Garrett stared in surprise. She really had tripped on to something. A possibility, at least.
“The site said that sometimes security wasn’t triggered by rooftop entry. Doors and windows were wired for intrusion, but not ceilings or walls. There were cases where the thieves were still in the building, or on the roof, even as the police arrived and the thieves still got away.”
“No one checked the roof?”
“No one asked about it. No one thought about them coming in from the top.”
Garrett picked up on her excitement, and felt the buzz of a possible lead with her new idea. “We should tell the police, let them check it out.”
“I want to do that first, at least at our store, and talk to my father and the other store owners about the security system. I never asked them about their roofs. I don’t want to give Detective Ramsey useless information,” she said, humming with so much excitement she was almost bouncing in place.
“Okay, then, let’s go,” Garrett said. “I guess I’m on board as your bodyguard?”
She bit her lip hesitantly, and then grinned. “Sure. You’re hired.”
* * *
TIFFANY SMILED AS she watched Garrett assess the slim access ladder that clung to the back of their building. It was only three stories up, not much at all.
“My brother and I used to climb up there all the time when we were at the store. Our parents would be furious, but we liked going up on the roof to play. The ladder is safe, you just have to watch your step. Although, if you’re squeamish…”
Garrett smirked, crossing his arms. “Where you go, I go.”
Tiffany nodded vaguely as she noticed something else at the base of the ladder.
“Look. Someone was here, there are footprints,” she said, taking out the small digital camera she’d carried with her and snapping several shots.
“Well, like you said, could be anyone. Kids, maintenance workers, whoever.”
“I just have a feeling....” she said, grasping the rungs of the ladder and stepping carefully over the spot she had photographed, not disturbing the prints that were there, and started to climb.
She was keenly aware of Garrett behind her, but she didn’t look back, paying attention to her foot and hand placement until they reached the top and she was up over the edge.
Sweeping her gaze over the surface of the flat, rectangular roof, disappointment hit her first. Nothing obvious jumped out to suggest anyone had been up here. What had she expected? That the thieves would have left a gaping hole in the roof?
She checked the edges first, looking for any evidence left behind, and worked her way inward, toward the large ventilation unit where Garrett joined her, examining the edges and kneeling down behind it.
“Here,” he said, and she moved quickly to join him.
“See,” he said, indicating something on the surface. “New roof tar. They covered their tracks.”
“It just looks like someone patched the roof.”
“Yep. Have you had any leaks or any repairs?”
“No,” she said, her excitement lifting again. “And I texted Dad. He said there is no wiring in the ceilings except for the sprinklers, but if they had a building plan, they could have worked around those.”
“Looks like you’ve found a solid lead, Tiff,” Garrett said, giving her an admiring look that made her feel amazing. “Let’s call Ramsey.”
“I will, I promise. But let me call the other store owners first and have them check their properties as well. Then it will carry even more weight.”
Garrett nodded, walking to the edge of the rooftop to admire the view while Tiffany made her calls. A few minutes later, she had left messages or talked to the other store managers, and found out, at least, that they all did have rooftop access to their buildings. They would get back to her if they found anything. She joined Garrett where he still stood, looking out over the street.
“It’s so exciting! I can’t believe I might have found such an important lead,” she said, and popped up on her toes to kiss him quickly.
His arm slipped around her shoulders, not letting her off the hook quite so easily as he lengthened the kiss by several delicious minutes. Tiffany didn’t mind, not one bit, and celebrated her breakthrough by enthusiastically responding.
“Hey, we’re kind of all alone up here,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Except for all of the people sitting or standing by the windows in all of these buildings towering around us,” she pointed out.
“Ah, right. I noticed some people have their rooftops set up like decks, with chairs, tables and grills, and there’s even a huge rooftop garden over there.” He pointed to a patch of green a few buildings down.
“People make the most of rooftops in most cities, I think, lacking yards and such, but it’s a big thing here. There are a lot of rooftop businesses, bars, restaurants, even public spaces like parks where you can go sit, have a cup of coffee and enjoy a different view of the city. I always thought it would be fun to have a rooftop patio, but my apartment only has its small balcony. The roof is off-limits to residents.”
“Interesting. I’d like to see some of those if we get a chance. They could be similar things in Philly, but I’m not aware of it. My only interest in rooftops, generally, has been for security purposes,” he said. “So, what next?”
“I’ll call Detective Ramsey, and maybe he can meet us here. Then…I guess I’ll start researching other rooftop jewel thefts that might have happened elsewhere, and see what I can find. I also have to check with the insurance investigator who is coming by. I left a key for him with the business next door, just in case, but I would like to be there when he is. Other than that, I guess I’m free until my parents are home tomorrow. Maybe we can do another quick sight-seeing tour,” she offered. “Coit Tower is beautiful, and we can walk back down Telegraph Hill to the waterfront.”
Before he could answer, her phone rang again, and she saw it was Armando, the manager she had had lunch with the day before.
