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The video shows a palm frond fluttering in the wind. Nighttime. I cross my arms. He stops the video.
“Look closely,” he tells us and rewinds the video.
White lines at the top of the screen flick for a nanosecond. Inferior quality footage. Not unexpected, given the inferior surveillance system.
“Did you see it?” Erik asks.
“What am I supposed to see?” I step closer to the screen. The same palm leaf lifts in the wind.
“This is spliced. Someone went into the system and cut video from an earlier day, months earlier, and spliced it on the server. Fourteen hours’ worth. The only reason we ever caught it is because I had multiple resources studying the footage. They were smart. They inserted a wide segment with little to no activity.”
“So, where’s the real footage?”
“Deleted. Swiped from the server. I suspected this might be a deep-fake video. But I was wrong. It’s just spliced. They copied old footage.”
Deep-fake video poses a tremendous risk to law enforcement. Not being able to trust what you see creates extensive ramifications. Splicing security video is another risk, and it’s usually done with footage that shows no movement at all.
“We found this exact video four months earlier on the security tape. They copied it. They may have assumed we’d never look back that far. Or they may have copied it four months ago and assumed back-ups wouldn’t be kept that long. Maybe thought deleting the file risked raising suspicion.”
“So, she did sneak out late at night, just not recently?”
“The video from four months ago shows her returning an hour later.”
“She probably met up with a friend.”
“And it’s possible Jack knew about it. There’s nothing to confirm she was sneaking out. Who remembers what they allow their kid to do four months earlier? Or what they were wearing?” Alex points out.
“I’ve got to call Jack.”
“Before you call him…” Erik rubs the bridge of his nose, shifting his glasses up to his forehead. His eyes are slightly bloodshot, a sign he’s been staring at screens all night. “I did some background work.” He holds up a defensive hand. “Just being thorough. There was a police investigation into Jack’s wife’s car wreck.”
“And?” Alex’s arms clasp her sides.
“Determined it was accidental. But there was an investigation open.”
“And you’re telling me because…?” If he found something, he needs to spit it out.
“I’m telling you so you have the background. Look, whoever did this has technical expertise. Assuming they don’t work at the security company, then they had to hack into the servers. And it’s conceivable they’ve been planning this for as long as four months. You said he hasn’t received a ransom, right?”
“That’s what he says,” I answer. Alex’s facial expression remains frozen. Her gaze drifts from Erik to the window outside.
“Do you trust him?” Erik asks me.
“Yes. Do I trust him not to get ahead of himself? Think he’s better off not involving anyone in paying off a ransom? No. He has skills. It’s his daughter. The guy lives and breathes guns. It’s in his blood. His aim is as good as some SEAL snipers, with probably more hours on the range.”
“What are you thinking?” Erik asks.
“It’s possible he hasn’t told us everything. Maybe he received a ransom and wanted to follow instructions.” But he knows Arrow specializes in K&R. That scenario doesn’t seem likely.
“That’s not where I was going,” Erik deadpans.
I hold my gaze on his glasses, giving him a silent command to continue.
He lifts one shoulder and leans back against his chair. “I don’t have anything yet. I have people looking into Sullivan Arms’ financials, the Board of Directors and executive team.”
“What could someone gain from taking Sophia? If they aren’t after a ransom?” Alex’s question is a good one.
“What are futures looking like for Sullivan Arms stock? Did news of Sophia’s disappearance impact stock price at all?”
