“He said it was down a way. Close enough that he could see she had on a red jacket, but too far away to determine that she was a she.”
“Okay, so what are we talking about then? Thirty or forty meters?” Kate asked.
He nodded. “Walk backward.”
She immediately stepped backward until she got closer to the point of impact with the car. “What about here?” she yelled.
“I can see your jacket, but I can’t see any details.”
As she walked closer, he stopped her. “You know what? Right about there is maybe one hundred feet out. I can see that your jacket is black. I can see that you’ve got the hood up, and surely I could see that you’re on a bike at that point, right? At a quick glance that’s probably as close as I get with these parameters.”
She nodded and continued to walk forward. She looked around. “This area has no cameras of course. Absolutely nothing here for any security. It’s wide-open grounds. Other people could have been walking here, but that didn’t mean they paid any attention either.” Kate shook her head. “Not only didn’t they pay any attention but they might not have had any clue that something was wrong with her. And the car wouldn’t have hit her necessarily until the intersection.”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Was she shot before and went down, then got hit by a car? What does the driver say?”
“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “No driver because he took off.”
“Well, he’s probably afraid that he killed her.”
“He might have, but, if he’d stayed in place, it would have gone much better for him, and we would have had a hell of a lot more information,” she snapped. She ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s just so frustrating that people can’t do what they’re supposed to do.”
“If they’ll get in trouble, nobody will do it,” Rodney said, with a weary smile.
“I know. I know.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s still just pissy.”
“Pissy it is.” He nodded. “A good word for it.”
She sighed. “I get it. Nothing really to fuss about.”
“It is frustrating, particularly in this case, because we might have found out that she was already dead before she made contact with the vehicle. So right now, our driver is probably hiding at home, terrified to be sent up for vehicular manslaughter.”
“Or worse.” She nodded, with a roll of her head to loosen her tightening neck and shoulder muscles. “Reese can check city cameras here, to see if we have anything that gives us a clear view.”
“Yeah, should be waiting on us, as soon as we arrive at the station. I’ve already put in a request.”
“Okay. I guess it’s back to the office then, huh?” Kate stopped, looked around, and swore. “Still seems like such a waste.”
“It’s always a waste,” he said. “No other way to describe it.”
“I know.” She looked back at him and smiled. “You driving?”
“I can if you like,” he said. “You drove here.”
“I did, but I’m feeling a little on the tired side.”
“It’s all good,” Rodney said. “Let’s go.”
*
He watched thevehicle pull out and away. He didn’t know who they were, but he had taken several photographs of their vehicle and the two people wandering around who had gotten out of that vehicle. They had been flashing badges early enough, but he didn’t think they realized they were being observed. Or, if they did, they didn’t care. That always fascinated him. Everybody always thought that they were in charge, that somebody out there was beneath them.
In this case, the woman fascinated him. Tall, sparse, and lean, she walked with a clip to her step and strode around with a no-nonsense demeanor. The guy was slower, more comfortable, not as young, and walked with an easier gait. That guy was okay if it took him an extra couple minutes to get somewhere. His stride was more of a shuffle, although he covered a lot of ground at the same time, but he didn’t have that same tension that the woman had.
He’d watched her as soon as she had arrived. It was fascinating. The whole thing was fascinating. It was always the best part; he knew that. He’d certainly been told that, and, right now, it was… sheer fun. But the fun was beginning to wane. He felt the adrenaline—that had been so high and had spiked earlier—now dissipating, and he missed it.
He missed that high. He missed that sense of being in control, that feeling of living on the edge. Somewhat like crossing a wire with no safety rope or net to catch you. That sense of danger, that sense of purpose, that goal that you needed to accomplish before everything blew up in your face.
When he reached that goal, this euphoric moment washed over him, this sense ofOh my God, I did it, along with the panic, the fear, and the complete chaos running through his mind. But he was here. He was done with his earlier deed. He was good, and the investigators had no freaking clue. He smiled, took a sip of his coffee, and watched as the rest of the details played out.