“Do you mind if I take it out of the trunk?” Sin asked. “The shadows are making it difficult to see.”
Ashley had no objection. Sin removed the painting, closed the trunk, and laid the canvas on top.
“What is this a painting of?” Sin asked.
“It’s the administration building at Water’s Edge,” Garcia answered. “It was painted from a northwestern perspective early in the morning.”
Everyone looked at Garcia.
“Care to explain,” Sin said.
“Yeah, even I didn’t catch most of that,” Ashley commented.
“I know what building it is because that is the building King and I concentrated our reconnaissance on before the taskforce’s raid. That’s the building we were perched on. I know the angle because of the surveillance photos, and I know the approximate time of day because of the shadows. Whoever painted this was extremely accurate.”
Sniper’s eye, Sin thought. “Okay, we know the building, but Ashley, why do you think it’s a message to you from Joel?”
“All the windows are the same except for one.” Ashley pointed to a window in the top west corner of the building. “Whoever painted this made sure to add a faint glow coming through this window.” She stopped and looked at the others. “That’s the room where Miranda held her art lessons. That’s where we would be called to when we were punished. There are only two people besides my brother and me who would know that.”
“Miranda and Joel,” Fletcher added.
Sin bit her lower lip but said nothing. She just stood, hands on hips, and stared at the painting. Finally, she turned toward Garcia. “I saw a fire escape on the back of the building when we were there earlier. Is it still useable?”
“The escape is a bit rusted, but it is useable,” Garcia said. “The amount of rust makes it impractical to try to extend it to the ground, so someone will have to scale the building to the second floor.”
“So how do we climb?” she asked.
“Each window is recessed into the brick, so there is a three to four inch sill around each of them. The architect also framed each window by building an extra layer of brick around them. They are close enough together that someone tall should be able to climb from one to the other all the way to the top. Thankfully, we only need to climb to the second floor. The others can be reached by the fire escape.”
“Someone tall? That narrows the possibilities,” Fletcher said.
Sin pointed to the painting, placing her nail on the lit window. “Where is the fire escape in association to this room?”
“Same side.” Garcia said. “It’s facing west, but the ladder is dead center and the room is in the northwest corner.”
“Fletch, you’ll have to make your way to the roof and then traverse until you’re immediately above the window. On my mark, you’ll join the party.”
Fletcher nodded his agreement.
Sin looked at Ashley. “We need your help.”
“What do you need?”
“I need you to lead us to Joel straight through the front doors.”
Ashley lit a cigarette and stared at the painting. She inhaled deep and blew smoke at the canvas.
56
By two in the afternoon, everything was in place. Fletcher was going to make his way onto the Water’s Edge campus by way of the construction entrance and traverse the backside of the grounds using the other buildings and trees as cover.
Ashley would be the decoy. She would drive onto the campus and head straight for the administration building. She was going to walk through the front door while making as much noise as possible. Her job was to be a distraction.
Jack’s news conference was scheduled to air at 2:30. Sin hoped his remarks about her death would cause Joel to let his guard down. Soon after its conclusion, Sin and Garcia were going to catch a ride with Ashley hiding low on the back seat of her car.
Sin, Garcia, and Ashley sat in her car in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot watching Action News on Ashley’s tablet as the daily news report was interrupted by a special news report.
That was Sin’s cue to let Fletcher know his coast was clear to head toward the administration building.
“This is Jim Day reporting from the Action News newsroom. We have breaking information concerning yesterday’s explosion and its possible link to the Painted Beauty Killer case. I am going to send you out to Tiffany Swenson who is on the scene.”
Tiffany? What the hell is she doing there?
The picture transitioned to Tiffany. She was wearing a scarf on her head and it was evident to Sin that there were still some burns under all her makeup.
“Thanks, Jim. This is Tiffany Swenson reporting for Action News. I am standing alongside the crime scene where a boat suspiciously blew up yesterday afternoon. A boat where Agent Sinclair O’Malley, the lead investigator on the Painted Beauty Killer case, was known to be staying.” Tiffany looked to her side and nodded. “Agent Jack McGuire is ready, so I will send the broadcast back to you, Jim.”
Jack looked worse than Tiffany. He was wearing a wrinkled suit and his dark aviator sunglasses. Behind him to the right stood Gonzales, who didn’t look any better. Next to him was Mayor Sanchez.
Sin was listening to Jack but watching Raul Sanchez.
He brought his hand up to his face as if he was wiping sweat from his brow, but Sin saw beyond the simple gesture. Sanchez was messaging her with hands signals Charlie had taught her.
Contact Charlie
A glimmer of a grin began to rise from her lips. A glimmer that was wiped clean by Jack’s words and emotion.
“I am here to read a short statement prepared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Jack cleared his throat. “I will not be taking questions. At approximately four p.m., on the twelfth of September, an incendiary device now known to be the plastic explosive, C4, exploded on the houseboat behind me. With the cooperation of Mayor Sanchez and the city of Miami Beach, the FBI was
