come at the porch camera from this side and cover it.”
As she had done two nights before, only without knowing the hidden gargoyle camera had been taping her. Once the camera over the door was covered, she picked the lock using her father’s lock picks and overrode the security system using Harry’s hand-held code breaker gadget. Luke watched her silently, holding the flashlight so she could see. He stood so close she could feel him tense up.
“Nice piece of technology that,” he said. “Illegal but nice.”
“I won’t tell the cops if you won’t.” The green light on the code breaker flashed and she went to return it to her backpack.
“I’ll take that,” he said, whisking it off her and putting it into his own backpack. “Don’t want it getting into the wrong hands.”
Like Harry didn’t know where to get another one.
“Lead the way,” he said, gesturing her forward.
“I returned the necklace to the master bedroom upstairs,” she said, turning her flashlight on the grand staircase in the entrance foyer. “I keep my jewelry in the bedroom so I thought Mrs. Haywood-Smith might too.”
“You know you should hide your precious stuff somewhere no one will think to look.” He took the stairs two at a time and she had to run to keep up, trying not to admire the way his jeans stretched tight over his taut butt but admiring anyway. “Like in the coffee jar or the toilet cistern.”
“And what if the thief likes coffee and needs to go to the toilet? Or what if he’s just as clever as you and looks in those places first?” She was pretty sure her father knew all the best hiding places.
He waited for her at the top of the stairs with a don’t-be-a-smartass glare. She passed him, head high, and led the way down a long corridor. It had taken her a quarter of an hour to find the bedroom the other night but this time it took only a few seconds. She even had time to admire the lovely paintings lining the walls and wondered if they were real or if they too were fakes. She also noticed several shadowy shapes on the walls where pictures must have hung until recently.
As she was about to push open the door to the main bedroom, a horrible thought pulled her back. “Do you think there might be other hidden cameras throughout the house?”
“Could be,” he said and bent to study a small art deco statuette perched on a display stand near the door.
“Admiring the figurine or looking for tiny cameras?”
“Both. It’s clean. But if there are any more cameras we’ve got little chance of finding them. They could be anywhere.”
“I suppose it’s only an issue if they bypass your department and take the footage to someone higher up.” From what she knew of the Victorian police department, only the Chief Commissioner was higher than Luke’s boss so there was only a slim chance the entire scheme could become a complete balls up. If any footage of her and Luke did surface, hopefully it would find its way into his boss’s hands first and be suppressed.
Luke blew out a breath and hoped Lily didn’t notice he hadn’t answered her. If she knew he was putting his job on the line for her, she’d march him straight out of there. And then she’d go to jail for sure. The only thing keeping her out was finding solid evidence tonight against the Haywood-Smiths. One chance. No room for screw ups or second thoughts.
He pushed open the door and entered, Lily right behind him. Their flashlights picked out a fireplace to one side, a massive four-poster bed opposite and an equally enormous Persian rug with frayed edges separating them. The room was bigger than his entire apartment. It even had a couch.
“I put it in the dressing table,” Lily said, moving to the other side of the room and an ornate dresser. “Top drawer.” She opened it and sifted through the contents. “Not there. Now what?”
“Now we find evidence of
As she had done two nights before, only without knowing the hidden gargoyle camera had been taping her. Once the camera over the door was covered, she picked the lock using her father’s lock picks and overrode the security system using Harry’s hand-held code breaker gadget. Luke watched her silently, holding the flashlight so she could see. He stood so close she could feel him tense up.
“Nice piece of technology that,” he said. “Illegal but nice.”
“I won’t tell the cops if you won’t.” The green light on the code breaker flashed and she went to return it to her backpack.
“I’ll take that,” he said, whisking it off her and putting it into his own backpack. “Don’t want it getting into the wrong hands.”
Like Harry didn’t know where to get another one.
“Lead the way,” he said, gesturing her forward.
“I returned the necklace to the master bedroom upstairs,” she said, turning her flashlight on the grand staircase in the entrance foyer. “I keep my jewelry in the bedroom so I thought Mrs. Haywood-Smith might too.”
“You know you should hide your precious stuff somewhere no one will think to look.” He took the stairs two at a time and she had to run to keep up, trying not to admire the way his jeans stretched tight over his taut butt but admiring anyway. “Like in the coffee jar or the toilet cistern.”
“And what if the thief likes coffee and needs to go to the toilet? Or what if he’s just as clever as you and looks in those places first?” She was pretty sure her father knew all the best hiding places.
He waited for her at the top of the stairs with a don’t-be-a-smartass glare. She passed him, head high, and led the way down a long corridor. It had taken her a quarter of an hour to find the bedroom the other night but this time it took only a few seconds. She even had time to admire the lovely paintings lining the walls and wondered if they were real or if they too were fakes. She also noticed several shadowy shapes on the walls where pictures must have hung until recently.
As she was about to push open the door to the main bedroom, a horrible thought pulled her back. “Do you think there might be other hidden cameras throughout the house?”
“Could be,” he said and bent to study a small art deco statuette perched on a display stand near the door.
“Admiring the figurine or looking for tiny cameras?”
“Both. It’s clean. But if there are any more cameras we’ve got little chance of finding them. They could be anywhere.”
“I suppose it’s only an issue if they bypass your department and take the footage to someone higher up.” From what she knew of the Victorian police department, only the Chief Commissioner was higher than Luke’s boss so there was only a slim chance the entire scheme could become a complete balls up. If any footage of her and Luke did surface, hopefully it would find its way into his boss’s hands first and be suppressed.
Luke blew out a breath and hoped Lily didn’t notice he hadn’t answered her. If she knew he was putting his job on the line for her, she’d march him straight out of there. And then she’d go to jail for sure. The only thing keeping her out was finding solid evidence tonight against the Haywood-Smiths. One chance. No room for screw ups or second thoughts.
He pushed open the door and entered, Lily right behind him. Their flashlights picked out a fireplace to one side, a massive four-poster bed opposite and an equally enormous Persian rug with frayed edges separating them. The room was bigger than his entire apartment. It even had a couch.
“I put it in the dressing table,” Lily said, moving to the other side of the room and an ornate dresser. “Top drawer.” She opened it and sifted through the contents. “Not there. Now what?”
“Now we find evidence of
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