Page 99 of Precise Justice

“I think they looked under your bed, I mean, in between the mattress and boxspring,” Cynthia told her.

“Oh, no! My diaries. Did they take my diaries? Look please. They should be between the mattress and box spring…”

“They’re not there,” Cynthia said less than a minute later. “What’s in the diary? Why would they take them?”

There was silence on Robbie’s end for a minute while she thought about the missing diaries.

“Robbie, you there?”

“Yes, sorry, I was thinking. I have no idea what they want with them,” Robbie said. “Is there a copy of the search warrant there?”

“Yeah, it’s on your desk.”

“Okay, go to class. I’ll come by and get it. Don’t worry, I’m sure this is no big deal. Thanks, I’ll see you later.”

Even before she read the search warrant, the first thing Robbie did back at the dorm was to go into her middle desk drawer. She found Marc’s card immediately then dialed the number.

“Marc, there’s a Robbie Craig on line three for you. She says it’s urgent. What do you want me to do?” Ryan the receptionist said through Marc’s open door.

“Robbie Craig, I thought, it was Powell,” Marc said. “I’ll take it.”

“Marc Kadella,” he said answering the phone.

“Mr. Kadella, Marc it’s Robbie, Robbie Powell. I used to be Powell now I’m using my Dad’s name,” Robbie said too quickly.

“Robbie,” Marc said then paused.

“Yes?”

“Slow down. Now, what’s wrong?”

Fifteen minutes later, Robbie entered Marc’s office through the back door. Ryan was expecting her and buzzed Marc before Robbie could introduce herself.

Marc came out to fetch her. As he did, Ryan said, while pretending to write it down, “Hold Marc’s calls.”

Ryan then looked and mouthed, “I know” at him.

Once inside Marc’s personal office he asked to see the search warrant.

When he finished reading it, he asked Robbie, “All they took were your diaries?”

“Yes, that’s all I found missing,” Robbie said. “My roommate said they wouldn’t let her in until they were finished. She didn’t see anything that they took. Why me?”

“I’m not sure,” Marc said. “They need probable cause which, if you own a TV, I’m sure you’ve heard that many times.”

“Yes, but what does it mean?”

“Whatever the judge who signs the search warrant says it means,” Marc said.

“There’s really not much I can do,” Marc continued. “These killings, these Klaw Hammer killings in the paper, theyinvolve people you know from your trans surgery. I’m guessing that’s it. You know anything about them, the killings?”

“No, I swear,” Robbie said then raised her right hand in a two-finger Cub Scout salute which made Marc laugh.

“One of them was the shrink, Friedman. The one a couple days ago, the surgeon, was he your surgeon?”

“Yes, Dr. Miller,” Robbie softly said.

“Your Mother….”