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"Yeah, the weigh station there is public property. Taxpayers pay for it. Private companies will buy or lease a spot for a gas station, a quick stop, convenience store, or something like that. But that weigh station means that's government property. So those cameras are considered public information."
Lance grinned down on her. "God, you're smart."
She gave him a broad grin. "I know. And here we go."
My stomach did a flip as I watched her work. This was it. We would finally know one way or another.
We sped up the time to about five minutes before the phone pinged at that location. And sure enough, Dad's Maserati pulled up to the rest stop and he walked into what looked like one of the convenience stores around the corner. When he returned, he was dressed in a tan jacket and jeans, and no hat. He clearly wasn't paying attention to any of the cameras, so we got a clear shot of his face.
"Son of a bitch," Micah muttered.
"Got you, asshole," I said through gritted teeth. But when I looked closer, I cursed. That’s not his car." The car he climbed into was a Nissan Ultima.
Gwen sat back. "He had another car waiting. Crap. But we've got him on camera. And we have the earlier footage of the same person dressed like him. Following your mother."
I ran my hands through my hair. "It's damning, but is it enough?"
"Actually, hold on. Everyone cross your fingers and toes, I have an idea."
We had the license plates of the car he had driven. Lance was already on and trying to hack into the DMV, but the hope was short-lived. "They're fake."
Gwen wasn’t to be deterred though. "It doesn't matter if they're fake. I’m hoping to catch them on camera to show his movements."
She clapped her hands together. Morgan and Pierce came over at that point. "Do we have it?" Morgan asked.
She gave a gasping laugh. "Yeah, we actually do."
I clamped a hand on her shoulder, bumping Lakewood out of the way to do it. Lakewood scowled at me. And Gwen's smile was resplendent. "We’ve got him." In that moment, the tension between us was gone, replaced by the joy of us achieving our common goal.
Gwen turned back to the monitor. "Okay, remember there's that bank that's on the street corner. They don't have a clear shot to the house, but that's not the point. If we fast-forward past the time of the murder, I think we will get him coming back. I know I’ve seen that license plate before."
She'd done a reverse image search and had her algorithm searching for it in Montauk. She had that car in the Union Bank parking lot down the street from my grandparents’ house around the time of the murder. We slowly fast-forwarded through the footage of the hour following the approximate time of the murder. And sure enough, there he was, my father returning to the car with the hat in his hands. I leaned closer. "Is he wiping blood from his hands?"
Micah nodded. "Yeah. He most certainly is." We watched as my father wiped his hands on the hat and then shrugged off the coat. He looked around, saw nothing, and then climbed back into the car.
Gwen turned to grin at me. "We've got him."
I lifted my gaze and met Pierce's then Micah's.
My brother was grinning at me. "It's almost over."
"All right, I know what to do. Let's let Gwen get some rest."
Morgan's gaze jumped from her sister to me and back again. "You know, while I am exhausted, I think I'm going to benefit from sleeping in my own bed tonight. Atticus, my brother-in-law, thank you for the opportunity to be part of Team New York."
The way she said it with such enthusiasm made the acrid bile in my gut churn. She had helped tonight, and she was obviously so happy to do so. Tonight she'd been given the opportunity to have a say in her life, her future. Left to my own devices, I would've robbed both her and Gwen of that feeling of being able to take charge of their lives again. And I finally understood. I'd more than fucked up. I'd lost her.
Once Pierce had shuttled everyone else out, Lakewood hung back, eyeing me. As if there was any way on the planet, I was going to let him stay with my wife.
"Lakewood, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Gwen."
Gwen sighed. "Honestly, Atticus, I'm exhausted."
Lakewood crossed his arms and leaned against the island in the kitchen. "You hear that, Price? She's exhausted. So why don't you run along, and I'll help her get to bed."
"Over my?—"
Gwen put up her hands. "Enough. Damn, we just had a win, and you two are bickering like ten-year-olds. Lance, I will see you tomorrow. I love you, but goodnight."
