Gone Too Far (Devlin & Falco #2) - Debra Webb Page 0,78
way he’d entered.”
Sadie nodded. “He didn’t attempt to restrain you or disable your phone?”
“He did cut the phone line outside. Otherwise, he seemed to be in a hurry to get upstairs. I can only imagine that he was after the notes in Asher’s room. There isn’t anything else of negotiable value.”
Something about the scenario didn’t quite fit. The intruder couldn’t have known how long it would take to find whatever he was looking for. He couldn’t have known that Naomi hated cell phones and only had the landline. He damned sure couldn’t know about the hidden notes upstairs.
Unless someone had briefed him on what to expect.
“Naomi, has anyone been in your home since Asher’s death or shortly before, besides Asher, myself, and the two detectives, Falco and Devlin, who visited you?”
A frown furrowed the older woman’s brow as she considered the question. “The day before I learned Asher had been murdered, the Alabama Power inspector came in to check my breaker box. There was some concern about the electrical meter, but all was well. I think it was the morning before . . .” She shook her head. “No, no. I’m wrong. That would have been a Sunday. It was on Monday. Early. Around eight thirty or so, just before I got the awful news about Asher.”
“Did this man show you any sort of identification?”
“Of course. I would never have allowed him inside otherwise. What are you getting at, Sadie?”
“I’d like you to write down everything you remember about how this man looked and what he was wearing. While you do that, I’m going to have a look around.”
“Very well.” Naomi picked up the notepad and pen lying on the table next to her chair and set to the task.
Sadie started with Walsh’s room. One by one, she went through each upstairs space, checking all the typical places for bugs. Lampshades, smoke detectors, movable decor objects. Beneath tabletops. On light fixtures.
Nothing.
Downstairs she did the same.
Beneath the table next to Naomi’s chair was the first bug. When she retrieved it, Sadie put a finger to her lips to ensure Naomi said nothing.
“Did you finish up with your description?”
“Finishing now,” Naomi said with a nod. She focused on writing the description of the visitor as Sadie continued around the downstairs area. She found bug number two in the kitchen. At the kitchen sink, she ran a glass of water and dropped each device into the water. When she returned to the living room, Naomi looked astonished.
“You think the man who came by Monday morning claiming to be from the power company planted those devices?”
“I do. I don’t mind keeping twenty-four-hour surveillance on your home, but I’m not sure that’s enough to keep you safe. I’d feel a lot better if you’d allow me to set you up someplace to stay until this is over.”
“Really, I’m fine,” Naomi argued.
“I need all my resources. It would be better for my investigation if I could focus all those resources on finding out what happened to Asher.”
“Well, I certainly can’t argue with that.”
Sadie would bet money that was the first and only time this lawyer had ever said those words.
“I know just the place,” Sadie assured her.
A quick call to Doug Angelo, a friend she’d met through Pauley, and Naomi’s minivacation to an exclusive spa resort for seniors just south of Birmingham was in the works.
“Did your detective friends mention if they discovered anything at the warehouses?”
Sadie slid her cell into her back pocket. “What warehouses do you mean?” She hadn’t spoken to Falco or Devlin today.
“The ones I lease down by the port. Like you, they were attempting to come up with a reasonable scenario for why my sister flies into Birmingham each month. God knows it isn’t to see me.” She removed the page from the notepad upon which she’d written the description and handed it to Sadie. “I passed along what you discovered about her monthly visits. Like you, they seemed to think it was worth a follow-up.”
“I’ll give Falco a call and see what—if anything—they found.”
A knock on the door drew Sadie’s attention there. “I’ll get it. It’s probably Barton.”
She checked the peephole, and it was him. After opening the door, Sadie stepped onto the porch. “Did you get a hit on the guy’s license plate?”
Luckily Barton had captured the plate number in a pic on his cell. He had a friend at the DMV who helped him out at times like this.