Page 76 of Pied Sniper

“Or they might be keeping quiet to avoid attracting attention,” said Solomon. “Do some more digging into all of them and inform Detective Graves and Special Agent Maddox of these developments. They’ll be able to speak to the detectives in charge of the cases and inform them of the connection, if they’re not already aware.”

“We need to speak to the people who claim to be related to Tiffany too,” I said. “Have they called again?”

“No, and we’ve tried calling them but no one is picking up,” said Lucas. “I’ve got last known addresses if you want to send investigators there, but they’re out of state.”

“It’ll be a waste of time,” decided Solomon after a moment of contemplation, “Lexi and I are needed here. By the time we send someone else out there, Tiffany will probably be dead. Tell the team that if anyone claiming to be family calls again, they’re to be promptly dispatched to one of us. At the very least, get a number where we can call them directly back.”

“Got it, boss,” said Lucas.

“And check into a Rose Busch,” I added. “Tiffany changed her name. You might find more now the search isn’t just for Tiffany Rose.”

“What do you make of it?” Solomon asked me once Lucas disappeared through the door.

“Tiffany doesn’t have many redeeming qualities,” I replied. “The more we find out about her, the worse she becomes. However, I think there’s still a case to be made for her planning this herself. Who knows how many people are after her besides the ones we know about? She changed her name once. She’s been lying since school. She has a bunch of active warrants. Disappearing forever in a high-profile case is one way of gettingeveryoneoff her back. It’s been done before.”

“Do you think she has the smarts to pull off a permanent disappearing act?”

I pondered that. “Yes, she could pull it off, but as we’ve already found out, her past doesn’t stay there. If she did orchestrate this, I expect it will unravel.”

“That could take months or years.”

“But it will.” Waiting that long didn’t strike me as a good thing. “The other possibility, of course, is that the ransom gets paid, Tiffany pops up all bloodied and heroic with a stash of cash hidden somewhere and a whole host of new big-money projects to capitalize on her tragedy.”

“She’ll need most of it to pay off her debts and lawyer fees,” pointed out Solomon.

“There’s the potential for her to make millions in deals. She could pay everyone back, argue her way out of jail time for anyone who continues to pursue her, and still have money in the bank. Plus, the ransom cash as her backup option. That’s if she doesn’t disappear to some remote island, never to be heard from again.”

“I really don’t like this woman,” said Solomon.

“Neither do I but I’m sure you’re about to remind me we don’t have to like the people we’re hired to help.”

“You’re starting to sound like me.”

“But cuter.”

“You don’t think I’m cute?”

“Of course not. I think you’re smokin’ hot.”

Solomon smiled. “Acceptable.”

I checked my watch. “We have an hour until the press conference. I’m going to take another look through Tiffany’s cloned laptop; then I think we should speak to Grace again. I wonder if she knows anything more.”

“We should probably speak to her friend, Flavia, too. That’s a strange anomaly, don’t you think?”

I flopped into my chair. “Because they’re pretend enemies?”

“Because it’s the only thing about her life that seems nice.”

“Until you factor in how often Tiffany took Flavia for a ride too.”

“All the more reason to talk to her again after she’s had time to think about things. She could have more information than she realizes.”

“You think she’ll turn on Tiffany!”

Solomon smiled.

“I guess that could happen,” I surmised. “She may consider herself a woman scorned. Not in the romantic sense, of course, but definitely that the friendship wasn’t as equal as she considered it. Tiffany has been mooching off her for a long time and she only just started to realize it.”

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