by Cole Baxter
"I do not believe so at this time, sir. Thank you for your cooperation." Amber gave him a nod. "Come along, Mahoney. We don't need to bother these good people any further." She rolled her eyes at him, her tone heavy on the sarcasm.
"Thank you for your time," Mahoney murmured as he followed her out of the house to the car.
She handed him her notebook with the sister's number in it. "Check their alibi, make sure they were there all night. If it checks out, then we can rule them out. See if there are pictures. You know those kids and their phones. There should be documented proof that they were at that party."
"We probably should have asked Leonard to see his phone," Mahoney said, copying the number down.
"Probably." She smirked. "Wanna go back and ask for it?"
"No." Mahoney looked pale at the thought.
Snickering, Amber started the car and drove while he made the call to the sister. A few minutes later, and Leonard, Fredrick, and Jake were off the hook. Valerie Terenbrock assured Mahoney that her brother and his friends were indeed in Renton at the time of the theft, and she forwarded several time stamped photos to prove it.
Amber had figured the boys would have alibis and be ruled out. Having now gotten their alibi, she called the Brandon residence to inform them that she no longer needed to speak with their son. Had they been cooperative earlier, she might not have had to deal with the Terenbrocks directly.
"Brandon residence, Watkins speaking. How may I help you?"
"Good morning, this is Detective Smith. Would you please inform Mr. and Mrs. Brandon that I no longer need to speak to their son, and assure them that he is no longer a suspect in the theft at Kelley's Gas Station?"
"Of course, Detective. I will inform them. Good day." He hung up.
Amber turned her phone off and headed for the upscale neighborhood that was built behind The Waterfront, the main shopping district of Liar's Island. It wasn't quite as fancy as Emerald Hills, where the Terenbrocks resided, but it was fancier than the area she came from.
"I think we need to do a door to door in the neighborhood behind the gas station. See if any of the residents saw anything suspicious Friday night," she said. "The chief has a tech going over the surveillance footage right now at Kelley's, so he'll let us know if he catches anything on any of the other cameras."
Mahoney nodded. "Sounds good." When she pulled into the neighborhood, he added, "Park over here and I'll take the right side," as he pointed to the curb.
Amber pursed her lips as she parked the car. She locked it and headed to the left side of the street, going up the walk to a two-story Cape Cod style home. She knocked on the door and waited.
"Good morning, ma'am. I’m sorry to disturb you, but there was a robbery at Kelley's Gas Station on Friday night, and I wondered if you saw anything?" Amber asked as she flashed her badge at the elderly woman.
"Oh? How terrible. What time did it occur?"
"Sometime after ten, we believe."
"Afraid not, dear. I go to bed pretty early."
"All right. Thank you." She turned to go back down the walk.
"You know," the woman said after a moment, and Amber turned back. "I bet it was that Matt Cook. Always did run with a bad crowd, that one."
Amber frowned. Matt Cook was Leah's little brother, and sure, he'd been in trouble with the law before, but that was a long time ago. "I'll look into him, ma'am. Thank you for your time."
The woman shut the door and Amber went to the house next door. She repeated the process and came away with another accusation against Matt. Not that either of them had seen Matt do anything, but there was a general snideness about their accusations as if he were beneath them and therefore it had to be him.
By the fifth door and the fourth accusation against Matt, Amber had heard enough. She waved Mahoney over and met up with him in the middle of the street. "Are you getting anything?"
"None of the residents I've spoken with saw anything, but a couple were quick to speculate that the thief might be Matt Cook."
Amber gritted her teeth. "Yeah, I'll check it out."
Mahoney stood for a moment, silent and troubled. "I know Matt," Mahoney said, his voice even and steady.
Amber arched a brow at him, waiting for him to go on. "And?"
He shook his head. "I can't see him doing anything like this. It's not logical. He has a respectable job at P and R with his sister. Just married, new baby at home? I don't think he's good for it."
