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"Yes. Please come inside." She opened the door and led her into the office. "Is this about Mr. Barrone?"
"It is," Officer Mishra said. "I went through the camera footage again, and I think I found your patient." She pulled out her phone. "This is a clip from the camera that's at the back of the building by the loading dock."
She took the officer's phone, almost afraid of what she was about to see. For a moment there was nothing, but then a van pulled up and the side door opened. Seconds later, two people came into view as they got into the van. One wore a full set of scrubs that covered his body as well as his head and hair. It appeared to be a man, but that wasn't entirely clear. The other figure was taller, with broad shoulders, and he had on sweats and a T-shirt, which was what Jack had been wearing when he'd arrived at the ER.
Unfortunately, the camera was angled in a way that she couldn't see anyone's face.
"I know it's not a great clip, but do you think that's him?" Officer Mishra asked.
"His clothes seem right, but the images are blurry. Did you get a license plate?"
"Unfortunately, no. But if that's your patient, it appears that he was helped out of the hospital."
"And we don't know who that person was?"
"It's impossible to tell. I'm not sure if this raises more questions than it answers, but I saw how worried you were about him the other day, and I was hoping this might help."
"I really appreciate you finding this clip. I think it was him, but I can't imagine who on staff would have helped him into the back of a van. It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe it was a friend of his."
"I don't think he had any friends in the hospital. When he came in, he was yelling that he didn't want to be here."
"That's right. We had a report that he attempted to assault one of our officers responding to the ER."
"He was ready to fight for his freedom. Thank you for sharing this with me. Is it possible for you to send me that clip? I'd like to show it to Agent Brennan," she said.
Officer Mishra hesitated. "Sorry, Dr. Thorne. I know how much you care about your patients. You treated my grandfather so well that I wanted to do something for you in return. But I can't give this to you. If Agent Brennan wants it, he'll have to make an official request."
"I understand. If you find anything else…"
"I'll let you know."
As Davina left, Rachel sat down at her desk and sipped her coffee. After a minute spent thinking about that video, she picked up her phone. Tyler had told her to stay out of the investigation. But now she had information he didn't have. She punched in his number.
"It's Rachel. I have something to tell you."
"What's that?"
"Where are you?" she asked.
"About to head into Mullaney's Bar and Grill."
"The one next to Jack's building?"
"Yes. What did you find out?"
"I'll tell you when I get there."
"Rachel. You can tell me now."
Or she could tell him at the bar and maybe find out more about Jack from the bartender. "I'm on my way." She shut down the call before he could tell her not to come.
Chapter Seven
Mullaney's Bar and Grill was busy on Saturday afternoon with several big-screen TVs featuring a variety of sports programs. The bar was packed with no open seats, so Tyler grabbed a small table with a seat facing the door to wait for Rachel. He had no idea what she had to tell him, but there had been an excited note in her voice. Maybe she'd learned more about Jack's disappearance from the hospital, because he could use a lead in some direction. His meeting with Detective Androtti had not been particularly productive.
Androtti was conducting a standard investigation. He'd also met with ATF because of the bomb, and their techs were working on whether they could connect the incendiary device to a particular manufacturer or online site. Tyler had a feeling that they'd come up with nothing, because the blast had been contained to the apartment. No one had wanted to take down the building; they'd just wanted to take out Jack and his home. That felt more personal than terroristic, a distinction the detective had also made.
