own accord, or they’d been asked to do it by Stewart or Ward.
Scouring the yard for other cameras wasn’t an option until daylight. One of the neighbors might call the police and report a prowler in Kristi’s yard. As soon as the sun rose, he and his teammates would search the property for more WS cameras. At the moment, he’d have to settle for disabling this one.
Rafe leaped up, caught the bottom branch, and scaled the tree until he sat on a branch below his target. Grabbing thin rubber gloves from a pocket, he plucked the camera out of its resting place and removed the battery pack. The red light faded to black.
He’d see what Jon could get from the camera. If he struck out, Rafe would ask Brent to send the equipment to one of the private labs Fortress used to process evidence.
After his feet were on the ground again, Rafe headed for the back door. Whoever was spying on Kristi would be angry that the camera was offline. Would the culprit check on the camera or count it as a loss and move on?
He walked into the kitchen and laid the camera on the breakfast bar as Jon entered the room.
“Where did you find that?”
“The tree in the corner that you wanted me to check.” Rafe flicked the plastic casing with his gloved finger before retrieving the battery pack from his pocket. “The camera was aimed at Kristi’s bedroom.”
Jon scowled. “How did we miss this?”
“That’s on me. I was so concerned with removing the surveillance inside the house that I didn’t think to check for it outside. I assumed the cameras we knew WS mounted were the only ones out there. I’ll remedy that as soon as the sun rises.”
“It’s on all of us for not thinking of it. Did the camera get a close-up of your face?”
He shook his head.
“What made you check the tree?”
“Scuff marks on the back of Kristi’s fence and a matching one on the back of the tree trunk.”
“Good work.” Jon dragged a pair of gloves from his own pocket and picked up the camera. “Cheap construction. Serial number is filed off. I might be able to get more if I insert the battery.”
Rafe grunted. “I’d rather have Brent send it to the lab. I don’t want you or your family at risk. Far better for an observer to see a blank white wall with a masked lab worker than take the chance on you being recognized.”
“Agreed. I’ll contact Brent in a few hours.”
“One of Kristi’s former security detail is responsible for this.”
Jon gave a slight nod. “Take over in the security room. I want to clear my head and walk the perimeter myself.” He left by the back door as Rafe headed for the security room after refilling his coffee mug.
He settled in front of the monitors and watched Jon’s progress around the outside of the house and the perimeter of the property. His teammate was thorough, checking and rechecking dark places while wearing a face covering to keep another camera from getting a shot of his face.
Rafe grimaced. He’d ask Zane to redouble the efforts to scan for his facial image or mentions of his name for a while. Other cameras in the yard would have been recording his movements throughout his perimeter sweeps tonight and his short date with Kristi on the deck. Some security expert he was turning out to be. Although he hated to consider it, Rafe might need to step back from the security detail and allow Maddox to send in a temporary replacement while he focused on safeguarding Kristi.
Jon returned to the security room. “We’ll need to do a more thorough search in daylight, but at least two more cameras are in the backyard and one more in the front.” He pointed out the areas with the additional cameras on the monitors.
“We’re sure Fortress didn’t mount any of these cameras?”
“Positive. Santos knows I’m twitchy about electronics. He showed me where he mounted each of our cameras. These three don’t have tactical value. Their placement indicates personal interest.”
Rafe dragged a hand down his face. How long had someone been stalking Kristi?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Throughout the remainder of his shift, Rafe and Jon switched out checking the perimeter twice an hour, varying the time between circuits. Thirty minutes before their shift ended, one of the quadrants on Rafe’s monitor flashed red. “Jon.”
With one click of the mouse, Jon expanded the view of the quadrant. A figure dressed in black walked