Part 30 (2/2)
”When the crime scene unit is finished. It'll be evening at the earliest. Until then, you're free to sit in on the interviews of the employees. That's probably going to take us most of the day.”
”How many people are we talking about?”
Whitaker glanced down at a sheet of paper in front of him. But before he could answer, Adam said, ”Mulder employs nearly forty full- and part-time employees in the winter months. That would include the daughter's teacher and various instructors: piano, dance, whatnot.”
”How many live on the grounds?”
”None live in the house,” the special agent said, ”but the teacher has a small apartment over one of the garages. A mechanic, two stable hands, and a couple groundskeepers have places above various other outbuildings. Everyone else lives off-site.” He consulted the notes again. ”Eight security officers, six maids, four drivers, three cooks, one personal a.s.sistant-a sort of secretary to Mrs. Mulder-a hairdresser, ma.s.seuse . . . it's like a d.a.m.n village around here.”
”And how many of those people were here yesterday?” Kellan asked.
”Thirty-eight were on the grounds at some point.” He lifted a shoulder. ”A few never made it in because of the weather. Others left early. All have been notified that they're wanted in for questioning. About half have arrived so far.”
”You would have looked at the tapes first,” Macy noted. She wondered if the agent had been getting to that or if he wouldn't have brought it up if she hadn't asked. ”They've got live video feed, right? That means a security station somewhere with someone manning the cameras. Something had to have shown up on them.”
”Nothing that we've found yet. But we've only been here a couple hours. I've got some of the best techies in the agency going over those cameras. Whatever is there, we'll find it.”
”How many of the security officers have arrived?”
”Six. And we've made contact with the other two. They're on their way.”
Macy understood where Raiker was going with his question. She'd be willing to bet that Mulder had spared no expense on security for the estate. ”What are the security specs?”
”Well, you saw the twelve foot walls around the perimeter,” Whitaker said dryly. ”Cameras are mounted every thirty feet. Motion detectors on the grounds. The guard station is manned twenty-four-seven. The gates don't open without key-card ID and thumbprint identification.”
Raiker's voice was sharp. ”But the guard out front has override powers.”
”No. Only security inside can override. But we've found no record that they did so yesterday. We're looking deeper.”
Exchanging a glance with Burke, Macy said, ”Let's get to those interviews then. Starting with Mulder's security team.” There didn't appear to be any way to get on to the estate without security knowing about it.
Which meant one of the members of the team might well have a.s.sisted with Ellie's kidnapping.
About the Author.
Kylie Brant is the bestselling author of nearly thirty contemporary romantic suspense novels, including Waking Nightmare, Waking Evil, and Waking the Dead. She's a two-time Rita nominee and a Romantic Times Career Achievement award winner. One of her books is listed by Romantic Times Magazine as an all-time favorite.
Kylie lives in the Midwest with her husband and a very spoiled Polish Lowland sheepdog. Visit her website ator contact her at brant.com.
Berkley Sensation t.i.tles by Kylie Brant.
WAKING NIGHTMARE.
WAKING EVIL.
WAKING THE DEAD.
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