“We’re investigating a recent theft from the department store you work at,” Laura said. “Can we come in? It would be great to talk with a little more privacy.”
Tanya nodded, the color all drained from her face, and stepped back inside the house. Laura and Nate followed her inside the small, cramped space, and Laura glanced over her shoulder to stifle a laugh at how cramped-up Nate looked walking down the entrance corridor between a shelf at his head height and a low-hanging light fixture. Laura trailed a fingertip along the wall, slid her hand along to the door handle of the next room, but no headache sparked inside her skull.
Inside a tiny, rectangular sitting room, Tanya turned to face them, crossing her arms over her chest. She was small – wiry. Maybe not strong enough for the murders, but she looked strong enough for the theft. “I haven’t stolen anything,” she said, immediately. “I know I have a record, but I didn’t do anything this time. I honestly don’t know anything about any theft.”
“It wasn’t such a serious crime,” Laura said, trying to trip her up by making it seem like it was nothing. “You probably thought no one was going to miss them, right? After all, they haven’t been used in so long. They were just sitting in the storage room, gathering dust.”
“What? No, I don’t – I have no idea what’s been taken,” Tanya said. “I literally don’t. I mean, you can look around if you want. You won’t find anything here.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Nate said, nodding and then disappearing back into the hall. Laura couldn’t imagine it would take him long to look.
“Was it someone you know who asked you to get them?” Laura asked, thinking she would do best to press on. She was deliberately not using the words – not saying exactly what it was that had gone missing. She wanted Tanya to slip up and say it. To deny taking the mannequins, at which point Laura would have to ask her how she had known they were here about the mannequins, and then the arrest would be clear.
“Get what?” Tanya asked, frustration visibly evident on her face. Her features were pinched, her skin tight over her face, as though she’d been struggling to get enough to eat for a long time. That put her in a good demographic for theft, especially if she’d been paid to do the job.
“They’re not easy to move,” Laura said, turning to glance around at the décor in the sitting room as though she was looking for clues. “Did you have help? Or did you take your time and sneak out the back way?”
“What?” Tanya shook her head, staring off into the distance. “Hard to move – storage room – I don’t know, you think I took some big wholesale-size bags of something or whatever? I don’t even go into the storage room that often!”
“Your manager told us you’re one of the only seven people with access to it after hours,” Laura commented, looking at her sideways.
“I’m one of the cleaning staff,” Tanya snapped, clearly without any pride. “You think I have time to mess around? I have to clean the entire store. Top to bottom. Most days, I barely manage to get out of there before my shift ends.”
“Hmm,” Laura nodded faux-sympathetically. “You probably aren’t paid enough, either. I suppose that’s why you needed to bring in a bit of extra income?”
“No!” Tanya exploded, her hands going up to her head to run through her hair. “This is – I haven’t done anything! I swear! It took me long enough to get that job – I don’t want to risk it! I wouldn’t!”
Nate appeared in the doorway, giving Laura a quick shake of his head. No mannequins.
Laura was on the verge of believing that Tanya had no idea what was going on. She was doing a very convincing acting job if that wasn’t true. She seemed scared, but not like she was scared of getting caught.
Like she was scared of being framed and losing her job over something that was out of her control.
“When were your last two shifts?” Laura asked, seizing onto an idea that hadn’t occurred to her until now – stupidly, she thought, internally berating herself.
“Last night and three nights before that,” Tanya said. “I get two days off a week, though it’s not always the weekend, just whenever they can bring in agency cover.”
“You weren’t working the night before last? Where were you?”
“Night school,” Tanya said, lifting her head up defiantly as if to dare Laura to suggest that a woman like her wasn’t going to get anything out of going to night school.
Laura sighed internally. They were barking up the wrong tree. Night school would give her witnesses, so the alibi was most likely airtight.
They’d struck out again.
“Alright, Ms. Hamilton,” Laura said. “We’re sorry for the intrusion. Before we go, do you have any idea who might be stealing from the store?”
“I would guess Will James,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “He’s the one who gets the run of the place.”
The name sparked a memory of the list they’d been given. “The security guard?” Laura asked.
“Yeah, that’s him,” Tanya sniffed. “He’s a weasel, too. Now, are you going to leave me alone?”
“We are,” Laura said, totally understanding her attitude; after all, she was innocent. She looked at Nate. “I guess we’d better go see a security guard.
***
Laura looked at the house, squinting, unconvinced. “I don’t know,” she said. “It doesn’t look like the home of a criminal mastermind.”