Page 96 of Midnight Secrets

“Follow him.” Riggs motioned to the screen. “Maybe we’ll catch a better view as he exits the store.”

I hit play again, watching their encounter. They talked for several seconds before Marie picked up a bra and held it to her chest.

“They’re definitely flirting,” I muttered.

Riggs nodded. “Yep.”

Several minutes after the encounter started, Kaya entered the scene. The man’s demeanor shifted immediately. His posture stiffened, and he quickly turned and walked away.

I pulled up a different camera angle, but he kept his face turned away.

The next camera was the same.

Finally, he reached the door. That one was mounted right over the exit, so there was no avoiding it, except to look down. Which he did.

My jaw worked. It bothered me that this guy seemed to know where all the cameras were. Why was he avoiding them? Had he stolen from the store before? Or was he wanted for something else?

“Back it up.” Riggs leaned closer.

I rewound it, then let it play at half-speed. Just as the man walked into view, his head was up. It was too far away to make out his features. I zoomed in. The footage pixelated, but not as much as it did near the lingerie section.

I tipped my head. “Does he look familiar to you?”

Frowning, Riggs studied the screen. “Yes. Make a copy of that and email it to yourself and to me. We’ll get forensics to enhance it.”

“Yep.” I was already working on it. The video was grainy and no one’s face was terribly clear until they were practically right in front of the camera.

But he still looked familiar.

“I know who that is, but I’ll be damned if I can put a name to him.” Riggs pushed upright. “It’s too blurry. There’s something about the way he carries himself, though.”

I agreed. I’d seen him before too. More than once for him to make such an impression. I just didn’t know where.

After copying the video to an email, I sent it off, then got up. “Thank you, Mr. Morrison.”

“Anytime, boys. Anytime.” Blue eyes sparkling with a pleasant smile, he led us out of the office.

Riggs and I piled into my patrol truck outside.

“I have some photography software on my personal computer,” I said. “I’m going to play around with it tonight, if you don’t mind. I’ll still get it over to forensics.” I liked to hike and take pictures, so I bought a photo editing program years ago. I might get results faster than our forensics unit.

“Not at all. I want to catch this son of a bitch.”

We made the quick drive back to the station, then immediately went our separate ways when Nina ambushed her boss the moment we stepped inside. The online reports system was down.

I hid my grin as I headed for my office. It was no skin off my back to leave my daily reports unfinished. It would make my morning tomorrow a little more hectic, but it left me free sooner to play around with the video footage.

Sitting down at my desk, I downloaded the video from my email, then sent it to forensics and my personal email so I could work on it at home.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I fished it out and glanced at the screen.

Ellis.

Frowning, and hoping everything was all right, I answered. “Hello?”

“Hey. This is your friendly reminder you need to eat. Claire’s friend Mina is here cooking up a storm. You should take a break.”

My stomach growled at the mention of food. It would have to wait, though. “Tell them to save me a plate. I’m not quite finished yet.”

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