the recorder again. “Two minutes.” The time stamp from the original tape was displayed at the bottom of the screen. “Now look.” The DVD was paused again. “See that?”
Risa pushed away from the wall, straining to see. Nate was partially blocking her view by the position he’d taken up before the screen. “The shadow? Does it move?”
The detective started the recorder again. “It surely does. Right there.”
“I’ll be damned.” A murmur rippled through the room. And although Risa hadn’t seen the shadow they’d spoken of, she saw the back car door of a late model Malibu ease open. Close again. A moment before a customer exited the store and headed to a short-boxed pickup truck.
“For the record, Christiansen was driving a 2010 navy Chevy Malibu that night. License plate matches the vehicle we see in the lot.” Nate gave the two detectives a grim smile. “Good work. You checked the traffic cameras on his route there and back?”
“We did,” the shorter, rounder of the two detectives put in. “Funny thing, he took a different route from the convenience store. One that didn’t pass any nearby streets with those cameras on them.”
“And one that didn’t lead home,” Nate put in. “Okay, let’s center on the convenience store and fan outward. Get a map of all the traffic cameras in that area, and plot out which ways he could have taken to surpass all of them and get to that park. Maybe the car passed some other camera that caught a glimpse of it. An ATM camera or one mounted at a store.”
“Has Christiansen’s car been found yet?” It was Cass’s question.
“No.” The Captain spoke for the first time. “We’ve got his and Parker’s vehicle descriptions flagged and nothing has shown up yet. The unknown subject might have disposed of them in the Delaware River. Or he may have abandoned them in a part of town where he could be assured no report would ever be filed.”
Risa had had the same thought. Why take the chance of possibly being seen running a car into the river when there were a number of areas of the city where one could just leave it and walk away? The vehicle would be stripped, stolen, or land in a chop shop in a matter of hours. Any of the scenarios would destroy whatever trace evidence the UNSUB might have left behind.
Nate wrapped up the briefing by running through the assignments. It left her wondering what he had planned for them to work on today. She had a few ideas, but she still didn’t feel like she knew him well enough to predict how he’d react to her suggesting them. Tiptoeing around fragile law enforcement egos had to be one her least favorite aspects of her job.
She waited for the detectives to shuffle out of the room. A couple of them gave her a quizzical look, as if wondering what her role there was. With her visitor ID, they’d know she wasn’t on the force. And McGuire had made no effort to introduce her to the group and explain her place on the team. Maybe that was for the best. She wasn’t sure he was comfortable with her presence on the task force himself, although he’d never given any indication that he resented her.
Of course, knowing of her personal relationship with his captain, he’d be careful to make nice, lest he jeopardize his standing as lead investigator on the task force.
She made her way over to where he was conversing with Morales. The captain shifted to make room for her to join them. “I assume you’ll be talking to the ME today,” he was saying.
“I haven’t gotten a call from Liz, but I figure I’ve given her enough time to come up with some answers. I plan to drop by the morgue this morning on my way to see Christiansen’s widow.”
Eduardo nodded. “That’s a good idea. You can be damn sure his wife will have plenty of questions.”
“Then let’s hope I get a few answers for her.”
Risa fell into step beside him as they left the room. “So it sounds like you’ve got an agenda worked out for today.”
He took a package of gum from his pocket and held it up questioningly. When she shook her head, he took a piece out and replaced the package. “Couple things so far. You have something in mind?”
They entered the squad room and the noise level rose accordingly. She swerved in the direction of his office. “I’d like to follow