Chapter 5 - Clues at the Dumpster
Officer Davis touched the iron latch bar with gloves.
"This pin was definitely moved recently," Davis stated firmly.
Grandma's face stiffened, but she maintained her posture.
"We threw out party trash an hour ago, Officer."
"Our fingerprints belong on that dumpster bar naturally."
Vanessa nodded quickly, trying to support her mother's lie.
"Yes! We threw out big black garbage bags earlier!"
I stood near the ambulance doors, watching them lie.
The paramedic was hooking Lily up to heart monitors.
"She is stabilizing, ma'am," the female paramedic told me.
I breathed a small sigh of relief, turning back.
My eyes scanned the roofline of the suburban house.
Under the wooden roof eaves, something small caught light.
A small black dome camera was mounted up high.
A tiny red light was flashing steadily on camera.
That security camera pointed directly down at the dumpster.
My heart leaped into my throat with sudden realization.
"Marcus!" I yelled across the lawn with urgency.
"Look above the backdoor roof under the wooden eaves!"
Marcus raised his head and looked at roofline immediately.
He saw the small black security camera flashing red.
Grandma and Vanessa looked up at the roof simultaneously.
Vanessa's face went completely ghostly white in one second.
She forgot her calm mask and panicked right away.
"That camera does not work!" Vanessa shrieked out loud.
"It has been disconnected for over two years!"
"Why are you lying?" Marcus asked with lethal calm.
"I installed that smart camera system last spring myself."
"It records continuously to an encrypted cloud server daily."
"And it records high-definition night vision audio too."
Vanessa turned around frantically and sprinted up porch steps.
She kicked open the glass door and ran inside.
"Marcus, stop her!" I screamed from the ambulance.
"She is going to destroy the home server unit!"
Marcus sprinted up the wooden steps right behind Vanessa.
Grandma tried to grab Marcus's shirt to stop him.
"Officer, arrest my son for trespassing!" Grandma screamed hysterically.
Officer Davis drew his sidearm and ran up steps.
"Police! Stop right there!" Davis yelled into house.
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Inside the house, a loud crashing sound rang out.
📖 Chapter 6 reveals the violent struggle over the security recording inside the house. Keep reading now. 👇