Amber expelled the breath she'd been holding, expecting him to bring up Matt's past. "No, you're right. I don't think he did it either, but I'll go over to Kelley's and run it by Ray. Keep up the canvass and maybe we'll get lucky." Amber looked at the time on her phone. "I'll pick you back up in twenty minutes."
"Okay." Mahoney turned back toward the houses.
Amber jogged over to her car and climbed in. She drove over to the gas station and headed in to speak to Ray. She found him in the back room with the police tech officer. "Hey, Ray, got a minute?"
"For you, sugar, anytime." Ray nodded and joined her at the door.
"Can we speak outside?" Amber asked. She didn't want anyone to overhear what she wanted to ask.
"Sure."
Ray led her to the back delivery door, unlocked it, and they went outside. She noted that the alarm still wasn't turned on, at least not that she noticed. He hadn't turned anything off before unlocking the door. Maybe it was connected to the key? Like using the key turned it on and off? She'd have to check into that.
"Did you find who broke in?"
Amber shook her head. "No, not yet. Those three boys have an alibi for Friday night. They were in Renton with the Terenbrock sister. Apparently, there was a college party and the boys spent Friday night there and came back yesterday afternoon."
Ray frowned. "Well damn."
"Do you think . . . do you think it could have been Matt Cook? I can't see why he'd do it, but people around here remember his reputation."
Ray took a moment, considering the idea, but then he shook his head. "No, Matt wouldn't do this. He's been in, brought that baby girl and his wife into the diner for ice cream yesterday afternoon. Wasn't him."
Amber crossed her arms and gave Ray a hard look. "Then . . . Ray, I'm leaning toward the suspicion that it was one of your employees."
Ray leaned back against the brick wall and ran a hand through his hair. "I hate to think it's one of them, sugar, but . . . you could be right."
Chapter Four
“So, you think it's possible?" Amber asked, watching Ray's face. She was a little surprised that he was accepting her theory so easily but thankful that she didn't need to argue with him about it.
"I don't like to think it of them. We're like a family ’round here, but if that's how the evidence is pointing, I suppose I can't rule it out." Ray ran a hand over his face and through his hair again. "Just don't know what I'm gonna do about it. Can't just go off accusing any of them without proof. Maybe I should just file the insurance claim and write all this off as a one-time occurrence."
"Ray, it's grand theft. We have to bring the perpetrator to justice. What if this was just the first theft and they're planning to hit someone else's store next? No, we need to catch them."
Ray sighed. "I suppose so. Not sure how you're going to do that, sugar. You don't seem to have much to go on."
Amber nodded. "I've got an idea. I don't really know your employees, and they more than likely don't know me. What if I went undercover and started working the night shift, see what I can find out?"
Ray raised his brows. "You'd do that? Go to so much trouble for this?"
"Of course. Let me talk to Chief Lee and get it all set up, then I'll give you a call."
"Okay, sure." Ray nodded slowly. "I sure would like to know how it happened and who's behind it. Maybe get my holiday merchandise back."
"Do you have any suspicions?"
He shrugged. "Well, Vince is family, so probably not him . . . probably one of the others."
/> Amber agreed but decided Vince would stay on her suspect list until she could prove it wasn't him. Of all the employees, this kind of thing would be easiest accomplished by someone in management, not that someone else couldn't have pulled it off . . . just wasn't as likely. "Is he especially trustworthy?" she asked, curious to know why he believed Vince wasn't capable of the theft.
Ray frowned but answered, "I did him a favor by hiring him as night manager. The boy is damn grateful to have a job that pays a decent wage. I can't see him stealing from me. I trust my staff, sugar. I really can't see any of them doing this."
Amber patted his arm. "We'll sort it out. I'll disguise myself, and you can say you hired me to work on night shift so there's an extra staff member to keep an eye on things because of the robbery."
"All right."
"I'll call you with a name and background information and we'll set up an interview." Amber used finger quotes on the word 'interview'.
"Thanks, sugar."
