Chief Inspector Simmons twirled the pencil between his fingers as McGill took a seat in front of his desk. “So, Detective McGill, what did you discover?”
McGill quickly dug out a small notebook. “Well, I’ve pretty much determined the basic facts of the case. A couple of old instruments—neither of them particularly valuable—are missing, along with a handful of musical scores.”
“And?”
“And not very much else at this point. I talked to the manager who described what was missing. He seemed a little surprised that anyone would bother to steal a couple of old instruments and a handful of scores.”
“Is there a sense that this wasn’t a simple robbery?”
“The manager, a Mr. Winston, didn’t go that far. He just made the point that whoever did this is not going to have much of a payday when he tries to unload the stolen goods.”
Simmons frowned. "Look, Detective McGill, I assigned you to this case because I assumed you knew something about these music people. I’ve heard rumors about the possibility of an inside job.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, sir, what was the source of those rumors?”
“Not that it’s really your concern, Detective, but I’m told that the chair of the orchestra’s Board—a Mr. Wilfrid Carter, I believe—has suggested to somebody in the Deputy Commissioner’s office that the perpetrator might be somebody who has a vendetta against the orchestra.”
McGill shook in head in amazement. “I’m flabbergasted that someone in the Deputy Commissioner’s office would give the time of day to something like this. This looks to me like petty thievery conducted by some not-particularly-bright criminals.”
“Well, this Mr. Carter apparently has some friends in high places, not to mention being very wealthy and a major donor to the mayor’s last campaign.”
“Do we have any idea at all as to why Mr. Carter would make such an allegation?”
Simmons frowned. “It’s not exactly an allegation, McGill. It’s just something to keep in the back of your mind. Apparently there’s been some in-fighting lately…some bad blood between different factions of the organization.”
“I heard a little about some tension regarding the new conductor, who’s just about to step down—presumably a temporary thing.”
“Yeah, well that’s the kind of thing I want you to keep your ears open to. How far has your investigation proceeded to this point?”
“So far I’ve only spoken to Winston. He seemed to have all the salient facts. But I’ve got a list of other possible contacts that I can pursue. Apparently the music librarian, a Samantha Gibbons, was the last person to leave the orchestra’s building the night before so she might have heard or seen something.”
“How about the stolen goods? Any sign of them?”
“I have done some checking around— pawn shops, music stores. I spent a few minutes on EBay. So far nothing suspicious has turned up.”
“Keep at it, please. I would like to be able to report something more than that in case somebody over my head starts making some noise.”