04 - Shock and Awesome (34 page)

 
   
That left the attached garage. I gave my phone a quick check - nothing - and jogged back to the house, all the while checking to see if I left any footprints in the dry grass. None. Wow, I really was a ninja! Rounding the house, away from where I entered, I walked quickly towards the garage. It was connected to the house and I guessed there must be an internal door. There wasn't a door leading from the garage to the garden, but there was a picture window that spanned the width of the wall. It was, mercifully, uncovered, allowing me to peek inside.

 
   
The garage was set up as a workshop. One wall displayed tools, everything from hammers to screwdrivers to saws, while the floor held various other mechanical equipment. Vises, electric saws... a throne-like chair with thick leather restraints to secure the arms and the neck. I dropped my eyes. The same restraints were positioned for the ankles too.

 
   
Holy guacamole.

 
   
I gulped and pressed a hand to my mouth, my stomach doing a little flip at the sight. Pooling at the base of the chair was something ominously dark that stained the concrete floor.

 
   
When my phone started to vibrate in my back pocket, I leapt higher than an Olympic pole-vaulter. Well, my stomach did anyway. I checked the screen, just in case it was my mom being inopportune, but it was Lily. There was only one reason she would call: our target was nearing home and I had to get out of there.

 
   
I started to make for the way I came in, but a noise at the gate stopped me. Hearing the sound of the padlock snapping undone, I spun around and jogged back to the garage, looking for an escape route. No plant pots here, just the thick tube of rain guttering. Grasping it, I stuck my toe onto the thicker edge of the first join and lifted myself, scrambling up the eight feet onto the flat roof, before rolling onto my back just as a dog barked below.

 
   
With my heart pounding, I flipped onto my hands and knees, staying low, and crawled to the front of the garage. I prayed to anything that could hear me not to let me fall through the roof and be the next restrained victim of that chair. At the roof edge, I inched forward and looked down at the sheer drop onto the driveway. I had no other choice. Swinging one leg over, then the other, I rolled onto my stomach, pushed with my arms, and launched myself off the garage roof.

 
   
Two minutes later, I was back in the driver's seat. Of my car, that is, certainly not of my life. I wasn't even sure I had a license for that.

 
   
"You should have seen yourself," said Lily. "That was so cool."

 
   
"I think I grazed my elbow," I moaned, twisting my arm to take a look. Sure enough, a small rip in the fabric proved a scrape was evident. It was covered in dust and dirt, "But it was cool," I conceded.

 
   
"What did you find? Anything?" Lily wanted to know.

 
   
I sucked in a breath. "A big problem. I think the
Schuberts
are right. Something weird is going on in there. There was a huge chair that looked like a throne with scary-looking restraints; and I think I saw blood on the floor!"

 
   
"
Ohmigod
! You could have been killed!"

 
   
"Only if he caught me, which he didn't. Thanks for the thirty-second warning."

 
   
Lily ignored my sarcasm. "So... what now? Are you going to call the police?"

 
   
"Not without a body, and I definitely didn't see one. I don't think they'll raid the place just because of that scary chair."

 
   
"Yep, if that were the case, there would be the bad furnishing police," agreed Lily. She pressed a hand to her stomach and closed her eyes again. "Half the town would be in trouble."

 
   
"No more stakeout today," I decided. Then, sounding suspiciously like my mother, I added, "You're going home to bed and I'm going to the office. I have a thief to catch before I take out this killer so I can buy my house."

 
   
"There you go, taking charge.
Lexi
Graves, super PI." Lily buckled her seatbelt and gave me a weak smile, but didn't talk the rest of the way home. That was more worrying than the waxy pallor of her skin.

 
   
~

 
   
I made sure Lily went to bed, and took the time to text message
Jord
, even though Lily insisted there was no need. Then I headed upstairs to shower, change into something clean, and get ready for work.

 
   
With just our team present and Maddox, we reconvened in the boardroom, rather than using the whole office. I would have liked to appear more professional and arrive to work early, but as it happened, I had a wardrobe crisis and arrived last. I was just in time to snag the last sugar donut and a lukewarm cup of coffee.

 
   
Solomon perused an opened file in front of him; Delgado and Fletcher were checking through a stack of photographs; and Lucas was reading a comic. None seemed at all perturbed at how unprofessional they looked. All of a sudden, my clothing choice seemed like a really important decision, and I was glad I took the time to search out the powder blue, cowl neck top I wore today, along with indigo skinny jeans and super-high heels. No one could say I wasn’t professional. By the way Maddox looked at me, he could say a lot of things, but nothing that I was ready to hear. I wasn't sure when, or if, that date would ever happen, a thought which filled me with sadness.

 
   
"So, where are we now?" I asked, taking the chair between Delgado and Lucas. I contemplated plucking the comic from Lucas's hands and tossing it in the trash, but I worried he would hack my Facebook in retaliation.

