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CHAPTER31
He sure perked up when you mentioned the cameras,” Matt said as they drove out through the security gate.
“He did. A lot of fear there. Guilty conscience maybe. I wonder if there is video of what happened in the alley the night Thomas was shot. And if so, who has access?”
“We need to get into the alley and tear it apart.”
“The alley has to be secured. We’ll need bodies, manpower. Will the department okay that move?”
Matt grunted noncommittally. Danni doubted they’d get the support to tear the alley apart.
When they reached the station, the area in front was a mess. The crowd of peaceful protesters had been supplanted by a rough-looking crowd of masked individuals. To Danni it appeared as if someone had gathered every ex-con and troublemaker they could find in order to cause problems. Officers in riot gear stood in a line across the front of the station.
Danni scanned the crowd until she saw him, red beard shining like neon. Jareb Moore, off to one side, was on the phone, talking.
She got an inspiration. “Matt, let’s go check the alley now.”
“What?” He turned toward her. He was just about to enter the PD lot.
“Jareb Moore is here; the focus is here. If Moore is the one encouraging the violence and rioting, he can’t be two places at once.”
He swerved away from the lot. “I’m game.”
In a few minutes they were at the alley. Matt parked across the street. As they got out of the car, Danni did a quick look around and saw no one; it was as quiet as a Sunday. Since neither one of them had planned on doing a field investigation, they didn’t have handheld radios, which bothered her a bit. The station crowd had looked committed to spending time there, so hopefully that translated to time for her and Matt here. When things calmed down at the station, there was a chance the troublemakers would confront them here, so they needed to work fast.
They crossed the street to the alley, and she looked up to where she expected a camera to be. It was still there, but the light was off.
“This camera is not on,” she said, hurrying to the other end of the alley. It was the same with all the cameras. They weren’t operating.
“Still begs the question as to who was monitoring them in the first place,” Matt said.
Danni nodded in agreement. “I wonder if Thomas was before he was killed, and someone else took it over.”
“Most modern camera systems can be monitored on a smartphone. So it could be anyone.”
“That’s true,” Danni acknowledged. “I’d still like to know if Thomas had a connection to the cameras. His apartment should still be sealed.”
“I don’t remember any rechecks. Thomas was on the Eighteenth Street side when Jess first saw him. He could have just exited his apartment. In the murder book Diamond said they did a cursory sweep of the space and didn’t find anything.”
“Let’s look into it.”
Danni agreed and followed Matt into the apartment courtyard. Apartment 6 was on the Eighteenth Street side and backed up to the alley. There was still a bit of police tape on the door, but it had mostly been shredded. There were also anti-police sentiments spray-painted on the door. However, the padlock put in place on the door was still there.
Danni held up the lock. “Doesn’t look as if anyone has been inside.”
“No matter. Let’s go in and record this. I think I remember your dad saying always be prepared.” He took his phone out and began a video documentation of their visit, beginning with both their names and the time of the investigation.
Danni was a little chagrined she hadn’t thought about the need to document what they were doing. Matt was a good partner. She needed to put his annoying attributes aside.
Since the padlock was a city lock, both of them had keys. She slipped hers in and unlocked it. In short order they were inside the apartment. Danni closed the door behind them and placed the padlock on the kitchen table.
It was dark inside and the air smelled rotten or like something dead. As Matt explained the smell for the recording, Danni crinkled her nose. “Ew, what died in here?”
She switched on the light to reveal a sparsely furnished space. The small entry area gave way to an eat-in kitchen, which opened out to a small living room. Down a short hallway was the bedroom and bath. It was the same layout as her friend Natasha’s apartment. One bedroom, one bath, about six hundred square feet total. But Tasha’s small space was homey, warm, and welcoming, the exact opposite of this place.
“Early American dorm room,” Matt said. As he walked, he guided his phone around the room, narrating what he saw. “Not much furniture, a torn couch, stained chair.”
“In the corner, Matt.” Danni pointed.
