“Sure. I don’t see why not.”
At least she wasn’t getting stonewalled like in Florida, she thought to herself.
“Come on back.” The officer pressed a button to release the security door. “I’ll print out a copy for you.”
Maggie walked through the metal detector. She was surprised at how accommodating the officer was. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
The officer typed a few sentences and then hit the print button. A whirring sound emanated from a large printer. He walked over and pulled out the two sheets of paper. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Maggie looked down at the bare bones report. “No one has come forward with any information?”
“Not to my knowledge. I’m the one who gets to do the transcript input.”
Maggie reached into her bag and pulled out a business card. “If you get any updates, can you please give me a call? I’d be most appreciative, and I’ll be sure to mention the cooperation of the Tempe Police Department.”
“Sure thing.” He tapped the card in his palm, then tossed it in the garbage can as soon as Maggie was out the door.
Another officer entered the room. “What was that all about?”
“A reporter from Washington, D.C. Says she’s working on a story about hit-and-run accidents across the country. Wanted to know about the Sunnydale thing.”
“I hope you didn’t give her the real report.”
“Nah. Just the same one you gave Gallagher for the car rental agency.”
“Good. We don’t want to get anyone at Sunnydale in an uproar. They donate a lot of money to our PBA.”
“Sir? There really wasn’t much of a difference in the two reports.”
“I know, but the one you gave her does not mention failed security on Sunnydale’s part.”
“But that doesn’t mean they broke the law.”
“True, but we don’t want there to be any reason for anyone to want to investigate this further. They told us there was no footage because of an upgrade, and we took their word for it. End of story. Got it?”
“Absolutely.”
Maggie sat in her car for a few minutes. She hadn’t been inside the station long enough for the interior to be unbearable. She flipped through the pages. “No mention of CCTV out of service. Huh. Now why would they omit that?” She scanned the documents and uploaded them to the mainframe at Pinewood. Maggie looked through her notes from Theresa. Sure enough, Theresa said that she was told there was no security footage, so why did the police leave it out of the report? Things were getting murkier by the minute.
She drove back to the airport, where Roger and the Gulfstream were waiting. With the difference in time zones, Maggie calculated that it would be past midnight before she arrived in Florida. Once they were airborne, she pushed her seat back into a reclining position and decided to get in a few winks. It had already been a long day.
Pinewood
Myra and Annie were filling out the online forms for tenancy at the two Sunnydale locations. Within minutes of their submissions, their cellphones were ringing. Myra took her call in the atrium, and Annie moved to the kitchen.
Both were greeted by the voices of mature women. Both recorded the conversations. When the calls were complete, both realized the women they had been speaking to were working from a script. Almost verbatim. Once the initial interviews were over, Annie and Myra agreed to forward the last three months of their bank statements.The false ones, of course.
Within twenty-four hours, both were accepted to Sunnydale. Both could move in as soon as they wanted. They were told, “New accommodations were opening up regularly.”
Annie asked if she could bring her own golf cart, but unfortunately it was prohibited. Residents were asked to lease them. Myra felt relieved. “At least the seniors in Arizona will be safe from your driving.”
“Aren’t you the funny one?” Annie smirked. “When do we leave?”
“I told them I would arrive the day after tomorrow to look at the available accommodations. If everything was to my liking, I would arrange for my belongings to be shipped. But here’s something interesting. I, too, am to meet with Edith Clayton. You don’t suppose she’s the main warden there?”
“It would make sense if they are running a tight ship. The fewer decision-making people there are, the easier it is to keep track.”
“I agree. The more we find out, the shiftier it seems.” Myra nodded.
