Deep Dark by Laura Griffin Page A

around, although she didn’t expect to find anything. The person she was looking for wouldn’t be careless enough to leave tracks there.
    â€œI assume they pay pretty well?”
    She glanced up.
    â€œJust asking. I hear it’s good money. Better than DPS, at least. And DPS pays better than Austin PD does, so . . .” In response to her stony look, he gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry—I should let you get to work.”
    She returned her attention to the screen, and he wandered back to his chair. When she felt sure he was distracted, she clicked out of April’s email.
    She darted a glance over her shoulder, opened up a directory, and got down to business.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    Veronica had the victim’s front door mounted on sawhorses in the evidence lab. It looked big and out ofplace, like an elephant in a petting zoo. For a moment, Reed just stared at it.
    â€œTake a look at what she found,” Jay said, pulling his attention to the microscope on the far side of the room.
    Reed stepped over and peered into the viewfinder. He hated this game, because he never knew what he was looking at.
    â€œWhat am I seeing here?”
    â€œBrass shavings,” Veronica said. “Ten-times magnification. They’re from the lock on the victim’s front door.”
    â€œYou’re telling me someone picked her lock?”
    â€œAppears so.”
    â€œI thought we ruled that out.”
    â€œThis was no ham-handed job with a screwdriver,” Veronica said. She walked up to a computer on the counter and started pecking around. “This involved some skill. It’s taken me hours just to analyze the evidence and piece together what happened.”
    Reed traded looks with Jay. Jay had mentioned that he’d been at the lab last night, but Reed had figured it was personal, not work-related. Veronica was pretty and single, and Jay had been talking about her for months.
    â€œWhat did you find out?” Reed asked her.
    â€œAre you familiar with how pin-and-tumbler locks work?” she asked.
    â€œMore or less.”
    â€œBasically, inside the lock you have several pins of different lengths that keep the lock from opening without a key.” She pulled up a diagram on her computer. “When the correct key is used, the gap between the top pins and the bottom pins is aligned with the edge ofthe plug, which means the plug is able to rotate and— presto —the lock opens. In this case, I found evidence that someone used a pick gun.”
    Reed glanced up as Hall stepped into the room.
    â€œThat from the April Abrams crime scene?” the lieutenant asked, looking at the door.
    Veronica looked surprised to see Hall here, but she quickly recovered. “That’s right.”
    â€œYou said something about a pick gun?”
    â€œYes, an electronic pick gun. It vibrates rapidly to separate the pairs of pins, and then the plug is able to rotate without a key. It’s fast, usually. And battery operated. It creates tiny marks on the metal, though, and leaves behind brass particles, which we found on the inside of the lock itself and scattered near the front door.”
    Hall glanced around at all the equipment, as if he was seeing it for the first time. Maybe he was. The lieutenant wasn’t known for being hands-on and tended to stay upstairs.
    â€œHow much does a tool like that run?” Jay asked Veronica.
    â€œAnywhere from a hundred to five hundred dollars, depending how fancy you want it. Some are loud, like dental drills. The nicer ones are quieter and don’t leave as much evidence behind.”
    â€œAnd this one?” Reed asked.
    â€œI’d say medium. It left behind some brass shavings but not a lot. And it was probably quiet but not silent.”
    Jay looked at Reed. “Seems like a risk.”
    â€œYou mean a risk that she’d hear him?”
    â€œYeah. I mean, she probably did, right? She