Page 20

Officer Jonkers and Officer Thryce stepped inside the EC Investigative Services’ office. “Good day, Ms. Cobb. You remember Officer Thryce.”

“I do.”

“He and I were contacted by our fraud division. I know our visit is unexpected, but we hoped we could have a minute of your time.”

“Of course.” Dernice sprang from her chair. She rushed across the room and shook hands with them. “Carlita…Mrs. Taylor and I were just discussing the burglaries, wondering if there were any updates.”

“We’re still working on it.” Jonkers told them they’d received a call via their anonymous tip line. “It was concerning enough that we thought we should bring it to your attention.”

Carlita and Dernice exchanged a puzzled look. “A concerning tip came in?”

“The caller insisted one of you, or maybe both of you, are contemplating insurance fraud,” Jonkers said.

“Insurance fraud?” Carlita’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“The accusation is very serious.” Thryce pinned her with a hard stare. “An insurance fraud conviction means guaranteed prison time and a hefty fine, not to mention civil penalties, along with restitution.”

“Because our businesses were burglarized?” Carlita resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I haven’t filed an insurance claim over the vandalism, nor do I intend to.”

“Ditto here.” Dernice scowled. “This is a ridiculous accusation.”

“What about Ken Colby, the other business owner who was burglarized?” Carlita asked. “I can’t speak for Ken, but I don’t believe he planned to file a claim either, even though he was the one who ended up with the most damage.”

“What purpose would someone have to call the hotline and make this sort of claim?” Jonkers asked.

“To try to steer investigators away from the culprits,” Carlita said. “From finding out who is behind the vandalism and break-ins.”

“Clearly, it was someone who knew about the fundraiser or attended it the other night,” Thryce said.

“I agree. I think it was someone who took advantage of the fact most of the area businesses were unattended, giving them the perfect opportunity to break in undetected.”

“Even though all of us have burglar alarms and monitored systems,” Dernice said.

“You’re sure you have no intention of filing an insurance claim?” Jonkers asked.

“Nope. My son, who runs my pawn shop, has already contacted a glass company to come out and repair the damaged window. We haven’t addressed the broken drainpipe yet.”

“And you?” Thryce motioned to Dernice. “You don’t intend to file a claim for the ductwork?”

“I’ll admit the idea had crossed my mind. Unfortunately, my sister, the person who owns this building and business, is making me pay the repairs out-of-pocket seeing how I was the one who…damaged it,” Dernice said.

The officers excused themselves. They stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk.

Carlita watched them consult with one another, occasionally looking their way. “I think we’re hot on the trail of the Sterling sisters. I’d be curious to find out exactly when the anonymous call came in.”

“If it was after you and Pete went over there to question Sterling, it could have been him or his daughters.”

The cops stepped back inside. “While we’re here, we would like to take another look around upstairs.”

“Sure.” Dernice motioned for them to follow her to the back of the building and up the stairs.

Carlita gave them a head start before trailing behind. She lingered near the doorway, watching as the pair inspected the vent cover and what was left of the ductwork. “If you don’t mind me asking, what time did the anonymous tip about potential insurance fraud come in?”

“Sometime today.”

Carlita glanced at her watch. She and Pete had left Sterling Automotive Group’s offices a little over two hours ago. If the Sterling sisters were behind the vandalism, break-ins and the automotive company’s missing money, there was a good chance Russell Sterling had told Lindsay and Tracy how Pete and Carlita were asking questions. They panicked and placed the anonymous call to throw investigators off and throw their attention on the innocent business owners.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. If it was them, the sisters were beginning to look like nothing more than entitled, spoiled brats who had committed a crime—against their own father no less—and had every intention of getting away with it.

If this was the case, and Russell Sterling was covering for them, he wasn’t doing his daughters any favors. They needed to be taught a lesson. And if Carlita had her way, she would be the person to help make it happen.

“…is right, Carlita?”

“I…I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I wasn’t paying attention. What did you say?”

“I said we think these burglaries might be linked to an incident that happened over at Sterling Automotive Group a few weeks ago.”

“Yes. We do. In fact, Mr. Sterling, Russell Sterling, was at the fundraiser the other night,” Carlita said. “Perhaps you should visit him.”

Jonkers frowned. “What makes you think they’re linked?”

