Jace leaned forward, ready to get down to business. “You have the security footage from the hotel?”
Evelyn reached in her shoulder bag and pulled out a USB drive. “I told Hotchins I wanted to take it to review it further. He doesn’t need to know we’re having a viewing party.” She knew the entire family was invested in making sure they were in the clear, and Hotchins was especially happy since they’d been able to recover the hundred million Luke and Michael had invested with the Thirteen Stars and they’d gifted the Bureau with an extremely generous reward.
Evelyn leaned across the table and handed Michael the USB drive, which he plugged into the computer that projected onto the big screen.
“Everyone get comfortable,” she said. “There’s hours’ worth of footage on here.”
But the entire family seemed focused on the screen. They eventually found the spot where Cali and Easson entered together. They followed Easson’s movements as he met with Longineu and shared a dance with Cali.
Then Evelyn and Luke showed up, and Evelyn saw the exact moment they told Cali the truth about her boyfriend.
“Easson wasn’t with her at this point,” said Evelyn. “Let me try to get an angle in one of the hallways to see where he was before he decided to pay me a visit.”
She took the mouse and looked through the video files until she saw a good angle of a hallway. Setting it to fast-forward through all the activity, Evelyn saw Cali come out of the ballroom before she leaned against a wall, holding her head in her hands.
Guilt washed over her as she met Luke’s eyes. Making things right with Cali was on the top of her list. Luke said she’d be in during the afternoon, so hopefully Evelyn could start soon.
“Wait, stop it,” said Michael.
Evelyn switched the setting to real time and looked up to the screen.
“That guy she’s talking to...”
A man on the screen slowly approached Cali, but all she could see was the back of his head. It was impossible to make out who it was.
“The guy she’s kissing,” said Emma.
“Oh, wow,” murmured Evelyn as Cali threw her arms around the man’s neck and he pushed her into the wall. Just as quickly as it started, the kiss was over and the man had turned to leave, finally looking at the camera.
“There,” said Michael. “Zoom in.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes. This wasn’t exactly CSI, but she was able to take a picture of the image and then enlarge it to a grainy image.
“Holy fuck,” breathed Luke.
Michael shook his head. “I can’t believe it’s him.”
“What’s he doing with Cali?” asked Emma.
Evelyn met Jace’s confused gaze over the table. “Who is it?”
Luke let out a deep breath. “That’s our brother, Rourke. We really need to talk to Cali.”
~~~THE END~~~