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A Sunday, though, so weekend visitors had likely already checked out.
“I’d like to say grace,” Elly said. Since he was used to her doing so, he nodded and allowed her to take his hand. “Dear Lord, we are humbled by Your gift of this food. And we ask that You continue to keep those searching for this evil man safe in Your care. Amen.”
“Amen,” Joe echoed. But he found himself silently adding another prayer of his own.
Lord, keep Elly safe too.
He hadn’t prayed in a long time but oddly felt better afterward. As they dug into their respective sandwiches, he silently acknowledged that he cared about Elly.
Far more than as a friend. Or Rhy’s younger sister.
“You know,” Elly said, breaking into his thoughts. “I was thinking about that mud Steele mentioned on the back of the truck.”
He glanced at her. “Don’t get your hopes up, Elly. The chances of matching it to anything in the area of downtown Milwaukee are slim to none.”
“No, not that.” She looked thoughtful. “When I saw the shooter standing behind you and shouted at you to get down, he looked larger than life.”
He nodded, remembering those seconds all too well. “Yes, I thought he looked as if he were standing up on something. But the truck?” He saw the connection she was making. “How could he have gotten the truck so close to the parade route?”
“I wish we could go back and walk the area again,” Elly said. “I’m sure he was standing inside the truck bed. That’s why he had such a clear view of the parade.”
He reached across his sandwich to bring up the map application on the computer. He typed in the closest intersection to the parade route, then zoomed in on the screen. Elly leaned close too.
“There!” Her voice lit up with excitement. “See that strip mall? I wonder if he had the truck parked there earlier.”
He had to admit she had a point. “You’re thinking he left the truck there, then came back to use it as a pedestal from which to shoot.”
“Yes. Because I was standing near here.” She pointed to another spot on the map. “This is close to the location where I bumped into him.” Her gaze met his. “And when he turned to leave, he walked away from the parade. Not toward it, but away.”
To the truck. Joe could easily see that in his mind. But even knowing where the guy was standing didn’t help much.
They were still no closer to finding him.
CHAPTERNINE
Elly stared at the frozen video screen, wishing she’d paid more attention to where the guy had gone after they’d bumped into each other in those moments before the parade has started. It had been a chance encounter, but she’d experienced a flash of apprehension.
Even then, she’d known he was evil. And he’d proved it by opening fire and heedlessly killing and injuring innocent bystanders.
Rhy was always saying they should trust their gut instincts. Mostly in relation to police work. Yet obviously, she should have heeded his advice that fateful night.
“I wish I’d said something back then,” Elly murmured.
“That wouldn’t have changed anything.” Joe reached out to take her hand. “I told you that, remember? Telling me some guy concerned you wasn’t enough. Not when you didn’t see a gun or any sort of weapon.”
“I didn’t see anything resembling a gun. Especially not the semiautomatic weapon he lifted and aimed at you.” She lifted her gaze to his. “He must have had the weapon hidden within his long coat. I didn’t feel it when I bumped into him, but I wish I had.”
“He very likely hid it inside his coat,” Joe agreed. “Try not to think about it. There’s nothing to be gained from wishing we did things differently. All we can do is to move forward from here. Keep in mind, the purpose of reviewing the video isn’t to play Monday morning quarterback. It’s to search for clues, hints as to who he is and where he might be now.”
“I know.” She understood where he was coming from and turned her attention back to the screen. “Okay, so he was probably standing in the bed of the truck. Then he jumped down when you turned to fire at him, slid in behind the wheel, and took off.”
“That’s the theory.” Joe abruptly stood and paced. “They can test the soil in the truck bed, see if it matches a specific place, but I still think this guy has military or law enforcement background. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Maybe he also worked construction,” she suggested.
“It’s possible.” He raked his hand over his short hair. “I expected the BOLO to produce results by now.”
“Rhy always says police work can be slow and tedious,” she said, then immediately wished she hadn’t mentioned her oldest brother. She didn’t want to remind Joe that she was Rhy’s youngest sibling. She needed him to see her as an individual—a woman—not an extension of his boss.
