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She didn’t make a sound and put a hand to her chest. She pulled it back, and her palm was full of blood.
Another blast from the shooter’s gun, and Leah’s arms were flailing out in an endeavor to stop her from falling. To no avail. She collapsed, her body out of the camera’s sightline, the small tree crashing after her.
The timestamp showed 4:45 AM.
They had their time of death.
Trent stopped the video. The three of them held a reverent silence for the life lost and shock at what else they had just seen. Katherine had been here and involved in an altercation with the shooter.
Just a few more seconds to catch their breath.
When Amanda rediscovered her voice, she said, “Can you zoom in on the gun? Maybe we can tell what make and model it is.”
“One second.” Trent managed to satisfy her request and groaned. “A Glock 19, one of the bestselling guns out there.”
“Tracking the shooter down by gun type alone will be impossible. Please, resume playing, Trent.”
The video continued, and the man in the balaclava grabbed Katherine’s arm and rushed her out of the store. She stared right into the camera. Considering the situation, her facial expression was one of calm. Almost as if this doesn’t surprise her.
Trent stopped the video, the frame freezing at 4:47 AM.
Malone flailed his arms in the air. “What is going on? Who is this guy, and what does he want with Katherine?”
And why is she so calm about it? Amanda kept the question to herself, dismissing it as adrenaline and cop training kicking in.
“Switch over to outside,” Malone told Trent. “Let’s see where this guy takes her.”
“You got it,” Trent said. “Let’s cross our fingers for a license plate.”
“That’s if he didn’t take Katherine in her own Mercedes,” Amanda pointed out. “It’s not in the lot. I would have noticed it.”
“We’ll get a BOLO started,” Malone said.
A Be-on-the-Lookout would alert all cops to keep an eye out for Katherine’s car.
“Come on, Stenson, what’s taking so long?” Malone tapped a foot, tugged on his beard.
Trent was working the mouse quickly, but Amanda understood Malone’s rush for answers. They were all plagued with the same frenzied urgency. Katherine was taken by an armed assailant hours ago. They were already behind their trail.
“Here we go,” Trent announced as a video started playing on screen.
Katherine and the man emerged from the store a minute or so later, and he ushered her past her car to the back of the lot where there was a white Ford cargo van. The plates were dark, possibly blacked out.
Another figure, smaller than the first and also in a balaclava, got out of the passenger side and hustled toward the shooter and Katherine. This person flicked something that held a tiny glow from their hand onto the pavement.
“A cigarette butt,” Amanda said. “We’ll need the CSIs to collect that.”
They continued to watch a brief interaction between the three of them. The shooter tossed something to their partner that they had taken from Katherine.
The smaller figure hustled toward Katherine’s Mercedes, which was parked at pump four, and got inside. The item passed over must have been the key fob. That presented other possible dangers. There wouldn’t just be one key on the loop. There would be ones for Katherine’s house and the diner. Possibly one for her aunt’s place. May Byrd, the owner of Hannah’s Diner, also a long-time friend of Amanda’s.
Amanda’s heart pounded, and she tried to slow her breathing. It would have been too easy to give in to the fear, empathy, sadness, righteous anger that was coursing through her. But she had to stay focused. Not doing so wouldn’t help resolve this in the least.
The Mercedes left through the north exit at a controlled speed, wisely doing so to limit drawing attention. Did that indicate a career criminal or just someone smart?
In the background, the shooter was coaxing Katherine into the van. He gave her one more shove and shut the doors. Before loading into the driver’s seat, the shooter slammed something to the concrete and stomped on it with his foot.
A little light crept into Amanda’s soul. Another piece of tangible evidence that might bring them answers and get them to Katherine before it was too late.
