Much later, after the uniforms had been hurriedly sent to the address on the security camera repairman’s work order, Micele looked up as Ivana lightly dropped from the hole where a panel of the ceiling had been removed - and which he’d had the distinct pleasure of boosting her into a short time ago - onto the countertop. The tech, of course, had already photographed the surface. Now, Ivana dropped to the floor, studied the marks in the fresh coating of dust that’d dropped with her, stepped back into her heels, and nodded. “This building was built first,” she nodded to Micele and the owner as the watchman stared in amazement at the lithe figure. “There were high windows that were covered over when the one next door was built, but the openings were never filled. Maybe a previous tenant had flowers up on the ledges, or something.” She shrugged. “Who knows? Anyway, the repairman had a little bitty female helper, and I’ll just bet she has a sister.”
“What makes you think so?” Micele frowned.
“Easy,” she shrugged. “The evidence told me what had happened, then the security DVD’s,” she emphasized to Gelb, “told me how. The second girl slipped in, climbed the ladder, and hid on the ledge, watching a remote monitor, I’ll bet - something small and hand held - and waited. Her butt-print’s in the dust. The repairman and the first girl finished their job and left. She stayed. Check him out, too, Mike,” she said, waggling a finger at the cop, “before busting his chops. He may never have known the second babe was up there. She looked so much like the first one, in fact, I’ll bet nobody paid any attention when she walked right into the shop with a tool. The thing is, I counted. She walked in one more time than she walked out. Went up the ladder, said hi to sis, settled in and waited. When Brosky took his lunch break, she dropped from her hideaway - after setting ten minutes on this little goodie, which turned the security system linefeeds off.” Grinning, she handed a very small electrical component to the surprised detective. “So much for the ten minute jump in the security recording date/time stamps we wondered about, eh? Then she went into the office, opened the safe,” she held up a finger for emphasis, “left the big stuff alone, took just a couple stones from each tray of the smaller ones, very carefully replaced each tray, then quietly relocked the safe. Then she left by the front door. No muss. No fuss. Nothing apparently out of place, and it might’ve been a year, even longer, before you inventoried those stones, Siggy, and came up short. As for tonight?” She shrugged. “Just an alarm glitch! Sure the door was unlocked, but who would’ve suspected anything? I’d change the way the camera in the office is aimed, though, by the way,” she winked at Gelb. “That’s how she got the combination.”
“Tomorrow!” he declared. “I’ll watch the guy every minute, too!”
“Learns quick!” she grinned, heading for the door while sighing tiredly. “Well. I’ll just let you guys clean up, if you don’t mind. It’s way, way past my bedtime.”
Micele walked her to the door, not saying a thing until they got there. “Okay, Ivana! I’m curious. You were looking around as soon as you walked in. How’d you know a crime had even taken place?” he asked, opening the door.
“I didn’t. Not for sure, Mike. Not until Siggy counted his stones. It was this door, actually,” she chuckled, patting the frame lightly. “Usually, when a door’s open that’s supposed to be locked, it means somebody went through the thing. If they did, they had to have come from somewhere. They hadn’t come in, or Brosky would’ve seen them when he came rushing from the back. Right? So they had to’ve gone out. Had to be. After that, it was just a matter of figuring where the someone had come from. As my boss’d say, it was all right there in front of you; all you had to do was look. Might want to put more carrots in your diet, Micele. They’re good for the eyes, you know.”
Giggling merrily, she patted his cheek, leaving him standing there, shaking his head. Chuckling quietly to himself, he watched her walk into the shadows and home.
Finally.
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