 
   
"Square one," said Solomon, without looking up.

 
   
"Better than zero," I quipped, but Solomon didn't laugh. Clearly, someone got out of the wrong side of bed this morning. Maybe his company blocked his path. I kept my face even, but gave him a Botox death stare. Yep, one that no one else could see. I settled down to munch my donut sullenly while waiting for the meeting to begin. Just as I began to mentally sing "I know a song that will get on your nerves," Solomon looked up at last, casting a glance around the room as I pretended not to notice his bulging bicep in his short-sleeved t-shirt.

 
   
"Every guest was searched last night and they all came up clean," he informed us. It didn't surprise me. They would have been celebrating if they found Claudia's necklace. "I sent a cleaning crew, but we didn't find the necklace in the building, so we have to assume it got out some other way. There are several windows from where it could have been thrown and retrieved later."

 
   
"Risky," said Delgado. "Lots of groping in the dark for an itty, bitty necklace."

 
   
Solomon nodded. "I agree. Any other suggestions?"

 
   
We looked at each other. Nope. Some detectives we were.

 
   
"I don't agree. It was a huge piece. Maybe someone was waiting. An accomplice could have caught it," I suggested, surreptitiously licking my fingers because a waste of sugar was a damn waste.

 
   
Solomon gave a slow nod. "Possible. Delgado, go with Lucas, and see what cameras are around the building. Lucas, see if you can access their feeds and identify anyone. Check out any vehicles in the area. I want to know whom they belong to."

 
   
"You want me to go outside?" asked Lucas. He folded the comic, appearing worried.

 
   
"You've done it before," deadpanned Solomon.

 
   
"I don't like it. I like my computer."

 
   
Solomon pointed to the door. "Go."

 
   
Delgado got up, trying to hide a laugh behind a cough, and Lucas slunk after him. He still had the comic.

 
   
"Hold up," I said and they paused, waiting for Solomon’s response to me. "Maybe we're going about this all wrong. Instead of trying to figure out how the necklace got out, maybe we should set up another opportunity for the thief. After all, if it's gone, it's gone."

 
   
Solomon inclined his head towards the chairs and Lucas hurried back to his, clearly relieved he would not to be heading into the big, wide world. I wasn't sure what his problem was. He had to get to and from the office somehow. Though now that I thought about it, perhaps I should check the basement for tunnels. Also: it must be really frustrating to be his girlfriend, unless she was agoraphobic.

 
   
I continued, "We're down to two suspects: Ben and Justin. It could be either one of them, and we're wasting time searching camera feeds and dumpster diving. Let's set them up instead. Let's set them up with a job so tempting, they can't possibly resist it. Last night's theft could have just been a crime of opportunity. This one won't be. So far, the thefts have been jewels. The thief will want this. One of them will turn up and we'll be waiting, then
blam
!"

 
   
"I like her idea better," said Lucas.

 
   
Solomon leaned back in his chair, his face thoughtful. "It's another shot in the dark," he said finally. "But it's as good a shot as searching camera feeds and dumpster diving."

 
   
"It might be the only shot we get," I told him. "We don't know how long the thief is going to stay around. He could be gone tomorrow. I've dated both these guys, and I can't get a definitive take on which one it is. Justin is hinky for sure, but I can't count Ben out."

 
   
"What does your gut tell you?" asked Delgado, turning from me to Solomon. "Boss?"

 
   
"Ben. He's too good to be true," I said, with a sinking feeling, at the same time Solomon answered, "Justin. Sleaze."

 
   
I threw my hands upwards. "See my point?"

 
   
Solomon smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, I do. Okay, people, heads together. I still want you and Lucas to check the area," he told Delgado, ignoring Lucas's frustrated sigh as he rose again. "But we'll run with
Lexi's
idea too. The rest of you have got one hour to come up with the best damn ruse you can, one that will make this thief really eager. One he can't resist."

 
   
Chapter Sixteen

 
   
As it turned out, setting up the suspects was easy. Once we fine-tuned the details of the ruse, placing jewels as the thief's primary interest this time around, it was simply a case of making a couple of calls.

 
   
While Solomon and company listened in, I talked to Ben first, then Justin; each time exclaiming how excited I was at the jeweler's visit to my home that day. "I just can't decide," I twittered, catching myself twirling a lock of hair around my finger, and quickly releasing it, "between the diamond ring or the pendant. There are some rings I like too. Maybe I should get them all? Anyway, the jeweler knows I love his pieces, and as a valued customer, he’s letting me keep all of them overnight! He said the safe in the living room is fine, so long as I'm careful. I mean, duh! Of course, I'll be careful with five million dollars in diamonds! I'm just going to try them on, play princess, and then go out with my girlfriends."