Page 120 of Love Me Steadfast
“Looks like someone broke in.” I step inside. The new desk I ordered got delivered on Friday, but there’s an empty place beneath it. “The hard drive’s gone.”
“Shit, man. Check the safe. We used to keep it in the bar, in the floor. Until someone found a way to yank it out with chains and a Ford 350.”
The safe looks intact. I’ll open it and make sure the cash is still there from last night, waiting for our bookkeeper to come collect it for deposit. “It’s here. Looks undamaged.”
“The hard drive’s not exactly high value. The printer’s worth a helluva lot more.”
He’s right. If someone broke in here to steal shit they could pawn, why leave the printer/fax? It’s one of those fancy ones that can print playbills in every vibrant color possible. It’s bulky though, and heavy.
“Why didn’t the alarm go off?” I ask.
“Better check the system. It was armed when I left.”
After thanking him, I end the call then stare at the empty spot under thedesk.
Zach leadsme down the hall so the crime scene techs can get to work.
“Do you have a list of who was working last night?” he asks as the radio on his duty belt erupts with chatter. He spins the knob, quieting it.
“Mike Meekin’s my bar manager,” I say. “The kitchen staff would have left by ten or so.” I search up Mike and Oscar’s numbers in my phone and recite them to Zach. “We had two bands last night too. One’s local, the other’s from Bozeman, but they would have cleared out by midnight or a little after that. I can get you their contact info.”
Zach scratches this down in his notebook. “Can you get me the security footage?”
“Probably.” I brought my laptop with me, though so far I’ve only accessed The Limelight’s email program. Everything else is in Dropbox folders Ray shared with me, but I’ve been focused on managing the budget, learning the payroll, and figuring out staffing.
“The alarm was set at 1:14 a.m., probably when Mike left. It was tripped at 1:44 by the back door.” He nods to the end of the hallway, open to give the crime scene team access. “When whoever had broken into the office left.”
I frown. “Why didn’t I get a call?”
His lips twist in a grimace. “Dispatch sent a car but there was no sign of a break in. We ruled it as a false alarm. You’d be surprised how many of those we get.”
“Understood.”
“Even if we’d gotten inside, our perp would have been long gone.”
“You’re probably right.” The security footage might give us something. “Wait, how did the guy get in?”
“I think he or she was already inside.”
I slump back against the wall. “What the fuck?”
“It’s likely they hid somewhere in the club until it closed, then broke into the office, grabbed the hard drive, and split.”
That’s a logical conclusion, yet it’s still not making sense.
“That or it’s an employee?” Zach asks, looking up from his notes.
“That doesn’t make sense either.”
“Who else has keys to the office?”
“Uh, Mike, our bookkeeper, Leslie...”
“How about Morgan?” he asks, his face impassive.
I rub the back of my neck. “I’d be surprised if she didn’t have a set.”
“It’s likely someone with access to the club, but not the office.”
