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The two individuals assigned to Millie hung back, but they were close enough to keep an eye on their charge. Brook had to hand it to the duo. They were dressed appropriately, and upon first glance, no one would suspect them of anything other than being guests. Of course, their jackets weren’t buttoned nor was the fabric tight in the chest to make room for their shoulder holsters.
“You were saying?” Brook prompted Theo about the previous direction of topic. “You had a thought about the missing vehicles?”
“Before I left the office, I asked Bit to look into the make and model of those missing cars. Depending on the year, he might be able to trace their last known location based on their built-in navigation systems.” Theo shrugged when she glanced at him for the results. “I’m guessing they didn’t have newer models since I didn’t get confirmation from Bit. I’ll be meeting Detective Raines first thing in the morning as we hit a few more lakes since we’ve widened the search area.”
Brook and Theo remained at the high-top table for another half hour, keeping tabs on the Heinsels and Millie. More people had joined the fundraiser, and the crowd had thickened, though not to the point that they couldn’t see the entrance.
Theo had only left briefly to collect a rum and coke from the one of several bars positioned around the large room. He’d also gotten her another glass of champagne, which she’d been in the middle of enjoying when a round of applause broke out around the room.
“That’s quite the entrance,” Brook said as the Kolsby family paused just inside the double doors. She and Theo had known from Bit’s text that they had arrived, though in different vehicles. The only one not in attendance was Nolan. “He’s like royalty.”
Dr. Kolsby raised an appreciative hand and motioned for the crowd to go about enjoying their evening. Catherine and Stephen were on one side, while Brett and a blonde woman stood on the other. Brook didn’t recognize the woman, but her name would almost certainly be supplied within the next few moments. Bit had been feeding them information through their cell phones on the guests as the evening wore on.
“Renee London, twenty-nine years of age, and in pharmaceutical sales,” Theo replied after reading Bit’s text. “As for Nolan, his phone is pinging from the family estate. He’s been there since this afternoon.”
Brook noticed right away that Dr. Kolsby avoided Millie and Kyle. As a matter of fact, the doctor had purposefully walked straight forward into the crowd as if he hadn’t known that she was standing with a group of employees off to the side. While the hospital board might have seen the benefit of treading carefully where Millie was concerned, it was evident that Dr. Kolsby didn’t feel the same.
“It looks as if this is where we part ways,” Brook murmured, picking up her glass of champagne as Theo lifted his drink in salute.
It wasn’t long until they both blended in with the crowd.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bit Nowacki
December 2022
Monday — 8:42pm
TheinterioroftheMercedes Sprinter van was something to behold, and Bit had never thought he’d be in such a position to put together something so grand.
He’d outfitted the inside with a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree HD day/night nine camera video surveillance of the area that surrounded the van. It even contained a 3-240mm zoom, a Keysight N9423C Radio Frequency spectrum analyzer, a precision GPS tracking beacon/transponder, a digital twenty-four channel video/audio recorder, and a full server suite with 1GB mobile internet uplink 550MB downlink back to S&E Investigations.
The others would never understand his excitement over the state-of-the-art equipment. They also wouldn’t comprehend why he still needed to improve the van’s audio communications with the team. He truly believed that the team members required a set of micro-earwig wireless full duplex team communication devices. Of course, the earpieces would have to be small enough not to be noticed, yet still capable of full duplex hands free wireless, multi-channel networked comms up to three miles from the van.
Brook had taught him how essential it was to do things right.
He had also made sure to include two rolling stools that could be locked into place when needed, along with a small refrigerator that fit perfectly underneath the long counter that held three HD twenty-seven-inch monitors. Given the weather, the small portable space heater kept the inside at a comfortable temperature for the occupants. There wasn’t a need for coats or gloves, which would have only been uncomfortable to wear for an entire evening.
“Brook and Theo just left their table,” Sylvie advised as she pointed to the screen. He’d been able to connect to the security cameras positioned throughout the venue. Given the number of feeds, he had four cameras split on one monitor so that they had multiple vantage points besides the views caught by the van’s passive-infrared cameras monitoring the front entrance of the venue. “It looks as if they are covering more ground by splitting up.”
On the monitor, a two-meter round circle in red marked the GPS location of each of the team members’ electronic tags that Bit had given to each of them to carry somewhere on their bodies. By using another application, he was able to overlay and track the location of each of the principal targets that they were also monitoring throughout the evening. Team members were represented as blue dots, and the surveillance targets were red dots while superimposed on a blueprint of the building.
Of course, the system only worked if each of the participants kept their cell phones with them.
“I don’t get why we’re doing this,” Bit said as he took a bite of a Twizzler stick. “I mean, I’m not complaining. I love being out here in the field and watching from afar, but it’s not like the killer is going to strike tonight. We’ve already established that the women were killed within days after an event like this one, and we aren’t even sure the fundraisers aren’t entirely a coincidence.”
“Brook likes to read a situation, as well as the subjects, in person.” Sylvie shook her head when Bit offered her a Twizzler. “Did you see the way that Dr. Kolsby walked past Millie as if she wasn’t there? That means it wasn’t his decision to stop alienating her. In poker parlance, that is what we call a tell.”
Bit held the Twizzler in between his teeth as he quickly typed out a message for Brook and Theo. He’d wanted them to know that Devin Cranston’s mobile signal indicated that he was on the move. While he and his father had basically been disinvited to the fundraiser, it was still a good idea to keep tabs on them both throughout the evening. All the phones listed on the warrant had their GPS tags activated remotely to keep track of each user’s location.
Devin leaving his apartment wasn’t as odd as Nolan’s phone being stationary at the family estate. Nolan lived alone in a high-rise that was paid for by his father. Why stay at his dad’s house when no one else was there?
“So, you’re saying that Millie could still be in danger.” Bit had a messaging app up on the monitor, which allowed him to leave his own cell phone tucked into his pocket. He continued to monitor the other targets on the second display. According to the cell phone’s GPS data, Dr. Cranston was still at his residence. “I can’t believe that she brought that stuffed shirt along. I don’t like him.”
“You don’t like anyone who works across the hall,” Sylvie countered as she pulled a chip out of the numerous snack bags that he’d made sure was in the basket off to the side. The crunch was loud, but he found it cute, not that he would ever say that aloud. “Kyle and Chet aren’t bad guys. Chet just isn’t ready to settle down with anyone. I know next to nothing about Kyle, but he seems nice enough.”
Chet Johnson had taken Sylvie out to dinner a few times. Bit might have initiated an in-depth background on the man. Before Bit had to use the information that he’d gathered, Sylvie had thankfully moved on. He wasn’t sure if she was dating anyone specific right now, but she hadn’t mentioned anyone recently.
