Page 101 of Holmes, Margaret and Poe

“I said I suspect something,” Bree said, and explained.

When she was finished, Creighton nodded, said, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Neither did I, until last night.”

Ninety minutes later, they exited the highway and got on Route 464, about four miles south of the Pennsylvania border, and soon after, they entered the quaint little town of Paxson, which was surrounded by wooded hills and farms.

Paxson bustled with midmorning activity despite the fact that it was a misty Sunday. A steady stream of students moved between the town and the Paxson State campus.

Creighton drove in the main entrance and found a spot invisitors’ parking. Bree and Creighton went to the administrative offices and had a talk with the bursar.

It had begun to drizzle when they found Iliana Meadows’s roommate, Kerrie Mountain, studying in her dorm room. A short redhead with fair skin and freckles, Mountain was clearly devastated by Iliana’s death and seemed to hold nothing back as they questioned her.

“I guess I knew she had money because she always had plenty to spend,” Mountain said near the end of their conversation. “But I didn’t know it was, like, that much.”

Creighton said, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Kids on campus are saying Iliana had millions because of some accident that killed her father.”

Bree moved around the dorm room, saw a keyboard, a mouse, and a dark screen. “She connected these to her laptop?”

Mountain nodded. “She said she liked to see things on bigger screens. Her laptop’s missing, right?”

“It is,” Bree said, moving the keyboard. “And so is her phone.”

“You think the person who killed her took them?”

“Possible,” Creighton said, watching her closely.

Bree turned the screen a little, noticed a small device in one of the USB ports. At first, she thought it was a thumb drive, but then she took a closer look. She turned the screen completely. “Do you know what this is?”

Iliana’s roommate nodded. “It helps with Wi-Fi connections. Like an antenna. I’ve got one too.”

“Where did you get them?”

Mountain told them. “We got a discount. Two for one. And the Wi-Fi seems better. Why?”

“I’ll explain later,” Bree said. “Don’t touch them and don’t talk to anyone about them until we return.”

“No,” she said. “I won’t. I mean, I really don’t know what’s going on.”

With a slight scowl, Detective Creighton crossed her arms and said, “Neither do I.”

CHAPTER 85

AS CREIGHTON AND BREEhustled through the light rain to the Paxson field house, Bree explained the devices and their ramifications.

“Jesus,” Creighton said when Bree was done. “I never would have caught that.”

“Alex showed me one once,” she said. “Someone tried to use one on him.”

“Okay, how do we handle it?” Creighton asked. “Strategically?”

“You’re the one with jurisdiction.”

“And you’re a former big-city chief of detectives with way more experience.”

“Make the questions sound routine at first, like follow-ups to some loose threads. Get them to answer before you tie them in knots.”

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