Chương 8
"We need someone to check the cameras."
Claire's eyes went to the tablet.
"Not the household system."
"Why?"
"If the internal network is compromised, whoever's watching may see that we're checking."
Evan stared at her.
"Then how do we know who's at the door?"
Claire pointed toward Imani's phone.
"Call Mrs. Alvarez."
Imani did.
The older woman answered on the second ring.
"You're all being very mysterious today."
Her voice sounded annoyed rather than frightened.
"Mrs. Alvarez, don't go outside."
A pause.
"Why?"
"Just don't."
"Imani, I have chicken thawing and a man ringing the bell every ten seconds."
"What does he look like?"
Another pause.
"Like a delivery man."
Claire closed her eyes.
Imani said, "Please."
Mrs. Alvarez sighed.
"White, maybe forty, baseball cap, sunglasses, brown uniform."
Claire mouthed, Ask about his shoulder.
Imani frowned.
"What?"
Claire lowered one shoulder and leaned forward slightly.
Imani understood.
"Does he stand kind of crooked?"
Mrs. Alvarez went quiet.
"Crooked how?"
"One shoulder lower."
"I suppose."
Imani looked at Claire.
Claire's face had gone pale.
"Tell her to walk away from the door."
Imani said, "Mrs. Alvarez, go back into the kitchen."
"Why?"
"Now."
The firmness in Imani's voice worked.
They heard movement through the phone.
A drawer shutting.
Footsteps.
Then Mrs. Alvarez said, "Fine."
"Lock the kitchen door."
"The inside one?"
"Yes."
"This is ridiculous."
"Please."
A click sounded faintly through the call.
"Done."
Claire whispered, "Ask if he has a package."
Imani did.
Mrs. Alvarez said, "Yes."
"What size?"
"Small."
"Label?"
"I didn't inspect it."
"Can you see the name?"
Mrs. Alvarez moved again.
"Claire Callahan."
Claire's lips pressed together.
Evan said quietly, "We're not opening it."
Mrs. Alvarez heard him.
"Mr. Callahan?"
"Stay where you are, Rosa."
Her tone changed immediately.
"Is something wrong?"
Evan looked at Claire.
"Possibly."
The doorbell rang again downstairs.
Even through the phone, the sound felt invasive.
Mrs. Alvarez lowered her voice.
"He's looking toward the side gate now."
Imani's stomach tightened.
"Can he see you?"
"No."
"Stay back."
Claire stepped toward the nursery window.
Evan caught her wrist.
"Don't."
She stopped.
His hand remained there for one beat longer than necessary.
Something passed between them.
Fear, anger, habit, love.
Then he let go.
The doorbell rang again.
Mrs. Alvarez said, "He's leaving."
"Which way?"
"Toward the driveway."
Imani walked to the window but stayed behind the curtain.
A brown-uniformed figure appeared between the trees.
Even at a distance, she recognized the lowered shoulder.
"That's him."
Claire moved beside her.
Imani did not stop her.
Daniel Voss crossed the front drive carrying a small box under one arm.
He did not head toward a delivery van.
He walked toward the road.
Evan came up behind them with Sophie.
"Where's his vehicle?"
Imani scanned the curb.
A black SUV was parked beyond the magnolias.
Her chest tightened.
"The same one."
Claire whispered, "He was told not to come back."
Daniel reached the SUV.
Before opening the driver's door, he looked up at the house.
Not generally.
Directly at the nursery window.
Imani stepped back.
Claire did too.
Evan stayed still.
Daniel lifted one hand.
For a second, Imani thought he was waving.
Then she saw the red object between his fingers.
A memory card.
Claire made a sound under her breath.
Evan's face hardened.
Daniel dropped the card onto the pavement and crushed it beneath his shoe.
Then he got into the SUV.
The vehicle pulled away.
Nobody spoke until it disappeared beyond the gate.
Imani looked toward the marble cabinet.
The original red card was still there.
Claire understood at the same moment.
"That wasn't ours."
Evan looked at her.
"What?"
"He wanted us to think he'd destroyed the evidence."
Imani felt cold despite the warm room.
"Which means he knew we found it."
Claire looked at the hidden camera position behind the crib.
"No."
Her voice had become very quiet.
"It means he knows we're watching."
Evan crossed the nursery in three strides and pulled the curtain fully closed.
The room dimmed at once.
Sophie objected with a small grunt and reached toward the missing patch of sunlight.
Claire moved toward the crib molding.
"Don't touch it."
Evan's voice stopped her.
She turned.
"If there's still a transmitter in there—"
"Then we leave it exactly where it is."
"We don't even know whether there is."
"Which is why we stop touching things."
Claire looked as if she wanted to argue.
Instead she folded her arms and stepped back.
Imani felt a strange satisfaction at seeing her obey him.
She disliked herself for it immediately.
Evan took out his phone.
"I'm calling the attorney again."
Claire said, "Tell him Voss was here."
"I intend to."
"And tell him the household network may be compromised."
"I intend to."
"And—"
"Claire."
She stopped.
He made the call.
This time, the attorney's answer changed his posture almost immediately.
Evan turned away from the women and walked toward the far wall, speaking quietly.
"No, we didn't engage him."
A pause.
"Yes, we're all still upstairs."
Another pause.
"Understood."
He looked toward Sophie.
"No, she isn't injured."
Imani watched Claire flinch at the wording.
Evan listened for another minute.
"How long?"
He looked at the clock.
"Fine."
Then he ended the call.
"What did he say?"
Claire asked.
"He has an independent forensic security firm on the way."
"Independent according to whom?"
"According to him."
Claire gave a humorless smile.
"Comforting."
"He also wants us to preserve the house exactly as it is."
"So we're prisoners."
"He didn't say that."
"He doesn't have to."
Imani looked toward the door.
"What about Mrs. Alvarez?"
Evan nodded.
"We tell her there's a security problem and ask her to stay in the kitchen."
Claire immediately said, "No details."
Imani gave her a tired look.
"I wasn't planning to show her the tablet."
"Good."
"That wasn't agreement."
Claire looked away.
Evan rubbed Sophie's back.
May you like
"We also need to know who else is on the property."
Imani pulled up the household schedule on her phone.
