Page 67 of Unbearable
“With any luck, Jones will find something we can use. Then you can have the pleasure of telling this unsub how pissed off you are in person.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hey,” Danny said, sticking his head into the room. “Damn, someone’s been busy.” He studied the maps and figures for a couple of minutes before shaking his head. “Looks like Greek to me. Tech found something.”
Her gaze met Dex’s gaze and then Knox’s before it slipped away. Quickly, they followed Danny next door. Her heart was racing. What if this is what turned this case on its head?
“It’s still grainy, but we’ve got your blonde. I followed up with the bartender. He verified that’s who he saw. We’re trying to clean up the image, but I didn’t want to wait around,” Jones said. He handed a photo to Dover. Dex and Knox crowded next to her as they stared at the image.
“Hmm,” Dex mumbled almost to himself.
“Yeah, it does,” Knox agreed. “But I can’t be sure.”
“Does what?” Dover asked. Knox pulled his phone out and flipped through the photos. Finally, he turned it around for her to see. She could only gasp at the image in front of her. “There’s no way. He would know. Wouldn’t he?”
“What is it they say? The wife is always the last one to know?”
“But this isn’t just anyone’s husband. This is my brother’s girlfriend. You’re wrong,” she added for emphasis. But was he? Knox had shown her a photo of Brooke walking down a sidewalk while looking over her shoulder. It was timestamped the day they followed, and subsequently lost, her in an alley.
“Maybe,” Dex agreed. “Let’s see what we think after we get the enhanced image. It wouldn’t hurt to check with Fox on her movements over the last couple of weeks anyway.”
“All right, I’ll give him a call. He should be off work by now.”
Edmund had been waiting at the townhome when Fox arrived that morning. He couldn’t begin to calculate the number of times he had counted to ten.
At least he was finishing the floors in the attic. After today, he should be done with the top floor. The crew was installing counters on the second floor. That only left a little finishing work that the site could handle without him.
He was ready to get on with his life. With any luck, Brooke was moving out at that moment. With any luck, she wasn’t wrecking things on her way out. He wouldn’t be surprised if she did, however. Her temper knew no bounds. But, if Ethan was waiting for him at the end of the day, it would all be worth it.
His life was slowly starting to rearrange itself back into something he recognized. Now if he could just get this remodel done, he was home free.
“It’s not cool enough in here,” Edmund complained suddenly dragging him from his thoughts. The man had sat most of the day in a soccer chair watching him. He was sullen today for some reason, which made him quieter than usual. Fox wasn’t complaining. As creepy as the man was, he was much better when he wasn’t talking.
“I haven’t adjusted the air yet since I’m still finishing the floor. You can set it to whatever you’re happy with once I’m done. I’m not leaving until this is finished.” He leaned back over as he pounded the new wood floor into place.
“Is that the stain I picked out?”
“It is. I verified it with Heather before ordering and again once it arrived. She has the order you signed if you need to check.”
Edmund made a dissatisfied grunt and sank deeper into his chair. Fox had a prepared answer for every problem the man could possibly perceive with the job.
Most of the answers involved the designer and her notebook of signed paperwork. Any change in design choices had to go through her first. For some reason, Edmund didn’t seem to want much to do with her.
Fox could feel his glare trained on him as he worked his way across the room. It was a larger space than it had appeared to be originally. He would ask what it was going to be used for, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Edmund made his skincrawl enough as it was without delving into what he did for entertainment.
He was debating how to convince Edmund to return downstairs so he could finish when the man’s phone rang. Looking up, Fox could only wonder who had made him scowl the way he was at the screen. It was the first time he could remember Edmund accepting a call.
“What do you want?” he snarled. After a few curt responses, he hung up. He stood and stared at Fox.
“Everything all right?” He sat back on his knees taking a break.
“It’s nothing. Just something I need to take care of.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I hope everything works out.” Fox couldn’t care less if things worked out for Edmund or not. It just sounded like the right thing to say.
“It will. Are you going to be here tomorrow?”
“No. I plan on staying tonight until this is finished. The crew can do any touch-ups before they clear out tomorrow. Heidi will be by in the afternoon to look at everything with Joey. As for me, I’ll finally be out of your hair for good.” He checked his watch. It was past quitting time and most of the crew would have already headed out.