“They think he came in through Samantha’s office,” she said. “Her window was open.”

“But everything’s locked. And we’ve got sensors on all the windowpanes.”

“The alarm wasn’t engaged,” Brandon said.

Javi stood up, and she could tell he recognized Brandon from the news article she’d shown him.

“Detective Reynolds, APD.”

Javi nodded. “Javier Mendez.” He rested his hands on his hips and glanced at Leigh. “I activated the alarm around six when I left, so—”

“I deactivated it,” she said. “I ran home to get some files from my house, and I forgot to set it again. So when I came back, it was off.”

Javi frowned. “What time was this?”

“I left around seven thirty. Then when I came back, I noticed it felt cold in here. I thought the cleaning people had fiddled with the thermostat again, but turns out the window in Samantha’s office was wide open. Sometimes she smokes in her office and opens the window, so maybe someone figured it might be unlocked.”

Javi’s look turned grim. “I want to check around, see if anything’s missing.”

“I couldn’t find anything,” Leigh said.

“Talk to Detective Tate,” Brandon told him. “He’s back there now with our CSI.”

Javi shot a look at Leigh to make sure she was okay. She gave a slight nod and he walked to the back of the building.

“That’s your law partner?” Brandon asked.

“Yes.”

“How long have you two had office space here?”

She blew out a sigh, grateful for the change of subject. “Two years in November.”

“He mentioned the alarm system. You ever had a break-in before?”

“No. But we keep sensitive files around, so as soon as we moved in here, we upgraded the system.”

“Any cameras?”

“No. At least . . . I don’t think so. Ask Javi. He specced everything out at the time. I wasn’t really involved.”

Javi reappeared, looking grimmer than before. There was something deeply disconcerting about seeing their quaint little office filled with police officers. This whole thing felt like such a violation.

“Nothing missing, that I can tell,” Javi said. “But I can’t be sure until we check with everyone. I don’t see any electronics missing. We’ve got tablets and laptops lying around everywhere.” He looked at Leigh. “What about your office?”

“Nothing missing.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. Even my purse and wallet are sitting right there.”

Tension hung in the air as the implication became obvious. Why would someone break in and not steal anything? And why stick around after the confrontation with Leigh? While she’d been barricaded in the storage room, he’d moved around her office, opening and closing drawers. But she hadn’t been able to determine a single thing missing.

So . . . was Leigh herself the target? But why? And how would anyone know she would show up here after hours?