Page 59 of Breathe Me In

She hesitated and chewed on the inside of her lip before she stepped back and let me pass.

I set both items on the table and snagged one of Bree’s mom’s cookies—they were legendary when we were in high school.

“You’re looking better,” I said when she stayed quiet. “How’s the head?”

She eased onto the couch and covered herself with a blanket, even though it was toasty warm inside the little storybook cabin. “Better.”

“These are really good. Did your—”

She cut me off. “What can I do for you?”

I swallowed the rest of the cookie and brushed my fingers clean. “I can’t come and visit you?”

“Or did you visit because you spoke to Adam?” She folded her arms, which drew my attention to the bit of lace that now showed. God, she had great breasts. “Yeah, okay.” She mistook my silence for something else. “Maybe it’s time you left.” She got up as if to see me out.

“What? No.” I blocked her path to the door with my body. “Yes, I spoke to Officer Smith, but I was on my way over regardless. I want to know what you found.” She stared straight ahead, not meeting my gaze. I’d seen Bree ticked off before, but I’d never seen her like this. She seemed sad more than anything else. Maybe Sophia’s death played with her head. “You’ve been dodging my calls all week, and I wanted to make sure you’re all right. If it wasn’t for Patrick or Lainey, I’d think you left town again.”

“You came, you saw, I’m fine.” She looked down, and I used the tip of my finger to raise her chin so I could see into her eyes.

“You don’t seem fine.”

“Well.” She clenched her jaw.

I studied her. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” A flash of emotion flickered across her face, and her eyes went glossy. “Hey, Bree, speak to me.” I moved closer, but she stepped back. I closed the distance between us and used the couch to trap her. “Bree?”

She looked away as she sank to the couch. She gave me a painful expression, and I stepped back, confused.

“I’ve been going through Maria’s footage,” she said quietly, totally ignoring my question. I sat across from her and took a deep breath. “The last thing I said to Sophia was to try to get a picture of his face.” She looked stricken. “It’s probably what got her killed.” Her voice cracked, but she swallowed and went on. “Maria and Sophia had been trying to do what I asked.” She opened her laptop. “I didn’t catch it until now, but Sophia mentioned that she started to back up her files to an iCloud account. It got me thinking, and after a phone call to Maria, it turns out that they share the same account.” She turned the laptop toward me. “It’s just the first few minutes, but this is right before she’s killed.” The video started, and in a quick flash a hand could be seen. It looked like it unclipped the camera from her, then it swung upward and flickered off. She replayed it a few times.

“So, the killer knew how to remove the GoPro camera from the holder and turn it off before it showed his face?”

“Yes, and when I called Maria an hour ago to check in on her, I asked about the mechanics of the case the GoPro sits in. She said they were a real struggle to work with and you’d have to know how to open it to have removed it as easily as this person did.”

“Really?”

“Not only that, but look at his wrist.” She backed up the video and pointed at a zigzag scar. “It looks fresh. I know it’s not much.”

“But it’s a start!” I nodded, impressed, but wished she hadn’t been making calls and would just rest. “Can you send that to me?” She nodded. “Okay, Detective Bree, anything else?” It was just this attention to detail that made her so valuable.

“I saw one more thing, and I still have five more hours to go.”

“And what about the doctor’s orders not to watch any kind of screen while you heal from a major concussion?” I knew my voice betrayed how frustrated I was, and I didn’t like it.

“Between Maria and another girl, there’s fifteen hours of footage.” She looked at me for the first time. “I’ve been locked in this cabin for five days. You do the math and see if I’m overextending myself.”

I rubbed my face with both hands. “Fine.” I dropped my arms, knowing she was too stubborn for her own good. “What else did you see?”

She shifted over so I could join her. I sat and watched her pull up a file on her computer that had little snippets of footage. “This here”—she pressed play, and I recognized Maria’s bracelet as it came into the shots as she handed out samples of beer—“is when she first spots him.” She pointed at the back of a man’s head. “Watch when he touches this guy’s shoulder.” I could see his hand, and sure as hell, he had a green outline on his thumbnail. “And here.” She started another clip, and he was walking through the crowd but was smart enough to keep his head down for all the cameras. He even evaded their body cameras, keeping his face tipped away. “And here.” She pointed at the new clip, where again, he used his arm or hand to block the view of his face.

“Well, we know he’s Caucasian, roughly five eleven, under two hundred pounds, brown buzz cut. That’s good, but, Bree, please give me the rest, and I’ll look through it. You need a break.”

“I got it.” She closed her laptop and leaned back with a sigh. “I’m going crazy here, and now that I know I still have a job, thanks to Cap”—she eyed me—“I just need to get through this weekend and then I can get back to work.”

I leaned back, too, and tucked a hand behind my head and looked at her. “I spoke to the chief of detectives, and he agreed with my concerns and gave Ray a suspension.” I figured I’d tell her now rather than have her hear about it later.

“Why?”

“He left you. I asked him specifically to walk you to your truck.”