Darker Shades of Elise novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: Envelope

Ansel made pancakes at six in the morning, in sweatpants and an apron that said KISS THE COOK.

He claimed a nephew had bought it for him.

I sat at his counter wearing his sweatshirt and nothing else, with the brass key in front of me.

"The basement is the building's server room," he said.

"Four racks, a big cooling unit, a door with a keycard and this key."

"I put in the cameras for the mill's owner three years ago."

"Why would Rafe have the key?"

"Because he rents a rack from the owner."

"His hidden cameras stream to a drive down there."

"I'd bet my truck on it."

I stopped chewing the pancake.

"So the real files are in the basement of the same building where he sleeps."

"Where nobody would think to look," Ansel said, "because it's boring."

"Servers always are."

"Can you get us in?"

"I still hold the admin login for the whole camera system."

"Rafe doesn't know that."

"Nobody told him the installer keeps the master password."

"When?"

"The mill empties out on Saturdays after six."

"Every tenant's gone, and the owner turns the heat down."

"Saturday night."

I put down my fork.

"Why do you want to do this?" I said.

"You've known me a week."

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