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A bathroom was straight ahead at the top of the landing. To the left were two doors, and to the right double doors stood open inviting entry into a massive primary suite. It was tempting to go there first, if only to snoop and see how the other half lived. Amanda refused her impulse.
She entered the first door on the left and found a sizable office with sparse furnishings. But the bare minimum, combining function and comfort amid zero clutter, seemed to be the theme for the house. Everything served a purpose.
This space housed a stately desk with a credenza, a plush leather chair, a laser printer, a waste basket, and a recycling bin. A tropical tree too, which seemed the only indulgence toward a visible personal touch in the home.
Trent was going through cabinets in the credenza, and she went for the desk drawers. They both wore gloves as a precaution. The shooter or his accomplice could have been in Katherine’s home. She and Trent were certainly due for a change in their luck.
Amanda opened a long drawer in the middle of the desk and took out her find. “We’ve got a laptop.” It was a newer model than the relic Amanda had, but that wasn’t saying much. She placed it on the desk and hit the power button. It came to life, and a passcode screen came up. She typed Ninja. No luck.
Trent stood next to her. “You tried Ninja?”
“You know it. We’ll need to get it to Digital Forensics ASAP. They’ll be able to get into this thing.” Normally she dealt with Detective Jacob Briggs, but he often worked the night shift. They didn’t have the luxury of waiting for him.
“I’ll hand it over to the uniform out front with instructions to get it over to Digital.” Trent left with the laptop.
She turned her attention back to the desk and another drawer. This one was locked, and that made her want in even more. A quick look around, and her gaze landed on a container of paper clips. Guess it was time to find out if she possessed an inner James Bond. Unfolding a clip, she pushed the tip into the keyhole and wriggled it in there. Just when she was about to give up, success. She opened the drawer and gasped. What the…?
“Officer Brandt is taking the laptop right over,” Trent said, returning and speaking from the office doorway. “Another uniform is taking his place here.”
She didn’t say anything but pointed to the haul she’d removed from the drawer to the top of the desk.
“Whoa. You hit a jackpot while I was gone.”
“Not sure about that, but we’ll figure out what it all means.” She took in the extent of her find, which was a stack of cash, a passport, a key ring with a single key, and an old cell phone. There was the possibility these clandestine items had nothing to do with Katherine’s abduction, but even if there was a glimmer of possibility they did, she and Trent needed to follow this lead wherever it took them.
Trent picked up the cell phone, a clunky blue Nokia. “I haven’t seen one like this in years.”
“That’s because it probably dates back to the early 2000s.” She turned it on, having her suspicions it would power to life and it did. “That confirms it for me.”
“Confirms what?”
“If this was just an old phone kicking around, the battery would be long dead, but it’s not. It shows three quarters full.”
“It’s a burner.”
“Safe bet.” Often older or base models were used for this purpose. They predated GPS tracking.
“So why does a former homicide sergeant have a burner phone, cash, a passport, and a mysterious key in her desk drawer?”
“More to the point, locked in a desk drawer.”
ELEVEN
Amanda and Trent tried a variety of passwords to unlock the phone but didn’t have any luck. Digital Forensics would need to deal with it. At least Trent was able to reach Officer Brandt by phone. He returned for the Nokia and would drop off both it and the laptop together and stress the urgency.
Amanda was trying to come to terms with what she had found, and what it might mean. Had Katherine been a dirty cop? She flipped through the passport. It was issued six months ago, in Katherine’s name, and didn’t have any stamps. With her working full-time at the diner, getting away would be impossible. The drawer could have just been a safe place to keep it.
“You doing all right there? You look deep in thought. Something you want to share?” Trent’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She held up the passport. “She never left the country, but I wish I knew what Katherine is caught up in.”
“I’m with you there. Her little treasure trove makes me think she’s wrapped up in something she shouldn’t be. I mean, who has that much money sitting around? How much would you say is there?”
Amanda fanned the half-inch stack of fifties. “Just a guess? Five K.”
“As I said, a lot of money to be sitting around.”
Amanda was cautioning herself not to jump to conclusions, but it wasn’t easy to refrain. “Let’s extend her the benefit of the doubt.” Saying this twisted in her gut. What they’d stumbled on could be the reason for that morning’s events, also what Katherine was hiding from May. Amanda reached back into the drawer for a manila envelope that was at the bottom.
