After leaving Claire downstairs, Grayson paced the small guest room as he called Eli for an update.

“Things have been happening quickly,” Eli said. “Want to hear the call?”

“Absolutely.”

“I just forwarded you the video of the meet with Deck Wallace’s girlfriend, Regina. Here’s the audio of the phone call from yesterday, where Rob arranged the meet.”

Grayson stopped his pacing to listen intently as Eli hit a button and a recording began to play. There was the sound of a phone ringing, and then the call picked up.

“Is this Regina?”

“Yeah. Who’s this?”

“Rob. I’m having trouble reaching Deck.”

“What do you want him for?”

“I’m supposed to do a job for him. He gave me your number in case I wasn’t able to reach him.”

There was a pause. “Who did you say you were?”

“Rob, a friend of Deck’s.”

“Deck doesn’t have his phone anymore. That’s why you can’t reach him.”

“Did he tell you what the job is?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“He tell you I’ll need a deposit?”

“How much will you need?”

“Ten thousand now. Another ten after.”

When Regina didn’t answer, Rob said, “That going to be a problem?”

“No. It’s not a problem.”

“When can you get me the money?”

“Tomorrow. Where do you want to meet?”

After a short discussion, they agreed to meet inside a sporting goods store in a shopping mall in Falls Church, Virginia.

“What time?” Rob asked.

“In the afternoon. I live in New York and it’ll take me a while to get down to Virginia.”

“Bring me a picture of the target with the address written on back.”

“I will.”

At the sound of the call disconnecting, Eli pressed another button, shutting down the audio. “Take a look at the video I sent you. The meet went down at two o’clock this afternoon.”

Grayson frowned, thinking through the possibilities. “We’re sure Deck Wallace hasn’t had any more contact with Rex Gibson?”

“Very. We’ve been monitoring both men’s calls. Wallace hasn’t been in touch with anyone but Regina. Gibson’s only spoken to his lawyer.”

“Okay. Hang on a minute while I pull up the video.”

Grayson sat on the bed and clicked on the app his team had developed to block any Wi-Fi signals within a short distance, then opened the secure Wi-Fi only he and Jeremy had access to.

Once the signal was open, he pulled up the video.

* * *

The video opened with a point of view from the surveillance van where Eli waited with two other members of the team. The camera followed an Explorer that pulled into the parking lot, zooming in as a woman got out of the car. Regina. Wearing a formfitting dress, she teetered on high heels as she started for the store.

Audio overlaid the images as Eli radioed Rob. “She’s on her way in.”

“Copy that. I’m in place.”

At this point, the video’s point of view changed to Rob’s body cam, probably hidden in the collar of his jacket, based on the perspective. He had been pacing the shoe department and walked over to the weights, the place where he and Regina had agreed to meet.

“Are you Regina?”

“Yes.” As the woman neared, her face filled most of the screen. She appeared to be in her early forties. “Here’s the picture. Address is on the back.” Her voice came through muffled on the audio as she handed Rob a photo.

“Why do you want them killed?”

Regina pointed at the picture. “That scum sent my boyfriend to prison, and he wants him dead.”

“He wants the woman killed too?”

“Yeah. She betrayed a friend.”

“Brought the money?” Rob asked.

Regina pulled an envelope from her purse and handed it over.

“You know this is only the deposit,” he said as he thumbed through it. “I’ll need another ten after it’s done.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Rob tucked the envelope inside his pocket. “I can make it look like a robbery gone bad.”

“Fine.” Regina brushed her long bleached-blond hair over her shoulder. “So? Are we good here?”

“One last question. When do you want it done?”

She let out an unladylike snort. “How about yesterday?”

“I’d better get on it then.”

The camera Rob was wearing turned from Regina, providing bouncing images of the store’s merchandise as he headed toward the exit. The video ended there.

* * *

Grayson pressed a hand to his stomach, which was churning like crazy at the sight of the woman calmly ordering the death of his best friend and his new bride. He took a deep breath, hoping the dinner he’d eaten earlier would stay down.

When he went back to the phone, Eli said, “It went down perfectly. She incriminated both of them.”

“Think we still need pictures?”

Eli seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “We’re banking on Wallace incriminating himself when he sees the photos of the finished job. Having video of that will only strengthen our case against him. Otherwise it’s a he said/she said scenario, and we’ll only have solid evidence against Regina.”

Hopes of sparing Camden and Autumn the stress of a photo shoot of their own faked deaths evaporated. Eli was right.

“Has Cam seen this?” Grayson asked.

“I met with him today. He said you’d offered up your place—which was a good idea, by the way—and he and Autumn had just arrived. They came into the office to meet with me. He was pretty upset, especially after seeing the video.”

No shit. I feel like I’m going to puke, and it wasn’t even me they were talking about.

“I’m glad they came down so quickly. Is Autumn okay with doing the photos? I haven’t talked to Cam since yesterday.”

Eli sighed. “It’s unavoidable, and they both get that. But they’re not happy about it.”

“Understandable.” Thinking for a moment, Grayson added, “The shoot’s tomorrow afternoon, right? I want to be there for it.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you supposed to be visiting your mother?”

“I’ll head up to Pennsylvania afterward.”

“No, Gray. Go be with your mother. We’ve got this.”

Eli was right. Once again, Grayson had to admit he was probably subconsciously looking for excuses to delay seeing his mother’s decline. It was time to step up and be a man about it, rather than avoid the situation like a scared little boy.

Changing the subject, he asked, “How’s the case against Claire’s boyfriend going?”

“Progressing. The SEC is going to make its move soon. They’ll be arresting Gabe Rogers in the next few days.”