Page 35 of Just Right

As he escorted James to the car, he turned to Cami.

"I want that footage," he said. "It could be important. Find it if you can. Find it now."

CHAPTER TWENTY

The drive to the police department should take twenty minutes, Cami estimated from a glance at the GPS. But the way Connor was driving, they'd probably make it there in less than fifteen. That meant, on this twisting and turning rollercoaster ride, she had to focus on all her devices, stop them from flying into the back of the car where James was handcuffed, and work out what this video was that he hadn't wanted them to see.

Of course, there might also be other information on the phone that he didn't want them to see. She might be able to retrieve traces of that but ultimately, throwing the phone into a deep lake had put a pretty big spoke in that particular wheel.

What could she find in time before they arrived to start the questioning?

It had been a video. Most probably a graphic video, because shocking stuff that showed people dying would align with what he'd said. So shocking that it had probably been deleted from public forums if it had been played there at all. The main social media sites would have removed it. Footage that showed people plunging to their death was way too intense and disturbing. It could trigger exactly the problems their journalist was displaying now.

The news sites might have been sent it but would never have shown it.

So, it would be available underground. On people's personal devices if they'd gotten it before it was erased and saved it in such a way that it wasn't deleted when the link was.

The dark web would tell her, but she'd have to search in a specific way. Even Cami did not like going on those type of sites, the graphic sites that played accident footage where people were injured or died. It was only one step away from a snuff movie in her view.

But those sites existed. They had millions of followers.

And somewhere among them, Cami had no doubt, she would find this video.

She searched quickly. It was hard to concentrate because Connor was speeding through traffic. He was weaving through cars, making it hard for her to type. When she waited for her screen to refresh, she glanced back at James.

He was staring down, seemingly immersed in his own private world.

Cami turned back to her screens. Finally, one had refreshed. It was shortly followed by the other.

Now, the work began. Sifting through the junk, the irrelevant footage, and the torrent of information that was swirling around in the dark web, each video time consuming and traumatic to watch.

And not what she was looking for. She needed to set better parameters.

Bracing herself as Connor took yet another hairpin bend at full speed, Cami narrowed her search. To do so, she used Connor's advice. She remembered his words that once you'd been to a scene, you had important information you could use.

And so, she did. She had more details to add to the search that might be helpful.

"High bridge. Concrete ledge. Arched bridge. Deep lake. Family. Family car."

She added more and more information to the parameters that already included the place name.

And then, at last, just as she was despairing and feeling she'd have to give up, the search got results. Something flashed up. She took a look.

It wasn't what she had expected. It was blurry and faraway. There would be little detail to be made out from here. But without a doubt, it was the right location, and a car veering off of an icy road into a plunging, fatal descent.

"I've found the video," she said, just as Connor burned rubber screeching into the police department.

"Great," he said. He said it in a tone that told her he'd expected nothing less. With her brain still steaming from what it had taken, Cami felt briefly nonplussed. Connor had been so critical, so disbelieving when they'd first worked together. Now, it seemed like his expectations had veered the opposite way, and he assumed that when she got online, anything was possible.

She sincerely hoped that she never had to manage those expectations downward. She couldn't take the thought of disappointing Connor.

"We can look at it when we’re done here," Connor said. "What I want to know, now, is why James threw his phone away. We need to question him on that. There's more to it, I'm sure."

He let James out of the back seat. Grasping him firmly by the arm, he escorted him into the police department. Processing and searching him was done quickly and efficiently. Cami was hoping that when his pockets were turned out, she might see one of those blue wristbands or the red earrings that might depict location pins. But there was nothing like that on his person, to her disappointment.

And then, a minute later, he was seated in an interview room, looking forlorn and hollow cheeked as he faced Connor and Cami sitting opposite.

The room was airless. The mirrored window, Cami knew, offered access to an observation room where most likely at least one cop was waiting and watching. The recorder was working.

---