Page 38 of Forged in Secrets

“As I said, there’s not much to see,” Patrick said apologetically. “If there had been, I would have made sure North Pier PD knew about it.”

“We know you would have,” Grace said kindly, turning to face the man. “Thank you for your diligence and your help.”

Grace glanced over at Ben, feeling embarrassed. She’d thought she had a useful hunch, but instead it was a dead end.

“Anyway,” she said brightly, “on to the next clue, I guess.”

“Wait,” Ben said, swiveling in the chair, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Do you mind?”

Patrick nodded with a sweep of his hand. “Be my guest.”

Ben typed away expertly, bringing the timestamp onthe screen back to the moment right before Jade left the hotel for her supposed walk.

“Watch.”

Grace leaned in, wishing that the Mistflower Resort had spent more money on high quality computer monitors and less money on artisan hand soap.

She looked over the image of Jade again. This time, she noticed that her sneakers were Sperry brand, but she highly doubted that was the detail Ben had lasered in on.

She saw that the young woman grasped her phone in her hand, and had her hotel room card stuck into one of the side pockets of her jeans.

But in her other hand was a red lanyard and a set of keys.

“Those don’t look like car keys,” Grace said. “And Donald Fairman told me that Katie and Jade flew here, anyway. What would she need keys for while on vacation?”

“Well I’ll be darned,” Patrick said, leaning in behind Grace and causing her to rest even more closely against Ben’s muscled shoulder. She felt herself blushing, and she was glad that the pleasant security guard was oblivious to the constant hum of electricity that was passing between her and Ben.

“There’s something written on it,” Ben said, leaning in until his freckled nose nearly bumped the screen. “I can’t make it out. You try.”

Ben got out of the chair and Grace sat down, squinting at the small plastic fob. It was red to match the lanyard, and she could see that there was a small image and some text, all printed in white.

“The bottom line has an ‘8’, but that’s all I can see,” she said, shaking her head apologetically.

“I need a copy of this footage,” Ben said to Patrick. “Highest res you can crank out of your machine. I have better equipment to analyze it.”

Grace raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t realized Ben had brought along much more than a laptop, but she wasn’t surprised. Back at FBS, Ben was known as a bit of an electronics hoarder, but his various devices, tools, and software often came in handy. Right now, they might just be the key to figuring out their next move.

Patrick looked around guiltily, as though his boss might be hiding behind a potted plant. “Not a word of this to anybody, okay? I mean it. I’m not authorized to share footage with anyone other than the police.”

Grace nodded. “You have our word, Patrick. Thank you.”

BEN

Ben kept his eyes glued to his monitor screen, listening to the satisfying click of his fingers against the bluetooth keyboard he’d brought along for the trip.

He paused the footage of Jade leaving the hotel room and started moving through it frame by frame, trying to isolate the most essential moment.

“Can you make this work? Is the image clear enough?” Grace asked from behind him, her voice filled with excitement.

She was sitting on his bed, leaning against the back of his chair periodically as she tried to get a better view of the screen. Every time she did, the warmth of her breath against his ear sent shivers through his body.

He didn’t turn to answer her. Instead, he sent up a silent prayer. This had to work. If it didn’t, they’d be backto interviewing frat bros on the beach. He was getting tired of dead ends.

He opened a new program and dropped a dozen screenshots into it, flipping between them quickly so that it almost looked like film footage again. There was no one still shot that revealed the details on the little red key fob, but together, he hoped it would be enough.

“Okay, here’s the magic part,” he said, tapping a few more keys.

He heard Grace shifting behind him as a progress bar popped up on the screen. Had there been more space between the desk and his bed, she probably would have started pacing.

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