Matt mused. Luke Montgomery had come a long way from the poor boy who’d been ridiculed for wearing the same clothes to school day after day. And, to his vast credit, Montgomery had risen far above his poverty-stricken roots without resorting to any deals with the devil.
In this case, Matt thought, that would be the other members of his family, from whom he would have enjoyed maintaining a continuing estrangement. However, his brother kept insisting on calling him, asking for help. It wasn’t in him to say no.
He was working on that.
Wilson’s long, thin fingers were flying across the keyboard. The resulting staccato rhythm, coming fast and furious, sounded not unlike rapid gunfire from a small handgun.
As Natalie watched the technician’s monitor, the first of many tapes began to play across the screen. “Here’s the tape of the entrance,” Wilson announced.
Matt nodded. He rethought his offer to Natalie about having her look over his shoulder. He had things to attend to, and if he wound up spending any length of time sitting so close to her, well, he’d just rather not put himself to that sort of test.
Turning to Natalie, he indicated a nearby empty desk. One of the computer techs had called in sick this morning.
“Why don’t you pull up a chair beside Wilson?” he suggested. “He’ll be able to go through all the pertinent tapes for you.”
Wilson stopped typing, anxiously darting his eyes between the two of them. “Is there anything specific that you’re looking for?” he asked Natalie nervously.
It was easy to see that the tech was far more comfortable with computers than he was with people, Natalie thought. She pulled the chair over from the other desk and sat down beside Wilson, then took out the photograph she had of Candace and placed it beside the keyboard.
“I’m looking for any footage you have of this woman.” She looked at the tech’s face, expecting to see some sort of indication that he recognized her sister. Candace had attended every wild party, frequented all the casinos and in general had done her level best to turn herself into a household name.
Candace, Natalie couldn’t help thinking, would have been bitterly disappointed with Wilson. There was absolutely no sign of recognition. He merely nodded at what he took to be his assignment. “Okay, let’s see if I can find her.”
As the tech began typing again, Matt withdrew. Natalie was aware the exact second that he stepped away and went back to his office.
Damn it, eight years and her Matt-radar was as keen as ever. The very air seemed to change when he was close by.
Get a grip, she sternly reminded herself. You’re here to find Candace’s killer, not reignite something that was doomed from the beginning.
With concentrated effort, Natalie settled in and focused on the images that were going by on Wilson’s screen.
More than an hour had passed. Her neck was getting stiff, and she felt as if she was going to go cross-eyed. Tape after tape had been accessed and screened. A lot of the “beautiful people” came and went, each and every one of them had been greeted by Montgomery with enthusiasm.
The man certainly looked the part of a casino mogul, she couldn’t help thinking. It was almost as if he’d been sent over from Central Casting. Suave, six foot two, muscular, dark-haired and handsome.
Almost as handsome as Matt.
Where the hell had that come from? she silently lamented. Looks weren’t everything. As a matter of fact, looks were nothing, absolutely nothing if there was no heart. She’d learned that the hard way, thanks to Matt Schaffer.
Her mind wandering, she was suddenly jolted back to the present. Alert, she straightened in her seat. “Wait, go back,” she ordered Wilson.
The tech jumped in surprise. Quickly, he rewound the footage.
“Stop!”
“This her?” he wanted to know. He’d just accessed footage from the front of the casino. The time stamp on the tape was 8:47 p.m. A sultry Candace, her scarlet gown clinging to her curves with every step she took, filled the monitor. Natalie thought she heard Wilson murmur an appreciative, “Wow.”
That was the best word to use when summing up Candace, Natalie thought. Wow.
As she watched her sister walk down the red carpet, she felt a lump suddenly forming in her throat. Her eyes were moistening.
Damn it, where were all these stampeding emotions coming from?
She usually had better control over herself than this. But then, she supposed in her own defense, she wasn’t usually confronting videos of a slain family member while sitting in the office of a former lover who had turned her heart into Swiss cheese.
Blowing out a breath, Natalie forced herself to watch the screen and analyze what she saw. This was no time to give in to tears.
From all indications, Candace appeared to be alone. And then, as Natalie watched, her sister’s face lit up as if she saw someone she knew. Not unusual in a town that her sister had regarded as her personal playground, Natalie mused wryly. Whoever she spotted was off camera, part of the reporters elbowing each other out of the way for an outstanding shot.
As she continued to view the tape, she saw Candace begin to head directly over toward Montgomery.
Unlike his gracious behavior toward all the other attendees, the casino owner actually looked annoyed to see Candace. There wasn’t even the pretense of cordiality, she noted.
Candace, on the other hand, looked delighted to see him. She was animated, and with every word she uttered, she would wave her left hand around. It was almost as if she was attempting to cast a spell.
Natalie slid to the edge of her chair. “Can you pull in on that?” she asked Wilson. “On her hand,” she specified when he looked at her quizzically.
“Sure.” The next moment, her left hand had all but filled the entire screen.
Natalie blinked. The image was somewhat grainy, but unmistakable. Her father was right. Candace had taken the ring, and she’d had it on when she walked into the casino. But not when they found her body in the condo.
Was the motive just robbery? Then why leave the necklace?
And just how had Candace gotten her hands on the ring in the first place? She would have bet anything that her father was the only one with the combination to the safe. He didn’t trust anyone else with it. But then, maybe the ring hadn’t been in the safe in the first place. Maybe her father had only alluded to it being there to throw everyone in the family off.
Maybe that eye candy he’d married had given him cause for concern and he’d moved the ring. Without realizing that Candace had observed him.
It was all just pure speculation. She needed facts. Fact, Candace had the ring on at 8:47 p.m. Fact, she didn’t when they found her body the next morning. This morning, she thought grimly. What was I doing while you were fighting for your life, Candy? Was I sleeping? Watching that old movie on TV? She couldn’t even remember the title.
A pervasive feeling of deep sorrow filled her.
