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Thompson went pale. “Sergeant Major,” he began. “I don’t think we ever changed the codes after Smith was relieved of the position.”
The Sergeant Major’s face set into hard lines. “How the hell could that happen? What did you do, just not change the access code?”
Randall asked, “What happened? Why was Smith removed?”
“He used the master to go into a female Soldier’s room one night when he was on duty. Said she left her door unlocked, and he was checking. Found out the key had been removed—there’s a digital lock on the door, and he didn’t remember that it timestamps when anyone opens or closes the door.”
“We’ll need those records,” Antony said. “Even so, this is his room, so why would he have needed to bother with the master?”
“Once we found out what happened, we deactivated his key fob,” Waters said. “He needed to get in there.” He looked at Thompson. “Go get the records and bring them here.” The Sergeant Major pulled out his phone and stepped away.
Randall turned toward Antony. “What else is going on in there?” he asked when they were alone.
“I don’t think he’s been back,” Antony said. “Things are too neat. His room is so clean it doesn’t look like anyone lives there. I’d expect there to be more clutter if he’d come by to grab things. Stuff’s missing, too. Laptop’s gone, but the case is still here. Everything’s been wiped except the bathroom.”
“We just had an inspection two days ago,” Waters said, walking back to the men. “He failed miserably. Mind if I take a look to verify?” Randall nodded and held out his hand to the door.
He came out a moment later. “That room is a lot cleaner than when I saw it. Hell, cleaner than it’s ever been.”
Randall thought for a moment. “Okay. Ramos, get Madden over here and the two of you process the room. Do what you do. I’m going to make a trip downtown to check in with the Chief. He left me a message this morning.”
Thompson came running up with a file of papers and handed them over to the Sergeant Major. Waters took them and held out his hand. “I need the master key.”
SPC Thompson paused for a moment as though he wanted to say something but changed his mind and handed the key over. Antony noticed the young Soldier’s hesitation and mentally filed it away.
Waters looked down at the young troop. “Go wait at my office. Everyone on that roster has some questions to answer.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Oliver returned to the hospital. Lesley hadn’t answered her phone when he called, and he was concerned. The nurse had stopped him at the station to give him the results of the drug screen and to warn him of her emotional state.
She was asleep and breathing deeply, letting out a small snore when he entered the room. He sat down quietly and pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a few messages off. One was to Antony, telling him she’d settled back down and asking if he got the message about the tox screen. A second later, the phone lit up. He stepped out into the hallway and answered.
“Is everything okay over there?” Antony asked by way of greeting.
“She’s fine. She’s sleeping. I guess she had a bit of a meltdown after I left—”
“You left her?”
Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. “I had a meeting I couldn’t cancel.”
“I shouldn’t have left.”
Yeah. Antony was in deep with his sister. Oliver wondered if he realized it yet. “She’s fine, Ramos. The nurse sat with her for a good while. She’s still working this shit out of her system, so her emotions are going to be all over the place for a bit. Sleeping through it is the best thing for her.”
Antony wanted to drop everything and rush back to the hospital. He absently rubbed his chest. “Okay. Okay. Madden just got back with some equipment, so we need to get in there. I’ll call before I head over in case I need to bring anything.”
“Take your time, man. Do this right. She’s fine, and I won’t be leaving until you get here.”
Oliver went back into the room and sat down. Ramos and Lesley were a good match. He’d have never put them together, but they were both exceptionally smart. Lesley’d keep him on his toes, and Antony would bring her out of her shell a bit more. All anyone needed now was for this case to get handled so they could figure things out for themselves.
***
“Talk about inspection ready,” Charlie said. “Tell me, how does one live in a room and not leave any fingerprints anywhere?”
The duo had been working in silence for over an hour, methodically picking up, cataloging, dusting, and replacing every item in the room.
“I love it when you get rhetorical on me,” Antony said. He stopped and folded the fingerprint tape on the lift pad, frowning at the smears. “They don’t. So, he was still on the key roster. He sneaks on post somehow, maybe before we got word to the gate to stop him, somehow gets into battalion HQ, gets into the Sergeant Major’s office, and gets the master key to clean his room, which he wouldn’t have had to do since they hadn’t deactivated his yet,” Antony paused. “And then he managed this type of scrub job before vanishing into the night. Doesn’t fucking add up.”
