Page 48 of Not Our Daughter

“Right here,” the security officer said.

He pointed at the middle TV screen. It was video from one of the main mall corridors from approximately thirty minutes ago. Burns could clearly see Cole, Lisa, and Jade Shipley running through the center of the mall. The security officer paused it on them.

“No, let it keep going,” Burns instructed.

The guard pressed play again. Seconds later, Burns spotted the same guy who’d been inside the warehouse with him. Stocky, thick beard, blue jeans, cowboy boots, probably late thirties. He was running a hundred feet behind them. It looked like he already had a gun in his hand. Burns had been inside the mall when it all happened. He’d spotted Cole and his family from the upper level while looking down over the railing below. He’d pursued. But he’d never realized another individual was also involved until it was almost too late.

Burns leaned in and pointed. “Can you enhance it on this guy right here?”

The guard paused it, enlarged the image, and focused on the man in question.

Burns cursed. Cole hadn’t been lying. It was indeed the same guy from the home security video taken thirteen years ago. What the hell?

“It’s definitely him,” Davis said. “He looks like a cowboy. But Myers still hasn’t been able to ID him yet.”

“Well, he wasn’t helping Cole. At least, not this time around. Based off this mall footage, he was clearly hunting him down when I showed up.”

“And Cole claimed this guy shot the police officer last night?”

“Yes.”

“He offer any proof?”

“Didn’t really have a chance to get into it. He had a gun in my face.”

“Right. So what do you think?”

Burns frowned. “It’s troubling. Who is this guy? And what’s he doing here? Let’s get this image over to our team and have them cross analyze any security camera footage we have from the sidewalks outside of the alley where the police officer was shot last night. See if this guy shows up anywhere.”

Thirty-Six

Cole searched a mapping app on his new burner phone and found the nearest auto dealership to their alley was Casa Ford. With a crazy plan in mind, he left the girls behind and briskly made the fifteen-minute walk across a stretch of city. He kept the rain-soaked hood of his sweatshirt up over his head to hide his face the best he could. He didn’t want to meet any wandering eyes out on the sidewalks right now. Thankfully, the skies began to clear, and the rain stopped.

When he arrived at the auto dealership property, he took off the wet sweatshirt and tossed it in the back of a Ford F-150 on the lot. His Denver Nuggets T-shirt was drier. He kept on the black ball cap. He was trying to look as normal as possible even though his blue jeans and running shoes were still drenched. Hopefully a salesperson wouldn’t notice too much. He swiftly navigated through the many rows of cars until he got closer to the main building; then he perched himself in front of a new black Ford Explorer. He began circling it, looking in windows, knowing his presence would quickly draw a salesperson from inside the building.

It took barely sixty seconds before someone approached.

“Beautiful vehicle,” said a voice from behind.

Cole turned around. He had no idea at this point if someone would recognize him from the news. When he saw stories like his own on TV,he rarely paid much attention to the actual faces of the people involved unless it was something happening locally. Both Winter Park and Austin were far away. But what he didn’t know at this point was whether any local news had broken about them being in El Paso. It didn’t matter. He had to risk it. They could do nothing without a vehicle. The sales guy was probably in his midtwenties, with a crew cut, wearing a blue polo and khakis, with a permanently wide smile. Cole locked eyes with him for a moment, holding his breath, waiting to see if there was any hint of recognition from the guy. The salesman just kept on smiling away, so Cole relaxed a little. So far, so good.

“Jonathan Pritchett,” the sales guy said, sticking out a hand.

Cole shook it. “Dillon Foster.”

“Great to meet you, Mr. Foster. You in the market for a new vehicle?”

“Yes, and I love this particular one.” He put his hand against the Explorer. “Can I take it for a test spin?”

Cole wanted to get straight to it. He didn’t have time for small talk.

“Of course!” Jonathan replied, the smile growing bigger. “Let’s go grab the keys. I’ll just need a driver’s license and for you to sign a release form. Follow me.”

Cole followed Jonathan into the main building, and his nerves grew more unstable. There were a lot of people meandering about and taking quick glimpses in his direction. Most were other salesmen, probably wondering if Jonathan had just gotten lucky with a walk-up. But Cole still felt uneasy about everyone looking over at him. He trailed Jonathan over to a small office. Cole could hear his wet shoes squeaking on the shiny tile floor with each step. It sounded obnoxiously loud to him. But no one else seemed to notice.

Right next to the office, Cole spotted a lounge area with several nice leather chairs and sofas facing a big flat-screen TV. His throat immediately tightened up. The TV was on a local news channel, and a photo of his bearded face was currently on the screen. His question about the news breaking that they were in El Paso had been answered. Six peoplesat in the lounge area watching. And a few salesmen stood around with their eyes also on the TV screen. Cole watched for a moment. Video footage ran from outside the mall, showing people running all about, and a male reporter was explaining the situation. Cole felt his body tighten up. If any of those in the lounge area glanced in his direction right now, they might easily put two and two together. It took a lot for Cole to not turn around and hightail it out of the dealership as fast as he could.

“Mr. Foster?”

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