The safe was not small. Whoever took it had either come prepared with tools and time or known exactly what they were doing.
Likely both. Rad glanced out the glass doors. He’d have to walk a path through the yard into the woods.
His phone rang just as he was crouched beside the closet baseboard, checking for scrape patterns.
He glanced at the screen.
It was Margo.
Rad’s heart did a stupid little flip he would have denied under oath.
“Hi.” He stood and answered at once.
“Hi.” Margo’s voice was softer than usual, but steadier than it had been since the fire. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” Rad said automatically, then corrected himself because she always seemed to hear the truth anyway. “A bit hoarse still, but fine. How are you feeling?”
There was a pause.
“Better.” Margo’s voice also sounded a little rough still.
“Have you gone back to Teacups?” He leaned one shoulder against the wall, turning slightly away from Sienna.
“No,” Margo answered him. “And you?”
“No,” Rad told her, feeling like he was sixteen and having a very awkward phone call with a girl he had a crush on.
“Have you spoken to your father or June at the police station yet?” Margo moved the conversation away from the trap they were falling into.
“No. I haven’t seen my father since breakfast.” Rad frowned, worry slicing through him. “Why? Has something happened?”
“June and your father will explain it later this afternoon,” Margo said. “Can you make a meeting at the Sandpiper Inn? I’m setting up the meeting room for a briefing on the fires, incidents, and accidents.”
“Sure. What time?” Rad’s eyes narrowed.
“About four-thirty,” Margo told him.
“I can be there.” Rad picked up his notebook and jotted it down. “Do I need to bring anything?”
“No. Just come with whatever information you can offer to the case.” Margo sounded like she was walking and working as she spoke. He could hear objects being moved and put down in the background.
Rad’s mind briefly flipped to the envelope still in his car and the information he’d just gotten from Sienna about the jewelry. “All right.”
“Well,” Margo said, and he could hear the faint movement of things being shifted in the background, “I’ll see you this afternoon.”
“See you then.” They hung up.
He finished the scene work as efficiently as he could. A few partial prints looked usable. Not many. The damage to the wall told him the thief had worked with force but not recklessly. There was no pointless destruction, no scattered drawers, no amateur mess. Whoever had done it knew what they wanted and where it was. This also indicated it was one of those six names on the list.
“Sienna, did any of the cleaning crew know what was in this closet?” Rad asked her.
“No.” Sienna shook her head. “It was always closed. I rarely open it.”
When he finally stripped off the gloves, Sienna straightened from where she had been standing by the window.
“I’ve finished,” he told her.
“And?” Sienna’s brows lifted in expectation as if he’d been able to solve it just by taking evidence.
