“Interesting.”Archer glanced at the bench.“Mind if I sit?”
Atticus scooted to the left, giving Archer room beside him.
“What brings you out here?”
“I’m tryin’ to find a statue.”
“What kind of statue?”
“Bronze.Life-size.School mascot.It’s a horse.Or a mustang, I guess they call it.”
“Ah.Gotcha.I assume someone stole it?”
He was grateful Archer wasn’t laughing his ass off.“Looks like it.Although I think it was more of a prank.”
“That makes sense.Where was it last?”
“Coyote Ridge High School.In the front.”
“High school.I saw signs for the homecoming game and dance,” Archer mused.“I could definitely see someone relocating it as a prank.When did it go missing?”
“Monday night or sometime early Tuesday.”
“Has anyone stolen it before?”
Atticus looked at Archer.“That’s a damn good question.Based on Callie’s reaction—she’s the high school principal—I’d say no.At least not on her watch.”
“Okay, then.”
“Wouldn’t it be difficult to steal?”Atticus asked, still genuinely confused about how someone would’ve rehomed the damn thing.
“Not exactly.If you can figure out what they used, then you could check places that have that equipment.And that should lead to who,” Archer told Atticus.
“Do you think it’s that simple?”For whatever reason, Atticus didn’t want to let the school down.More importantly, he didn’t want to be known as the asshole who let the school down.
“I can tell you that moving it isn’t as hard as you’d think,” Archer said, staring out at the park.“A forklift and a trailer would be all you’d really need.”
Atticus tried to play it out in his head, but couldn’t.“A forklift?I seriously don’t see someone drivin’ away with it on a forklift.”
“That’s what the trailer’s for.”
“How would you get under it to hoist it up?”
Archer leaned back.“If it were me, I’d use heavy-duty straps.Wrap them under and around the statue, loop them over the forks”—he used hand motions to explain—“then use the lift to raise it high enough to get a trailer under.Once it’s there, lower it.Then drive it away.”
Well, shit.That was simple.And would be relatively unobtrusive in the dark.No wonder no one saw them take it.
“Would they need a heavy-duty forklift?”
“Not necessarily.A good one, sure.A lot of ’em will lift up to five thousand pounds easily.”
“And you know so much about forklifts, why?”
“I worked a missing statue case before.Art gallery, though.Not as big, but more delicate.The thief used air sleds to get it to the loading dock, then hoisted it up with a forklift and moved it right into the back of a truck.”
“So we’re lookin’ for someone who owns or has access to a forklift?”Atticus asked.
“Sounds like it.”Archer glanced his way.
