Felix nodded. “Okay, then remotely is the only other way.” He turned back to the computer. “But how the hell do they keep doing this without me being able to find the fuckers?” he muttered. He hated letting Brett down. He’d asked him to do one thing, and he couldn’t fucking do it. “I have to get back there.”
He left Sec HQ with Greg on his heels and a laptop in hand, and hotfooted it down to the chapel. He slowed as he saw the Army trucks and studied the faces of the military personnel he passed along the way. He stared at one for slightly longer, knowing exactly who she was. She stared back without emotion but tracked his every move. He finally looked away as he passed her and slipped into the chapel, heading straight for thecamera to double-check Sam’s findings. Nothing was amiss. He continued towards the back, where the most important people were. Brett was standing by the door, a murderous look on his face. Felix wouldn’t want to be on the end of that look, but judging by the people outside, he was sure he knew who it was aimed at.
“Boss?” For a brief second, hewason the end of that look, and then it softened—very slightly.
“Anything?”
Felix closed his eyes for a second and shook his head. “I’m sorry. They seem to have done it remotely, like the other times. I can’t find them.”
Brett sighed softly, barely a whisper of air from his lips, but Felix felt it all the way to his toes. His boss was worn out, and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it.
“It’s fine. It’s not your fault. Okay, can we check the additional cameras in here and see who moved from their seats during the ceremony?”
Felix opened the laptop and rested it on a small table nearby. He brought up all the cameras so he could flick between them. “It might take me a few minutes to look through all the footage. We do have a lot of cameras in here.”
“Well, hopefully, one of them caught something.” He turned to Greg. “Can you get photographs of the grave from every possible angle? I took one earlier, but I want to see if there is any kind of message within the decoration itself.”
Sam appeared. “I think we might need to say something to the guests. They’re getting a little antsy.”
Brett nodded and left with Sam. Felix settled himself at a small table in the corner of the room and focused on the cameras.
“Do you need any help?” Maddox appeared beside him.
“I thought you were looking for Matt and Van?”
Maddox shrugged. “They are nowhere within the chapel. We’ve searched every inch.”
“What about the surrounding areas?”
“I didn’t think we’d want to do that with the crowds being outside and all. They’ll pick up on something.”
“I think that’s a moot point. They already suspect something isn’t right. The ceremony finished more than half an hour ago. But no, I’m good. Check in with Brett.”
Maddox’s face clenched but cleared almost immediately. “Will do.” He walked away.
Felix didn’t like the guy. Apart from the fact that he gave Brett hell and sent his stress levels even higher than they already were, there was something about him that gave him the chills. He always listened to his instincts, but they were his and his alone. No point in causing drama where it didn’t need to be.
His gaze tracked every movement, be it guest or guard, but nothing seemed amiss. Until he caught it. The slight jump of a guest towards the back that he’d been staring at. He rewatched it. The guest definitely jumped as if someone or something had startled them. He checked the timestamp. Three minutes before Nina had announced it. What had gained their attention—and why wasn’t it on the cameras? He checked all the other cameras at the same timestamp, but there was nothing.
He rubbed his temples. It was almost impossible for what had happenedtohappen. A startled guest, cameras being cut, a rose grave, Matt and Van disappearing… There had to be something here.
Brett came back in. “I’ve reassured the guests as much as I can, but they’re asking questions. Mainly why they can’t leave their seats.” He glanced at Felix. “Any luck?”
“Nothing concrete. I can’t see anything. It’s almost as if they had a bag of party tricks…” Felix remembered something he’dread not long before. He cast his mind back, trying to recall the details.
“Felix?”
“Sorry. My words reminded me of something I’d read. There had been some new tech developed that allowed people to ‘disappear.’ It projected an image of what was behind them onto something they held in front of them, effectively making them invisible. I believed it was still a way away from being readily available, though.”
“It’s certainly a view to look at. But what would the tech look like?”
“This was done on a large sheet of metal that held lots of small screens.”
“If someone had one of those, I think we’d know about it.”
“But if they placed it down somewhere, we wouldn’t see it because it would project what it was leaning against,” Felix countered.
Brett nodded slowly. “Do you think it’s likely?”