Page 86 of Shadow of Doubt
“Okay, got it. She took a bus all right, and I’ve got the details.” Nick jumped up. “Let’s move.”
They raced for the garage and Colin’s SUV. As soon as he had the vehicle heading for the exit, he used the infotainment system to text Dev and ask their location so they could pick them up. Dev replied immediately with corner streets.
Colin turned in the direction of the guys and found them exactly where Dev said they would be. They climbed in the back, and Colin updated them on their progress. They continued down the road to the bus stop.
Colin peered around at the decaying neighborhood. “Not the kind of area I would like Brooklyn to have gone alone at night.”
“And why here?” Reid asked. “Nothing but an empty lot and run-down convenience store.”
Colin peered out the window. “Looks like the convenience store has a security camera. We might be able to see if she met someone or where she went.”
He killed the engine. “You guys wait here. Don’t want to overwhelm the clerk.”
He slid out into the sunshiny morning and caught a whiff of fried bacon. His stomach rumbled as they hadn’t taken the time to eat. He followed the smell across the road to the store and pushed the door open. A bell above tinkled.
A customer stood at the counter, the man behind the desk was short and dark-skinned. Perhaps of Spanish descent.
“Thanks, Antonio.” The customer picked up the bag. “Can’t start my day without your breakfast burrito. Only guy I know who puts fresh bacon in a burrito.”
The customer left, and Colin approached the counter and forced himself not to bombard the guy with questions. “Your burrito as good as he says?”
“Better.” Antonio laughed.
“Then give me four of them, and I’ll grab some coffee too.” Colin went to the coffee bar to pour the cups, his hands shaking as he did. Not only did they need to eat, but buying something could help him convince Antonio to show him the video.
He put the paper cups into a holder and took it to the counter where Antonio had laid the generously sized burritos.
“I didn’t come in for the food,” Colin admitted.
“Didn’t figure you did.” Antonio cocked a thick black eyebrow. “You a cop or something?”
Colin wasn’t surprised by the question, and he would tell the truth as he suspected this guy was sharp enough to see through a lie. “You have a good eye, but no. Former FBI.”
“Yeah, you have that cop look about you.”
“Is that a problem?” Colin kept his gaze pinned on the guy when he wanted to jump over the counter, grab him by the throat, and force him to help, instead of spending valuable time getting to the answers he needed.
“For me, nah. Not in this neighborhood. Good to have protection around. Unless you need me to snitch on someone. I ain’t no snitch.”
“No snitching, but I was hoping I could see your video for the wee hours of the morning.” Colin continued to play things down, but his insides screamed to move this along. “A woman under our protection has gone missing, and we think she got off a bus across the street at around three a.m.”
“Oh yeah. Yeah. I was here. Saw her.” He set his jaw and challenged Colin with it. “But how do I know you’re not some crazed boyfriend trying to find her or some other nut trying to do her harm?”
“You only have my word for it and that I was former FBI. My colleagues in the car are former law enforcement, too, and one guy works with the Veritas Center. You ever heard of it?”
“That fancy, schmancy lab that no one in the neighborhood knows what they do?”
“Do you want to know?”
He shrugged. “Depends on what they do.”
“They mostly process DNA for private individuals and crime scene evidence for law enforcement.”
“DNA, huh.” He planted his hands on the counter. “Always wanted to do DNA for me and my family to see if we could find missing relatives who entered the country from Mexico.”
Could Colin use the lab for leverage to get to see the video? “If I arrange for a tour of the facility and free DNA for your family will you show me the video?”
“Sure.”
