“I wouldn't either if I wasn't qualified for my job . , ” Jake muttered.

“Right,” I said. “I think the stress that guy has right now is enormous. But I think he's at least trying to do the right thing. And I do not want to be responsible for putting someone out of work.” I handed him back the beer. “He's not a bad guy at all.”

He took the beer, finished it finished it off and set the empty bottle on the nightstand. “Alright. Issue number three solved. Which brings us to issue number four.”

I twisted in his arms so I could see his face. “What is issue number four?”

“What we need to do to get you a private investigator's license.”

“What are you talking about?”

He laughed. “I'm at least half-serious. After your rundown about how the theft could've been a possible inside job, I think you're just as concerned with figuring out what happened to the computers.”

I'd dropped my list of possible suspects on him and he'd apparently taken that as a sign that I was working the case. “Oh, whatever.”

“And for the record,” he said, giving me a squeeze. “I don't necessarily think you're wrong. About any of them.”

“See? I'm not some complete nut job.”

“I never said you were.”

“But you intimated it.”

“Maybe a little,” he said, smiling. “But I think your reasoning makes sense. About all of them.”

“So who do you think is most likely?”

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Most likely? I don't know. You know for sure of three people that who might've been on campus that weekend , right? Bingledorf, the computer dude and Harriet what's-her-face.” He paused, thinking. “I think I'd rule out Bingledorf. I mean, what the heck would her motive be to rob her own school? That doesn't seem likely to me.”

I didn't disagree with that and I'd more or less thought the same thing his reasoning . She may have had access, but I didn't think she really had reason the motive to steal an entire lab full of computers at the school she ran. I couldn't see any reason why she would've done it. thing she would have had to gain by doing it.

“So, for me, that leaves the computer dude and the Harriet lady,” Jake said. “If I had to pick one, I'd pick the dude.”

“Instead of Harriet?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I get what you're saying about her. They could kind of double dip if they were the thieves, selling what they stole and then maybe getting the s tore school to order through them. But that seems risky because there's no guarantee that Prism would order through Data Dummy.”

“Data Dork.”

“Whatever. But computer dude . ? It's sort of win-win for him.”

“How so?”

“First, he indicated he was hurting for money,” he said. “So he steals the machines and then sells them for some quick cash. Even if he doesn't know squat about computers, he would've known the layout of the room and where to unplug everything and he could've been in and out of there pretty quickly.”

That made sense. “Okay.”

“And, second,” he continued. “It buys him some time. Without the computers, he doesn't have to actually teach. I don't know what he's going to do in class, but whatever it is, it won't involve computers. So that not only gets him off the hook of looking like he doesn't know what he's doing totally inc ompetent – which he is , – but it also allows him some time to take whatever the classes are that he's taking these classes he told you about . At the very least, by the time new computers are installed, he probably would have done some catching up and would be a little more competent in the classroom.”

“ He's a fairly young guy, though,” I said. “I guess,” I said. “I just can't believe have a hard time believing he'd go to that extreme just to save face and make a little money.”

“So you're betting on Harriet?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shifted in the bed , bringing the blanket with me . “If I had to pick one, yes , s . S he'd be my pick.”

“Why?”

“The level of desperation,” I said. “And like you said about Riggler. It's win-win for her. Or for them. If they stole them, they could resell them and I'd have to think they'd have the know-how or the connections based on the fact that they run a computer shop. And then if they were able to secure the order from the school, it sounds like it would be enough to keep them in business for at least awhile.” I paused. “I think they had the stronger motive.”

Jake leaned back in the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. “I don't know.”

“A failing business and their liv lie eli hood versus a guy's competency in the classroom,” I said. “To me , that's a no-brainer.”

“ I guess,” he said. “And y “Y ou know we're just firing shots in the dark here right ? ” he asked. “ It very well might not be anyone in the school. O r just s maybe it's s omeone else who on the staff, someone you don't know at the school yet .”

“Sure,” I said , nodding . “But if it is someone connected to the school, I think those two are the most likely suspects . And I do think it was someone connected to the school. I mean, if you were gonna steal a bunch of computers, would a school be the first place you'd think of?”

He thought for a second. “Maybe. What school doesn't have computers?”

That was a fair point. “Well, yeah, but don't you think a robber would just, like, grab random computers rather than just focus on a lab? They'd have to know the alarm system and the layout of the school and all that if they weren't familiar with the school. It feels to me like they knew exactly what they wanted – and where to find it.”

“ I guess,” Jake said. Jake considered this. “But it still doesn't mean it's one of them.”

“No, but I wouldn't think the pool of suspects would be much larger,” I said. “How many more people would have weekend access to the building?”

“No idea,” he said. “That's why you're the investigator.”

I smacked his chest again. “I'm not an investigator.”

“You practically are,” he said, laughing chuckling . “The body in the coal chute. Windy Vista. Now this. You're like Jessica Fletcher , – just seventy t -t hree more times attractive.”

“I cannot believe you just compared me to that old lady in Cabot Cove,” I said, not nearly as offended as I sounded.

“Come on e ,” he said, still laughing. “It's a fair comparison at this point. And like I said earlier . A , a s much of this nosing around as you're doing, maybe we need to check on getting you your private eye license. You can hang out a shingle and get paid for this kind of stuff.”

“I don't want to get paid for this kind of stuff!” I said. “I want it to stop happening!”

“Well, it just keeps seeming to find finding you,” he said. “You 're kind of like a must be some sort of crime magnet.”

I frowned at him. “Can we go back to the part about me being way more attractive than Jessica Fletcher?”

He leaned over and switched off the light. He pulled me closer to him and nibbled on my earlobe .

I shivered. and I sighed.

“Seventy - four times,” he whispered. “Seventy - four times more attractive than old what's-her-name.”

Flattery got him everywhere.

THIRTY

I slept well for the first time all week like a dead person . I wasn't sure whether it was the conversation with Jake, the end result of his flattery, the beer , or my complete exhaustion, but once I closed my eyes, I didn't open them again until my alarm beeped in my ear.

Sleeping the entire night made a huge difference in how I felt when the alarm went off. I didn't groan and I didn't hit snooze when the alarm sounded. I almost jumped was out of bed, my eyes w ere ide open , ready to put the disappointment and negativity of the previous day behind me. and I felt like I could've run five miles if I believed in exercising or running when you weren't being chased. I showered, got dressed and made breakfast , a plateful of homemade waffles, before anyone else was even out of bed.