Page 67 of Evidence of Secrets

Nothing happened for a while, and Hank sped up the tape. Two hours later, the man carried out wineglasses and buckets and placed them on the worktable in the kitchen.

“This makes no sense at all,” said Laura.

“Did anything look out of place when you checked?” asked Sam.

Laura nodded. “The wine wasn’t put back in the order we keep it. But nothing was stolen, and the storage room looked the same.”

“He’s looking for something specific,” said Sam.

The next reel showed the man closing the storage room door. He must have heard Levi coming in because he hid behind the worktable in the kitchen.

“Oh, Levi. Leave. Don’t go in,” cried Laura.

Sam rubbed Laura’s back. “It’s okay. Don’t look.”

Laura shook off Sam’s hand. “Damn it. I will look. This is my friend, my employee. I’m not closing my eyes to his misery.”

They watched Levi stumble when he was struck and fall, his head hitting the edge of the worktable. The man ran out the back door.

“Okay, let’s see what car he gets into,” said Hank.

The man hugged the sides of the buildings. It was early, and people were leaving for work. Cars were pulling out, some into the parking lot. It was impossible to know which car was his. He disappeared behind a car. They watched for a while, but the man never reappeared. Although with people leaving for work, shops opening for coffee and early tourists shopping, the man could disappear in a crowd and they’d never find him.

Sam sighed. “Nothing.”

“Can Phil access the other cameras? Maybe he can spot something?” asked Hank.

“Sure. But this guy is crafty. I don’t know if we’ll get a hit,” said Sam. Phil Donovan was KnightGuard Security’s IT guy. If anyone could find out something on the internet, he could. At least Sam hoped so.

“First things first,” said Sam. “We need more cameras in here. Hank, there are a couple in the warehouse. Can you install them this afternoon?”

“Sure thing,” said Hank.

“I’ll call the police. They’ll want the tapes and probably will want to interview you, Laura,” said Sam.

Laura sighed. “I don’t know what I can tell them. Levi might know something more. We didn’t see anything on the tapes to identify the person or his car.”

“Standard operating procedure. It shouldn’t take long, and I’ll come with you,” said Sam.

Laura looked around the kitchen. A tear slipped down her face, and she tried to hide it. Sam’s heart broke.

“Laura, the cleaning company will try to get here later, but no guarantees. You might have to close the bistro tomorrow.”

“No need for a cleaning company,” said Laura in a quiet voice. The look of despair on her face almost did Sam in. “There isn’t a lot of blood. I can clean it up myself.”

“I’ll help,” Sam said. “It won’t take long for the two of us.”

“Hey, I’m here too,” Hank stated. He had finished rewinding and backing up the tapes.

“No. I need you to get the cameras and install them.”

Hank frowned and opened his mouth to protest.

“It’s essential that the cameras get installed, Hank. We can take care of this.”

He nodded, kissed Laura, and left.

“Laura, grab a couple of buckets and scrub brushes. We’ll have this done in no time,” said Sam.

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