Page 16 of Girl, Empty
‘You know it?’
‘Practically invented it.Not me personally, but my generation.’Ripley slid the paper back to her.‘Dark, you can’t do this.’
The question was never whether or not shecoulddo this, Ella thought.It was whether she should.‘Why?’
‘Because it’s a brave new world out there.I’d like to think the FBI have progressed from executing prisoners in secret.I won’t have that in my FBI.’
‘YourFBI?’
Ripley flushed red for a second, then her tanned complexion resumed.‘Maybe.And let’s say youdokill Creed and somehow don’t get taken to court – then what?Congrats, you’ve killed the only source you have.’
‘It’s been six weeks since anyone died, Mia, and that might be because Creed is unreachable at the minute.His accomplice can’t get instructions from him.’
‘So?You think killing him will make that permanent?That’s not going to catch the perp.’
‘I know, but it might stop people getting killed.Kill the host, kill the parasite.’
‘Kill the hydra and it grows an extra head.Try that analogy instead.’
She folded the paper and slipped it back into her pocket.What if Creed's accomplice wasn't just following orders?What if they were already planning to surpass their mentor?Killing Creed might just make things worse.But on the flip side, it could also draw his accomplice out of the woodwork.
Too many decisions.None of which could be comfortably made at this altitude.
‘Here you go.’Ripley slammed the case file for the Indianapolis case on the table.‘We’ve got a job to do, so stop thinking about Creed and focus on this.’
‘You’re right.’Ella pulled out her own folder and re-familiarized herself with the details.Creed would have to wait, because there was a locked room mystery that needed her attention.‘Michael Rankin, dead in his office on the fortieth floor.Stabbed in the stomach.No witnesses, no security stills.What do you think?’
‘I think I don’t believe in ghosts, but I also don’t think anyone can get through a corporate headquarters without any cameras catching them.’
‘So let’s eliminate the impossible.It’s not suicide, because there’s no murder weapon.Even if Rankin stabbed himself and flung the weapon, there’d be a blood trail.There isn’t.’
‘Rappelling.’Ripley slapped the photo down like a blackjack dealer.‘Dangle from the roof, slice the window, do the deed, like Tom Cruise.What do you think?’
Ella checked each photo again.‘Doubt it.These windows don’t look like they open.Probably a safety precaution being so high up.He could cut through the glass, but all of the windows are intact.What about if somebody hid inside the room and waited until everyone left?’
‘Has that ever happened?’
‘Off the top of my head, yeah.Massachusetts, 1987.The case of Daniel LaPlante.This guy hid in a woman’s basement for a year without her knowing.’
‘Because basements don’t have security cameras.Morrison & Associates does.’
‘Rankin’s office is a beast.Look at the size of this thing.Plenty of space to hide.’
‘The office is a typical penis extender, that’s for sure.But still, surely you’d notice someone hiding under your table or behind your plant pot.’
‘What about air vents?Could have crawled from the outside right up to Rankin’s office’
‘Up forty floors?’
‘Fair point.’Ella found her pen and began chewing the end.She wasn’t sure why she even carried a pen because she never wrote anything down.‘Edis said the victim was working with the FBI, didn’t he?’
‘Yeah.The FCS.They’re in West Virginia.I’ve never met those guys.’
‘So we need to consider the possibility of an inside job.Someone within Morrison & Associates or the Financial Crimes Section.If someone knew that Rankin was going to be in his office on that day at that time, would it be a stretch to think they could manipulate the cameras and security measures during that window?’
Ripley glanced over at the refillable drinks station, like it was summoning her.She turned back and said, ‘But how?Is it even possible to bypass things like that?Surely you can’t just override security systems, because that negates the whole purpose of a security system.’
Ella rubbed her temples.‘There’s got to be something we’re missing.Cops always miss something.’
