They stepped inside the room. In the back a portrait was hanging off its hinges. Behind it a chunk of wall had been ripped out, revealing a cavity.
“My guess is there was a safe there. Whoever did this took it with them.”
“So it was just a burglary that went wrong? The dead guy is fully dressed. He might have come home, stumbled on them, and they killed him.”
He stared at her. “You really believe that?”
“No.”
“Good. Because it’s all been staged. Just like everything else in this whole damn thing.”
“But this is the right house, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “I checked the car in the garage first. Sticker’s on the back. And there’s a slight scratch on the back panel that I noted from the video. It’s the right car.”
“And the dead guy?”
Shaw picked up a photo that was on a shelf and shone his light on it. It looked like the guy on the video.
“It’s the owner of the house. Richard Pender,” said Shaw.
“We better get out of here.”
“No, I want to finish searching the place first.”
“Shaw, what if we get caught?”
“You can leave.”
“Damn it, do you always have to make everything so complicated?”
“I didn’t ask you to follow me tonight.”
“How do you know I was following you?”
“Maybe it’s the fact that you’re standing in this house with me right now.”
“I could’ve come here on my own. I can memorize addresses too.”
“If you had memorized the addresses you’d know this was Pender’s house. And last but not least, I saw you about a dozen times tonight in your car following me.”
“Wait a minute. If you knew I was following you, why didn’t you stop me? Or try to lose me?”
Shaw started to say something but then stopped. He looked away, and said quietly, “I’m no murderer.”
“I’m glad you realized that.”
A brief moment passed, and then Shaw asked, “Are you going to help me look or not?”
“I’ll help. Let’s just make it quick.”
A half hour later they’d found nothing of any use. Richard Pender owned a firm called Pender amp; Associates. Shaw had never heard of it. They got the office address from some letterhead they found in a desk drawer.
Katie stared at the paper. “I know this name for some reason.” She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “It’s not coming.”
They left out the back door.
Or tried to.