Page 39 of Fatal Conspiracy

“Sounds like it,” she said, shaking her head at the immaturity of some grown adults. She knew how common that was after working in the industry, but it still surprised her sometimes. Her email dinged, and she clicked on her inbox. “Looks like Mina got us that footage of Josh in Superior.”

While she loaded it up, he leaned back in his chair. “Well, if nothing else, we know it wasn’t Hugo who killed him.”

“Fair point,” she agreed, opening the file. “But someone did. However, I doubt we will get so lucky as to see their face on this video.”

She pressed Play, and they watched as Josh parked his car and climbed out. He glanced around the area briefly, as though he wasn’t sure what to do next.

“He’s disheveled,” Derek noticed. “The Josh I knowwould never have gone out with his hair askew and wearing lounge pants.”

“Someone rolled him out of bed,” Alayah deduced, and Derek nodded. “The question is who and why?”

“And why did he jump when they said jump? Why didn’t he take the time to get dressed?”

“He doesn’t have a wife or kids, right?” Alayah asked to be sure. She assumed, but in this business, one must never make assumptions.

“Absolutely not. He thrived on his social image of being the man every woman wants,” Derek said, watching the screen as Josh wandered the parking lot. He checked his phone before he walked to the edge of the lot and out of the frame.

“Great,” Alayah muttered, calling up a map on an open webpage. “We need to know what’s over there.”

“Looks like not much of anything other than the public beach.”

“There has to be a camera on the beach somewhere, right?” she asked, ready to dig in when he pointed to another image.

“Maybe, but look. There’s a wooded area between the marina lot and the beach. I’d bet my last dollar the person he’s meeting is in those trees.”

“Like whoever it is knows where the cameras are?”

“Wouldn’t you if you were planning to kill someone?”

“That’s what gets me,” she noted. “If this person planned to kill Josh, why pick this area to do it? It’s off-season, so there aren’t as many people around, but there’s a highway on the other side of the slips. Anyone driving by could notice people walking around down there and remember them.”

“You’re saying they weren’t planning to kill him?”

“Maybe they just wanted to talk, but things got out of hand?” she asked, and he shrugged.

“Anything is possible, I suppose.”

She clicked back to the video. “We know it wasn’t Hugo, so who else had enough disdain for Josh that a simple meeting ended in his death?”

“Half the people who knew and worked with him?” Derek suggested.

“So, you’re saying he was well-liked,” Alayah said, tongue in cheek. “Not super helpful.”

“We don’t have much, do we?” Derek asked, rubbing her tense shoulders to help her relax. “That gave us nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” she disagreed. “We know he didn’t take time to prepare for the meeting, and he wasn’t carrying anything except his phone. That makes me wonder where his phone ended up.”

Unsure of her next move, she called Mina. “Secure Watch, Whiskey.”

“Secure Watch, Alpha,” she answered, shoulder-bumping Derek, who had unfortunately dropped his hands from her neck. She’d been enjoying his touch. She rarely got the pleasure of someone’s touch who wasn’t afraid to hurt her. Derek knew exactly what he could and couldn’t do regarding her body. Sure, she’d made her condition clear, but he’d obviously paid attention and found other ways to offer her comfort because he wanted to, not because he had to. “You’re on speaker.”

“Did you watch the video?” Mina asked.

“Sure did,” Alayah answered. “It was somewhat informative but wasn’t super helpful.”

“You found it informative? We got nothing.”

“It could have been more helpful, but Derek pointedout that Josh had jumped out of bed and driven to Superior without pause.”