Detective Richards looked at Lily directly now, wearing a broad smile. He set his iPad down on the kitchen table beside him and crossed his arms in a more relaxed mood.
"Officer Douglas spoke very highly of you," he began. "She assured me once I mentioned your name that you would be able to be a great help to us." He paused to lean forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "I have to admit that I was skeptical... Oh, don't mistake me," he assured her, holding out his hands and leaning back, "the department is well aware of your involvement with the museum situation a few years ago, as well as the other investigations you've undertaken. I was skeptical that you would surprise me so quickly once you arrived.
"Officer Douglas assured me that I would be impressed by you within 20 minutes of arriving on scene. I found that a bit extravagant as a claim, but I yield to her wisdom." He seemed very pleased with himself, which was causing Lily to get irritated under the circumstances. She felt a knot growing in the pit of her stomach, and the muscles on her face began tensing. Richards must have noticed this also, and attempted to put the conversation back on a more serious level.
"That aside," he began, swallowing his smile, "you've actually hit on an important point. Grace did leave a note, and it mention you, that's why we roused you so early. I apologize for that as well, but I'm sure you won't bear us any lingering ill will given the circumstances."
Lily felt the knot loosen, and she tried to calm herself and listen closely.
"As I said, her car is still in the garage, and Officer Jackson assures me that she saw no one in the house of grounds after she arrived on the scene. Once the second officer arrived, then scouted the perimeter before moving inside. Again, there was no evidence of Grace or the intruders."
"How quickly did the officers arrive on scene after you were alerted by the security company?" Lily asked. The rooms were in a shambles, which suggested that either the intruder had several long minutes to search before the officers arrived on scene, or there were several intruders involved.
Detective Richards checked his notes on the iPad. "The call came in at 1:30 am, and Officer Jackson arrived on scene at 1:37 am. Unfortunately, I don't have confirmation from the security system on when they received the initial alert. There could be as long as ten minutes added to the time they had in the house."
He looked around as he answered, thinking he could read Lily's assessment. "They ransacked this place pretty well for even 17 minutes. What do you think that means?"
"If they knew what they were after, or where to look, they never would have left it looking like this except to cover their actions." Lily still hadn't seen the rest of the house, but she was willing to take the detective's word that it looked very similar to the two rooms she had been in. "This looks like they didn't know, so the search was legitimate not a show.
"Also, if its throughout the house, chances are they didn't find what they were looking for. On the other hand, you said all the rooms looked like this, which suggests that the search was finished, not interrupted. That has to explain why the officers found no evidence of them on the premises and heard no one getting away."
"That all sound very plausible," Detective Richards found himself liking Lily Harris. She was in a very difficult situation and was still assessing it better than any of his officers had while they were here. He was curious where the information she was gathering might lead her line of thinking. "Does it suggest any further questions to you?"
Lily stopped to catch his eye, thinking this again sounded like a test, and not appreciating that level of condescension. But she saw a genuine look of interest on his face, and allowed her anxiety to calm itself.
