I help with anything?"
"We found the time period that covers the robbery and now we're examining the exterior cameras to see what happened on either side of that," explained Solomon.
"Why?" asked Gerald.
"Because they arrived one way and left by another. I'm curious to know how," said Solomon.
Lucas paused the screen and pointed to something I couldn't quite make out. He turned to Gerald, asking, "The angle of the camera doesn't show who tampered with the doors or put the sign out on the sidewalk. Do you know what building this is?"
Gerald leaned in, squinting. "That's straight across the street. It's a dental practice. I think they are responsible for all those sparkling Hollywood smiles."
"It looks like their camera is pointed directly towards the bank, covering the angle through which the robbers entered." Lucas rewound the footage and we watched the masked team jog through the entryway, the doors already partially closed. The last pair of thieves closed the doors the rest of the way. It was a smooth entrance. "I can't identify the vehicle they used from the footage here but I might have better luck with that camera. They can't have parked too far away to unload the crew."
"I agree," said Solomon. "They wouldn't risk being seen on a long walk to the bank, if only for fear someone could sound the alarm before they completed their mission."
"They didn't leave by the front entrance," I told them. "The remaining robbers bolted through the internal door so they must have all left through the rear exit. Why come in one way and leave by another?"
"It's easy to walk in an open front door," said Solomon. "Less easy to wrench open a closed, alarmed one."
"Good point. Gerald, is there an alley or service road that accesses both the front and rear exits?" I asked.
Gerald nodded. "Sure. Go down three units to the left as you leave the building by the front. The alley there intersects with another service road at the back of this building."
"So the vehicle they used turned into the alley, dropped the team off, and proceeded toward the back to collect them. That works," I said. "The vehicle could remain out of sight almost the whole time and even if it were observed, they probably drove a delivery vehicle or a maintenance truck or van, rendering it virtually unnoticeable."
"Lucas, I want you to get every camera within a two-block radius and find that vehicle."
"You got it, boss."
"I think we have everything we need from the camera footage here," said Solomon. "Let's go talk to Charlie again. Thanks, Gerald."
"Happy to help. You should receive a copy of the taped footage by tomorrow. Let me know if there's anything more I can do," said the security guard.
We left him to his monitors and walked along the corridor without talking. Between Gerald's powers of observation and Charlie's open door, there simply wasn't anywhere to avoid being overheard.
Solomon knocked on the door, announcing our arrival as we entered. Charlie looked up from his laptop, an expectant expression on his face. "Did you find anything useful?" he asked.
"We have some leads to follow," said Solomon. "Once we review the entire tape, I'm sure we'll have more."
Charlie nodded. "That's good news."
"But you could really expedite the process if you provided us with a little more information. I'd like to interview the owners of the security boxes. We need to know what items were inside them, whom they shared that information with, and so on."
"I'm sorry. That's just not possible. As for whom they told, we generally advise our clients to be discreet about any of the information they share, but it's not a secret that we hold bank boxes here."
"How do you plan to return all the rifled contents to the correct owners?" asked Solomon.
"That's not your concern," replied Charlie.
"Do you know if any other items were stored with the missing item you seek?" persisted Solomon.
Charlie frowned. "I don't think there were."
"Can’t you give me a ballpark value?"
"No."
"Is the item illegal?"
"No."
"Has it ever been for sale?"
"I can't answer that because I don't know." Charlie's eyes darted to his laptop screen, his unwillingness to answer further becoming clear to us all. "Can you give me an update later today as to how far along you are with the investigation?"
"Yes," said Solomon. "I'll give you any updates we get." He turned and we followed him from the room. Patricia waited for us at the end of the corridor and I wondered if she was lingering there