Page 65 of Girl, Empty

Something cold and electric shot down her spine.

Alpine Cleaning Services.Where had she heard that name?

It only took a moment of recollection, and then she thought that perhaps her perfect memory hadn’t been tarnished after all.

What if she’d got this all wrong?Security chiefs, coders, tech experts, system administers.What if their killer wasn’t one of them at all?

Just like magic, there’s always some simple explanation, and it’s usually so obvious that most people look right past it.

Who got access to every building in the city?Who could wander through offices after hours without anyone questioning their presence?Who knew which security guard took a smoke break at two minutes past midnight?Who knew the layout of security systems because they had to work around them?Who understood HVAC systems because they had to clean the vents?

‘Sorry about that,’ Amanda said.‘I’ll tell them to stay away until you guys have finished, however long that takes.’

‘No,’ Ella said.

‘No?’

‘Miss Pierce, this might sound weird, but could you get me a list of every cleaner who's ever worked here?’

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Ella had gotten back to the office before Ripley, because her partner had stayed to direct traffic at the crime scene.It was getting late, but Ella’s night had just begun.

Alpine Cleaning Services.

She’d seen the name three times now.The first was at the Morrison & Associates building, when Riggs had kicked a sign sayingAlpine Freshwith a mountain logo next to it.Then at First National Bank, the same cleaning crew had pulled up – and been turned away – when Ella had been talking to the branch manager outside.

Now she’d seen it for a third time outside Blackglass, and seeing something three times in two days was never a coincidence, not in this business.Unfortunately, Amanda Pierce couldn’t get the names of every cleaner who’d worked at her company, because she left that all to Alpine.

According to their website, Alpine Cleaning Services were an agency that covered Indianapolis and the surrounding areas.She’d found their phone number, and was now praying that their offices worked around the clock.

One ring.

Two rings.

‘Hello, Alpine, how can I help?’A woman’s voice.

'Hi, my name's Ella Dark, and I'm with the FBI.I'm looking for some information about your workers.Can you help?'

‘FBI?Really?’

‘Yes ma’am.You can confirm my identity with a callback if you like.’

‘How would I do that?’

‘There’s a callback number on the FBI website.Call that, then use my extension, which is 213.’

‘Okay.One sec.’

The woman hung up.Ella laid her cell down.A lot of people got this part wrong, because they didn’t know how to find the callback number.They usually spent a few minutes navigating the FBI website, then gave up and waited for the agent to call them again.

Ella’s phone vibrated.Incoming call.

‘Agent Ella Dark speaking.’

‘Hello Miss… Dark.It’s Janice from Alpine again.Did it work?’

‘It did work.Thank you for doing that.I’m looking for information on the cleaners for three companies that you contract for.Is that something you’d have access to?’