“I’ll finish up here,” Nikki said.
Instead of leading Emerson into the main house, the officer brought her into the four-car garage. “I found a bunch of laptops behind some boxes and turned one of them on.”
* * *
Stryker rode up to the sprawling estate, pulled off his helmet, and dismounted. Four police cars and Emerson’s vehicle were parked out front.
Twenty minutes earlier, he’d gotten a notification that one of his stolen computers had been activated, which included a photo of a police officer taken by the laptop’s camera and the GPS coordinates of its location. Then, Emerson had called and asked him to swing by.
A police officer greeted him. “Mr. Truman?”
“Yup.”
“Detective Easton is expecting you. Hang here for me while I get her.”
Stryker leaned against his bike. The sand-colored stucco home reminded him of the southwest. The elaborate gardens were perfectly manicured and the lush aroma of flowers filled the air.Bought with Spinetti drug money.
Emerson emerged from inside, her beautiful smile halting his breath. Seeing her was always the best part of his day. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey, babe.”
She peered up at him. “You were right about Spinetti orchestrating the break-in at your company.”
“How many laptops did you find?”
“Ten.”
Though agitated that Spinetti’s daughter had stolen them, he was relieved they weren’t in the hands of a terror cell. “Have you arrested the Barnhams?”
“Mrs. Barnham wouldn’t let us search the home and she assaulted me, so she’s being held at the station. Her husband is out of town.”
“Whoa, back up. She assaulted you? You okay?”
“I’m fine.” He hitched a brow. “Really,” she replied.
“How’d she handle the news about Lyle?”
“She was more concerned about our searching the property.”
“Charming family, the whole lot of ‘em.”
“Can you log in to one of the laptops for us, to prove they’re yours?” She handed him a pair of disposable gloves and led him into the garage.
He entered the admin password and, as he expected, the computer booted up. “How’s it going here, otherwise?”
“The guest house is filled with evidence. Dozens of photos of the victims and a box of keepsakes.”
“How you holding up?”
“Adrenaline.”
One of the officers walked into the garage. “Detective, check this out.” He set the evidence bags on the workbench. Two bags with a handgun in each. Inside the other were photos and papers.
After introducing Stryker to Officer DeCampo, she extracted the snapshots. “Looks like your company,” she said to Stryker.
He flipped through the pictures while Emerson unfolded several pieces of paper. “These are their plans for the break-in,” she said. “Officer DeCampo, can you run these in for me?”
“Now?” DeCampo asked. “Don’t you want us to take everything at the same time?”