,” Jo pointed out.
“I’ll need a copy of the recordings to take with me to the station when I question Buzz and Sandi. Something tells me neither one of them will be able to explain what the cash was for and why they were in here planting cards.”
Jo began to feel lightheaded as Detective Vine placed the cards inside an evidence bag and made his way to the door. The police had their killer or, in this case, killers. And Leah was no longer a suspect.