A Slow Walk to Hell by Patrick A. Davis Page B

between the cinder blocks.”
    I studied a portion of the wall, visible between the two TVs. “Concrete’s dark. It’s not close to being dry.”
    “That’s because it was poured a little over a week ago.”
    I stared at him.
    “Yeah. That was the security company on the line. I checked out two tapes and was wondering why they only had a couple days’ worth of images on them. Ron, the guy I was talking to, told me that’s because this thing was slapped together in four days. Talbot paid them double for a rush job. Double.”
    His meaning was clear. Whatever was the source of Talbot’s fear, it hadn’t manifested itself until last week.
    Two VHS tapes were stacked on the console. I asked if those were the ones he’d checked out.
    “Right. Both from cameras at the back of the house.”
    “And?”
    He looked longingly at his pipe before reluctantly sliding it into his blazer. “Saw the maid, Mrs. Chang. Also a gardener. Oh, and another lady. Kind of looked like my grandmother. She was here quite a bit over the last couple days. Probably Mrs. Johnson, the other housekeeper.”
    It made sense that the images on the tapes went back several days. Because the video recorders were motion activated, a single tape could last a week or longer before being recycled. “No one else?”
    “Not yet. We won’t find anything. You heard that the tapes from the front of the house and the gate are missing?”
    “Yeah…” I was frowning quizzically at the television monitors.
    “Let me guess,” Billy said. “You’re thinking it’d be a pain in the ass if Talbot had to come down here, whenever someone came to the gate.”
    I nodded. “I’m also wondering how Talbot would even know if a camera had been activated by a motion sensor. He sure wouldn’t be sitting here, watching the whole time.”
    “Damn right he wouldn’t. A tone sounds whenever a camera comes on. Like a doorbell. When it goes off, Talbot can call up the cameras from any TV in the house. Sweet, huh?”
    “I didn’t hear the tone when I came up.”
    “Simon had me kill it. It was driving everyone nuts. It only took me a couple minutes to figure out how.” He tapped the computer, pleased with himself.
    I asked him how Talbot knew which camera picked up motion.
    “A menu pops up on the TV. It shows which cameras are active. It’s similar to this.”
    He clicked the mouse and swung the computer screen toward me. I saw a listing of the cameras, each with a corresponding number and a cryptic description of its location.
    “See the numbered boxes?” Billy said. “Notice how some are red but most are green?”
    “Green means active.”
    “Right. Most of the cameras are operating because of the people we got crawling around. Normally, they’d be red. With his fence, Talbot wouldn’t even have animals setting off the motion detectors.”
    I’d seen enough. With the missing tapes and the newness of the system, the odds were General Baldwin was in the clear. “You going to be around for a while, Billy?”
    “Most of the damned night. Once I wrap up in here, I’ve got to get my ass upstairs. The chief wants the house completely processed before we leave.” He shook his head gloomily. “Jesus, I hate celebrity killings. Everyone jumping through their ass. Give me a dead gangbanger anytime. You’re in and out, and home in time for Leno.”
    I grinned. Billy liked to bitch. But after twenty years on the job, he’d earned the right. “Mind if I borrow your car for about an hour?”
    “Sure. Toby’s got the keys. He drove. You know Toby Chandler? Big, bald guy. I think he’s upstairs in the master bedroom.” His eyes flickered past me to the door. “Is that you, Carolyn? How’s the prettiest officer on the force?”
    Turning, I saw an attractive uniformed cop with curly blond hair walking toward the cubicle, a cell phone in her hand.
    Carolyn stopped just outside the door, blushing. “Hi, Billy. I was told a cell phone won’t work inside