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Ruth motioned for her friends to join her back inside the spymobile. “Leonard ran Echo’s fingerprints through the central database. There was no match.”

“No match?” Liz echoed.

“He wasn’t able to find her in the database,” Ruth confirmed.

“It still doesn’t explain her having Grotto’s name and number on the slip of paper,” Liz said. “I hate to say it, but my gut tells me Echo knows more than she’s letting on. Why she kept the DNA sample is beyond me.”

“Unless she and Grotto teamed up to bribe Appolina. She met with Grotto, something happened, she attacked him and then he died,” Lucy said .

“At a public boat ramp?” Dot frowned. “I don’t know how big this Grotto guy was, but Echo is as skinny as a rail. I doubt she could overpower a man, a rough and tumble convict at that.”

“She could have been in hiding and sneaked up on him from behind,” Ruth pointed out.

“We’ve done as much as we can,” Gloria said. “We’ll have to wait for Brian to get the results back and see what the authorities come up with as far as Echo is concerned. Maybe we won’t have to do anything. Maybe she is guilty and the authorities can link her to Grotto’s attack.”

During the ride back to the farm, Liz mulled over all they had learned. Obviously, Echo was involved with Mick Grotto. Had the two been working together to put the squeeze on the senator?

Liz still wasn’t convinced. Most of the information Echo had given her added up.

Job as an evidence technician in Detroit? Check .

Death of the lead investigator in the Appolina case? Check.

Echo’s colleague’s untimely death, also linked to the investigation? Check.

Two confirmed suicides were definitely questionable, not to mention the fact Echo’s Detroit rental burned to the ground, and she barely escaped. On the other hand, she may have been involved with some bad people and it came back to bite her.

Liz was on the fence about believing the DNA was linked to Appolina. It still didn’t clear Echo, at least as far as she was concerned. She could have been involved in some shady dealings as well.

Who had been behind the break-in at Echo’s place? Why hadn’t they finished what they started? Unless Echo was the one who had done it in an attempt to deflect and make it appear someone was after her .

One thing was certain. It wasn’t Grotto. He was dead.

“I think she’s behind it,” Margaret said. “She had Grotto’s name with a telephone number next to it. If you ask me, it’s a cut and dried case.”

“Except for the fact she has…had a DNA sample,” Liz reminded them. “We’ll know more once we find out who it belongs to. That will be the link to who is behind the suspicious deaths.”

Gloria tugged at her seatbelt. “The backdoor attempted break-in. I keep going back to it. If it wasn’t Echo and someone was trying to get to her, why didn’t they finish the job?”

“I’m with Gloria,” Lucy said. “If they were that close to Echo, why didn’t they take her out?”

“She told me Teddy alerted her to something. Echo owns a handgun. Maybe she went to investigate, gun in hand. The person trying to break in saw it and took off. ”

Ruth pulled onto Cash Creek Road, swerving toward the edge to miss the chatter bumps. “Floyd needs to call this in and have the road commission come and grade your road.”

“It’s always been like this.” Liz gritted her teeth as the spymobile jostled along the gravel road. “I would love to see it paved, but I’m sure it’s low on the priority list, since there are only a few houses out here.”

“Speaking of houses, how is it going with your neighbor, Christi?” Dot asked. “Is she still sneaking around your property?”

“Not lately. At least I haven’t caught her. Oddly enough, she’s kinda growing on me,” Liz said. “She doesn’t bother me nearly as much as she did when we first bought the place. I think she’s bored and lonely.”

“And you and Floyd provide plenty of entertainment,” Gloria joked .

“She fell off her bike the other day and got banged up pretty good. I should probably check on her.”

Back at the farm, the women exited Ruth’s van and assembled in the driveway.

“I need to get Dot’s Hot Meals on Wheels on the road.” Dot consulted her watch. “Thanks to Liz and Floyd’s generous donation, we’ve added a new stop, at least for the rest of this year, which means I should get a move on.”

“Do you need an extra hand today?” Gloria asked.

“Thanks for the offer but I’m all set. Ray and I are running the route.”

Ruth shaded her eyes. “How is Ray feeling these days?”

Dot had recently confided in her friends that her husband had been suffering episodes of forgetfulness and memory fog. Concerned he was showing signs of the onset of dementia, he’d undergone a thorough physical exam and his doctor discovered an underactive thyroid.

“His medication is working wonders. He hasn’t gotten lost, forgotten what he was doing or where he was going for several weeks now,” Dot said. “Thank you for your prayers. I was so worried.”

“I hate to hear those stories where people work hard their entire lives, only to retire and have health issues or worse, they die before they’re able to enjoy their golden years,” Gloria said.

“Which is why we should make the most of our time together and do the things we want,” Lucy said.

“Eat that chocolate cake,” Ruth said.

“Take that dream vacation,” Margaret chimed in.

“Work on that bucket list,” Dot said.

“Buy that designer handbag,” Liz quipped.

A collective groan went up .

“Leave it to Liz to point out the materialistic bucket list.” Gloria patted her sister’s shoulder. “At least you’re consistent.”

“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the finer things in life,” Liz insisted. “I think Floyd and I balance it nicely with our donations and trying to help others.”

