Nothing but Trouble_ A Kevin Kerney Novel - Michael Mcgarrity [18]
“Tell me some more about feeling in control.”
“The world is a dangerous place.” Crystal had never fired a gun. She wondered what the sensation was like.
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” Crystal said defensively. There was a switch or something above the trigger. What was it? She flicked it back and forth a couple of times and decided it must be the safety catch.
“Are you thinking of hurting yourself?”
“Not yet.”
“But soon?” Cohen asked.
Crystal pointed the gun at her reflection in the mirror on the wall behind the desk. “Maybe.”
“I know a very good psychiatrist in Santa Fe, Dr. Candace Robbins. I think it would be wise for you to call and ask to see her immediately.”
“So she can hospitalize me? No way.”
“So you have someone to talk to face-to-face. Let me give you her name and number.”
“I suppose I could call her.”
“Good,” Cohen said.
While Cohen paused to look up the name and phone number of the local shrink, Crystal pushed a lever at the top of the pistol grip and the magazine popped out. The bullets in it looked small, not dangerous at all.
She reinserted the magazine as she pretended to write down the shrink’s phone number that Cohen gave her.
“I’ll consult with Dr. Robbins,” Cohen added, “and tell her to expect your call.”
“Okay.” Crystal disconnected, put the gun back in the handbag, and went into the bedroom to dress. Yesterday at the post office, when she’d picked up Daddy’s mail, she’d seen an invitation for a preview of an art-and-antiquities show this evening.
Crystal decided she would go. Perhaps something would catch her eye. She shivered with anticipation.
Five minutes after Detective Sergeant Ramona Pino returned to her office, Chief Kerney stepped through the open door and sat in the chair next to the desk.
“Anything new on the art-theft cases?” he asked. Pino’s desk was unusually tidy, and the framed snapshot of Ramona and her boyfriend, a vice cop with the Albuquerque PD, taken while they were on vacation together last year, was missing.
“Not that I know of, Chief. I’ve been working a commercial burglary case today. Somebody broke into a construction trailer at a building site last night and took a couple thousand dollars’ worth of power tools. We’ve got a suspect. All we’ve got to do is find him.”
Kerney stretched his legs, crossed his feet, and nodded. “I’m sure you will. I’ve noticed a pattern to the art thefts that I wanted to mention to you.”
“Are you talking about how more expensive items are being taken each time?”
Kerney smiled approvingly. Pino had a razor-sharp mind and great cop instincts. “Exactly. Do you think it’s one person?” he asked.
“If it is, based on what’s been boosted, I’d bet she’s female, and not your ordinary garden-variety shoplifter either. It’s all quality stuff, which shows a certain degree of sophistication and knowledge about art.”
Kerney examined the bulletin board on the far wall of Pino’s small office, where she’d thumbtacked photographs of the stolen art. “All the objects could have easily been hidden in a large tote or a handbag,” he observed. “But is she stealing on impulse or is it planned?”
Kerney paused to see if Ramona got his drift. Planning a crime was not what a kleptomaniac would normally do.
“I think it’s impulsive, Chief. But she seems to be putting herself at a greater risk of discovery each time out by stealing more expensive items.”
“Do you think she has just been lucky?” Kerney asked.
Ramona settled back in her chair. “Yeah, and maybe not even aware of it.”
“How so?” Kerney asked.
“Both galleries where the opening receptions were held have good surveillance systems. But when they arranged the exhibits, nobody thought to reposition the cameras. The bronze statue and the miniature oil painting were on display in blind spots within a few feet of the entrances. Easy in, easy out.”
Ramona