Page 49 of Her Final Hours
He shrugged. “I guess. But I brought it over last night, took everything out, and kept it in the club. I was about to load it in when you all came along.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Was there anything inside?”
He was hesitant to say anything. “Yeah. Some construction equipment. I figured it belonged to his buddy. He told me that he was getting into the construction business and that he and some guys had decided to go in on a company venture. A startup.”
Noah leaned over and whispered in Callie’s ear to check and see if there had been a report of any stolen property in the last twenty-four hours. She exited the room.
“And that was all. No mention of a visit to the hospital? A girl? Killing a cop?”
Patrick balked. “Killing a cop? What? No. Did he kill a cop?”
Noah didn’t answer that. “Did you see Eduardo last night after he came back?”
“No. Yes. I mean…” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I saw him earlier. You know, before 7. Then this morning, I swung by. Listen, I swear I was at home at 8. You can ask my girlfriend; hell, you can even ask my neighbor. He saw me.” He let out a huge breath, clearly stressed. “If I knew this would be a problem, I wouldn’t have let him use it.”
“If this is confirmed, you know this places you as an accessory to theft.”
“What? Shit. C’mon!”
Noah cocked his head, giving him an incredulous expression.
Callie returned and motioned for him to head out. Noah told Patrick he would be back and to hang tight.
Outside, she filled him in. “Seems a report was filed this morning of missing construction gear from a truck off Evans Road. A deputy is going to the Fish and Game Club with the owner to see if they can locate it there. It’s big items, all of it was marked.”
“While that validates what Patrick said, it doesn’t help us. In many ways, all it confirms is that he was over there and stole some items, which would indicate why he was caught on camera leaving in a hurry.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean hewasn’tinvolved,” she said. “For all we know, that van might have had a dual purpose. Did Eduardo work alone? Was the theft a way to cover their ass if they were stopped?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Noah said, running a hand around the back of his neck “Shit.” He sighed. “Chances of getting anything out of Eduardo are slim to none.” He took out his phone and brought up a map showing the location of Elizabethtown Hospital.
“What if the van seen by McKenzie headed north on Park Terrace at almost the same time that Eduardo and his pals were heading east? Is it possible that McKenzie was confused? I mean, the CCTV footage didn’t offer much. We are going on what he said and then some video canvassing.”
“It was the only van seen.”
“Then maybe it wasn’t the van that we were looking for. Maybe our guy never got into a van or a car.”
“You’re suggesting that the vehicle McKenzie saw wasn’t related?”
“Yeah. It may have just been that van with the wrong people at the right time. All we know is our hospital guy arrived on foot and took off that way,” he said, pointing toward Evans Street.
Noah threw his hands up in the air and walked off.
“Where are you going?” Callie asked.
“To get some fresh air. To call my kids. I need a moment to think,” he said. His frustrations boiled over. The truth was video canvassing didn’t always work. Vehicles believed to be owned by suspects often turned out not to be, just as a passerby at a crime scene may have had nothing to do with the incident.
17
Wednesday, March 21, 1:18 p.m.
Investigations were a rigorous process akin to running a marathon.
Combined with a slew of cold cases that spanned decades, it was enough to make even the most resilient throw in the towel. Wading through files, revisiting sites, interviewing and following up with persons of interest was a must, even if it offered no reward. The devil was in the details, and in the thick of a case; all manner of things could go awry.
