WILLOW MANOR

Chapter Thirty

Katie came down the stairs quietly. She glanced down the hall at the foot of the stairs. The door to Walter's study was closed, but she could see the light on behind it, under the door. Walter had come home from the office and gone straight to his study, where he had remained ever since. He had skipped dinner and declined to sit with the children in the family room. He had barely even answered them when they said their goodnights through the door.

She wanted to knock and ask if he was okay, if there were anything she could do for him. But the one time she had approached the door, he had told her—in a somewhat angry tone—to go away. She frowned, unsure of what to do.

Bill came from the kitchen, a can of beer in hand. He nodded at Katie. "He still in there?"

"Yes." She wrung her hands. "Did he say anything to you?"

"No." Bill shook his head. "I had just dropped you lot off here, when Chesterfield called me and said I should come drive Walter home."

"Did Adrian tell you anything?" Katie glanced at the door again and frowned. "What was on that flash drive?"

"I don't know." Bill said. "But he held onto that thing the whole way home. Never said a word."

"That's so—" She was interrupted by the doorbell. She and Bill both looked at each other. "Are you expecting someone?"

Bill shook his head. "I'll get it."

She followed him down the hall. Bill opened the door and Marcus Jones, dressed in jeans and a maroon polo, stood on the doorstep.

"I need to speak with Walter." Jones said as he stepped inside without invitation. "He called me. Said he had something to show me that would prove his innocence."

Katie's eyes widened. "What do you mean? How?"

"How indeed?" Jones nodded toward the study. "He down there?"

"Yes. I'll let him know—" She started, but Officer Jones was already walking toward the door. "Wait!"

Jones knocked on the door and walked in, all in the same movement. Katie and Bill followed. The officer looked down at Walter, slumped at his desk. "Why am I here at 11 o'clock at night on my day off, Walter?"

Walter looked up from his laptop. His face was a study of misery. A half empty bottle waited next to a crystal rocks glass. He frowned deeply. "Someone left a package at my office today that contained some very interesting video."

"Well, congratulations." Jones crossed his arms. "What's that got to do with me?"

Walter stood unsteadily. "Surveillance video from the murder scenes."

Katie gasped.

"What?" Jones shook his head. "Impossible."

"Is it?" Walter challenged. He seemed to gain a little sobriety with his anger. "I have the surveillance video of the murders. All of them."

Jones frowned. "Walter, that's impossible. I told you, that footage doesn't exist."

Katie turned to the officer, sided with Walter. "There are closed circuit cameras all over this city. Businesses, schools, restaurants... I've seen them."

"I know, Miss Gallagher." Jones was growing a little angry. "Don't you think I would have checked for surveillance videos? There were none."

"Even some homes have doorbell cameras." Bill chimed in. "Doesn't all that stuff get uploaded to the cloud?"

"There was no video." Officer Jones maintained. His anger was giving way to confusion. "Walter, believe me. I checked. It had all been erased."

"How could it have been erased?" Katie frowned. "All those different cameras?"