Page 51 of Pied Sniper

“How dare you!” I exclaimed, folding my arms. “I have never told a lie!”

“Add that one to your list,” said Maddox. “But also, I wanted you to say no for professional reasons.”

“Then it didn’t matter whom you asked,” said Solomon. He stepped aside. “The door is locked.”

“It really is,” I said. Neither of those statements were a lie. Solomon flipped the lock on our way out. That he picked the lock in the first place was an answer no one asked about.

Maddox pulled on a pair of gloves and examined the lock. Then he stood and kicked the door hard. The door popped open.

“I thought you were going to pick the lock,” I said.

“This seemed more efficient.”

“He also had three espressos this morning,” said Farid. “He was itching to kick something.”

“Hard night or long morning?” I wondered.

“Both,” said Maddox, winking. I figured it was best not to ask although I hoped he was referring to a lack of sleep since picking up Tiffany’s case.

“Talk us through what you saw and how it led you here,” said Garrett.

“There isn’t much beyond what Solomon already told you. I noticed a telescope that appeared to be trained on Tiffany’s apartment when I was inside her apartment earlier, but by the time we got here, it was gone. If we’d been inside, which we absolutely were not,” I added firmly, “Solomon noticed indentations in the carpet that could have come from a tripod and this apartment has a clear view into Tiffany’s unit so I’m sure it’s the right place. It’s possible someone was watching her.”

“Hmm,” said Garrett.

“So much for not being inside,” said Maddox. “You just spilled everything like you sprung a leak.” He stepped past the splintered doorframe and I pulled a face at his back. “Saw that,” he said.

“Wait here,” said Garrett.

“We didn’t pick up any tiny, crumpled slips of paper from the floor near the tripod indentations,” I called after them.

“Huh,” said Farid as he followed them inside. “Guess I better do that.”

When they came back a few minutes later, none of them looked excited. I knew why; they knew we had the right observation site but the lack of evidence inside the apartment was unhelpful. Garrett was already on the phone instructing the crime scene techs. “This is good work,” he said. “We appreciate you calling it in and I agree with your assessment. The view into the victim’s apartment is excellent and it’s exactly the spot I would pick to watch the occupant. However, that doesn’t mean whoever was in here wasn’t just an innocent bystander who happened to see something.”

“What kind of innocent bystander breaks into a condemned building and brings a telescope?” I asked.

Garrett pointed up. “There’s also an excellent view of the night sky and skyline. However, I’ll concede that they cleared out within hours of the abduction, and nothing was reported, which makes it suspicious.”

“We agree,” said Solomon.

“Have there been any further developments?” I asked.

“No,” said Maddox. “And we’re under a lot of pressure to solve this from the press, the mayor, the police chief and my boss. No one in Montgomery wants this kind of negative publicity. Apparently, the city is seeking some kind of cultural recognition next year and a high-profile, violent case like this makes everyone look bad.”

“Tiffany might lap it up,” I said. Grimacing, I explained what I found on her laptop.

“Unbelievable,” said Maddox. He ran a hand over his hair as his mouth became a fine line. “If this is a wild goose chase, I’ll… I have no idea! I sure as hell hope it is. I figured her laptop was stolen so we didn’t look for it and Ms. Swanson didn’t volunteer that she had it.”

“I’ll turn it over,” I said before he could request it. “I have the password too.”

“I’m not even going to ask how you managed to get that.”

“If Tiffany really set up something that dumb, I don’t think it’ll play out the way she wants or expects it to,” added Garrett.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “There’s already nationwide publicity. That’s exactly what she wants.”

“I mean, I’ll bring her up on criminal charges,” said Garrett.

---