The other jewelry store, Gold Gems, had moved a couple of times according to the address search, so the detectives had to drive a little ways. The store was located in a small strip mall and resembled more of a pawn shop than a boutique. Therewere two people browsing and two salespeople on either side of the door.
The atmosphere felt different, almost making Katie shiver. She couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but just knew there was something amiss.
“Can I help you?” a smiley woman with overly processed hair and pink lipstick said from behind the counter.
“I hope so,” said Katie, showing the photos of the bracelet and money clip from her phone.
The woman looked at the photos. She didn’t immediately react, but then she said, “Oh, yeah. A guy came in a couple of weeks ago asking about the same thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“He wanted to know if we had those or if anyone had bought or sold anything similar recently, but I didn’t know,” she said, leaning on the counter. “You cops?” She looked directly at McGaven. “I liketallmen.”
“We’re in the middle of an investigation. Please, can you tell us anything about the man?” said Katie.
“Let me think. He was tall, medium build, not thin, not fat. In shape, you know. Brown hair, short like he had been in the military. I like military men too. Dark jacket and dark jeans.”
“Anything else?” said Katie.
“Oh yeah, he was wearing cowboy boots. The nice kind with a pointed toe.”
“Did you get a name?” said McGaven.
“Nope. Sorry. How about your name?” She eyed McGaven.
Katie looked around the area and saw several video cameras. “Can we look at your video footage from the day the man came in?”
“You could, but we don’t keep archives for more than a week,” said the woman, still eyeing McGaven.
“What about outside?” she said.
“Not here, but there might from the mall or another business.”
“Thank you for your time,” said Katie.
Outside, the detectives looked around for any security cameras, but couldn’t spot any. They decided to walk around. McGaven went right and Katie walked to the left.
There was a used-clothing store, a coffee place, and an empty space. Katie didn’t see any cameras. It amazed Katie that many businesses still didn’t have working cameras. She surmised that this particular area didn’t have many burglary issues, but a jewelry store or rather a pawn shop should have cameras. She wondered if the woman had lied, and if so, why.
Disappointed, she turned around and walked back toward the car. McGaven was coming around the corner. Katie could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t find anything useful.
“What do you think?” she said. “Wouldn’t there be a camera out here somewhere?”
“I don’t see anything. It does seem strange. I don’t know, but I think the jewelry store worker was lying about only having footage archives for a week.”
Katie nodded in agreement. She looked up the street where there was a large power pole and what appeared to be a city camera. “Hey,” she said and walked across the street. “I think that’s one.”
McGaven followed her, craning his neck. “Yep.” He pulled out his cell phone and called his contact at the city to try to get the webcam footage for this section.
Katie looked around as he did so, hoping they’d be able to complete his request. She decided to investigate some more. She wondered why the person asking about the bracelets would come here. Was it because it was more out of the way? Or did he have some information that Gold Gems could help him? Katie’s instincts told her there was something specific about this mall that had attractedhim.
She decided to go into the coffee shop. A wonderful aroma hit her senses as she walked in. It was a cute place, small, but filled with all types of artwork, mostly with the theme of coffee.
“Hi, what can I get for you?” said a young woman behind the counter with a nametag with flowers that read: “Lori.” She had blonde hair pulled back in a long ponytail.
“I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?”
“Sure,” she said.
