No matter how many times they watched that flicker, it never turned into anything clearer. The cameras inside the house yielded a little more information. Ed had led Gromsky into a dusty, darkly-furnished room, then left him with a promise that he would return with something to drink. But the emphatic sound of the latch as he closed the door behind him told Adela he’d really locked Gromsky into the room. From the expression on his face, she guessed Gromsky knew it too.
From then on, the footage was progressively more cruel. The camera picked up rustlings and footsteps–Jack said that he had set those sound effects up beforehand. A curtain fluttered madly, causing Gromsky to leap out of his chair.
“He certainly is scared,” Adela said. Jack shot her a glance.
“That was the point.” He answered. “We wanted to scare him a little, not kill him.” He pointed at the screen. “Watch this next bit.”
Gromsky went over to the window. He wrenched the curtain right off the rod. Adela couldn’t see that this revealed any hidden mechanism, and she wondered how Jack had gotten it to move. Apparently, Gromsky didn’t either. He leaned in close to the window. The camera zoomed in on him. Adela could see that he looked ill. His skin was nearly grey, and moisture glistened on his face. Suddenly, his eyes got wide and he pulled back from the window, stumbling over an end-table in his haste to get away. From outside the window, Adela could just make out a pale shape. The camera was focused on the interior of the room, though, and she could see any more. Gromsky struggled to get up, stumbled again, and fell down. This time, he lay still.
“That’s all there is.” Jack said.
Adela drew a long breath. “He sure looked like he was scared to death. What was that thing in the window?”
“I have no idea. I only set up things inside the house. In fact, we didn’t even have time to get to the good stuff. Some of the furniture was going to move on its own.”
“Was he on any medication?”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “How would I know that?”
Adela shrugged. “Something about the way he looked…it was familiar. Do you have any connections around here who might be able to find out?”
“Maybe. I forgot you were a forensics expert.”
“Don’t get any ideas. I can’t tell what killed him just by looking at that. Only an autopsy can do that.” She sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure how much I can help you.”
“It means a lot to me that you’re willing to.” Jack slid closer to her on the couch. Adela stood up immediately.
“It’s beyond late. I tell you what–I’ll keep an eye out for my new neighbor Ed. Once he comes back and they release the scene you can come ask him some questions.”
“Why don’t you ask the questions?” Jack asked. “He likes a pretty face. You can tell him you’re an intern or something…say I sent you to make sure he’s all right. He might be willing to tell you why he and Gromsky were on the outs.”
“Won’t he question why I moved in across the street? It’s a bit of a coincidence, isn’t it?”
Jack shrugged. “Tell him the truth. You moved here, ran into me, and I hired you for old times’ sake. Once he gets a good look at you, he won’t wonder why.”
Anyone else would have fallen on that line like a sword. That compliment was conversational hara kiri. But Jack could make it sound good. Adela decided that this was a good enough reason to throw him out, before she started believing the things he said.
Adela didn’t really expect the police to release the scene the next day, but she watched it all the same. Nick didn’t respond to any of her attempts to talk to him about his new school. Instead, he played video games until she threw him outside. Then he bounced a basketball around the driveway in a desultory manner. Some previous tenant had put up a hoop. After lunch, Adela herself came out. She told Nick she was going to explore. She wasn’t surprised when he declined to come with her–she’d been counting on that. The police cruiser was still parked outside the house across the street, but she wanted to walk around it and see the ground for herself.
All Adela learned from this was that it was a spooky old Victorian with lots of shrubbery to hide behind. She kept going, reasoning that she might as well explore the neighborhood.
She was several streets away when she saw it. A black sedan was pulled up to a public bus stop. Ed Rothermund, her new neighbor and possible murderer, got out of it so fast he looked like he’d been forcibly ejected. There was a woman driving.
Pulling out her phone, Adela took a picture of the license plate of the car. She even snapped one of the woman as she pulled away, but all that showed was a dark shape that might have been female. Then Adela stuck the phone back in her pocket.
Clearly, Ed Rothermund hadn’t wanted to be seen with this woman. Adela thought that was very interesting. She wondered if Jack would know why.
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