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He thought again. “The man was wearing dark green. A polo shirt.”
“And the woman?”
“White T-shirt. I couldn’t see their pants. They were sitting in the boat and when they started to go to the house I got on the floor because I didn’t want Corey to see me watching.”
“Thank you, Jace. That’s helpful.”
The door from the house opened and Val’s head appeared. “We’re ready for you.”
Jace exhaled. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“You’re fine, Jace,” Val said. “We have a few more questions for you, that’s all. Relax.”
He nodded uncertainly and reminded himself once again that she hadn’t lied to him—yet. He followed Val into the living room, where Mr.Cardozo and Burke sat on the sofa. Neither looked mad. He sat in one of the chairs and waited, darting glances at the four adults.
Mr.Cardozo leaned forward. “Did Corey or his friends ever talk about their job?”
“Sometimes,” Jace said. “Sometimes they took me with them. I can’t read, but I’m strong and big enough to do a lot of the demo. Demolition, that is.”
“Have you ever heard of Bella Butler?” Holmes asked.
“I’ve seen her on TV and a lot of her movies.” She was his favorite actress and she lived in New Orleans.
Holmes bent his mouth, like he was thinking. “Did you ever hear Corey or his friends talk about Bella Butler?”
“No. Oh, wait.” He stopped himself, remembering. “They had pictures of her in the construction garage.” He made a face, embarrassed. “Usually the pictures are of naked ladies. Bobby put up lots of pictures of Bella, though, and she has her clothes on in all of them.”
“When did they put up the pictures?” Val asked. “Recently? Or were they always there?”
“Recently. Like, maybe a month ago?”
Val smiled at him sweetly, and he let himself breathe. “Thank you, Jace.”
Holmes cleared his throat. “Jace is good at remembering voices, Kaj. Maybe let Jace hear a snippet of the recording. I know I’ve heard her before, too. If he recognizes voices, maybe he can help.”
Cardozo shrugged. “A line or two won’t hurt. Give me a minute.”
He went into the garage and Jace stared at Val, confused. “What’s happening?”
She patted his arm. “Mr.Cardozo wants you to listen to part of a conversation and tell him if you know who’s speaking. We all agree that we’ve heard the voice before, but we can’t remember from where.”
“I can try. I watch a lot of TV and stuff online. Movies, the news, everything.” It was the only way to know what was happening in the world.
Her smile was kind. “Easier than reading words.”
His face heated, and he looked away. “Yeah.”
“We’ll work on it, Jace. When everything is settled, I’ll find someone to help you.”
He believed her. He needed to believe someone, and he’d do nearly anything to be normal. “Thank you.”
Cardozo reappeared from the garage, holding his phone. “All right, Jace. Have a listen and tell me what you think.” He sat on the arm of Jace’s chair, holding the phone screen down, but with the speaker pointed at Jace’s ear.
“Thank you.” That voice he recognized right away. It was Bella Butler.
“You’re welcome.” A different woman was speaking. He recognized her voice, too, and his heart sped up. He wanted to be useful to Cardozo. Wanted to make it so that the man wouldn’t send him to jail. “Please be discreet with this information. Don’t jeopardize them, please.”
“Why did they contact you?” That was Bella again.
