At the Scene of the Crime Read Online Free PDF Page B

When McDuff comes back on the line, I ask, “When was the last retrofit?”
    Nichols answer comes through.
    Ten years ago.
    McDuff says he’s on his way back to the library and I sign off.
    The next call I put through is to the search team making a sweep of the building. They’d started on the top floor of the five-story building and were making their way down. I tell them to send a team to the basement and look for an old furnace room.
    Byers has been watching me. Not out of concern. Her expression is detached, more curious than anxious. I’m about to start back to her when my cell phone rings again.
    “Fitzgerald? This is Dan Lowrey from the computer lab. Ran through the tape you sent us of the vault. Had no idea librarians were so frisky.”
    “Meaning?”
    “The tape from last night? Twenty-two minutes of nonstop sex in glorious color. Followed by ten minutes of black screen. Then, the camera is
back on and the books are missing.”
    Whoa. Not what I expected to hear. “Have the tapes been doctored in any way?”
    “It’s possible. We’ll look at that next. Just thought you might want a preliminary report.”
    I snap my phone shut. Simmons thought she’d erased the tape. I look over at her. She’s talking to the uniform, gesturing toward Byers, her posture tense, angry, incredulous. She admitted to erasing the tape. Obviously, the tape she erased was not the one she expected it to be. That tape must have been removed before she got to it.
    I cross the room and tell the uniform he can go back to Byers. Simmons’s expression is wary.
    “Ms. Simmons, I just heard from the computer lab. The tape we took from the player isn’t missing any time. At least, not the time you were with Talbot in the vault.”
    Color drains from her face. “That’s not possible. I took careful note of the time. I erased ten minutes before and ten minutes after . . . after what we did.”
    “Did you watch the tape before you erased it?”
    “Of course not. Why would I? I used the time indicator on the control. I was very precise.”
    I feel Byers’s eyes on me. When I glance over, she’s watching us.
    Simmons’s voice is tipping quickly to hysteria. “Do you mean what we did is on the tape?” She looks past me to Byers. “She did that, didn’t she? She must have stayed behind and switched out the tape before I got to it. That’s what she meant by something showing up on the Internet. She copied it.” She stops. Suspicion flashes in her eyes. “What else? What else did she do to the tape?”
    “We’re not sure she did anything, Ms. Simmons. But I will tell you that there was a ten-minute blackout on the tape and when taping resumed, the books were missing from the case.”
    Simmons jaw tightens. “She’s setting me up.”

    “I thought you said she wasn’t very computer savvy.”
    “That’s what she’s always told me.” Another flash of sudden awareness narrows her eyes. “Do I need a lawyer?”
    “Up to you. Of course, if you deal with us, tell us where the books are, you stand a much better chance of making a deal down the road.”
    Her jaw tightens. “I want a lawyer.”
    I shrug and gesture to a telephone on a nearby desk. “Your call.”
    McDuff has entered the lobby and we step off to the side. “Simmons has lawyered up.”
    He peers down at me. “You don’t look convinced she did it.”
    Once again, I feel Byers’s eyes on me. When I turn around, she’s watching with the same detached expression. I don’t acknowledge her, but focus again on McDuff.
    “What was up with Nichols? He acted more put out than concerned over the loss of such valuable university property.”
    McDuff shrugs. “The university is just recovering from a football sex scandal involving the entire offensive line and a call girl operation. It seriously impacted alumni funding. He’s afraid the bad publicity this is going to generate will exacerbate things.”
    Money. It always comes down to money.
    McDuff is looking over my