We gathered in the briefing room, where Royce went over the day’s events. He passed on the news that the description of the vehicle Nancy Davis had given Rue and me was questionable. Everyone in the room groaned.
“So Patrol wasted two days looking for a green truck?” Bloom asked.
“Maybe or maybe not,” Royce said.
I had to interject that Rue and I already knew what we’d just seen on the gas station camera footage wasn’t a truck.
I caught Royce’s attention. “Boss, may I?”
Royce nodded. “You’ve got the floor, Cannon. What’s up?”
“As we were going over the footage, Devon and I just saw a vehicle pull in, turn at the center of the building, and back up to a door. We counted doors beyond the office, and from what we could tell, he backed up to room seven. The driver pulled in shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning—actually at 12:07 a.m. That’s as far as we got with it, so Bloom and Prentice can pick it up from there. One thing I will say by the shape of the vehicle is that it’s definitely not a truck.”
“Shit. Could you see what it was?”
“Make, model, color—no. But I’m leaning more toward it being a van or a large SUV. There’s the chance that Tech can help us out with a vehicle identification. I’ll grab a still shot of the vehicle, pass it on to Tech before shift change, and maybe Kyle can figure it out. I’ll also forward the footage to Prentice or Bloom’s computer before we leave.”
“Great work, guys. As we all know, most people don’t back into parking spots unless they want to offload something or make a quick exit if needed. Even so, unless the cargo door swings out, he wouldn’t be able to hide his movements if somebody drove in or walked out of their room. A very risky move and one that would be done by a desperate person.”
“Why not dump Abraham out in low country somewhere? Why back at his room? Like you said, a very risky move,” Prentice said.
Royce shook his head. “Who knows. Maybe there was something in Abraham’s room that his killer needed or wanted. Possibly something that could identify him. He likely knew Abraham would be discovered before long—by the odor if nothing else—and wanted to make sure that nothing in that room could lead back to him.”
Bleu added his two cents. “We’ll work on this during the overnight hours and hopefully find out something definitive by the time you boys are back in the morning. Thanks, everyone. That’s it for now.”
Rue and I headed to our office with Bloom and Prentice taking up the rear. I would go over what we’d seen on the video with them then forward the footage to their office. Before leaving for the night, I’d walk a still shot of the vehicle down to Tech.
I offered my chair to Prentice, and Bloom took the guest chair next to him.
“This is the spot we left off at. I’ll back it up a smidge so you can see the shape of the vehicle. Throw out any ideas you can think of, but I’ll let Tech work their magic too. Possibly with their software programs, they can come up with a way to hit points on the car to get a shape match.”
Bloom looked over his shoulder at me. “Like facial rec?”
“Yeah, sort of. I need to back up the image anyway to get a screen shot for Tech.” I pressed the back arrow and reversed the footage. Once I had a clear view of the vehicle, I moved in and took a picture of it then printed it out. I would email a copy to Kyle too. “Okay, we’re going to let you have at it. Good luck, guys.”
Rue and I headed downstairs and entered our tech department. Tom and Dan were updating Kyle on what they had been working on throughout the day. Tom walked toward us and asked what we needed.
“I just sent a photo and email attachment to you guys.” I handed Tom the still shot. “We’re hoping there’s a way you might be able to get a make and model on this vehicle.”
“Sure. We’ll give it our best shot.” He tipped his head toward the others. “Let’s see what those two think.”
We headed in Dan and Kyle’s direction, who were at the computer.
“We either need your best guess or technology’s exact match of what make and model this vehicle is,” I said as Tom passed the photo to Dan. “I emailed you a screen shot if that’s easier to work with. No expectations, just whatever you can do. As of now, we have no idea what it is.”
“Okay, I’ll work on it during my shift. If I get something, you want me to pass it up to Homicide?” Kyle asked.
“Yep, that’d be appreciated.”
We thanked the guys and walked out.
“How about a beer at Sparky’s?” Rue asked as we walked to our cars.
I tipped my wrist. “Sure. Why not? I’ll tell Marie to go ahead with supper. I’ll warm up a plate later.”
Rue pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “Then I’ll just meet you there in ten.”
“You got it. See you in a few.”
I watched as Rue turned out of the lot and disappeared down the street. I would call Marie, tell her what was up, and head out. Her phone rang in my ear three times before she picked up.
“What’s the word, bro?”
“The word is I’m going to have a couple of beers with Rue before heading home.”
“Darn. You’re going to miss grilled salmon, baked potatoes, and asparagus.”
“Yum, and no. I’ll warm mine up when I get home. There’s no way in hell I’m passing up a dinner like that.”
Marie chuckled into the phone. “Thanks for calling, Mitch, and I’ll see you in an hour or so. Tell Devon hi for me.”
“Will do. See you soon.”
I hung up and was glad I called. That simple courtesy kept everyone at home in good spirits. For several years, I’d lived the bachelor life and had nobody to answer to. Since Mom and Marie were back in the family home, and with me being a cop, telling them that I would be late was the least I could do. I pocketed the phone, turned over my Corvette, and listened as the engine revved when I stepped on the gas. I’d done that hundreds of times, yet it still made me smile.
After turning out of the lot, I decided to take a different route. Rue always endured the stoplights, citing them as unavoidable, yet I had lost patience with them years ago. By taking streets through the residential and restaurant areas in the historic district, I could avoid all but one stoplight. The rest were stop signs. I would probably reach the bar at the same time as Rue.
For whatever reason, I felt good, hopeful, and knew we were closing in on the second killer. If Tech could get us a make and model of that vehicle and we entered it into the DMV database as a green SUV or van, with a lot of luck, we might end up with a list of owners to go through. I couldn’t think of anything more enjoyable than a relaxing beer or two with my best friend right then. I’d gotten through the only stoplight and continued on down residential streets. As I tapped my fingers to the music, I slowed for the first stop sign.
It happened so fast that I couldn’t even process what was going on. I was rammed from behind, which pushed me into the intersection, where I was T-boned on the passenger side by an oncoming car. That street was through traffic. My head slammed into the driver’s-side window, and the airbag nearly suffocated me. Safety glass rained down on me, then came the sickening sound of the Corvette’s composite material cracking. That was the last thing I remembered before blacking out.