The Dangerous Edge of Things

CHAPTER 36

I found Janie in her room at the Ritz, a twin of the one I’d abandoned for Dexter’s pull-out. She invited me in absent-mindedly, and went back to the half-filled suitcase flopped open on the bed. Outside I heard sirens, an ambulance, a police car. The sounds of someone else’s day gone suddenly bad.

“I just got back from Phoenix,” I said. “Landon told me you’re leaving.”

Janie laid a white blouse in the suitcase. “They’ve released the body, so we can take her home now.”

“That must be a relief.”

“Yeah. We’ve just got to finish up here, and then we can get started with the arrangements.” She looked at the clothes-strewn bed, then back at me. “I appreciate all you’ve done, though, over the past few days.”

“I didn’t do much.”

“You listened, that was a lot. But it’s over now, and the best we can do is get back to normal.”

She was right, of course. But there was so much still unanswered, unhonored, unspoken. I sat on the edge of the bed. The room smelled of old coffee and fresh laundry, but a hint of smoke was in there too—I saw an ashtray by the bed, overflowing with butts. My fingers twitched.

“Janie, this may seem like it’s coming out of nowhere, and I hate to pry into something so personal, but…” I steadied my voice. “Did you know your sister was a lesbian?”

Her eyes darkened and got hard in the center. “That’s not something we’re gonna talk about.”

“But—”

“No buts.” Her voice hardened to match her eyes. “My sister was murdered, and the man who did it is in jail. That’s justice, and I’m grateful for it. The rest is between her and God.”

“Is that what you two fought about?”

She shook her head. “Eliza’s dead, and all that died with her. I don’t care what questions you want to ask, I’m taking her home now, and we’re going to do the best we can with the life she lived. It wasn’t much, but she was family, flesh and blood, and that’s what family does for family.”

“But I’m not convinced Bulldog did it.”

“I am. Eliza spent her whole life chasing some fantasy that she was better than who she was. You chase something long enough, you forget something might be chasing you. Eliza paid for that mistake with her life.”

Her face was taut with emotion, her fists clenched so hard her knuckles whitened. Whatever parts of her had loosened over the last few days had tightened up again, and she wasn’t about to drop her guard, not for me, not for anybody.

I stood. “I’m sorry, Janie. I appreciate everything you shared with me. I wish I could have done more with it.”

Her mouth stayed hard, but her eyes relaxed, just at the corners. She reached up and fingered the ever-present crucifix.

“You did the best you could. That’s worth something.”

I left quickly, too heartsick to argue with her. RIP Eliza Compton. Daughter, sister, friend, co-worker. Murder victim, former thief, closet lesbian, possible blackmailer.

God, why do we even bother with tombstones? It’s not like we don’t lie enough without them.

***

My second stop was back at Beau Elan to find Jake Whitaker—I had a couple of questions for the antsy bastard before he got word that I was no longer legit. Despite what I’d told Landon, I still had my Phoenix ID. One flash of the plastic at the front gate, and the security guard let me in without a quibble.

Inside Jake’s office, the first thing I noticed was that Jake himself was gone. In his place, a young woman with a planed, no-nonsense expression and black bunned hair stood behind his desk. I recognized her as one of Mark Beaumont’s staff.

She frowned at my ID badge. “I thought they were sending Mr. Seaver?”

That’s when I noticed that everything on Jake’s desk had been piled into two boxes. The woman stared at me, slightly puzzled but not alarmed.

I smiled. “He got tied up in a meeting, last minute stuff. He sent me instead.”

“Fine, then. Here.” She handed over a small box. “This is the back-up footage I found. I don’t know why Mr. Whitaker had it in his desk. The originals are with the police, and you already have the archives at Phoenix.”

I accepted it with a smile. “It’s a mystery.”

And then she handed me another box, this one sealed with duct tape. Her lips curled with distaste. “I wanted to throw this away, but Mr. Beaumont said to turn it over to you people. So here. Get rid of it.”

I smiled again, broad and reassuring. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

***

I tried to call Trey, but got his voice mail, which meant that he was still in his meeting. I left him a rambling message. “Listen, Trey? Call me back as soon as you get this. Nothing’s wrong, but I have to talk to you ASAP. I’ve kinda…crap, just call me, okay?”

I decided voicemail was not the way to mention my recent termination. Ditto on the contraband materials from Jake’s desk. Driving out of Beau Elan with the illicit boxes sitting next to me was an exercise in patience. Had Jake been fired? Reassigned? And what kind of surveillance footage did he have hidden in his desk? I knew that the main records had been turned over to the police, the back-ups to Phoenix. What in the world would Jake be keeping just for himself?

My fingers itched to pry it open, even if I knew Trey would kill me in some hideous SWAT-intensive manner if I did.

So I called Rico. “Do you know where can I find someone—someone discreet—who can unplex some security footage?”

***

Rico sent me to his friend Doug at the Buckhead branch of the Fulton County Library. As its media specialist, Doug had studied at Dartmouth on their digital antiforgery project, and he had a treasure trove of sneaky smart software at his fingertips. According to Rico, he also possessed a strong subversive streak, and would be glad to help me sock it to The Man.

Doug sported mouse-brown bangs and sharp blue eyes intensified by black-rimmed hipster glasses. His voice was soft, and his eyes darted around a lot.

“Wait here,” he said.

I handed over the DVDs. While he got his geek on, I found an empty study carrel. And I sat there, me and my illicit boxes and a tote bag crammed thick as underbrush with file folders. I’d been ditched by Janie, fired by Phoenix, yelled at by Garrity, deserted by Eric. And when Trey found out about my latest subterfuge…

I stared at the sealed box. Then I went to Doug’s desk and borrowed a pair of scissors. If I was going to be lectured, it might as well be for the whole shebang.

I ran the blade along the flap and opened the box. And then I did a doubletake. “Oh my god.”

My phone rang before I could examine the contents further. It was Trey.

“I got your message,” he said. “What’s the problem?”

“I’d rather explain in person.”

“I can meet you at Phoenix.”

I slammed the lid shut and shoved the box away. “This is not a Phoenix conversation.”

“In that case, I’ll be in Atlanta in an hour. I have to stop by Beau Elan first, but—”

“I’m thinking you don’t.”

“What?”

“I ran your Beau Elan errand for you. Call Jake’s office. The nice lady will fill you in.”

Dead silence at his end.

“Don’t be mad. I have all the materials with me, safe and sound.”

“Tai—”

“I’ll meet you at your place and explain everything.”

A long pause. “I’m counting on it.”

He hung up just as Doug returned. His eyes loomed large and skittish behind the glasses.

“I got your footage loaded,” he said, his voice low. “And I’m really hoping it’s not what you’re expecting.”