Chapter 19

 

When he returned to the station, Jan told him that two more videos had come in from the bank. She said she already had them copied into DVDs. 

“Thanks,” he said, “how many DVD players do we have in the station?”

“Only one.”

Fred said, “Round up two more.”

She said, “Well, I can probably get them from the DA’s office, but why?”

“Because I need to view the shooting simultaneously from as many perspectives as I can; maybe a range of views will uncover something we previously missed.”

As he entered his office, he noted both Jim and Paul were busy checking addresses from the list of bank employee and customer names. Jim had already compiled a list containing the members of the church Slivers attended, his addresses for the past twenty years, the names of his past high school and colleges, and a list of all of his present and former employees and employers. Both Jim and Paul were so deep in thought they didn’t notice him enter.

Picking up one of the lists, Fred noted that Jim had divided the master list into two segments. The segment that Jim had retained for his own interviews included the next of kin of those killed in the bank as well as an assortment of other customers and employees. Paul’s list had no next of kin on it.

Good decision, Fred thought to himself. One of the many things Paul lacked was discretion and empathy. He would be the worst person in the world to interview the grieving relatives. Delicacy was not Paul’s strong point; but at the same time Fred wondered, what in heaven’s name was his strength? At any rate, he thought, both Paul and Jim will be armed with detailed information on Slivers’ past; so if there was any possible match with his victims or intended victims it should show up.

He asked Paul how he was coming.

“Good, I found and recorded the addresses of most of the people on my list.”

“Great” Fred said, “The interview process will take a few days so we need to get started. You can finish looking up the addresses when you arrive tomorrow.”

Paul said, “Okay,” and left the office, list in hand.

Jim said, “I better get started as well.”

“No,” Fred replied, “the additional bank videos are in. I want you and me to look them over without Paul around.”

In a few minutes Fred and Jim were seated in rock hard un-cushioned chairs around the conference room table. Three DVDs were projecting simultaneously on three TV screens. Jan was assigned the duty of stopping all three on command. This time all three of them tried to focus directly on Slivers’ actions, even to the most seemingly insignificant detail.

Fred noticed for the first time, that Slivers had taken a moment to quickly scan the lobby of the bank before he drew his weapon and started firing. None of those present in the room could determine who or what he was focusing on, even after playing the DVD several times. They all felt that he seemed to be concentrating toward the left side of the lobby. Those ultimately killed in the melee, however, were from all parts of the room. One video projection clearly showed Slivers firing and another video camera situated behind Slivers showed the immediate impact of his firing. The third video provided a close up of the tellers’ cages and the customers in front of those cages. That projection didn’t seem to provide any additional information, so Fred told Jan to shut that DVD player down.

With only two DVD players operating, the three participants started noticing things previously overlooked. Jan noticed that at selective times, Slivers seemed to stop firing and then after a brief pause he would start again.

“Maybe his weapon jammed or he got tired from holding it?” Jim offered.

“Perhaps,” Fred responded, “but, as you know, jammed weapons don’t normally clear by themselves. I believe the temporary halt in the firing was the result of human intervention, not weapon malfunction.”

“Well, he certainly wasn’t through with his massacre, because after a momentary pause he started firing again,” Jan injected.

After an hour went by all the DVD players were turned off. Fred said, “Okay, Jim, give me a summary of your impressions. And, Jan, I want you in this discussion as well.” Jan blushed with pride. This was the first time she was actually involved in a police role other than purely administrative and secretarial. Fred did not include her to boost her ego; he felt she had an exceptional grasp of details.

Jim opened the dialogue. “Well, I’m not sure; but I believe Slivers was looking for something or someone before he started firing. I also believe the firing was periodically halted for a reason; but for the life of me I can’t guess what.”

Jan offered one more explanation for the interruption in the firing. “Perhaps,” she said “he’s unfamiliar with using a weapon.” She continued, “If it were me firing the weapon, I would quickly grow tired holding the trigger down and supporting the weight of the weapon.”

Fred reflected on her statement. “Good, Jan. Certainly, Slivers didn’t seem to be a man familiar with guns, so your reasoning might be on target. Jim, I guess that after years of police work, a tired trigger finger is not something we would think of.”

Fifteen minutes later the discussion had produced no further insights. Fred said, “Okay, let’s think this over after a good night’s sleep. I think we’ve exhausted our ideas for this day; but it was useful brainstorming.”

But to himself, Fred thought, “Damn! We’re no further along than we were before we started viewing the videos.”