Page 33 of Smoke Screen
“Once again,” Special Agent Walker said, “we’re confirming.”
“Confirm all you’d like. However, my client’s time is important and you’re wasting it. So, please, tell us what we’re doing here so we can all get back to our lives.”
“Getting to it, Ms. Randolph.” Special Agent Walker brought her attention back to Maddy. “During this meeting, they discussed the number of guards?”
“Yes. Someone—I don’t remember who—asked if we should add to the security staff.”
“And what was the decision?”
“The Thompsons didn’t feel it was necessary. The Center is privately funded and the Thompsons are careful with money. They want it to be a place for people to find joy. The bulk of the funds go to acquisitions and ways to improve a visitor’s experience. During the day, there are multiple guards. Since the building is empty at night, they made the decision to save money by having only one guard.”
“And since there’s only one guard, when he’s on rounds, no one is manning the monitors in the security office?”
Maddy shrugged. “I suppose.”
“You don’t know?”
“Not specifically, no. I mean, there are cameras. Someone off-site could be monitoring.”
“All right. Let’s go with the idea that no one is watching while the lone guard is on rounds. In which case, no one saw when two men climbed a ladder to the second floor and smashed the window. Is that true?”
“Don’t answer that,” Cilla said. “It’s ridiculous. First, she wasn’t there. There’s no way for her to know who saw what. Second, if there’s only one guard, unless he can instantly clone himself or, as Ms. Carmichael said, someone off-site is monitoring, there’s no one watching the monitors while the guard is on rounds.”
Special Agent Blackwell made another note and Maddy’s pulse kicked up. The randomness of his note-taking unnerved her.
Maybe that was the point.
To trip her up, just as Cilla had said.
Special Agent Walker tapped her index finger on the table.Tap-tap. Tap-tap.Tap-tap.“Does security do rounds at the same time each night?”
“I don’t know.”
Special Agent Walker stared at her for a few long seconds. In terms of body language, there wasn’t much of it. No raised eyebrows or cocked head.
Then she tapped her finger again. Three times.Tap-tap. Tap-tap.Tap-tap.
In the quiet room, that tapping might as well have been a gong vibrating off the walls.
“So,” Walker said, “you don’t know what time they do rounds? Or if they do them at the same time each night?”
“Asked and answered,” Cilla said. “Move on.”
Special Agent Walker sat back. “All right. Ms. Carmichael, the second-floor window was shattered, allowing the perpetrators access to the building.”
“And?” Cilla said. “What’s your question?”
“Getting to it, counselor. The first-floor windows have reinforced glass, but the second and third-floor windows don’t. Were you aware of that?”
Maddy nodded. “Yes. The Thompsons hadn’t realized the cost of reinforced windows. Knowing there would be motion detectors and guards on duty 24/7, they saved money by only reinforcing the first floor and basement windows. The executive suite doors are shatterproof as well. We can also lock those doors via an app.”
“An app?”
“Yes. The Secret Service recommended it in case of an active shooter. We can barricade ourselves in.”
Special Agent Walker met Special Agent Blackwell’s eye, then came back to Maddy. Her smug smile loosened Maddy’s intestines. Was this some kind of trap?
“So,”Special Agent Walker said, “you knew the building could be breached at the second-floor level.”