“The burglaries were similar, except the person or persons who broke into his dealership disarmed his alarm. They never took anything and didn’t bother with the safe. As far as I know, no cash was stolen.”

Thryce nudged Jonkers. “Have you heard about this case?”

“No, but I intend to look into it.”

While the trio talked, Dernice wandered over to the damaged metal and picked at a sharp edge.

“Are you okay?” Carlita asked in a low voice. “You seem a little perturbed.”

“I’m still aggravated at myself for getting stuck. I should’ve known better.”

“It can’t be too expensive to get the duct replaced.”

“I already got a rough estimate over the phone. The guy quoted between a thousand and twelve hundred bucks, subject to change depending on what he found when he got here.”

Carlita coughed loudly. “A thousand dollars? Maybe you should file a claim.”

“No way. I already hinted around to Elvira before the cops showed up on the doorstep after I got the ballpark figure.”

“And?”

“She shot it down.” Dernice made a double thumbs down. “She seems to think filing a claim will jack up her premium.”

“Which would be a legitimate concern. Anytime you file a claim, your rates automatically go up. Personally, I wouldn’t go that route unless it was for something catastrophic.” Carlita tipped her head to the side, eyeing the opening. “I’m almost positive Tracy Sterling could have easily shimmied through there.”

“With a little extra room to boot.”

Jonkers, who had been scoping out the overhang and remaining ductwork, made her way over. “Can we borrow your ladder again?”

“Sure. I left it in the other room.” Dernice hurried off, returning moments later carrying the ladder.

Thryce ran over and took it from her. Carrying it the rest of the way across the room, he unfolded it and set it near the opening. While the trio looked on, he climbed to the top and peered inside. “You were right.”

“About seeing what I believe might be fingerprints?” Jonkers asked.

“Yeah.”

The officer pointed to Dernice. “You didn’t make it as far as the end of the duct, the section near the point of entry, did you?”

“Nope. Not even close.”

“Good. Then hopefully we won’t be wasting our time. I’ll go grab the fingerprinting kit.” She took off, returning within minutes. She set the kit next to the window and lifted the lid.

Carlita crept as close as she dared without getting in the way, watching Jonkers slip on a pair of latex gloves. She prepped the dusting kit and passed the tools to her partner.

Jonkers must’ve sensed she was being watched and glanced over her shoulder. “I think we’re gonna get a good, clean set.”

“I hope so. Those burglars made several mistakes.”

“Bungling burglars,” Jonkers said. “You would be surprised at how bad some crooks are. It’s almost as if they want to get caught.”

“So you mix the powder, dust the area and then lift the prints?” Carlita asked.

“Correct. Using tape.” Jonkers held up a clear piece of glass, the kind used with microscopes. “The tape is placed on these slides, labeled, and then taken down to forensics, where they run it through the database to see if there’s a match.”

“But if the person who left these prints doesn’t have a record, they’re useless,” Carlita said.

“Basically. Although we hang onto them in the event sometime down the road, there’s an arrest and we get a match.”

Thryce handed Jonkers the slide. She carefully placed it inside the box. “Whoever it was left a nice set of prints with all four fingers.”

Jonkers handed him another slide. Back and forth they went. Clear slide, print slide until they had a copy of all four prints. “I know we’ve been joking about this, but whoever broke in here was very sloppy.”

“Which is good news for us.” Dernice crossed her fingers. “Here’s to a match and putting these vanburglars behind bars.”

“Vanburglars?”

“Vandals plus burglars. Vanburglars.”

Jonkers put the tools back inside the box and snapped the lid. “Unfortunately, if we don’t get an immediate match, these unsolved cases fall by the wayside.”

“I have to admit, it ticks me off to think someone is out there trying to turn victims into potential suspects,” Carlita said.

“You would be surprised at how often this happens, typically with the call being placed by the culprits.” Thryce folded the ladder and propped it against the wall. “You seem like nice people, honest, hardworking Savannah business owners. We’ll do what we can.”

“And we appreciate your efforts.” Dernice, with Carlita taking the lead, chatted with the officers on their way down the steps and out of the building.

They both thanked her for allowing them to look around again and drove off.

Carlita placed her hands on her hips. “Something tells me the lab won’t find a match.”

“I would almost bet on it,” Dernice said. “If only we could get our hands on prints from Lindsay and Tracy.”

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I’m not gonna let this go. We’ll come up with a plan to get the prints, one way or another.”