Page 22 of Liar's Point

“From the parking lot.” She glanced back at him. “What’s Miranda finding in the apartment?”

“Not much.”

“They’ve only got one security cam,” Nicole said, “and it’s trained on the main gate—which, unfortunately, has been out of order for more than a month.”

“The gate or the camera?” Emmet asked.

“The gate,” she said. “Anyone could come in or out.”

“Okay, here’s one o’clock.” The property manager turned around and frowned at the crowd now gathered behind him. His mirrored shades were perched on top of his head, and he didn’t look happy to be called in on his day off to deal with a bunch of cops.

“The roommate says she left the apartment around one forty,” Emmet said, “so Aubrey had to have left sometime after that.”

All four of them stared at the grainy black-and-white surveillance footage. The manager fast-forwarded the video until a white car moved through the gate.

“Wait, pause.” Nicole grabbed her notepad off the desk.

“That’s one of ours,” the manager said.

“How do you know?” Adam asked.

He backed up the video and paused it. “All our residents have that black decal on the back.” He pointed at the screen. “See?”

Emmet leaned forward to examine the sticker. He’d noticed one like it on the back of Aubrey’s Subaru.

“Okay, white Kia sedan.” Nicole jotted notes as the video continued.

A dark pickup came into view, and the manager hit pause again.

“And... a black F-150,” Nicole said. “No decal here.”

“Looks like a visitor,” the man said, hitting play again.

Nicole’s jaw tensed, and Emmet knew what she was thinking. The secure, “gated community” touted on the banner outside wasn’t secure at all, and Aubrey’s killer would have had easy access to both her home and her car.

“There. Pause it.” Nicole leaned forward as another car passed through the gate. “That’s Aubrey. And she’s alone.”

Emmet glanced at the time stamp in the upper corner. “That’s one twelve, about a half hour before her roommate left for work.”

“Maybe someone followed her home,” Nicole murmured, leaning closer.

The manager hit fast-forward again and they watched the footage. A black Honda exited the property.

“That’s Lauren, the roommate,” Emmet said. “She drives a black Accord.”

They continued watching as the manager fast-forwarded through the next hour and several more cars entered the complex, all with parking decals.

“There.” Adam leaned closer. “Isn’t that her?”

A dark-colored Subaru neared the exit gate, and the manager hit pause. “This?”

“Yeah.”

Emmet’s pulse picked up as he studied the image. The time stamp was 3:22 p.m. “That’s not Aubrey.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Let me zero in.” Nicole leaned closer and took over the mouse to zoom in on the car. The person driving wore a black hoodie and sunglasses.

“That’s a dude behind the wheel,” Adam said. “Where’s Aubrey?”

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