Page 21 of Home Town Knight

“That would’ve been my first thought. That there was bad blood between him and his buddies after the bar fight. But the shooter didn’t look like any of them. The victim’s friends had beards or scruff, and the killer was clean-shaven. And his eyes.” She shivered. “He looked straight at me. Didn’t even blink. Like he was memorizing me. That’s when I ran. I heard him following, but somehow I made it into the hotel before he caught up with me.”

I wanted to reach out and comfort her. “Do you need a break? Something to drink?” My hand strayed near her shoulder, and she tensed.

“No. I’d like to finish this.”

I retreated behind my desk again and sat.

I asked her more questions, moving from the general overview to a review of the specific details of what had happened. After running from the killer, she’d hidden with the hotel manager in his office until the police arrived. By then, the killer had been long gone.

“Thanks for being so detailed,” I said after I’d wrapped up and turned off the camera. “Have you watched the video you recorded of the incident?”

“I didn’t want to.”

“I understand that.” Seeing a man die once was bad enough. “I’m going to take a look at the video you sent me and make some notes. I need to ask that you stay at the station for a while longer in case I have more questions. I’ll have Deputy Marsh find you a comfortable spot to sit.”

She straightened. “Hold on. I’m watching it with you. It’s my video. I need to see what’s on it.”

“I’d argue it’s not your video until the investigation and trial have finished. It’s the sheriff’s department’s video.”

“I beg to differ. I’m going to watch it either way. Might as well do that with you and answer your questions right now.”

All good points. I’d already forwarded the video to my computer and logged it into evidence. I pulled up the file. My cursor hovered over it. “Are you sure you want to see this?”

“Do you think I changed my mind in the last minute and failed to speak up? Just hit play already.”

As usual, Gen was determined to reject all comfort and sympathy if it came from me. I couldn’t explain why I kept on offering it. “Fine.” I hit play.

The video showed the hunter in the yellow knit cap, Ace Tucker, loading a rifle on the tailgate of his truck. Though it was night, the picture was bright and clear because of the surrounding snow.

She had to know what was coming, but still, Genevieve flinched when Ace’s body crumpled on the screen. “Shit,” she whispered.

She and I both tensed as the shooter came into view. But the video had only caught his lower half in the frame.

The audio had recorded Gen’s heavy breaths. The sound of her fear.

My stomach roiled.

In the video, the shooter knelt to dig through Ace’s pockets. But his face was down, obscured by the hood of his coat. He grabbed the victim’s duffel and gun as well.

I paused the video, my mind working. “Wonder why he took the bag,” I murmured. “I assume he took the cash the victim had been flashing. But he didn’t take the wallet.”

“What about the vic’s phone?”

“Our people didn’t find his phone on him, no. Shooter must’ve taken that too.”

Gen looked thoughtful. “Did you notice the victim’s rifle? Can’t tell for sure given the distance, but it doesn’t look nearly as fancy as the one the shooter is carrying. If it was about robbing him, why murder him over an old hunting rifle and some cash?”

“Unless it was alotof cash. We don’t know how big that roll was.”

“But the vic’s friends probably do.”

I hit play again. On the video, Gen gasped, and the image cut off. “That’s when I turned and ran back to the hotel,” she said. “Damn. I didn’t get his face at all.”

The lack of the man’s face on video made her eyewitness testimony even more crucial, and that worried me. Because it increased the danger if the shooter learned her identity. “Still. You did well. Most eyewitnesses aren’t as observant about small things, but you maintained situational awarenessandrecorded most of it. Must be your background as a reporter.”

“Is that a backhanded compliment?”

“No, it’s aregularcompliment. Is that so hard to accept?”

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