"You're welcome, Ray. I'm going to chat with the tech officer then head back to the PD."
They headed back in and Amber stopped by the office. "Hey, Mark, have you got anything?"
"I've been over the surveillance several times for the liquor section and all I can make out is a gloved hand and a spray can. Can't even tell if it's a male hand or female or anything else in the glove. There's no sound, just video. My best guess is they came in through the back door, cleaned out the electronics, then slipped under the one camera, sprayed the other two and grabbed what they wanted, then got out through the delivery door. Probably took a total of fifteen minutes."
Amber nodded and noted his findings. "Well, keep looking. Maybe someone came in during some point acting suspicious. Oh, what time did the theft take place based on the blacking out of the camera?"
"At 2:23 a.m. The other cameras around the store show the employees all toward the front or out of camera frame for durations through the night."
"Out of camera frame?" Amber was surprised by that.
"Sure, in the four hours directly before and after the cameras gets blacked out, each of them went outside, beyond the scope of the cameras, or into an area of the store that wasn't covered. Got some real blind spots in this place. Including the back room since those cameras were shut off for some reason. I still haven't worked that one out yet. Not really the best setup, if you ask me."
"Great, well write up what you find and get it to me as soon as you can. Thanks."
"Sure, no problem."
She left and went to pick up Mahoney before heading back to the PD. "Did you get anything?" she asked when she pulled up beside him.
Mahoney shook his head. "No, did you?" He climbed into the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt.
"We've got a time frame, around 2:20 a.m., and Ray's now onboard with thinking it could be an employee, so I'm going to talk to Chief Lee about going undercover and see what I can find out that way. I'm thinking they are either all in on it or covering for whoever did it."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll jump back on the background checks and see if we can find a motive that way."
"Thanks." Amber parked her car, and they went inside. She went straight to the chief's door and knocked.
"Come in."
Amber opened the door. "Ma'am?"
"Detective, have a seat. What have you found out about the Kelley case?"
Amber went in and Chief Lee gestured for her to sit. "We have a time frame, and we've ruled out the three boys Ray caught shoplifting earlier last week. Mahoney and I canvassed the neighborhood behind the gas station, but so far, none of the neighbors noticed anything. It was nearly two thirty in the morning, so I expected that. But . . . I should mention that several of the residents, without anything but prejudice, suspect Matt Cook of being the thief."
"I see. Have you ruled him out?"
"Ma'am, he's got a good paying job at Parks and Rec, he's married, has a family now, and he's turned his life around. And he was never a thief, just got into to trouble for underage drinking, some vandalism, and reckless driving as a teenager. I don't think he's behind it."
Chief Lee nodded. "I tend to agree with you, but should any credible evidence lead to him, look into him."
"I will, ma'am."
"Any other leads?"
"I’m leaning toward it being an inside job. I want to go undercover, work the night shift at Kelley's and see if I can get one of the employees to confide in me."
Chief Lee nodded. "All right, I'll authorize that for a short time. Three weeks should be enough time, don't you think?"
"I think so. Thank you, ma'am. I'll put together a false identity or use one I've used previously if it will work and get things set up with Ray."
"And you're sure Ray himself isn't involved?" Chief Lee gazed at her across the desk.
"Yes, ma'am. I don't think Ray would do something like this. Granted, I don't know him all that well, and we're still checking him out too, but financially, he's got no reason to have done it." Amber couldn't imagine the man robbing his own store. What reason would he have? From the financial check Mahoney had done, she knew the store was successful. Ray wasn't hurting for money, and it was only a few thousand dollars' worth of merchandise and cash. Seemed too small-scale to be him.
"If you're sure. Just stop in here and update me when you can."
"I will." Amber smiled and stood up. "Mahoney is still working on those background checks, so if anything comes up that way, I'll let you know."
"All right. Was there anything else?" she asked.
"No, ma'am."
"Then you're dismissed."
