Flashback (Kendra Michaels #11)

“Unbelievable… But where did all this extra space come from?”

“I bought a few of the lots around mine.”

“And tore down the houses? Those weren’t exactly tear-downs.”

“They were when I got through with them.”

“Amazing. This is like… an incredible resort. I could go on a two-week vacation here.”

Lynch smiled. “I wish you would. But I had more work done downstairs. Come see.”

Kendra followed Lynch downstairs to a large room that had completely changed since the last time she’d seen it. Before, she had teased him about having an upscale sports bar in his basement, with half a dozen televisions and a mahogany-trimmed pool table dominating the room. Now there was the massive flatscreen monitor, a long table, and several leather chairs.

Kendra laughed out loud. “Now it looks like the White House situation room.”

Lynch smiled. “I can’t win with you. When I’m being briefed on assignments, I find it very useful for teleconferences, graphics, and satellite imagery.”

“I was joking. So this is a situation room, isn’t it?”

He shrugged. “I guess it is. But today it’s your lip-reading studio. Shall we give it a shot?”

Lynch picked up a touchscreen remote and powered up his system. He pulled out his phone, found the video, and selected it. The gigantic screen flickered, and after a moment the coffeehouse video began. Chloe was sitting alone at her table.

“What do you think?” Lynch asked.

Kendra stepped closer to the screen. “Is there any way you can… sharpen it?”

Lynch tapped his fingers over his remote touchscreen. “How about this?”

The video suddenly became much more clear, with each detail dramatically increasing in definition.

Kendra stepped even closer. “This is great.” She pointed at the screen. “This customer just ordered a cinnamon latte.”

“You could read her lips?” Lynch asked.

“Yes, no problem. She’s closer to the camera than Chloe and Todd Williams will be, but I think they’ll still be close enough.” Kendra pointed to the screen again. “The customer now wants to know why they don’t have stevia sweetener anymore.”

Lynch laughed. “Now you’re just showing off.”

“Maybe a little. Oh, Williams is coming in now.”

They both looked at the screen as Williams walked in and took his seat at the table. Chloe shifted and turned slightly away from the camera to face him.

“Oh, no,” Lynch said. “We have a good shot of Williams’ lips, but you may have problems reading her from the side.”

“You’re right. I can probably pick up some of what she’s saying, but not everything.” Kendra squinted at the screen. “Wait, can you zoom in a bit?”

Lynch pinched the screen of his remote, enlarging Chloe and Williams on the large monitor screen.

Kendra smiled. “Look at the framed print on the wall between them.”

Lynch leaned closer. “Chloe’s reflection… Can you tell what she’s saying?”

“Yes. Almost everything! Rewind to where he first comes in.” As Lynch scanned back a few seconds, Kendra activated the recording app on her phone and dictated her reading of the conversation. “Okay, Williams just apologized for being late. He was waiting on a phone call… Chloe says that he scared the hell out of her in their conversation the day before.”

“Those exact words?” Lynch said.

Kendra nodded. “He says he’s sorry. But they—and her sister—need to be careful right now.” Kendra watched closely. On the larger screen, it was easier to see the tension written on their faces. “Okay, she just asked him, how long did he know about… the Dayton Group.”