As much as I wanted to interview people at the college, I knew Henry and Shawn were fully capable of doing a good job. Lutz had made the right call. Frank and I had been to Wicker Park and spoken with Jacob and Rose. If the news channels needed more information, we were the go-between with the Shapiros, and we’d do whatever we could to help Todd find the best shot possible of the man from the bench.
We headed downstairs to see what progress Todd was making with the video. Entering through the double glass doors, we found Todd and Billy hard at work. They both sat at one computer and studied the footage I’d sent them earlier.
“Getting anywhere?”
Todd stretched and rubbed the back of his neck. “I see what you mean about the man never facing the camera. It’s doubtful he even saw it, though, and he seems to be acting normal enough, not nervous. The best images we have of him were when he looked to the right a few times, but of course those are just side views, and him having a stocking cap pulled down to his eyes doesn’t help.”
“What are the chances that he’d be recognized by somebody who knows him?”
Todd groaned. “Not very good in a seated position. If we aired the video of him walking, instead of using still shots, we might get a caller who recognizes his clothing or his stride, something like that.”
“Humph. I wonder if that’s a better idea. I’ll have to see what Lutz suggests.” I glanced at Billy, who was still deeply focused on the video. “Too bad the guy’s car wasn’t parked within the camera’s range. That could have given us a plate number.” I jerked my head toward the door. “I’ll call you if Lutz says okay to the video instead of a still shot of the side of the guy’s face. Either way, we need to get something on the news today.”
We headed out, and just as I pushed the door open, Billy yelled. Frank and I stopped in our tracks and spun around.
“Hold up, guys! You have to see this.”
We rushed to his side. Todd had already reclaimed his seat, and Billy was backing up the footage.
“What is it?”
“You aren’t going to believe what I just saw.”
We crowded at his back, and I spoke up. “You’re right, so show us.”
Billy inched the footage forward. “This is after the mystery man walked away. I’m assuming he’s going back to his car beyond the camera’s reach.”
“Okay, I’m following. So what did you see?”
“Watch closely. The camera still has him in view. Ready—there!”
I frowned at Billy. “What?”
“He turned his head slightly to the left, and that park systems trash cart caught his reflection in its side window.”
I leaned in, only inches from the screen. “No way.”
Billy pointed. “Look at the driver’s-side glass. The man must have seen or heard something that got his attention for a split second, but that’s all it took to capture his full face as a reflection.”
Todd studied the image. “I think I can work with that by reducing the sun’s reflective glare and enhancing the man’s face.”
I patted Billy on the back. “Great catch, man.” I looked at Todd with renewed hope. “How long will it take? The sooner we have something to give the news stations, the better.”
“Call me in an hour. I should have it done by then.”
Frank and I raced upstairs. I could barely contain my excitement before telling everyone the news. Finding that man’s reflection in the glass could possibly break the case wide-open since somebody had to know him, and thanks to the local evening news, everyone in the Chicagoland viewing area would see him. The chances of a viewer calling our tip line and telling us who that man was had just gone up exponentially. If we found him, he could tell us what he and Tom were arguing about and if that argument had anything to do with Tom’s murder.
We burst into the bullpen, and every head snapped in our direction. I dropped down in my chair and dialed Lutz’s phone.
“Boss, we have news to share with everyone. Frank and I are back in the bullpen.” I hung up, and for the first time since learning of the Ramsey murders, I sighed with relief.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway got closer. Lutz reached the bullpen in less than a minute from when I ended our call.
“Okay, where’s the fire?” He took a seat at Chuck’s desk and bore a hole through me with his eyes.
“Billy caught it, and I swear I would have never seen it.”
Lutz swatted the air. “Just say it. Seen what?”
“The man’s face. He turned toward a park cleanup cart, and his reflection was caught in the window glass.”
“And the camera got that?”
“Yep. Todd is doing what he can to reduce the sun’s glare, and he thinks he can enhance the image enough to air on the news stations.”
“That’s fantastic. How soon will it be done?” Lutz tipped his wrist and checked the time. “One forty-five. We’ll still be able to get it on the local evening news if he hurries. The deadline to submit something for a news segment is three thirty. We need to include what the man was wearing and our best guess for his height and weight.”
“Frank and I can work on that while we’re waiting for Todd.” I took a seat and powered up my computer, and Frank pulled my guest chair around the desk and sat next to me.
“We’ll head to the college.” Henry grabbed his jacket, then he and Shawn left the bullpen.
Tony and Kip busied themselves with phone calls to the banks of both Tom Wallace and the Ramsey family.
Lutz told me to call him the second Todd was done with the man’s image, then he walked out.
“Okay, partner, let’s try to figure out how tall that guy is,” Frank said.
“Hold on. It’ll be a lot easier if Mike does it. They have the right software that’ll give them an accurate height and weight for the guy. All we need to do is describe his clothing.” I forwarded the footage to our crime lab and powered down my computer. “Come on. Let’s see what they can do for us.”