Maddock’s eyes must have betrayed his surprise at hearing his name, because Ramos chuckled as he took the offered hand. “Your little lady said y’all would be coming along to keep an eye on her. I thought she was spinning a yarn about Mr. Bonebrake here, but if anything she didn’t rightly do him justice.”
Bones laughed. “Story of my life. Was it my charm or my good looks that caught you off guard?”
Ramos narrowed his eyes for a moment before a grin returned. “She mentioned your height, but mostly she warned me about your mouth.”
Melissa avoided the ensuing glare from Bones and managed to keep a straight face. “What can you tell us, Detective?”
“Nothing you don’t already know, I’m sorry to say. She was hit from behind and didn’t get a good look at her attacker. We’ll be taking her to Inovo just to get her checked out.”
“Inovo?” Maddock asked?
“Hospital a few miles away in Alexandria. In the meantime, Ms. Moore, we need to get your statement.”
“No problem, but I’m following you to Inovo afterward. Sarah needs to have someone with her.”
Ramos looked at Bones and Maddock.
“SEALs, right?”
Maddock nodded.
“I did four years as a squid myself before I landed at Mt. Vernon P.D. You boys know I can’t have you in here for the interview?”
Maddock frowned. “I suspected that.”
Ramos’ gaze drifted to the Bastille key and his eyes widened. “I didn’t realize this is the room where the…” He turned to his partner. “Get those idiots outside to seal off this room.” He turned back to Melissa and forced a smile. “I’m sorry about that. This room should have been sealed off immediately. When it wasn’t taped off, I assume the key was in another location. Let’s talk about somewhere else. How about the study?
Maddock jumped in. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Detective.”
For the first time, Ramos showed confusion. “Why is that?”
Maddock didn’t answer. Instead he strode through the small bedchamber that lay between the central passage and the study, stopping at the study door.
“This partial print looks like it’s a match for the ones near the Bastille key.” He pointed to a crescent shaped section of a heel print.
Ramos wasted no time in shouldering past Maddock and ordering everyone to stay out of the study. Maddock, Bones, and Melissa stood just outside the door, watching as the detective scanned the floor for more prints and then looked all around.
“Ms. Moore, Ms. Abrams,” he finally said, “will you please come in here? And be careful not to disturb the footprint.”
Melissa stepped inside, Maddock keeping his eyes trained on her, followed by Sarah. Something about Ramos put him on the defensive.
“You are more familiar with this room than I am. Do you see anything out of sorts?”
Melissa and Sarah looked around.
“The books inside the case have been disturbed,” Sarah said. “See how some have been pulled out and not pushed all the way back in? They’re not usually like that.”
Ramos nodded. “We’ll have to fingerprint the case. Anything else?”
Melissa turned in a slow circle, paused, and frowned. “The portrait of Washington is different.” She pointed to a painting on the wall. Washington sat in a wooden chair, left hand on his thigh, looking off to the side.
“What do you mean? Someone moved it?”
She frowned and tapped her pursed lips, a habit Maddock found extremely attractive.
“I can’t say for sure. There’s just something different about it. Sorry, that’s all I can say.”
“All right.” Ramos turned to Maddock and Bones. “How about you gentlemen clear out entirely? Lord knows what else our team has missed.” He turned his back, Maddock and Bones already forgotten.
“These guys are clueless,” Bones whispered.
“Why? Because they missed something?”
“That wasn’t all they missed. Buy me a cup of coffee and I’ll tell you all about it.”
THREE
“Dude, you should have seen the look on that cop’s face.” Bones’ soft laugh sounded like a thunderclap in the quiet Mount Vernon snack bar.
“Bones, I was standing right there. I did see the look on his face. In his defense, he was focusing on the victim instead of the property crime.” He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. It was like drinking hot water filtered through potting soil. “So,” he said, setting his cup down on the table, “what were you going to tell me?”
“These guys are half-assing it. I saw another print leading up the stairs and more on the piazza.”
“Why didn’t you say anything to them?”
Bones shrugged. “Screw ‘em. If they’re paying any sort of attention they’ll find them. The point is, whoever was here wanted more than a copy of the Bastille key.”
“Don’t try to tell them that.” Melissa slid into a chair in between them. “They’re not finished looking around, but Ramos seems to think it’s no big deal.”
“How does he figure that?” Maddock asked.
“The guy who grabbed Sarah kept asking, ‘Where is the journal?’ She had no idea what he was talking about. I mean, Washington kept a journal while he was in the British army, but it’s not lost or anything. Heck, you can find scans of it online”
“So he was looking for some other journal,” Bones said.
“Which explains why the books in the study had been disturbed,” Maddock added.
Melissa nodded. “Ramos thinks it was a black market antiquities dealer.”
“One who shows up in the middle of the day?” Bones gave a slow shake of his head. “Give me a freaking break.”
“And what about the Bastille key?” Maddock asked.
“Ramos says the guy probably wants to sell copies to unsuspecting buyers.”
Maddock buried his face in his hands. “Seriously? Why wouldn’t he just steal the key?”
“An alarm goes off if it’s removed from the case. He’d have likely been caught. Ramos figures the guy slipped in between tours, made a quick casting of the key, and then poked around the study. When he heard Sarah coming, he panicked.”
“How does he explain the footprints leading up the stairs?” Bones asked. “Or did he even find them?”
“He found a couple on the stairs but nothing else, and everything upstairs appears normal, at least, according to Sarah.”
“You sound like you’re not too happy with her,” Maddock said.
“She treated me like an idiot. I swear there’s something about the portrait in the study, but she dismissed me out of hand. After that, everyone treated me like I’m a buffoon.” She reached out and took Maddock’s hand. “I don’t think Ramos is taking this seriously. What if this guy comes back?”
Maddock checked his watch. It was almost closing time. “How about Bones and I come back for some late night detective work?”
“Break into Mount Vernon? Oh hell yes.” Bones pounded his fist on the table, startling an elderly couple seated two tables away.
“A little louder next time,” Maddock said. “I don’t think they heard you in DC.”
“Bite me, Maddock.”
“The two of you?” Melissa’s eyebrows sprang up. “I’m the one who can get you in here, disable the alarms, and turn off the security cameras. I’m the one who will notice if something’s out of sorts. You’re not leaving me out of this.”
“Wait a minute,” Bones said, “how do you know how to do all that stuff?”
“I like to learn things, and the head of security has a thing for me.”
Maddock sat up a little straighter.
“Don’t worry. Just a little harmless flirting. I did the same thing with the head archivist, and now I know the passcode to the secure area.”