Amber left the office and went to her desk. Once she was seated, she pulled out a file of false identities she'd used before and flipped through them. She came across one she'd used last year for a stolen dog case that had turned into a little bit more. Carrie Blake, twenty-one, resident of California, college student at Seattle North, niece of Bryn and Wyatt Forsythe, one of the wealthy families who lived on Liar's Island part-time. Technically, they only lived on Liar's Island about a month out of every year and spent the rest of the year traveling all over the world on their yacht. Amber set the identity aside and checked on where the Forsythes were at that moment.
Excellent, she thought, seeing they were currently in Greece, and from there, they'd be heading to Monaco. Bryn Forsythe liked to document their activities on Instapix, which Bryn had told her when she created the Carrie Blake identity. Bryn's puppy had been stolen while they were away, and because few people knew the Forsythes’ extended family, Amber had posed as her niece to find her. She had figured that the Forsythes would be away since it was getting to be the cold season—they always were—and she was glad to see that she was correct in her assumption. She picked up the desk phone and dialed the Forsythe residence.
"Good afternoon, Forsythe residence. William speaking, how might I help you?"
"William, it's Amber."
"Amber, it is lovely to hear from you, if a bit unexpected," the Forsythes' butler replied.
Amber smiled. "I know. I have a favor to ask."
"What can I do to help?"
"I'm going to be using my Carrie Blake identity. I just wanted to warn you in case someone makes an inquiry."
"I see. I will be sure to cover for you, dear. I hope it's nothing dangerous?"
"No, of course not. I'm working on a robbery case, nothing too dangerous, I promise."
"Good to know. Now, was there anything else?"
"No, but how is Annabelle?" she asked.
"She is loving the toys you brought by. You'll have to come for a visit. She would love to see you. She gets tired of just being around me." William chuckled.
Amber's smile grew. "I will come by tomorrow and take her out in the yard to play with her."
"I will let her know."
"Thanks, William. I'll see you tomorrow."
"We will be looking forward to seeing you. Goodbye."
Amber hung up the phone and p
ulled the fake ID and birth certificate from the file, along with the pair of round glasses that matched the picture on the California driver's license. She pulled out the character reference about Carrie and her family and studied it. She wanted to make sure she had it down pat again so if anyone asked her questions, she'd be able to answer without hesitation. It was always best to know the answers beforehand and not make something up on the spot, because that could lead to mistakes.
Carrie Blake is a college student from California studying journalism. Last time she'd used the identity, it had been summer and she'd been 'visiting' her aunt. This time, she might need a different reason to be on the island, so she decided Carrie had needed a break from school after she'd had a bad break-up with her longtime boyfriend, Josh. Amber decided to write it all down in the notes.
Carrie is here on the island, staying at her aunt and uncle's place for a change of scenery while she clears her head. She decided a job might help keep her mind off Josh, and that’s why she's taken a job at fill-in-the-blank.
It was a history that would work well for just about any occasion, so she didn't put in Kelley's, just left it as a blank line. She liked the identity and had enjoyed being Carrie during the puppy-napping case, which had turned out to be a group of teen boys who were running a dog breeding business and had taken Annabelle as a brood mare. Luckily, Amber had gotten there in time and Annabelle hadn't been hurt, but she had become pregnant. The boys involved, all fourteen to seventeen, had all been charged with animal cruelty—the conditions they kept the dogs in was appalling. They were sentenced to juvie for several months as well as community service. Seeing the dogs were healthy at least, she guessed that the boys got what they deserved. Had any of the animals died from forced breeding or giving birth, she would have fought for a stronger punishment. She figured the reason they hadn't been more successful with it was due mostly to the boys having no idea what they were doing. It turned out they'd been planning to sell the puppies as designer to make money off rich women on the island and in Seattle. In the end, Annabelle had borne a healthy three-puppy litter and Bryn had gifted the offspring to friends who'd found them adorable, and then she'd had Annabelle fixed so she wouldn't have to go through that again.