After Jazz and Russell left, Carrera said, “Jericho sent me the surveillance from earlier.”
They entered his home office, sat side by side at his desk.
To her surprise, Elsa wandered in. “What are you looking for?”
Slash offered her chair to Elsa, then retrieved one from the kitchen. “A White guy in a ball cap with a beard and mustache either going in or coming out of Jericho Road.”
Carrera started the surveillance, and they watched for the man. Every time they spotted a guy wearing a cap or someone with facial hair, Carrera would stop the video.
“There,” Slash said. “That’s Jilly.”
They watched as Jilly made her way through the parking lot, entered the restaurant. Moments later, a lone man in a ball cap and sunglasses walked into the restaurant parking lot, head down.
“That’s him,” Slash said.
Carrera stopped and enlarged the image. Unfortunately, that turned the man blurry, but he snapped a pic anyway. “I’ll load it into Stryker’s IDware program.”
“This is so exciting,” Elsa said.
As the software program searched for a match, Carrera started the video. The three sat huddled around the laptop.
“Let’s review this on your monitor,” Slash suggested.
On the big screen, she studied the man as he made his way inside. “He’s got no tats, no jewelry. He’s wearing a dark blue shirt and blue shorts, and he fits right in.”
Ten minutes after that, Slash pulled in, found a spot, and parked. As she watched herself, she blurted, “I’ve never seen my walk before.”
“You’ve got swag, baby,” Carrera said. “Sexy swag.”
“Very confident,” Elsa added.
Five minutes after Slash entered the restaurant, the man hurried out. As he made his way through the parking lot, he glanced over his shoulder.
“Did you see that?” Elsa asked.
“I sure did,” Slash replied. “Is he checking to see if I’m following him?”
“Looks that way.” Carrera stopped the video, snapped a pic, and uploaded that into the facial recognition software.
“He saw me at Blue Suit,” Slash said.
“That wouldn’t send him running scared,” Carrera said. “If anything, wouldn’t he want to talk to you?”
“If he’s the one taking the women, then no,” she replied. “I’m not his type.”
Concern filled Elsa’s eyes. “Are you in danger?”
Slash smiled. “I hope so.”
“Stop messing with me like that,” Elsa replied.
Slash wasn’t joking, but she said nothing more. She would assume this man was dangerous until shown otherwise. Even so, she wasn’t afraid. She’d spent most of her sixteenth year living in absolute fear. Once she moved in with Elsa, she promised herself that no matter what, she would never allow fear to rule her life again.
Carrera resumed the video. The man continued walking, head down, out of the parking lot, disappearing from sight.
“I’ll request traffic cam surveillance,” Slash said.
“This is nothing like my crime shows.” Elsa patted their hands. “Okay, kids, I’m off to bed.”
