Frank held out the logbook. “You need to take a look at this.”
I glanced at Tammy before I crossed the room to Frank’s side. She appeared agitated.
“Is there a problem, Tammy?”
“I need to make a phone call, and I’d like to do it privately.”
“That isn’t happening, so sit still and keep quiet.” I whispered to Frank. “What have you got?”
“Apparently, the real logbook. The pages Ken Evans sent us were obviously doctored.”
I looked at the number of times Tammy had come and gone as well as the visitors she’d had. “Seems you’re quite popular, Tammy. Why would you have numerous visits from someone named Sydney Jobs? Here’s another visitor for you—a Lenore Price. Who are those people?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t.” I turned to Frank. “Call Lutz and tell him we need somebody out here to pick up Tammy. This time, she’s staying for an extended vacation until we figure out what’s going on.”
“Hey! You can’t do that. It’s called police harassment. I swear, I’ll hire an attorney.”
“Go ahead. This shelter is getting locked down until we go through every square inch of it. I’ll have one of our department buses pick up all the residents and take them to a secure facility for the day until we clear the shelter room by room.” I nodded at Frank. “Make the call, and as a matter of fact, we’re going to need a handful of officers to help empty the building. Meanwhile, have the guard keep Tammy under wraps until the officers arrive. We need to go through this room before anything else.”
Frank made the call to Lutz and arranged for six officers and a bus to show up at the shelter as soon as possible. He hung up and addressed Tammy. “Let’s go. Reynolds is going to keep an eye on you until the officers arrive. You’re doing your best to distract us, and we don’t have time for your foolishness.”
She jerked away from Frank’s reach and grumbled as they walked out the door. I continued my search but doubted I’d find a gun or any weapon. Tammy was too smart for that, especially since she knew she was at the top of our suspect list.
Frank returned to the room minutes later.
I had just finished going through the dresser as he walked in. “Got her squared away with the guard?”
“Yep, and I asked if there was another logbook, and he said no. That means Ken Evans made a dummy copy for us, and we’ll have to figure out why, but I’m sure it has something to do with the names Sydney Jobs and Lenore Price.”
Frank opened the closet and began going through the clothes. “Right, and we need to find out what their connection to Tammy is. There’s no sense in wasting our time asking her any more questions since all she does is lie.”
I had to agree, and our time was better spent looking for evidence at the shelter. I stripped the bed and flipped over the mattress—nothing. Frank stuck his hand in every pair of shoes and found the same.
“Check the toilet tank,” I said as I went through the last box on the closet shelf.
“On it.” Frank disappeared into the bathroom and was back five minutes later. “Nothing there or in any cabinets or drawers.”
I rubbed my neck as I looked over the room. “Okay, let’s move on to Marie Booth’s office.”
“Really? Why her?”
“For obvious reasons.”
Frank’s eyebrows went up. “Go ahead and enlighten me.”
“Ken Evans doctored the guest logbook. The call log to Tammy’s room has probably been altered too. Somebody gave him the okay to do that, and Marie Booth runs the show here.”
“I suppose so, but I don’t get what her motivation would be.”
“Protecting the privacy of her residents, I’d imagine.”
Frank frowned. “A bit over-the-top, don’t you think?”
“Yes it is, but the warrant covers every room and office in this building, so let’s see if she has something to hide.”
I closed Tammy’s door behind us and took the long hallway back to the central area of the building, where the administrative offices, cafeteria, and events room were located. We reached Marie Booth’s office, and I turned the knob—locked.
“I’ll ask the guard if he has a key.”
“There’s a reason she locked it, so she’s not likely going to give the guard a key. Stand back. I’ve got it,” Frank said. He gave it a hard shoulder hit, and the door flew open. “There. Easy as pie.”
I flipped on the light switch and looked around before we began. I was familiar with the office since we’d been in there before, but I wanted to see how she’d left it before we started tearing it apart.
“What do you want, the file cabinet or the desk?” I asked.
“I’ll take the desk.” Frank rounded the large L-shaped desk and took a seat.
I headed to the file cabinet and gave the top drawer a tug. “Really? This thing is locked too. Check the desk for a key.”
“Hold up, buddy. Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
I stared at the desk. “Not sure. I’m facing it the opposite way you are.”
“Come around to my side.”
I did as Frank suggested and gave the desk another look. “Was that a trick question?”
“Nope. Why are the pens and pencils, notepads, the paperclip box, and stapler on the left side?”
“Um…” I pictured my desk, and all of those items were on the right. “I don’t believe it! She’s a lefty.”
“Yep.”
I grabbed the spiral notebook that lay in plain sight and flipped it open. I looked down at the third line, and there it was—a void in the ink.
“Shit! It’s her. Marie Booth is the killer.” I backed away from the desk. “Come on. This is a job for Forensics. We have to tell Lutz to get someone out to her house immediately. She needs to be detained and held in a cell until we can make a solid case out of this. Find out the ETA of those officers. We have to get Tammy behind bars right away too. The women have to be in on this together.”
“I’m on it.” Frank pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Lutz.
“Meanwhile, let’s have a word with Reynolds and get Tammy secured in cuffs.” I walked ahead of Frank as he talked on the phone. I tried to push open the door that led to the reception counter and guard desk, but I couldn’t budge it. “What the hell is going on?” I gave the door another shove, and it opened only an inch or so.
Frank hung up and pocketed his phone. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t get the door open. It was fine when we came through it from the other side.” I yelled out to Reynolds but didn’t get a response.
“Let me try.” Frank put his entire body into it and pushed. “Something is definitely blocking the door.” He pushed harder until he was able to fit his head through the opening. “Jesus Christ, Reynolds is lying against the door with a bullet hole in his forehead!”