Page 85 of Shadow of Deceit
“Gave it to our deputy to run. It’s not an instant thing like you see on TV. A person has to run it through the database and then manually review the results before sharing possible matches.”
“Too bad it’s not instant,” Ryan said, wishing that they already knew the killer’s identity and he’d been arrested.
Instead of deflating in defeat, Mia sat upright. “Are you going to arrest Verna for killing Fuzzy then?”
His eyes creased. “I’ll bring her in for questioning, but I don’t like her for the murder. It would take a much larger person than Verna to inflict the trauma that killed Springer.”
“So she hired the guy who started the fire to do it.” Mia’s words shot out, colored with a desperation that Ryan hated seeing. “She could still be guilty of planning the murder.”
Russ shrugged. “We’ll see. I have a number of loose ends to investigate before bringing any charges.”
Mia’s mouth dropped open. “Fuzzy’s wallet was in her file cabinet. What more do you need?”
“As much as you want to think you’ve solved this case,” Russ paused and Ryan knew they wouldn’t like his next statement. “I have no evidence to prove Bandit found the wallet in the file cabinet.”
“But we saw—”
Russ thrust up a hand like a stop sign on the side of a bus. “No buts. Charging someone with murder requires real evidence. And we don’t have it. Besides, other things don’t add up. Like the break-in.” He crossed his arms. “Why would Verna hire someone to steal files she could dispose of on her own? And if she did somehow kill Springer or had him killed, why keep the wallet in her file cabinet where someone might find it?”
“Russ is right.” Ryan hated to agree with his brother but his facts were solid. Ryan settled on the stool next to Mia and laid a hand on her shoulder. “It doesn’t make sense, and Verna doesn’t have a good motive for killing Fuzzy, either.”
She sighed heavily, but he’d had to speak his mind.
“She could very well have a motive.” She turned to Russ. “Fuzzy was a private investigator. Maybe Uncle Wally knew about her embezzlement, and Fuzzy had come here to investigate. She discovered that and killed him to stop him.”
Russ arched an eyebrow. “And how would Springer know to investigate her?”
“Maybe Uncle Wally asked him to do it before he died.”
“He died over three months ago,” Ryan said. “Wouldn’t Fuzzy have acted sooner or at least told you about it?”
Mia gave a halfhearted nod. “But how else can you explain it?”
“I can’t, but this might help us move forward.” Russ reached into his pocket and pulled out a small scrap of paper. “We found a cell phone outside the office last night. It’s a prepaid phone, and we can’t be sure it’s even related to the break-in. There’s only one text on the phone, which was sent a little more than a week ago to another prepaid phone. I jotted down the message. Does this make any sense to either of you?”
He slid the paper across the counter to Mia. She pulled it closer.
Ryan leaned over to read.2533 *5. 36605s
“That’s odd.” Mia bit her lip.
Ryan scratched his neck. “My first thought is that it’s some kind of new texting slang teens use to baffle their parents.”
“More like a code of some sort, but we haven’t been able to crack it.” Russ looked at Mia. “I want to go through Evergreen’s office again. See if it helps. You can agree to the search, or I can get a warrant.”
“You have my permission to do whatever you need to do.” She held up the paper. “Can I keep this? In case I can figure out the code.”
“Knock yourself out.” Russ tipped his head at the counter. “Don’t forget to get that camera back to the owner so he doesn’t bug me for it.”
She nodded. “I’ll take it to Chuck when you leave.”
“I forgot to mention. Nico handed over his bolt cutters too, and I gave them to Sierra for testing, but they have to take them back to the lab to do it.” Russ headed to the door and paused, his hand on the doorframe. “Where can I find you this afternoon if I need you?”
Ryan glanced at the clock. “We have sessions with the students all afternoon.”
“Keep your cells on.” Russ’s voice drifted off as he exited.
Ryan, wracking his brain trying to figure out this new development, listened to his brother’s fading footsteps. “This is getting more and more complicated.”
