Proof of Murder (Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #4) - Lauren Elliott Page 0,26
here the last time you saw them, which, according to your words, was yesterday?”
“Yes, I appraised them myself, and that’s where I left them when I was done with them.”
“Is there a record of this appraisal?”
“Of course.” Addie’s tone awarded Marc a dunce hat. “It’s all in Charlotte’s inventory catalogue. Plus, I left notes for her.”
“Which are where?”
“I assume on her laptop. She had left it for Kalea and me to enter our findings into the inventory list.”
“Where is the laptop?”
“Her assistant must have it if it’s not here.” Her eyes narrowed at a thought she’d filed in her memory bank.
Addie had assumed from the two books on the floor by the desk chair that Charlotte had been double-checking the appraisals Addie completed yesterday, but, without the inventory list on the computer, that would have been impossible. The agent had asked a good question: “Where is the laptop?” The room was locked. No one could have come in and taken it—or had she given it to Robert then bolted the door? She needed to find Robert and the laptop, and if Ryley hadn’t been staring her directly in the eye, she might have shared that thought with Marc, but given the circumstances she shrugged. “I don’t know where it is.”
Ryley’s eyes never wavered from Addie’s. “We’re to take your word that these first-edition books existed in the first place, and someone made their way into a locked library, perhaps stole the laptop containing the only actual proof that these books had been appraised, and then exchanged the books for fakes.”
“Yes.” Addie met Ryley’s fixed gaze with her own.
Marc tapped his finger on his chin. “Agent Brookes here has an interesting theory that she shared with me earlier. Right now, you are the only person who can verify the books’ value, and the only one who had the means or motivation to exchange the books.”
“What!” Addie’s mouth dropped. “You think I had something to do with Charlotte’s death?”
“Murder is something yet to be determined by the autopsy results, but”—Marc pursed his lips—“grand larceny is definitely a possibility.”
“And”—Addie fingers curled in her palms—“what are you basing that on?”
“Something you yourself once told me: that everyone is capable of committing a crime, even murder, given the right circumstances. ” His eyes held steadfast on Addie’s.
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” Her nails bit into the tender flesh of her hands. “Okay, say you’re right. What would be my motive?”
“If the books are as valuable as you say they are,” Ryley said, turning her unfeeling, detached eyes on Addie’s, “then my guess is money.”
“I don’t need money, thank you very much,” Addie snapped at her. “And exactly how do you think I got into a room that was sealed from the inside?”
Ryley slowly scanned the room and then rested her gaze back on Addie. “You did admit, and it has been confirmed, you spent the entire day working in this room yesterday. And given the fact that you were in here alone—”
“Correction: I wasn’t alone. My cousin, Kalea, was with me. A little fact that can also be confirmed.”
“Yes, this mysterious cousin who seems to have disappeared. Tell me, Addie”—Agent Brookes squared her shoulders—“is she your accomplice?”
“What? You think one or both of us smuggled the books out of the room when we left here? No, I left them on the table; Charlotte’s assistant, Robert, was looking at them. You can ask him. They were there when I was finished and left for the day.”
“Then there’s the possibility that you unlocked one of the windows and returned later last night to collect the books and the laptop.”
“Why would I remove the only evidence that proves what I’m saying is true, that the books did exist and now there’s only fakes in their place? Think about that one, Agent Brookes.” Addie forced herself to breathe. If she didn’t breathe, she couldn’t think.
“What happened? Was Charlotte still in here working, and the shock of seeing you come in through a window scared her into having a heart attack? Or were you aware she was going to be working so you left some doctored tea on the desk for her just in case she was here when you came back to make the exchange? Is that what happened? You drugged her, and then slipped in through the window you left unlatched yesterday.”
“Marc,” Addie gasped, sputtering out her words, “tell your friend I would never do anything like that. You know me.” Her wild-eyed gaze held steadfast on