Page 94 of False Evidence
Lex took his phone from his hand and typed a message, then handed the phone back. He smiled as he read her message.
JT
Lee, you beautiful giant. Thank you. xo A
Lee
Erica and I are so thankful you’re safe. That video is terrifying.
Instead of giving the phone back to Lex, JT replied.
Watching it took years off my life. Now enjoy your Christmas with your family. I need to call Raptor and see if they’ve lined up an attorney for Lex.
One more question. What did Alexandra hit the cop with? Looked like an old hard drive.
Yep. Kendall had Lex’s old computer from when they lived together. It has photos and other old files Kendall wanted her to have.
Any chance that’s what the shooter was after? He took a box from the trunk.
Could be. We think this relates to Spaulding and Forbes. The dead cop is one of the two who responded to Lex’s 911 call the day Spaulding was released on bond after he attempted to drug her.
Yeah. I caught that. Trying to get cell numbers for Spaulding and Forbes so I can track them. I haven’t broken down the video yet, but I think Spaulding is good for the shooter.
JT showed Lex the screen. It always came back to Russ Spaulding. She sucked in a deep breath as she read the string of texts.
Behind them, Gemma screamed to be released from her clip-on highchair, but in this moment, Lex looked too dazed to respond. He handed her the phone and went to get Gemma, pausing to grab a soft washcloth to wipe her down first.She was coated in pancake goo.
He saw Lex tap the screen.
“What did you tell Lee?”
“That we don’t have a SATA cord to look at the hard drive, and that if it is, in fact, what the shooter was after, then the minute he sees this video, he’ll know I still have it.”
ChapterThirty-Five
Two hours after the video aired, JT was behind the wheel of his SUV, driving Lex and Gemma south to Raptor’s Virginia compound. Christmas had been put on hold because the detectives handling the investigation into the homicide had agreed to interview Lex with her attorney in Raptor’s conference room.
“I feel guilty about disrupting everyone’s holiday,” Lex said as JT navigated the winding, snowy road down the mountain.
Light snow flurries dusted the windshield. In the backseat, Gemma talked to Panny in a singsong voice, content during this drive because her mom was in the vehicle and not some complete stranger who had zero experience with toddlers.
“I’ll see to it everyone involved gets a massive holiday bonus from me.”
JT had an on-call contract with Raptor to provide security for T&D’s more dangerous contracts around the world. They no longer worked in Iraq, but they did have construction projects in other conflict zones. He’d have Keith invoice him personally for the holiday bonuses.
“I’m sure my attorney is going to add a hefty fee.”
“Worth every penny. We can celebrate Christmas later tonight. Your place or mine?”
“It’s hard to believe that’s possible. Five days ago, I thought I might spend the rest of my life in prison or be killed by a cop bent on revenge.”
JT took her hand and squeezed, then let her go as the road curved and he needed both hands on the wheel in these conditions.
“We’d have found a way to prove your innocence, but damn, that video is huge.”
He’d called Lee while they packed. Lee had confirmed that he’d located the video before the cops, because the couple who lived in the farmhouse were out of town for the holidays. Lee had identified the signal and combed tax records to find the homeowners. He then paid for the public record dossier for the couple. When that failed to provide a phone number, he found them on social media and messaged them.
It turned out the couple had a camera on the mailbox because of stolen mail, plus more cameras along their long driveway and another at the house, because they’d suffered break-ins when they’d gone out of town in the past. They hadn’t known about the incident in front of their driveaway until Lee reached out, but a quick check of their feed on their computer had revealed they’d caught the incident. They’d sent Lee the video at the same time they provided it to the police.