He pulled her attention away from the monitors by cupping her chin and turning her head to his for a quick kiss. “That, I can guarantee. By the way, your brother came by earlier today.”
Her face lit up with delight as she turned back to her work. “What did Hugo have to say about the new digs?”
“He wanted to know when his room would be ready.”
“Ha! Like he would ever leave his place at the group home. He’s surrounded by other adults with Down syndrome and loves working at the dog treat company. What more could he ask for?”
“I still want him to remember that he always has a place with us if he ever needs or wants it. I told him he could pick out what he wants to decorate a room here with so he’s always move-in ready.”
“Oooh, you’re makin’ me all gooey inside,” she gushed. “I can’t concentrate when you do that!”
Wolf laughed, then went quiet again as Jazz rummaged through pictures and videos on the woman’s phone. Scene after scene flashed by for several minutes. “Oh! Here we go!”
There were multiple pictures of Cam in addition to a video of him getting shot. The angle wasn’t the best, but the storage building the shooter used was in the background and partially visible. Jazz zoomed in and enhanced, filling in what was herbest guess to tighten and clarify the image. This was tedious work and took time, but she could see the progress on the screen.
Wolf got up to go get snacks from the newly installed fridge. “Want a warm-up?”
“Sure,” she muttered as her eyes darted around the screens.
He snagged her cup and topped it off with fresh tea from the R2-D2 pot on the counter. She sipped at it while he handed her a Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpet. She ate it while still typing with one hand. He kept his eyes on the figure as more was brought into focus each time she zoomed in and added more pixels. “I don’t recognize that guy at all. Can you do a search for his face on other sites?”
“I’m way ahead of you, sweetheart. Once he’s recognizable enough, I’ll ping him everywhere I can, starting with local places. Where were the other businesses that got vandalized?”
He told her the addresses, and she was off to the races, looking for other video sources. Several new ones came up.
“That one’s different,” he noted.
“Security camera from the back of Smitherman’s across from Clauson’s,” Jazz said absently. “It’s pointed to the front window and catches a small view of the street. See? There.”
The grainy image showed Edna Clauson locking up and not noticing the two figures behind her. One quickly broke out the glass at the door, then lit and lobbed a Molotov cocktail through the opening. The other followed Edna. When she fell to the ground, he pulled down the scarf around his face and spat on her.
“OMG! Did you see that? Disgusting!” Jazz’s voice rose. “How can anyone be so nasty and mean?”
Anger was not the word to describe Wolf’s gut reaction. Enraged was the closest he could find for the callous disrespect shown to an old woman who, for decades, did nothing more than sell candy and a few staples to the people of this neighborhood.“We got him now. Can you isolate that shot of his face? That asshole is going to pay for what he’s done. How’s the shooter’s image coming?”
“Almost there. Got him as best as he’s gonna get. Let’s see what turns up regarding his ugly mug.” She started the program to zoom and add pixels to the second picture before pinging the restored one.
The computer hummed as it searched. Jazz picked up another Krimpet, then dropped it as she took in the results. “Wolf, do you see this?” She pointed to an image among many she’d pulled from the corners of the web.
His face grew stormy when he saw what she had found. “Fuck.”
The second image came more into focus, and before the perpetrator’s face became completely clear, Wolf was already on the phone, calling Quillon. “We got a big problem, brother.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Zinnia tappedher card on the terminal. “Thanks for taking extra time on my forearms. They’ve been tight as hell for weeks.”
Sabrina smiled as she pulled up her appointment calendar. “No problem. I’m glad I could work you in. Do you want to schedule next month?”
“Can I come in two weeks? I got overtime at the warehouse, and I expect I’ll be hurtin’ sooner rather than later.”
Sabrina winked. “I got you. I have an opening on that Thursday.”
Zinnia grinned, showing the large gap between her front teeth. “I’ll take it. See you then.”
“Very cool.”
