Page 23 of Tightrope

She gave him a cold look. “How long have you carried a gun?”

So much for getting her to open up about her past.

“Never mind,” he said. “Let’s go upstairs. I want to have a look around.”

Without a word she turned and went up the stairs. He followed.When they reached the third level, he glanced at the wall sconce. It was illuminated.

“You said it was dark up here?” he asked.

“Yes. The bulb in that fixture had been partially unscrewed. I tightened it while I waited for the police and the ambulance.” Amalie pointed toward an open door. “That’s my aunt’s room. I found her in the hallway. I think she must have heard him and got up to see what was going on. He hit her with a vase that was on the console.”

Matthias studied the French doors at the end of the hallway.

“You said he went over the balcony?”

“Yes.”

“Long way down.”

“He used a rope,” Amalie said. “It’s still hanging from the railing.”

“He was obviously prepared for a quick exit. I wonder if he used the rope to enter the villa.”

Amalie frowned. “Good question. I hadn’t thought about that. He must have climbed up the side of the house, moving from balcony to balcony.”

“That would take a lot of strength and agility,” Matthias said. He went through the French doors, stepped out onto the balcony, and looked down. “He would have to be in very good shape. A skilled cat burglar could probably manage it, but there are other possibilities. I want to take a look at the conservatory.”

“Why?”

“Because you probably wouldn’t have heard him break in if he came from that end of the house. Why would he take the risk of climbing the wall if he could simply let himself in through a door?”

Amalie sighed. “You’re right.”

One of the small panes of glass in the conservatory door had been shattered.

“That answers that question,” Matthias said. “The intruder broke the glass, reached inside, and unlocked the door. But it’s interesting that he brought the rope along. It indicates he anticipated that he might have to leave from one of the higher floors.”

“Not everyone knows how to tie off a secure knot, let alone climb down a rope,” Amalie said.

She was looking increasingly uneasy, he decided. Well, she had every right to be anxious.

“A professional cat burglar would be able to use a rope for scaling a wall or making a quick exit,” he said. “As soon as the sun comes up I’ll take a look around outside and see if I can find anything that might give us a lead. What did the police say?”

“They asked me for a list of items that the burglar might have stolen, but beyond that, they weren’t much help.”

“Let’s take a look at Pickwell’s room.”

“All right, but I’m almost positive that he never got that far,” Amalie said. “Thanks to Hazel’s scream, I interrupted him before he made it to Pickwell’s room.”

“How would he know the location of the room you gave to Pickwell?” Matthias said.

That stopped her.

“Good question,” she said after a moment’s thought. “I don’t know. I suppose he would have had to go room by room. Maybe that’s why he went up to the third floor first. He was planning to work his way down through the house and leave the same way he came in.”

A short time later Matthias stood in the center of the room that Pickwell had used. Nothing appeared to have been touched since he had searched the place the previous night.

“The question is, what the hell was he looking for?” Matthias said.

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