Chapter 3 - THE LOCK
The smart lock became the first real suspect.
Brand:
Aegis Secure 9.
Expensive.
Encrypted.
Battery-backed.
Local event storage.
Remote administration disabled by Michael after a hacking scare.
The company sent an engineer.
Jack asked:
“Can the deadbolt show locked when it isn’t?”
“Not without mechanical failure.”
“Can someone lock it from outside?”
“Not the interior manual deadbolt.”
“Can logs be spoofed?”
“Possible in theory. Extremely difficult.”
Robert crossed his arms.
“We’re homicide. ‘Extremely difficult’ is not ‘impossible.’”
The engineer nodded.
They removed the lock.
No tampering.
No relay device.
No hidden magnet.
No damaged sensor.
Then Jack noticed the deadbolt knob.
A thin transparent fiber clung behind it.
Almost invisible.
Fishing line?
Forensics lifted it.
Synthetic monofilament.
Robert raised an eyebrow.
“Now we have something.”
Classic trick.
Tie line to deadbolt.
Exit.
Pull line through door gap.
Turn lock from outside.
Jack almost smiled.
Then they tested it.
Failed.
The Aegis deadbolt required inward pressure before rotation.
A line could move it partially.
Not fully.
More importantly, the door seals were too tight for the line to pass without leaving compression marks.
None.
The fiber was real.
But not enough.
Then Robert said:
“Maybe it’s planted.”
Jack looked at him.
“Why plant a clue to a trick that doesn’t work?”
“To make us waste six hours.”
Good point.
Then another result.
The monofilament carried microscopic traces of graphite lubricant used in fishing reels.
Michael did not fish.
No fishing equipment in apartment.
One suspect did.
David Ross.
Former Turner Meridian CFO.
Fired six months earlier.
Known offshore fisherman.
Too easy.
Jack hated easy.
They brought Ross in.
He laughed when shown the fiber.
“I haven’t been in Michael’s apartment in a year.”
Phone records placed him at a restaurant during the murder.
Three independent witnesses.
Payment timestamp.
Traffic camera.
Could still hire someone.
But the fiber looked like a frame.
Jack wrote on the board:
LOCK TRICK — POSSIBLE DISTRACTION.
Then he drew a line beneath it.
WHO WANTS US TO BELIEVE THE DOOR MATTERS MOST?
Robert stared.
“Jack.”
“What?”
“The door does matter most.”
May you like
Jack looked back at the sealed-room diagram.
“Maybe that’s exactly the problem.”
