AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Correct.”
“Then who was shooting from the balcony down onto the street, and more important, who were they shooting at?”
Neville visualized what he was saying and said, “I see your point.”
Simon opened a service door at the end of the hallway, revealing a steep, narrow metal staircase that led to the roof. “Whoever was being shot at was not the man who killed the employee who was in the alley. You wouldn’t leave by the back door and then come around to the front of the hotel where there’s a greater chance that you’ll run into someone.” Simon started climbing the stairs. The hatch that led to the roof was already opened.
Neville followed her fellow officer onto the roof and immediately noticed two of her best crime scene technicians.
“So I’m lying in bed,” Simon continued, “and I think, the most logical explanation is that someone left that room last night via the balcony, and if they left via the balcony they must have had a rope.” Simon stopped next to a black cast-iron vent stack and dropped to a knee. Neville followed suit. “You see where the soot has been rubbed free right here?” He pointed to the general area but did not touch it.
Neville could see a circle that wound itself around the cylindrical vent stack. She nodded.
Simon rose to his feet and walked to the edge where one of the crime scene technicians was taking measurements. “Bernard, tell her what you found.”
The man was in his fifties and rail-thin. He pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up on the bridge of his nose and said, “Fibers in this spot right here.” He pointed to the ninety-degree stone edge of the cap.
“What kind of fibers?” Simon asked.
“I won’t know until I get back to the lab, but they look like the type of fibers used in the construction of climbing ropes.”
Neville nodded, looked back at the vent stack, and then at the spot that Bernard had identified. She could see the discoloration in the stone, as if something had rubbed away the grime. She peered over the edge and directly beneath was a balcony. “I assume that’s the balcony of Tarek’s room?”
“It is,” Simon answered.
Neville looked back at the vent stack. “A rope?”
Simon nodded.
“So where is it?”
“That’s a very good question. In fact, I began asking our people if anyone removed it. No one did, of course. Our people know better than that. But I did find one officer who was on the scene early, who says he definitely remembered a rope running down the side of the building.”
“He’s certain of this.”
“I had him show me the exact spot where he remembered seeing the rope.” Simon pointed down. “He showed me where he parked his car and led me directly to the spot right beneath us.”
Neville looked at the buildings to her left and right. The heights didn’t match but the buildings abutted each other. “So you’re telling me there was an accomplice on the roof when the police arrived who then pulled up the rope and fled.”
Simon looked at the sea of yellow flags across the street. “I’m not sure. There’s another possibility.”
Neville could tell by his expression that he was deeply concerned about something. “What’s bothering you?”
“What’s not bothering me would be a more accurate question.”
She shared the same ominous feeling. “Spit it out.”
“I think someone may have tampered with the rope.”
“You mean removed it?” Neville asked.
“Yes.”
“Shit.” This thing just kept getting worse. “We have a list of all the people who’ve been in and out of here in the last thirty hours?”
“I’m working on it.”
“What about the guests?”