“Well said.” Dot nodded. “You be you, Liz. We wouldn’t want you any other way.”

“Here, here.” Gloria dug inside her purse and pulled out her car keys. “I should probably get going too.”

Ruth slid back behind the wheel and rolled the window down while Dot hopped in the passenger seat. “You’ll let us know when Brian has the DNA results?”

“I will. Hopefully, he’ll give them to someone who is above board and not involved in Appolina’s illegal activities,” Liz said.

“If I trusted anyone, it would be Brian,” Dot said .

Gloria eased in next to her sister, watching as Lucy and Margaret, followed by Ruth and Dot, drove off.

A movement across the road caught Liz’s eye. It was Christi, returning home. She exited her vehicle, grabbed a set of crutches, and hobbled toward the door.

“Christi is on crutches,” Gloria said.

“She was limping after her fall. She must’ve hurt herself worse than she thought.” Liz, with Gloria by her side, crossed the driveway and caught up with her neighbor as she was unlocking the door.

“Hey, Liz. Hello, Liz’s sister.”

“Gloria,” Gloria said.

“What happened?”

“I sprained my ankle when I fell off the bike.” Using her free hand, Christi swung the door open. “I saw the police at your house early this morning. Is everything all right? ”

“They took Echo in for questioning.”

“Oh.” Christi blinked rapidly. “They found out she had something to do with that Grotto guy’s death?”

“Possibly,” Liz said. “I hope they clear Echo but also figure out who was behind it.”

“Absolutely. You never know about people these days. She has visitors coming and going at all hours over there,” Christi said. “You can’t be too careful. That’s why I keep my surveillance cameras rolling all the time.”

“Hold up.” Liz lifted a hand. “What do you mean, Echo has people coming and going at all hours?”

“Just last night, my camera caught someone parked on the side of the road near your property. I was going to mention it to you, but then I don’t want to be that nosy neighbor. I’ve been trying hard to mind my own business.”

“Someone tried to break into Echo’s home last night. They almost busted out the glass in the back door,” Liz said. “We think Teddy, her pup, scared off whoever it was.”

“Do you mind if we take a look at the recording?” Gloria asked.

“Of course not. You might want to invest in some surveillance equipment, Liz. It seems like you need it more than me,” Christi said.

“You’re one hundred percent correct,” Liz said. “In fact, I’m moving it to the top of my to-do list.”

Christi dropped her purse and keys on the chair and led them through the house to her surveillance room in the back.

Gloria spun in a slow circle, taking in all the blinking lights and AV equipment. “You could give Ruth Carpenter a run for her money.”

“I told her the same thing,” Liz said. “NASCA might be right up Christi’s alley.”

“The North American Surveillance and Communications Association? ”

“Ruth is a member and moving up the ranks,” Gloria said.

Christi’s eyes lit. “Really? I was thinking about applying online. Has she learned any interesting things, stuff like tips on security and surveillance?”

“You have no idea,” Gloria chuckled.

“That does it. I’m signing up.” Christi hopped behind the desk and let out a low groan as she eased into the chair. “This sprain is cramping my style.”

“We won’t stay long,” Liz promised. “We’ll take a quick peek at what your camera caught and be on our way.”

“I have this nifty new app which detects movement.” Christi tapped the sidebar and opened a new screen. With a few clicks, she stopped on a frame.

Although the image was grainy, Liz could see a vehicle slowly drive past. Brake lights appeared and then the lights disappeared .

“This is where someone gets out.” Christi paused the recording. She reached for her mouse and enlarged the frame. “Right there. Keep watching. They walk behind the vehicle and then you can see them take off toward her place. I figured maybe she invited a friend to come over and didn’t want them pulling into the driveway or being seen.”

“Echo can invite whoever she wants over,” Liz said. “This didn’t strike you as odd?”

Christi pursed her lips and gave a small shake of her head.

“Because Liz and Floyd have had several odd things happen since moving in,” Gloria guessed.

“Well, I mean. Yes. There have been a bunch of workers coming and going. Cars, trucks. The police have been over to your place multiple times. I just…it didn’t strike me as all that unusual.”

“Twice. The police have been by twice.”

“This time,” Gloria reminded her sister. “Don’t forget about Deanna Andretti. ”

“Okay, maybe more than most people, but not more than half a dozen times.”

“You asked, and I’m explaining why it didn’t strike me as odd.”

Liz had to concede Christi made a valid point. “Is there any way to get a license number?”

“I can see.” Christi tapped the keys and zoomed in. The picture became even fuzzier.

“Crud. Well, that didn’t work.”

“At least Echo was telling the truth,” Gloria said. “Someone did try to break in.”

“So…let’s say I want to invest in a similar surveillance setup,” Liz said. “I like the feature and how it picks up movement.”

“It saves so much time.” Christi rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how many hours I’ve wasted going over recordings before I splurged and bought the upgraded app. ”

She showed them how the app worked when a vehicle drove by.

“Hang on.” Gloria stopped her. “When was this recorded?”

Christi consulted the timestamp. “A couple of hours ago.”

“This looks like the same vehicle you recorded in the middle of the night. Whoever tried to break into Echo’s place is still hanging around.”