Page 46 of Penny For Your Thoughts
“Thank you for these.”
I tucked the albums under my arm and was about to head out in search of Diem when Aaron spoke again.
“I had an idea.”
I waited, tamping down on my irritation at the delay. He was doing this on purpose.
“For your party.” Aaron rooted around inside a catch-all box and withdrew a business card.
I accepted it and read the front.Jarik Windrider. Magician. All ages. Any events. Add wonder and excitement to your life.
“The residents love him. We’ve had him in a few times for entertainment. I thought he might be a fun addition to Hazel’s birthday celebration.”
“Great. I’ll look into it.” I wasn’t sure Diem would go for something so flashy and showy, but I thanked Aaron and said goodbye.
Halfway down the hall, with a burning sense of being watched, I glanced over my shoulder to find Aaron leaning against the doorframe of his office, observing my retreat. He waved, a slight twiddle of his fingers, and offered a bashful smile before turning and sashaying down the hall. He wore a dark wool coat and had a tote slung over his shoulder, so I assumed he was heading out for the night.
I really needed Diem’s jealousy to return so he could put Aaron in his place. The guy was too much.
***
I stood outside the doorway of the surveillance room, words of greeting dying on my lips as I scanned the cramped interior. “Okaaay, you win. My battle with Daddy Long Legs was nothing compared to this closet. What the actual hell? This is a surveillance room?”
Diem glanced over his shoulder from where he was hunched over, fiddling with the buttons on an old school VCR. The machine whirred and whined. Above his head, on the top shelf of a cart, an oversized, clunky TV with a bubbled screen displayed a staticky image. Jagged black lines cut through the snowy frame like an out-of-controlEKG reading. Barely visible behind the snow was a picture that seemed to be racing in reverse.
Diem punched a button, and the VCR fell silent. The screen turned blue. He hit another button. The machine whined and choked and sputtered and coughed and finally spat out a VHS tape.
“Hard to believe those things were hip at one time,” I said. “Heath has one in the garage. Never seen them in action.”
“What took you so long?” Diem inspected the tape before sliding it into a slipcover and setting it aside.
“Got chatting with Costa about the baby while grabbing that cable you wanted, then I got stopped by flirty Aaron, who thought he could sweet-talk me into giving away case details.”
I inched into the room and handed Diem the cable, saying hello to Echo, who lay tucked in a corner, alert and watchful. I couldn’t blame her. Ontario wasn’t prone to earthquakes, but I suspected it wouldn’t take more than a large truck rumbling down the street to cause an avalanche that might bury her alive.
Diem inspected the cable as I inspected the overfilled shelves and other debris strewn about. I wanted to comment on the mess, on the size of the room, on the sheer amount of dated equipment, but I figured after having worked in the eye of the storm all day, Diem wouldn’t be in the mood for redundant observations.
“How was your day?” he mumbled as he plugged the colorful ends of the cable into the ports at the back of the VCR. He fit a different part into a laptop and checked a few other cables with a frown cutting deep grooves in his forehead.
“Busy. Had to pull a bunch of files for sex crimes, organize a mess of returned files, and verify a ton of documentation for the next website update. I returned phone calls, wrote several emails, argued with a lady seeking information about an open case, and stole a muffin from aconference room on the fourth floor while I was picking up a box of crap from Detective Jenkins. It turned out the muffin was a disgusting concoction made at a health food place, and it was so dry that the first bite caught in my lungs. I thought I was going to choke and die right there in the missing persons unit.”
“You lived?”
“Barely. I can still feel crumbs in my lungs. Also, rumor has it that the muffin belonged to Quaid Valor, and he is actively hunting down the muffin thief. It’s only a matter of time before someone sells me out. I caused a scene. Even if everyone stays quiet, Quaid’s a good detective. He will find me. It’s only a matter of time. I don’t know why he would kill for a cardboard muffin, but I’m a wanted man.”
I kept yammering until the edge of a grin tickled the corners of Diem’s lips.Mission accomplished.Diem vanished behind the TV the moment the smile appeared, and I knew my boyfriend enough to understand he was trying to hide his amusement.
“What are you doing?” I studied a stack of unmarked VHS tapes piled beside the VCR.
“Fucking Ruby won’t let me take anything home, so I’m making copies of what I need.”
“Ah. Good idea. Does she know you’re making copies?”
“Hell no. Fuck her.”
“What a bitch,” I added in solidarity, propping my hands on my hips. “So, who’s Ruby?”
“Director.”
