Rachel Thought the Nanny Had Been Near Her Baby’s Crib — Then the Monitor Recorded Someone Hiding in the Camera’s Blind Spot
Chapter 4 — Six Houses
Detective Nora Hayes took over the investigation.
Her first question was simple.
“What connects these six addresses?”
Rachel didn’t know.
Police checked.
All six homes used Northstar Home Security.
All six systems had been installed or upgraded within the previous eighteen months.
And Aaron Blake had worked at every property.
At first that made him look even more suspicious.
Then Detective Hayes found another pattern.
Four of the six homes had reported burglaries.
Not forced entries.
No smashed windows.
No damaged doors.
Each homeowner believed someone had somehow bypassed the security system.
Michael stared at the report.
“And Northstar investigated itself?”
Hayes nodded.
Each time, the company concluded there was no evidence its equipment had malfunctioned.
The homeowners were encouraged to change passwords.
Nothing more happened.
Rachel looked toward the nursery.
“Were we supposed to be next?”
Hayes wasn’t ready to say.
Then technicians examined the three memory cards.
The first contained video clips from a Northstar office.
One showed Colin Ward sitting at a computer after midnight.
The screen displayed customer access codes.
The second showed Colin photographing printed installation records.
On the third, Aaron’s voice could be heard whispering:
“He’s copying override codes before technicians deactivate them.”
Michael looked toward Hayes.
“Aaron wasn’t hiding burglary plans.”
She nodded.
“It looks like he was collecting evidence.”
Rachel frowned.
“Then why break into our house to get it?”
Detective Hayes answered:
“Maybe because somebody else was looking for it too.”
