“And was that broken into?”
Garrett shook his head. “Again, whoever it was must have used a key,” the deputy said.
“The key was in my desk drawer,” Brandon said.
Ford Myers raised his eyebrow. “So whoever it was knew where to look. You said something about breakage, Deputy Garrett? What’s that all about?”
“Plaques, diplomas, and framed certificates,” Garrett answered. “That kind of thing.”
“Anything else missing besides the gun?” Myers continued. “Money? Jewelry?”
Brandon shook his head. “We haven’t really checked that yet,” he said. “We called for a deputy before we went snooping around.”
Myers nodded. “I see,” he said. “Now, tell me,” he continued, “have you two been having any trouble with your daughter recently?”
“Trouble?” Diana asked, interjecting herself into the conversation for the first time. “What do you mean, trouble?”
“Boy trouble, for instance,” Myers said with a casual shrug of the shoulders. “Hanging out with the wrong crowd. Problems with drugs or alcohol.”
Diana was shaking her head long before he finished. “No,” she declared. “Absolutely not! Nothing like that. Lani’s a fine kid. An honors student. She’s never given us a bit of trouble.”
Myers stuffed his notebook into his pocket and then glanced at Deputy Garrett. “How about if I have the deputy here show me the damage in your office.”
Brandon’s face was tight with suppressed anger. “Sure,” he said. “That’ll be fine.”
As the two officers started out of the room, Diana made as if to follow them, but Brandon stopped her. “We’ll wait here,” he said.
As soon as Garrett and Myers were out of earshot, a furious Diana Walker turned on her husband. “What the hell does he mean, hanging out with the wrong crowd?”
“Hush. Don’t let him hear you,” Brandon said. “You know where the SOB is going with all that, don’t you? I do. I’ll bet he’s going to call this a family disturbance. He’ll say Lani’s a runaway. He’s not going to lift a finger until he has to. He’ll go by the book on this one, one hundred percent. Guaranteed.”
Diana was outraged. “Not lift a finger? What do you mean?”
“Hide and watch,” Brandon told her. “I’ve seen it before. Nobody plays the official rules game better than Ford Myers. I think maybe he invented it.”
They were sitting waiting in grim silence a few minutes later when Myers sauntered back into the room. “If you have any jewelry or cash in the house, you might want to check it,” he suggested.
“We don’t keep cash around,” Brandon said. “And not that much jewelry. But I’m sure Diana will be glad to check.”
Wordlessly, Diana got up and walked into the bedroom. Nothing appeared to be out of place. Her jewelry box was where it belonged and nothing seemed to be missing. Fighting back tears, she walked on down the hall and checked Lani’s bedroom. Jessica was right. The flowered cowboy shirt, Lani’s Stetson, and Tony Lama boots were all gone from the closet. Diana returned to the living room just as Myers was getting ready to leave.
“I checked,” she said. “Everything is here, except for the outfit Jessica said Lani was planning to wear. That one is gone.”
“Good enough, Mrs. Walker,” Myers said. “Deputy Garrett and I will be shoving off for the time being. If you still haven’t heard anything from Lani by tomorrow morning, call in after six and we’ll go ahead with the Missing Persons report at that time.”
“I can tell you what clothes Lani was wearing when she left the house,” Diana said. “In case you’re interested, that is.”
“That information should go into the Missing Persons report when you make it.” Myers smiled. “Chances are, though, it won’t even be necessary. Most of the time, these kids turn up long before the twenty-four-hour deadline. I’m sure your husband can tell you how it works, Mrs. Walker. By allowing that day’s worth of grace time, we can cut down on unnecessary paperwork. Right, Mr. Walker?”
“Right,” Brandon said.
“And as far as the gun theft and the vandalism is concerned, on a low-priority residential robbery like this, I won’t be able to schedule someone to come out and lift prints until regular work hours next week. And besides, that may not prove necessary, either.”
“What do you mean?” Diana asked. “Why wouldn’t it be necessary?”
Myers shrugged. “What if the whole thing turns out to be a family prank of some kind? If your daughter took the gun herself on a lark, just to do a little unauthorized target practice, it might be better not to have those prints on file, don’t you think?”
“But Lani wouldn’t—” Diana began.
“Sure,” Brandon said, urging Detective Myers and the deputy out the door. “I see what you mean. Thanks for all your help.”
Diana was fuming when Brandon turned to face her. “Why did you let him off the hook like that?” she demanded. “Lani doesn’t even
“I let Detective Myers off the hook because he has no intention of doing anything, and I do.” With that, Brandon Walker stalked toward the kitchen, with Diana right on his heels.
“What?” she asked. “What are you going to do?”