“Tiffany, you were right—our roof also shows evidence of a new patch. I saw it when I went up there one morning, but thought my grandfather had simply ordered a repair. However, there is no record in our ledgers of paying for a roof repair,” Armando said darkly, clearly not happy about the discovery. “I can’t believe the police missed this. I have called our local department already to come investigate, though no doubt any lingering evidence has been washed away in the rains since,” he said in disgust.
“Thank you, Armando. You’re probably right, but this is important. What is the name of the detective investigating your robbery? I am going to call the police, now, too, and I will let them know so that they can get in touch.”
After scribbling down the name, Tiffany hung up.
“His roof showed recent patching as well. He’s called the police, so I should call Ramsey right now,” she said, carried away by the moment, and eager to tell the detective about the lead she had found.
After she did that, she took a breath, facing Garrett again. “He’s on his way—he sounded doubtful at first, but then I told him about the other stores, and he definitely got more interested. He’ll meet us downstairs, and send an evidence team up here. I guess they might have to open up the roof again to see how the thieves got from here to there.”
Tiffany chewed her lip, thinking as they made their way back down to the ground again, once more careful to not disrupt the footprints, but then she froze.
“Oh, no!”
“What?” Garrett said, frowning.
“I was so busy thinking about the footprint that I didn’t even think about fingerprints on the ladder, and now ours are all over them!” she said, shaking her head in disgust.
“Hmm. I didn’t think of that, either, but chances are that these guys are too good to have not worn gloves through the whole operation, and very likely those boot prints you found are the only evidence left behind. The cops can still check for prints, and filter ours out, but I bet
there aren’t any. These thieves are too professional to be that sloppy.”
“I can’t wait to hear what they find out from the boot print!” she said excitedly.
“Maybe nothing, maybe a lot—the guy’s size, weight, shoe size, possibly the kind of shoe and where it came from. It could lead to something, who knows? What matters is that you’re the one who found it,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” she said proudly.
“You sure did,” he said as they walked around the building and Tiffany let them inside the store. The phone on the desk was blinking with messages, probably from customers and who knew who else.
“I should check those, just to make sure it’s nothing urgent,” she said apologetically.
“No problem. I’ll keep an eye out for Ramsey, and I have a few calls to make as well,” he said.
Tiffany listened to the messages and took notes for her parents, as most of it was business they would have to respond to as well as a message from the insurance investigator that he had already come the afternoon before, and would contact them with his site report as soon as possible. He would also want to interview them for filing the final version, of course.
“That was fast,” Tiffany said, feeling a bit guilty about not being at the store to talk to the guy when he was there, but if she hadn’t been out talking to the other managers the afternoon before, she might never have come to the realization about the rooftop entry, so maybe it evened out.
“They’re here,” Garrett alerted her, and she looked up to see Detective Ramsey exiting his car at the front of the store.
Taking a deep breath so she could be as calm and collected as possible, she welcomed the detective inside although his attention immediately went to Garrett.
“You found something?”
“Tiffany did,” Garrett replied smoothly, gesturing toward her, which the detective followed.
“And how is it that you tripped onto this idea of the rooftop entry?” the detective asked, still clearly doubtful.
“I was rechecking a few things, and while I was brainstorming—”
“Brainstorming?” Ramsey echoed.
“Yes, while I was brainstorming ideas about the case—”
“Wait. Why would you be—”
“Are you going to let me finish what I’m saying, or are you going to keep interrupting me?” Tiffany asked tartly, and saw Garrett hide a smile behind a discreet clearing of his throat.
The detective blew out a breath. “Okay, sorry.”
“I remembered a book I read where someone had broken into buildings through the roof. It seemed possible, so we took a chance and checked it out. Someone has been up there. There are footprints at the base of the ladder, and a fresh patch where the roof was cut through recently,” she said, her excitement mounting.
Ramsey definitely looked interested now.
“What makes you think it’s not just a repair?”
“My father owns this building, and so any repair would have shown up on the books. Also, one of the other stores that was robbed also has a patched roof where there was no repair scheduled. Don’t you see? This is how they get in—security usually covers the entrances, windows, but not the walls or the roof.”
Detective Ramsey said nothing, but turned away, flipping his phone open and muttering a few things into it before turning back to them.
“I have some lab guys on the way to check it out. We’ll need your prints to eliminate them from the scene. We’re probably going to have to cut the roof open again,” he cautioned.
“That’s fine,” Tiffany agreed. She knew her parents would want this solved, even at the cost of a roof repair.
“So, my other question is, why would you be talking to the other stores? And why would they be giving you information when they were told to keep quiet?” Ramsey asked, pinning her with a look, hands on his hips.
Tiffany figured she had to come clean, and so she reached into her purse, pulling out her wallet and her small California P.I. license.
“I’m a private investigator. I thought maybe I could help, since you weren’t, um, coming up with much,” she said, trying to be tactful about it.
“You’re a P.I.?” Ramsey said in surprise, looking her up and down.
“Well, I’m new, and—”
“And she’s doing a hell of a job, wouldn’t you say, Detective?” Garrett broke in, taking the wallet back and giving it to Tiffany.
