Chapter 19
Wednesday afternoon,
Webb’s Glass Shop
Savannah shuttled out the last students from Webb’s Glass Shop with no time to spare. Her meeting with Officer Williams was important, but she had been forced to invite Joy to meet with her at the shop instead of the new café, Bandit Coffee Company. Amanda had gone to hospice and there wasn’t anyone else to keep the store open. She couldn’t keep closing up and expect to keep her business open.
Joy walked in with two takeaway espressos and a six-pack of the little shop’s signature specialty—pumpkin coffee muffins.
Savannah hurried over to give Joy a brief hug and took one of the espresso cups. “Sorry to deprive you of the atmosphere of the Bandit. News has gotten around that it’s a great coffeehouse, so it might be around for a while. I’ll be as quick as I can with an update. Mm, that muffin looks good.” She and Joy went to the back office, where Savannah sat in the old oak office chair and Joy plopped down in the side chair.
“How’s the move to the new building?” Savannah asked.
“My new digs are great. I’ll unpack my single box this afternoon, but Detective Parker is still livid over the mix-up with the offices.” She took a huge bite of her muffin, then mumbled, “But it’s all right now, and he’s moving in as we speak.”
Savannah sank her teeth into one of the muffins and a silent reverence took hold. They both smiled, in pumpkin heaven.
“Do you have news?” asked Officer Williams after a quick swish of coffee.
“Yes, Vince called a few minutes ago. He forgot to tell us that Nicole was excited about engaging on-line with SNARK. This was right before her accident.”
“How does he know?”
“Apparently, SNARK paints or bombs, as they call it, every Saturday. He has a huge social media following that are obsessed with being among the first to spot his newest work.”
“How do you mean?”
“I looked at his website. Every Sunday morning, he posts an image of the night’s work. Then he challenges his followers to find the newest one. There’s usually a response within the hour with a picture of the new image.”
“Does the winner get a prize?”
Savannah shook her head. “Nope, just the honor of being first. It’s crazy.”
“This is smart. But this also means, if he’s working every Saturday night, he must scout out a location beforehand and then do the actual work. He must be operating in one general location somewhere close by, otherwise the travel time would make this impossible. It’s an interesting subculture. Anything else?”
“I’ve got another approach to get in touch with SNARK. Amanda suggested that I pose as a potential client with the idea that I want him to paint a mural on the side of Webb’s Glass Shop. I’m offering a fee large enough to attract his attention.”
“If his identity is secret, how does that work? Someone must pay him. If he’s expecting to make money, then everything associated with that must be in place. Well, you know about that part. Tax numbers, checking accounts, 1099 forms and the whole deal.”
“Somehow he manages to do business in cash. I haven’t asked my accountant yet about how I would expense it, but with a SNARK image on my building, the property’s value will skyrocket. The least I can do is give it a try.”
Officer Williams polished off the last few crumbs of her muffin. “That might work. You could get a jump on us. We’re stuck with merely a description of a white car. Pretty much anything else would advance the case. Meanwhile, I need to get back and make sure no one jumps my claim in the new building.” She sipped the last of her coffee and got up. “It’s like the wild west up there.”
Savannah rose as well. “Could you check for anything in your system about SNARK?”
“Sure, but since that’s an alias, the probability of a decent result is dim. Plus, we are still in no-man’s-land with restoring the servers, but I can tap into some of the global databases that aren’t affected. Also, do you have time to go with me to interview Nicole’s uncle? I know you’re pressed for time, but he lives nearby, and I could use another pair of ears.”
“Mmmgph,” Savannah mumbled around her muffin. “I can go only if it’s within the next hour. I’ll leave a note on the door. Again.”
“Terrific.”
Savannah pulled a page out of the black backpack she took everywhere. “Edward and I are going to look for this.” She placed it in front of Officer Williams. “According to the time stamp on the back, it’s one of the last images that Nicole snapped. We want to see if it offers any clues or hidden messages.”
“Thanks for getting an artist’s view of this.” She picked up the picture and frowned.
“What’s wrong?” asked Savannah.
“I recognize that area. There was a house nearby that I considered buying. That’s a pretty rough section of town.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Regardless, I’ll alert the local patrol that you’ll be in the area. They’ll make a few extra circuits while you’re looking around. I’ll also have them connect with you, so look for them to make contact.”
“Sure.”
“Only if they don’t get pulled away for something urgent, of course.”
“Of course. Remember, we’ll have the very large, very excited, very protective Rooney with us.”
“Hah! You’ll be fine then.”