The Violin Conspiracy(10)

“You’re assuming the crime scene is the hotel room?” Ray said.

“I am, but you’re right. Since you didn’t lock the case, it could have been stolen elsewhere—the airport, the airplane, plus the evening before, when you were wandering around the city. Pilar Jiménez is our primary person of interest, of course. But keep in mind that no matter where the violin was stolen, we still have a tainted crime scene.”

“What about the ransom note?” Ray put in. “Are you tracking down the Bitcoin account?”

Alicia’s brown eyes were carefully blank. “Yes, we’re all working on tracking down the account.”

“What about the letter itself?” Ray asked.

“Waiting to hear back from the lab for fingerprints or any other DNA. But, honestly, I wouldn’t hold out much hope for that. Whoever planned this did it very carefully, and I doubt he left his fingerprints or a saliva sample on the paper.”

“What about tracking down the ink and the paper?” Nicole said.

Alicia didn’t look away. “Already did. It’s from an HP OfficeJet 5258, using standard HP black ink. HP has sold fourteen thousand of the printers over the last year. The lab is still analyzing the paper, but I’ll tell you right now that it’s from a cheap ream that you can pick up in any office supply store in the country. The physical note itself is a dead end.”

“The shoe,” Ray said. “The shoe is the key. It’s got to be a clue. Did you find out Dante Marks’s shoe size? I’ll bet you it’s a ten and a half.”

“He wears a size nine,” Alicia told him. “And in the meantime there were three hundred purchases of men’s size ten and a half Chucks in the tristate area over the past month. And another two hundred online across the US. We’re tracking down every one we can, but it’s a monumental job.”

“Oh,” Ray said.

“The third factor I’m focusing on is motive,” she went on, holding his gaze. “Who would want it? Is it for some black market collector? Is it for the insurance money?” She eyed Ray, sizing him up.

He stared right back. “The people with the biggest motive are my family,” he said. “They have the most to gain.” He didn’t want to explain again about the deal he’d made with them—how his lawyer had begged him not to. How he’d thought it was his only option. “And if it isn’t them, it’s those crazy Markses. It has to be.”

She nodded, not asking for details yet—she clearly already knew. “Yes, when it comes to motive, they all have a strong one.” She paused, her eyes drifting beyond him, staring at the blank cream wall of the hotel suite. “And you need to know that we’re looking into you closely. The insurance money makes you a pretty obvious suspect.”

“If he wanted to sell it, he would’ve sold it already,” Nicole said.

“I’ve certainly had offers,” Ray said. “For more than ten million bucks. Someone offered me fourteen a couple weeks ago.”

“That’s good to know,” Alicia said. “I’ll want a list. In the meantime I’ll start with you,” she said to Ray.

It was now after 9:00 p.m. Despite the lateness of the hour, Alicia asked Nicole to go into the bedroom, close the door. Then she spent the next two hours grilling Ray about every movement he’d made the day of the theft. The FBI guys and the police detectives had been polite and thorough, but this woman took it to a whole new level, drilling into every step of the evening and night.

“When you went to the bathroom, you took the violin with you?”

“Yes.”

“Number one or number two?”

“The night before it was stolen, only number one.”

“Where was the violin?”

“Slung over my right shoulder, in its case.”

“You never took it off?”

“Never, especially not in the bathroom. Humidity. It stays on my shoulder.”

“How about if you have to go number two?”

“I always find a stall that has a hook on the inside of the door so I can hang it. Always within arm’s reach.”

“Always?”

“Always,” he said firmly. “Okay, let’s get this out of the way. I’m just some Black dude who got lucky. I know what you’re thinking, but I’d never do anything to put my violin at risk.”

“I can see that.” She nodded. “But the case wasn’t locked when you were having dinner, right? Or drinks? Or in the cab?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t lock it when I have it on me. And I always have it on me.”

“So you never lock it, you’re saying.”

“I’ve locked it,” Ray said defensively.

“Mm-hmm.” Alicia looked down at her notes. “But it wasn’t locked when you were in the shower, right? When the housekeeper was in the room?”

He just looked at her. She was right.

“I don’t think you get it,” Ray said. “I don’t take any risks with it. Ever. I never leave it alone. I don’t walk around with the case unlocked and leave it lying on a park bench. That violin is my life. It changed everything for me.”

“From what I’ve heard, you’re a very talented musician in your own right.”