Smith Investigation Series Box Set 1 by Deborah Diaz

it was a bakery judging by the display of various pastries in the brightly decorated windows.
    It was open now but I suspected that at the time Fiona was presumed to have wandered off it would have been closed. “Still, worth a shot,” I thought and sent Spike in to inquire.
    I stayed behind and looked at the rusty gate guarding the entrance to a small neighborhood park across the street from the bakery.
    The gate was connected to a decaying chain link fence that ran at a strange angle from another fence limiting a private property. The angle created an unexpected widening of the sidewalk, invisible from Fiona’s house, in the middle of which stood a bronze statue that was some sort of abstract form of art. I approached the statue, paying attention to the traces of paint someone had tried to remove from the base of the statue, the only smooth surface on the entire thing.
    “Perfect place for graffiti, isn’t it?” Spike said, from behind me. She had returned quickly.
    I nodded.
    “Too bad people don’t appreciate this form of art more,” Spike went on.
    “Maybe that’s because these so called forms of art don’t always look like anything worth appreciating? Anyone can grab a can of spray paint and start defacing buildings and landmarks,” I argued. “Anyway, what did the bakery people have to say?”
    “Nothing, really. They were closed that day. All day. And they don’t have a camera that captures the street. They say they don’t need it. It’s a nice neighborhood. Apart from the occasional act of vandalism.”
    I smiled, glad that people still took pride in hating any form of unconventional art.
    “Maybe if people could see these real artists, differentiate between them and…” Spike tried to change my mind but I cut her off, catching sight of something that could prove to be the key to solving our case.
    “And that’s why people buy surveillance cams.”
    Spike looked at me quizzically. I pointed out to her the round, fairly new, protective globe hiding the camera. It was mounted just above the gate of the private property adjacent to the park.
    Her grin matched mine when she looked back at me.
    “Let’s ring them,” she proposed.
    “Not us. I’ll call Dylan, I bet he already spoke to the owners.”
    “So?”
    “He has a rapport with them. They don't know any of us, at Smith Investigations, don’t trust us. Except for Dylan. Not to mention how disorganized we’d look if the same firm sent two different teams to talk to them. Call him.”
    “Me?”
    “Oh, grow up!”

Chapter 4
    We were all huddled in front of the largest of Robert’s screens, which he swiveled on its base to accommodate everyone.
    The lights were dim in the room. Our already small windows were covered completely.
    “Why aren’t we watching this on the projector?” Smith asked, looking around awkwardly, trying not to bump into someone. He wasn’t very good with darkness, and there was not enough personal space for any of us.
    “Rob asked me to get the highest quality for watching and the projector just doesn’t do it,” Robert replied, sounding somehow angry at the mere existence of projectors. I was in no mood for another episode of Smith Investigations craziness, so I requested to see the footage.
    There was no sound, and to say that the quality wasn't the best would have been putting it mildly. There was also no street lighting in front of the camera, apart from the tiny lamp the owners had mounted at the gate, which made the already grainy video look like a pool of various shades of black.
    I could barely distinguish any shape apart from what I guessed to be the horrible graffiti-stained statue.
    We watched in tense silence for what must’ve been several minutes, before I barely caught sight of some motion at the edge of the screen.
    After a few paces, Fiona appeared in the frame, stepping into the lit area guarded by the lamp. She seemed like she was either sightseeing or leisurely searching for