Page 35 of Smoke Screen
“I don’t know. Believe me, I am completely freaked out right now. This man, this creepy stranger, has mykey. He could’ve walked in on me in the middle of the night. Or when I was in the shower.”
Cilla reached over, set a hand on Maddy’s arm and patted. The shut-your-mouth pat. “It’s all right,” Cilla said, her voice a purr that instantly brought Maddy back to focus.
Calm. She needed to remain calm. Not react. That’s what they wanted. Hysteria that created mental chaos and loose lips.
“Ms. Carmichael,” Special Agent Walker drawled, “we have you talking to this person at work. We have prior visits to your home, and now he has a key. You expect us to believe you don’t know him?”
“I don’t,” Maddy said, her voice catching. “I swear to you.”
Darn it. Why did she sound … weak?Emotional. Of her siblings, she’d always been the rational one. Except for today. Today, when strange men had keys to her apartment and everyone thought she’d pulled off a major jewelry heist.
A whooshing filled her head.Focus.One thing at a time.
“Maddy, are your keys ever out of your control?”
Keys. Control. What? She swiveled to Cilla. Had she said something? She blinked, fought the roaring in her mind. Falling apart in front of FBI agents, one of whom was Phin’s brother, wouldn’t help.
Concentrate.
Keys. Out of her control.
Beside her, Cilla sat back, casually crossing her legs and flicking at a piece of lint on her sleeve like this whole encounter was nothing but a bother.
Later, Maddy might laugh at the sign of rebellion. Now, it gave her the push she needed to get her mind straight.
Were her keys ever out of her control? She faced the special agents again. “I don’t carry my keys all day. When I get to work, I put them in my desk drawer.”
Done picking lint, Cilla brought her attention back to Walker. “This is when the fun starts.Maddy,” she said, “do you lock your office, or your desk, when you step out?”
“No. I’ve never needed to.”
“There you have it,” Cilla said. “In the last thirty seconds, I’ve come up with at least ten—make that eleven—scenarios on how someone copied her keys.” Clearly enjoying herself, Cilla sat forward, filling the space between them and the agents on the other side of the table. “I will destroy you on these keys.”
Special Agent Walker chuckled, adding an eye-roll kicker.
Yikes. Scary women.
Maddy dared not look at Phin’s brother. What must he be thinking right now?
How humiliating.
“You’re saying,” Special Agent Blackwell began, forcing Maddy to look at him, “someone entered the suite during business hours, walked past the receptionist, entered your office when you were coincidentally not there, stole your keys, left the building to copy them, and then returned them to your desk. All with no one noticing. You don’t think that’s a reach?”
When he put it that way, it sounded bad. Really bad. But it could happen. “Actually,” she said, “it isn’t. The other day I was out of my office for hours while giving a tour.”
“A tour takes hours?”
“Sometimes, yes. There’s a thirty-minute video for students to watch. So, there’s the tour, then the video and sometimes President Thompson pops in and does a Q and A with the kids. Then they have lunch in the cafeteria. I’m present for all of it.”
Cilla flipped her portfolio closed, then stood. “Make that twelve scenarios.” She glanced down at Maddy. “We’re through here.”
Maddy stood, gathered her purse from the back of the chair and followed Cilla to the door.
“Ms. Carmichael,” Special Agent Blackwell said. “Please stay in the area.”
“Not a problem.” Cilla opened the door for Maddy. “Just make sure you’ve got something I won’t have a ball ripping apart. Y’all have a great day.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Special Agent Walker said.
