Page 124 of Tell Me All Your Lies

As I open the door, I’m hit with an overwhelming sense of dread. Inside this room are dozens of computers and various security measures, from the looks of it.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

Scanning the screens on one of the walls, I recognize the inside of this house mainly, but then I spot something that stops me in my tracks. There is live security camera footage from inside the casino.

I’m in shock as I watch these feeds. Only I don’t think Fred has Taby’s permission to do this. This must be why Fred moved to the neighborhood. He’s not in on it all like I thought he might be.

He arrived only months before we did, but the way Brad talked to him made me feel like he was a bigger player in the operation. Now I’m not so sure.

Why would he be doing this unless he had an ulterior motive of some kind? I won’t even pretend to know what that could be.

Stepping forward to one particular screen, I see Taby and Cordelia lounging at a table inside Taby’s private quarters.

Taby definitely doesn’t know that Fred has this on her. There’s no way she would allow this with all the security measures she has in place at the casino. Fred might be part ofher organization, but there’s no way that he’s this involved to have access to her this way.

Reaching for my cell phone, I take photos of the monitors first and then the computers. There’s data on them that must be important to Taby.

There’s a tablet on the table that has a passcode on it. I try a few typical codes but don’t get in.

“There has to be something here,” I say to myself.

While looking for any sign of a password, my eyes land on a picture of Fred from high school or college. He and his three friends are all holding up a sign for something. A fraternity, perhaps.

2006.

The year he graduated college.

I enter it into his tablet, and it opens up. Scrolling through it, I find a note icon and click it. I scan through the notes and see they’re labeled by dates. I open each one for next week to try and find the answers we’re looking for.

One last one to try, I open the note.

Milton Warehouse District.

Fourth and Third.

8 p.m.

The note date is only a couple of days away.

I’m filled with relief for successfully finding the information we need.

Putting the tablet back in its place, I take a photo of the note before turning it off completely.

I quietly walk past the computer monitors and open up one of the laptops. I need to find a way to shut off and erase any record that I’ve been here.

Thankfully, I find access immediately and erase everything from the past fifteen minutes. Then I take a deep breath and shut off the cameras.

I have no time at all to get out of here. Hopefully, Fred won’t notice since he’s watching the game at my house.

I slip out of the office and slowly shut the door behind me so there’s no proof I was there. Feeling accomplished, I smile at all my findings.

Suddenly, a rough hand is at my throat, and I’m dying to find air. I struggle against the person’s hold as my eyes sting with water from the way he’s holding onto my neck.

“Well, well, well, look at what we have here,” the man says.

His tone is laced with menace and desire as he continues to hold me tight.

“What are you doing in my house, baby?”

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