Tightrope by Mark Lukens

Author:Mark Lukens [Lukens, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SIX

Three hours later Parker and Martinez were back at the field office. Forensics was already working on any prints they found in Mitch’s car, comparing the prints they had of Mitch on file from his many previous arrests. They were also looking at hair and clothing fibers they had vacuumed up and bagged from the seats and floors of the car. The computer techs were working on the CCTV footage from the file the store owner had given them of Mitch’s cell phone getting stolen. They said they would try to enhance the video and use facial recognition software to hopefully get an ID on the man in the hoodie from the faint reflection in the passenger window, but so far there had been no results.

The techs sent the surveillance video from the store to Parker’s computer at his desk so he could look at it again. He had watched it over and over for the last hour, then froze the video on the perp just before he opened Mitch’s passenger door, the faint reflection of his face visible in the glass of the door window.

“I think we need to go and lean on Everett some more,” Martinez said from his desk, right on the other side of Parker’s desk. Martinez was leaned back in his chair, his feet up on the desktop.

“You still think he’s involved?”

“Gotta be.”

“You think he stayed clean for three years, then decides to work with a mass murderer?”

Martinez shrugged. “It’s the only thing we’ve got right now.”

Parker shook his head and looked at the frozen video on his computer screen again.

“Come on,” Martinez said. “This is too convenient. I’m not saying Everett helped with the murders, or even knew the guy was going to kill someone. But maybe this guy just wanted to sell his phone to him.”

“Why not go somewhere else to sell it? Go to his house? Why set it up to look like it was stolen?”

“I don’t know. Maybe so he would seem innocent, so he’d be too far away from this.”

“He could’ve sold his phone to anyone.”

“Maybe this guy offered him a lot of money. A thousand dollars. Two thousand. Remember, our boy Everett’s a dishwasher. It’s not like he’s raking in the dough.”

“But his girlfriend’s family is well off,” Parker said. He had run a check on Debbie Costa a little while ago, and her family. All clean as a whistle, and rather wealthy. “Why would he risk something criminal for even two thousand dollars? I have a feeling if his girlfriend catches him doing anything illegal, she’s out of there. He looks scared to lose her.”

“Maybe the thrill of it. A leopard doesn’t—”

“Change his spots, I know,” Parker finished for him.

“I’m just saying. It’s too weird, man.”

“Everything about this is weird.”

There was a soft knock at Parker’s office door. Angie, one of the computer techs, pushed the door open just a bit. “Special Agent Parker?”

“Yeah, come on in, Angie.”

Angie was a pretty girl in a plain, sheepish way. She beamed like she was honored that Parker had remembered her name.

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