“Then they could run up that back stairway while we’re coming down the front one,” Randall went on.
“One of the guards came down that way,” I pointed out.
“But not right away,” Randall said. “If the killer was a guard, all he had to do was run up till he was out of sight and then come down again and pretend to be in on finding the crime scene with us. If it was anyone else working for the lender, he could just trot on past the guards, get rid of his bloodstained clothes, and go back to doing whatever he was supposed to be doing when the news broke.”
“Good point,” the chief said. “Did anyone happen to notice which guards came down here?”
“I made a point of checking their name tags,” Randall said.
“So you think the killer’s either a Flying Monkey who’ll be trying to barge in on my case,” the chief said, “or a corporate goon who’ll be complaining to you that I’m not moving fast enough and telling the media we’re not competent to handle a case of this magnitude.”
Randall nodded.
“And if they find out about the tunnel, the manure will really hit the fan,” Randall said. “Unless, of course, we can prove one of them is the killer. Aiding and abetting a trespasser will seem like pretty small potatoes next to arranging a murder.”
“So all we have to do is figure out which one of a tight-knit group of corporate crooks and their hired thugs committed a murder,” the chief said. “Not just figure it out, but prove it, and all before the crooks manage to manipulate public opinion to the point that we have to call in the State Bureau of Investigation or the FBI.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Randall said. “But that’s what we have to do. And if anyone can do it, we can.”
Randall looked at Sammy and then at me, as if including us in the “we.” Sammy, who had been looking on with big eyes, stood a little straighter and lifted his chin. I hoped I didn’t look as tired and pessimistic as I felt.
“Just one thing,” the chief said. “I gather you think this is a conspiracy?”
Randall frowned for a moment, then shrugged.
“Who the hell knows?” he asked. “I think some of them are capable. And if it wasn’t a conspiracy to kill her, it could easily turn into a conspiracy to cover it up. Even more of them are capable of that, if you ask me.”
The chief nodded, and took a deep breath.
“Sammy,” he said. “You’ve been through that confounded tunnel a couple of times, haven’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” Sammy said. “To help Rob and Mr. Throckmorton test Rob’s new game.”
“Tunnel bother you at all?” the chief asked.
“Well, I don’t much like it, if that’s what you mean, sir,” Sammy said. “But I can do it if I have to.”
“Good. Go in there ASAP and secure the basement. No one goes in or comes out without my orders. Keep Mr. Langslow and Mr. Throckmorton away from the barricade. Bag their hands so Horace can test them for gunshot residue. Don’t let them wash or do anything until he gets there.”
“Yes, sir,” Sammy said. He loped off.
“Meg, if you don’t mind, can you keep an eye on that back stairway till I can get another deputy in here?” the chief said. “While you’re there, call your brother. You heard what I just told Sammy—brief him.” I nodded and pulled out my cell phone as I took my place at the bottom of the stairs. I dialed Rob, but his phone rang on unanswered.
“Randall—you said that newspaper photographer was in here?” the chief was asking.
“Taking pictures the whole time,” Randall answered, with a nod.
“Let’s get his film,” the chief said. “I want to see his pictures.”
“These days a lot of those fellows use digital,” Randall said.
“Then I need whatever he’s storing the photos on,” the chief said. “I could have an officer seize his camera, but maybe you could handle it more diplomatically.”
“Can do,” Randall said.
Rob’s phone finally went to voice mail.
“Call me,” I said. “ASAP.”
“Make sure he understands we’re not trying to take them away from him,” the chief said. “He can have his camera back as soon as we get copies of his pictures, but we need to see everything he’s taken so far today.”
“As soon as I find him,” Randall said.
“Check with Vern,” the chief said. “By now he should have the folks from the Star-Trib rounded up along with all the guards. I told him to keep the witnesses in the big auditorium tent.”