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“That’s me, ma’am.” He tipped his hat.
She was torn between questioning him and watching the video, but it was best to deal with what was standing live and right in front of you. “What time did you get here this morning?”
Jamie’s gaze flicked to Todd.
“Go ahead. Answer all their questions.”
“I was here at ten after six.” He winced as he looked at his boss.
Todd’s brow furrowed. “Tardy. Again. Let me get you an alarm clock for Christmas.”
Tardy.People actually still used that word? “Where did you park?”
“Oh, my wife just drops me off.”
“Why were you late?”
“Technically, I was at the park earlier, but I went for a little walk. I often do before shift. After that, I’m stuck in this cabin checking people in.”
“It’s your job, Jamie. Jeez.” Todd shook his head.
“Did your walk take you anywhere near the river?” Amanda asked.
“No, I didn’t go down that far.”
All the Swansons had said was the ranger they’d seen was walking up the trail that led to the river. It didn’t mean that he’d been to water. There could be offshoots that cut through the woods and didn’t go down to the Potomac. “Did you see the dead girl?”
“No, but Helen told me it was the girl who liked the snails?” He said it with the arch of a question, and Helen looked up from her work and nodded at him.
Amanda didn’t see any tells that Jamie Bolton was lying. “Thank you for your cooperation.” She handed him her card. “Just in case you think of something you feel we should know.”
Jamie dropped behind a desk and clicked away on the keyboard. Whatever he was doing, today’s shift would feel longer than normal, given the park was closed due to the investigation.
“This is for the time between two and six?” Malone asked Todd, prompting him about the video.
“Yep, just as you asked for. I forwarded until there was some activity. I’ve got it cued and ready for you. But as I said, there’s not much here that I think you can use. We have motion-sensor lights in the lots, but they didn’t kick in.”
“More foresight and organization on the killer’s behalf,” Amanda concluded. “He came ahead of time to take out the lights.”
Todd squirmed. “Actually, that part is on me. I dropped the ball. Noticed they were out Friday and forgot to mention it to the weekend supervisory ranger so they could get the bulbs replaced.”
“Oh.” One word, but it got her disapproval across.
“I know.” Todd held up his hands. “But, honestly, it’s not like anything usually happens here.”
“Please just play the video,” she said, barely able to suppress her aggravation.
Todd leaned back in his chair. “Here we go.”
On screen, the timestamp read 3:30 AM, and the feed was nearly impossible to make out. There was the hint of movement, though, as something silver or metal caught the moonlight. A chrome bumper? The body of the vehicle was probably a dark color, but there was virtually no light to know for sure. Given the height, she’d guess it was a sedan, not an SUV, van, or pickup. A figure emerged from the vehicle, appearing not much more than a black blob.
“See?” Todd pointed at the monitor. “Nothing much to see.”
“Keep it playing,” Malone directed.
Amanda strained to pick out something helpful, but it was so black. Then a burst of light. The figure had lit a flashlight, its beam shining on the path ahead. The person stopped, and the light bounced somewhat and fell to the ground. She drop her phone? The light revealed a fan of blond hair.
“Our Jane Doe,” she said. “What’s she doing?”
“Looks like picking something up,” Trent said as a backpack came into view.
“Hey, pause right there and move in on the bag,” she told Todd.
“I’ll try. Not exactly a tech wiz.” Todd paused the feed, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to enlarge the shot.
“A patch with the Warriors logo,” Amanda declared rather proudly. “Geoffrey Michaels basketball team.”
“I didn’t know you were into basketball,” Trent said.
“Not really much into any sport, but my brother used to play on the team when he was in school.” Her only brother, Kyle, was four years her senior and the eldest of her five siblings. Amanda was the second born and preceded her sisters.
“Good eye.” Malone stood back and crossed his arms.
Helen McCarthy had described the girl’s boyfriend as a jock. It was possible he played on the basketball team. Then again, Jane Doe could just be a fan. Amanda glanced at her boss. “Something else. She came by herself. I don’t see anyone with her.”
“Nope,” Trent said. “So she was either meeting the person who killed her down by the river, they were there waiting, or they followed her.”
“Or…” she teased.
“If we just keep watching the video,” Todd began, “it might answer some questions.”
“Go ahead,” Amanda told him, and the video went back to the regular scale and played.
A while after the girl was out of view, headlights from another car appeared. Just like the first vehicle, something refracted moonlight and indicated that a door had been opened. There was another pinprick of light, but rather small. Probably the flashlight feature on a cell phone.
Amanda’s chest tightened. It was like watching a horror movie, one in which you knew something horrible was about to happen, but no matter how loudly you shouted at the screen, you were powerless to prevent things from playing out. This person was most likely the girl’s killer, but who was it?
The second vehicle reversed out of the lot, its headlights casting light on the new arrival. A black shadow, nothing more.
“Is there any way to get a clearer shot of this person?” She could scream—so close to seeing their potential killer, but so far away.
“I don’t see how.”
