“No. It was definitely not Ruby,” Deke replied. “This guy was much bigger, and he obviously didn’t know where Vanessa keeps the spare key.”
“She keeps a fucking spare key?” He would have such a long talk with her. He hadn’t spanked her nearly enough if she was hiding an extra key in the flower bed or some shit. It was a good thing she was going to be safe at his place.
Deke waved a hand. “It’s a figure of speech, man. Chill. She’s not careless, but I’m pretty sure Ruby can get into the house, and this guy had to break in. I pulled it off the security cameras. The sister had several, but Vanessa didn’t have them turned on. I suspect she didn’t have the money to have them monitored so she didn’t bother with them, and she obviously didn’t understand that McKay-Taggart built and monitored that system.”
He hadn’t known that either. “Why didn’t we turn it on at the beginning?”
“I think this is a case of the company growing too big. I didn’t think to look in our records, and the guys who run that team weren’t exactly given her name. Also, it wasn’t under Nicki’s name. It was paid for by Dani’s company. It was only installed a few months before she died,” Deke explained, handing him a folder. “I figured out the house had a system when I was watching Vanessa, but I wasn’t sure if we could turn it on, and then she moved in with you. Anyway, I ran by her place the day after she was attacked and took another look. I went in as a realtor and I found the system. It’s custom done. Lots of small cameras on the inside. I mean lots. It’s kind of weird. There are only three outside. It’s like Nicki Jones was way more concerned with what happened inside the house than anyone getting in.”
That was odd, but not unheard of. He opened the folder and looked through the original work order. It was fairly routine. Cameras on both doors and the garage. Cameras in every room. He didn’t feel like he needed a camera in his bedroom or bathroom, but apparently Nicki had gone for coverage. He glanced at the date. Eight months before. It had been turned off after she died at Danielle’s request.
Dani had been the executor of Nicki’s will, not Vanessa. Dani had been her emergency contact on every form. It wasn’t a surprise that she had handled the security system. “So you turned it back on?”
Deke nodded. “I turned it on the day after Vanessa left. I was curious, and I wanted to see if Ruby came back. I’m starting to suspect she might be our hacker. Like I said, whoever broke in last night definitely wasn’t the girl. I’ve sent you a copy of what the cam caught, but this guy’s a pro. He came in from the back around three a.m. Jumped the fence and then cut the glass on the back door.”
“I thought she had an alarm.”
Deke stared at him like the answer should be obvious. “I didn’t turn that back on. Dani would get a notice if the alarm was suddenly monitored again, and I was told not to make her suspicious. I could turn the cameras on and send them to my phone without anyone but Hutch picking up on it.”
Michael closed the folder. He wasn’t thinking because that answer should have been clear. But then his brain was still foggy. All he wanted to do was cuddle up with Vanessa, not remember that she was potentially planning something criminal. She was, at the very least, involved in something unsavory, and he needed a clear head to deal with it. “What did he do? Do you think it’s the same guy who attacked her?”
Deke shook his head. “No. He’s taller and better built than the guy who attacked her the other day. I don’t think we’ll have any luck ID’ing this guy. He wore a balaclava and even black out around his eyes. Gloves on his hands. I don’t know what color his skin is. He moves like he’s military. Probably ex.”
“Was he there to steal something?”
“If he was, he didn’t find anything interesting.” Deke leaned back against the lockers behind him. “He moved around the house, rifled through the desk in the office. That was where he spent most of his time. And in the bedroom. He was looking for something, but I have no idea what it was. He was interested in paperwork. But he left something behind, too.”
Now Michael’s interest was piqued. “Did you grab it?”
Deke huffed as though insulted at the very question. “Of course. I’m afraid it doesn’t make your girl look good, but that was likely this fucker’s point. He got on the computer in the office and uploaded some photographs. I sent those to your phone, too.”