Christmas at Timberwoods - Fern Michaels [18]
Seventy-two hours. The best that could be hoped for was that it would pass without incident. In the meantime, everything had to be checked out. All those innocent people. Would Dolph Richards close the mall? Would Skyer’s go along with the shutdown? They were the biggest and loudest of all the stores. Summers knew in his gut that it would be business as usual.
The black box squawked again. Grateful for a reprieve from his thoughts, he answered and listened intently.
Felex Lassiter wanted him in his office right away. Some new information.
Eric paced Lassiter’s office, his coffee-brown eyes coming to rest again and again on Heather. “Do you or don’t you think that this Steinhart kid is the one who sent this bomb threat? Could she be responsible for the first two letters as well? They’re all similar—words and letters cut from newspapers and magazines.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think. Yes, I think she’s connected somehow . . . but I don’t know how. Look, if you could have seen her you would have felt sorry for her, too. And she’s twenty, by the way. Not that much of a kid.” Heather hesitated. “She does know the mall inside and out, and not as a shopper. She designed several of our Christmas displays this year.”
“On her own, or did she work with a team?” Summers asked.
“Sometimes with a team. Our tech crew animated the figures. But yes, she was often alone and sometimes on different levels after hours.”
“Animated displays—that would make it easy to use a mechanical trigger,” Summers mused. “I want a list of each display that she created, how it was built, and materials she used, if you can get it.”
Lex nodded. “I’ll handle that.”
Heather continued. “There’s more. She hinted that she’s frightened of being put away. She says her mother thinks she should be. But I’m sorry to say I almost agree with her.”
“All right. So you do think she’s involved.” Summers fired off his words with machine-gun rapidity. His pleasant face was set in serious lines, his brows drawn together in concentration. He turned to Lex, who was standing near the window, his back turned to them. “What about you, Lassiter? What do you think? Did you see the Steinhart girl?”
“No. Heather came to me almost immediately afterward, though. And ease up—badgering Heather isn’t going to solve your problem. She’s already explained why she didn’t immediately file a report with Baumgarten.”
Leaning on the corner of Lassiter’s desk, Summers looked at Heather again. Making no apology, he said, “You have a home address on this kid, I assume.”
Heather nodded. Her pretty face revealed her inner anguish. If only she had reported to Baumgarten, or at least to Eric himself. She was largely responsible for the havoc being created out there in the mall. Why, oh why had she taken the morning off? Then again, would she have had the courage to stand up at Baumgarten’s meeting and say what she knew? Could she have let everyone know how she’d failed in the job?
“I want the two of you to go out there to talk to Angela. And to her parents. She must trust you, Heather, if she came to you first. If she didn’t send the letters, maybe she knows who did and she’s feeling guilty about it. And Lassiter, that Joe College smile of yours would charm the stars out of the sky. Besides, Heather will need a backup.”
“I can’t,” Heather protested. “I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“It’s too late for that now.” Eric overrode her objections. “You’re in it, like it or not! I’ll get things moving on this side. It’s not going to be easy to tell Baumgarten. Take your choice—Baumgarten or Angela.”
Defeated, Heather slumped in her chair. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
“Did you bring her address?”
“It’s on my smart phone, along with directions.”
“Good.” Lex unlocked the car door and watched her slide into the passenger seat. He wished to hell he could do something to ease her worry, but his hands were tied. At least for now. Maybe later, after the interview, he’d take her out, buy her a drink and a nice supper. She deserved that. She deserved