“I have to admit, it’s a good lead. My team should be here shortly. Stick around. I might have more questions. I’m going to call for a warrant to grab any local camera footage that could be directed at that alley. We already checked out the door, but didn’t get much there, so hopefully this will turn up something,” he said. And then to Tiffany, “This is good, but I’m going to ask you to stop looking into this now. We’ll take it from here,” he told her in a tone that brooked no arguments before exitingout the door.
“Cameras,” Tiffany said aloud. “I didn’t even think of that. But he can’t tell me to stop investigating—can he?” she said, looking at Garrett.
“You’ve given him a lot. Let’s see what they can shake out now, with their resources, and just back off a little,” Garrett said, much to her disappointment. “You want the police to work with you, not to see you as a thorn in their side. TV might make that out to be entertaining, but if you really want to do this for a living, you have to learn to compromise sometimes,” he said.
She knew he was right, but this was all so invigorating, she didn’t want to bow out now, just when things were getting good.
“This whole private investigator thing is kind of a turn-on,” he said teasingly, walking her backward against one of the glass cases, and burying his face in her neck, nibbling there until little sparks were flying all over her skin.
“Garrett, the police are right outside, they could come in. We can’t,” she said as he tugged her T-shirt free and ran his hand up underneath.
“They’re out back, up on the roof. We have some time. Maybe we could go back in the office, for some privacy,” he suggested.
His hardness against her stomach was very, very enticing.
“Maybe, if we were fast…and quiet,” she agreed, sliding her hand down the front of him and swallowing his moan in a kiss.
Things were heating up considerably when a voice cut through their heated clinch.
“Tiffany?” a familiar voice, somewhat outraged, asked.
Tiffany knew that voice. As Garrett backed away, she peeked out around his shoulder, her face red as she hoped she could melt into the carpet out of mortification. Her parents were staring at them, eyes wide and full of disbelief.
“You’re back a day early,” Tiffany said weakly, stating the obvious.
“We got lucky on standby. We were so worried about you, and what was going on here,” her father said. Then, scrutinizing Garrett, he asked in a more steely tone,“What is going on here?”
Tiffany took a deep breath, putting distance between herself and Garrett and she knew she was smiling too brightly, but she couldn’t seem to unclench her jaw.
“Dad, Mom, this is Garrett Berringer. Garrett, these are my parents, Robert and Laura Walker,” she said, glancing up at Garrett who seemed very pale.
“Mr. and Mrs. Walker, so nice to meet you,” he said with calmness that she admired. Tiffany shared his relief when they both spotted Detective Ramsey in the doorway.
Tiffany discreetly pushed the edge of her shirt back inside of her jeans—a move her mother noted with a disapproving look—and turned her attention to Ramsey.
The cavalry, she thought.
8
“YOU DEFINITELY FOUND something up on the roof,” the detective said, and Tiffany held his gaze, avoiding her parents’ stare.
“You found some evidence?” she asked anxiously.
“Nothing concrete yet, but this is a good lead. They certainly knew the building and cut through precisely at a spot
where access to a ventilation shaft allowed them to slip down into an upper hallway undetected. I can’t believe we didn’t think of it,” the detective admitted sheepishly. “I’ll give credit where it’s due. If you hadn’t started your own inv—”
“It was just one of those crazy ideas,” Tiffany interrupted him, sliding a look at her parents. “Garrett and I noticed a fresh patch on the roof, and I realized it was how the robbers probably got in,” she said quickly to fill in her parents, who looked a bit dazed.
“The roof? What were you doing up on the roof?” her father asked.
“I was just showing Garrett the view,” she said, giving the confused detective a look that she hoped he knew not to mention her contributions to the cause.
“Right, well, we’ve dusted for prints, and nothing there, and we’ve taken a cast of the boot print, though it looks like a standard work boot, so that might not lead to much,” the detective said.
“So you don’t think this will break the case?” Tiffany asked, disappointment coloring her tone.
“You never know. We can learn a lot from that cut in, the materials they used, the tools… It could lead to something, but it will be a few days until we know anything. And we can talk to the other store owners,” he said, giving her a similar look back that she knew meant “keep your nose out.”
Tiffany frowned in frustration. She’d found her first big lead, and her hands were being tied. She understood what Garrett said, that she needed to cultivate a positive relationship with the police department—P.I.s in books and on TV were always asking police counterparts for help—so she would try, but it would be difficult. If she’d found this lead, she might be able to find even more if she kept trying.
As if reading her mind, Garrett discreetly, barely shook his head in the negative, and she looked up to find the detective staring at her as well. Were both men reading her mind?
She rolled her eyes. “Well, we’ll all be anxious to know what you find. I’m glad this could help,” she said, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt.
“Our guys will cover up the roof and tape the scene off once they’re done—no more climbing up there for now, if you don’t mind. We’ll be in touch if we find anything new,” Ramsey said with a smile that encouraged Tiffany somewhat. Maybe he’d be willing to at least keep her in the loop.
Yours for the Night Page 11