he died," I said. "Is there any way we can drill down on likely thefts?"
"Sure. Where do you want to start? North America? Europe? Asia?" asked Solomon, with a shake of his head.
"Bagshot wasn't enormously active in his later years," said Fletcher. "He busted a hip a couple of years back in Boston just clearing snow off his porch and word has it that dropped him into semi-retirement."
"Perhaps it was an old theft?" I suggested. "If it's even related at all."
"We can take a look at old thefts, and see if anything was rumored to be stolen for himself. Perhaps he kept a memento that someone wanted or maybe he double-crossed someone."
"Maddox said news of Bagshot's death would draw all kinds of people out of the woodwork. I'm thinking an old associate, a rival, a client, or an enemy," I said.
Flaherty, who remained silent until now, nodded. "I like how Lexi narrowed it down; first, to the entire world, and second, to everyone in it." I punched him lightly on the arm and laughed. There was no point getting mad about his teasing. Flaherty was right: the search parameters were too vast and we couldn’t come up with a name from it.
"This is the best lead we have," said Solomon. "Forget Mackleton. His crew were clean and quick. They left no trace of themselves at the robbery or at his murder scene, ensuring the connection between him and them was already severed. Let's pursue the Bagshot angle. Lucas, you know what to do?"
"Yes, boss. Verify it's the same guy."
"Then do a deep dive into his history. See if he's really dead, and find out what crimes he's connected to."
"What about us?" asked Fletcher.
"Find out where Bagshot lived and head up to Boston. Take a look around and see what factors played into his life."
"On it," agreed Flaherty.
"You and I need to finish our probe into any bomb-making supplies that may have entered Montgomery recently. We also need to take a look at some of those warehouses where they could have constructed a walk-through to rehearse their plan," said Solomon, looking at Delgado. "Do you have any free time?" he asked me.
I nodded. "A little. What do you need?"
"Charlie Sampson's background. It's crucial now. See if he has any connection to Joe Bagshot. Could they have known each other socially?"
"Do you think Charlie knew what was inside that box?"
Solomon nodded. "It's pretty likely. He told us he's often in the room when people access their boxes."
"But he also might have known the item had to be stolen in the first place. He asked the agency to retrieve it for his client but we're reasonably sure Bagshot is already dead so that can't be true." I paused, contemplating my deduction. That only left one motive for Charlie. "If it's all true, if it was Bagshot’s box, then Charlie doesn't want to return the item either to the client or to his employers. He wants to keep it for himself," I inferred.
"It also explains why he wouldn't tell us what the item is. If he did, we might research it and find out it's stolen. He couldn't be certain we wouldn't refuse the case on that basis, or turn it over to the police, thereby landing him in hot water with his employers," said Solomon. "People, be careful. There's already one murder and one attempted murder attached to this case. Be aware and stay alert."
"I'll have something for you within the hour," I said. "Can I call on Lucas if I need help?"
"Sure," said Lucas. "You know where to find me."
Lucas, Fletcher and Flaherty took off together. Lucas headed upstairs and I was pretty sure I wouldn't see the other two PIs for the rest of the day.
"This is what we've currently got on Charlie," said Solomon, passing a thin file to me. I opened it, noting only three sheets of paper. The top one held his personal information. The next his resume. The last sheet was a rundown of his financial report.
"You already checked his financial records?" I asked, skimming over the figures. A mortgage of twenty thousand on a house valued at eight hundred thousand. That made sense for a man close to retirement who apparently lived at the same address for twenty-two years. A savings account with ten thousand, and a credit card with five hundred on it. His car didn't have any payments left. While he wasn't well off, he lived adequately within his means.