“I declined because your terms were invasive.”
Miller looked at Marcus.
“You approached the store about its security system?”
“I approached the property manager,” Marcus said. “Bellwether House is one tenant in the building. The building’s management company asked Reed Security Solutions to assess the common-area network. Bellwether’s system was visible because it was connected to that network.”
“But you had access to the footage.”
“Not the store’s internal system. The property manager provided the duplicate feed after Camille texted me.”
Grant gave a short laugh.
“That distinction will not matter when investigators find your company credentials in our system.”
My stomach tightened.
“What credentials?”
Grant looked at me.
“Ask your husband.”
I turned toward Marcus.
He shook his head immediately.
“Camille, I have never logged into Bellwether House’s register.”
“That isn’t what he said.”
“I know.”
“Then what credentials could he mean?”
Before Marcus could answer, the register flickered back on.
The alarm cut off.
The sudden silence felt worse than the noise.
A white screen appeared, followed by a small loading circle. Then a login record filled the monitor.
REED SECURITY SOLUTIONS.
Below it was an employee identification number.
Marcus stared at the screen.
“That is not one of ours.”
Grant folded his arms.
“It is attached to your company name.”
Miller stepped closer.
“Mr. Reed, do you recognize that employee number?”
Marcus did not answer.
I looked at him.
“Marcus.”
He finally shook his head.
“No.”
The security technician spoke from behind Harris.
“That account logged in at 2:12 p.m.”
The time matched the note entered into my customer profile.
DO NOT RELEASE WITHOUT SECONDARY VERIFICATION.
Miller looked at me.
“That was before you entered the store.”
I nodded.
“Elaine created the note.”
Elaine’s face crumpled.
“I was told to enter it.”
“By Grant?”
She did not answer.
“By whom?”
Grant stepped toward her.
“Elaine, you are making this worse.”
She turned on him, and the fear in her eyes became anger.
“You told me the customer was a problem.”
“You were instructed to follow procedure.”
“You told me her name would already be in the system.”
Grant’s eyes flashed.
“Because it was.”
“Who put it there?” I asked.
Elaine looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
“That is not good enough.”
“I swear, I don’t know. Grant gave me a printed sheet with your name and address. He said the information came from the building’s security contractor.”
Marcus went completely still.
Miller looked at him.
“Did your company provide customer information to this store?”
“No.”
“Could an employee have done it without your knowledge?”
“Not without leaving an access trail.”
The technician raised his hand slightly.
“There is an access trail.”
Everyone turned toward him.
He swallowed.
“The account was used through a remote connection.”
“From where?” Miller asked.
The technician moved toward the register, then stopped when Harris raised a hand.
“Do not touch anything.”
“I can read it from here,” the technician said. “The connection came through the building network, but the device was registered to Reed Security.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“Show me the device ID.”
“You cannot access the system,” Grant said.
“I’m not accessing it. I’m looking at information already on the screen.”
Miller studied the display.
“What device?”
The technician leaned closer without touching the keyboard.
“It says RS-14.”
Marcus’s face changed.
I had seen that expression before. Not fear. Recognition.
“What is RS-14?” I asked.
He looked at me.
“It was a field laptop.”
“Was?”
“Stolen six months ago.”
Grant’s eyebrows lifted.
“Convenient.”
Marcus ignored him.
“The laptop was assigned to one of my former employees. It was reported missing after he quit.”
“Did you wipe it?” Miller asked.
“We disabled the credentials connected to it.”
“But the device is still registered to your company,” the technician said.
Marcus’s gaze stayed on the screen.
“Who was the employee?”
He hesitated.
“Marcus,” I said.
“Derek Voss.”
The name meant nothing to me.
Grant’s expression did.
He knew it.
“You hired him,” Grant said.
“I did. He worked in systems compliance.”
“And he was dismissed after you discovered he had been accessing files he wasn’t authorized to view.”
“That was not public information.”
“It is now.”
Miller looked between them.
“What files?”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“Client security reports.”
“Did he have access to building networks?”
“Limited access. The credentials were terminated when he left.”
“Yet a laptop registered to your company used a remote connection here at 2:12 p.m.”
“Someone is using the stolen device.”
“Someone,” Grant repeated. “Or your company.”
The accusation seemed to settle over the store like dust.
I could hear the crowd outside again. A woman whispered that the police should arrest someone. Another person said the husband looked suspicious. The story was changing in real time, and every new detail seemed to place Marcus closer to the center of it.
Miller held out his hand.
“Mr. Reed, give me the tablet.”
Marcus did not move.
“The original footage is on a secured drive.”
“Then give me the drive.”
“If you take it without documenting the chain of custody, the evidence can be challenged.”
“We can document it.”
Harris stepped closer.
“Sir, hand over the equipment.”
Marcus looked at me.
He was asking without words whether he should comply.
I wanted to say no. The tablet was the only thing that showed me paying for the bag. It was the only proof that Elaine had moved the box and that someone had discussed accusing me. If the police took it, we might never see it again.
But refusing would make Marcus look guilty.
“Give it to them,” I said.
He looked surprised.
“Camille—”
“If it proves what happened, let them preserve it properly.”
Marcus slowly opened the case and removed the tablet.
Miller accepted it with both hands. Harris took the black case.
“Where is the original storage drive?” Miller asked.
“In my office.”
“Then we’ll need that too.”