I kissed him, offered him coffee, and got dressed in black pants and a plain blue blouse with pearl buttons. It was a little more formal than my usual attire but I planned to visit the bank. Sure, it wasn't my case but Maddox was right. I needed to look at the scene again with fresh eyes. There had to be a clue we missed, and perhaps something would trigger a memory of the heist. Then I could concentrate on the Takahashi case without interruption.
I explained my idea over breakfast to Solomon and he nodded.
"I'm not sure what you'll find or even if they cleaned up the bank vault yet but it's a good idea to take another look," he said. "I'm working with the team to track down Thomas Mackleton's movements. He has priors so that might give us some insight into his associates."
"Are Garrett and Jord happy to work together with you on that?"
Solomon tipped his head in contemplation. "So they said. We all know it makes more sense to cooperate in terms of both time and knowledge. We can discuss our findings as Garrett requested."
I left the house first, driving over to the bank in Solomon's car when he assured me Delgado would collect him and someone else would retrieve the pool car from Lily's bar. I contemplated arriving at First Eastern Bank unannounced but Solomon had suggested it was best to inform Charlie Sampson to ensure no cleanup operation had been initiated, rendering it a pointless journey. Plus, he reminded me, the bank case wasn't my responsibility.
"I was going to get started on the cleanup with a couple of employees today," Charlie said when he met me at the front door of the bank. He allowed me in a full hour before the bank officially opened. "Since the police and your team left, I simply closed the vault door and left it while I thought about what to do."
"So nothing was moved?" I asked.
He shook his head. "It's the same mess as the day of the robbery. Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure how I'll even organize the items they left behind. We informed the owners of the boxes that were untouched and undamaged that their property is safe. The owners of the damaged boxes are a trickier matter."
"Oh?"
"Because we don't know the exact contents of every box, it looks like they'll each have to identify their property. I may well have to ask them to provide proof of ownership in case of any false claims. For some items, that will be simple. Others, less so. Some won't want to admit what is inside their boxes at all."
"What happens to those items?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll talk to the higher-ups and hear what they have to say." Charlie scratched his head. "It's unprecedented for the bank as I'm sure you'll understand."
"A robbery?"
"No, that happens occasionally although not for the past few years because security is so tight these days. We've never had a successful vault raid before, although there was an attempt, oh, twenty years ago. I only hope the publicity doesn't ruin our reputation."
"What makes this time different?"
"I hope you can tell me. Maybe they were simply more experienced."
As we talked, we traveled through the small rear lobby and down the stairs into the basement. The vault door was closed and I waited while Charlie entered a code in a digital keypad, then input his palm print. The door unclicked and Charlie pulled the thick door open, standing back to let me inside the windowless room. I stared at his hand for a moment and he looked at me. "I wondered if they might cut it off," he said with a sigh.
"Don't dwell on it," I said, turning to assess the mess. Debris was scattered across the floor. Bits of twisted metal, a lock without its casing, a single diamond earring, sheafs of paper... everywhere I looked something was out of place. "How did you plan to organize all this?" I asked.
"I thought we would bring in a long, folding, table and assemble everything on it," said Charlie. "It's old school but it should work. The paperwork should be easily identifiable. Everything else—" He threw his hands up in defeat.
"I like that idea. I can help do that as I take a look," I said. "Can you get a table?"
"I can't leave you in here alone," he said, opening a small box on the wall. He pulled out a corded telephone and asked for the table