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Thursday, October 21, 2021

"Chasing the Evidence Race" by Susan Pearl ( Thursday, mystery blog #2)


(Garrett waits at the police station for when Miles would have time to talk with him.  In less than one hour Miles motions Garrett into his office))

Miles:  What's on your mind?

Garrett:  You know that chauffeur, Nate, that was in the picture taken by Lana? (Miles nods) I went to the bar to talk to the bartender.  The bartender is supposedly dead.  Nate supposedly found his body behind the bar.  I say "supposedly"  because I can't find any evidence of a death, no death certificate, no mortuary, no coroner, no nothing. Can I file a missing person alert for someone who has had a memorial service?

Miles: Come again? I don't think I heard you right.

Garrett:  Oh, you heard me right.

Miles:  I only give my opinion when it is asked for.  So if you want my opinion on this, you've got to ask me for it.

Garrett:  Alright.  I'm asking. What is your opinion?

Miles:  In my honest opinion, let this doubt about the death of Gus go for now and concentrate all your efforts on finding Nate, the chauffeur.  I think he's the one in the drivers seat, so to speak, for getting some answers. Who contacted him to be the chauffeur and which limousine service provided the limousine?  Why was it important to Lana to show him in the picture she took while buying the necklace? Your initial thought was that Lana purposely showed the chauffeur in the picture was because she may be trying to give a clue to follow.  My opinion is that you should continue pursuing your initial thought and find Nate for some questions to answers.  He may ,also, be able to explain about finding Gus dead and how the arrangements were handled. 

Garrett:  I think you are right.  I will pursue finding the limousine company or figure out where the limousine came from and that should lead me to Nate Striker.

Miles:  I hope it happens.  And I'll ask around if anyone knows anything about Nate Striker.

Garrett.  I think I'll get started at the newspaper office. If they have any of the magnification pictures I would like to see them  Since it has city traffic and the limousine is in front of the store I might be able to pick up some license tag numbers from that night.  Even people driving by the store there could be a person who remembers the limousine and remembers something about it.  I'll check surveillance cameras on the stores and streets and see if I can possibly get not only get the license tag number of the limousine but, also, any other vehicles in the picture.

Miles:  Sounds like a tall order. (Another officer comes to the doorway and tells Officer Miles there is an emergency situation that needs him.  Officer Miles gets up immediately and follows the officer into the next room and closes the door. In a few moments  Miles hurriedly exits the room and briefly stops into his office to tell Garrett) Bad news. It's breaking news and will be on TV shortly.  There's been another murder.  They discovered the body 30 miles from here but the identification and preliminary work already proves the person lives and works in the city.  I've got to go. 

Garrett:  Copycat killing?

Miles:  We'll see. This murder has been committed farther from the city as to what we usually see. Another element of investigation is finding where and when the victim got or was forced into the vehicle.  When the breaking news is released momentarily on TV and radio we will start having tips and information calling in from witnesses. (Miles leaves)             

(Garrett is stunned at the news as he leaves.  He drives directly to the newspaper office.   He explains to the front desk help about wanting to see the magnified pictures if any were available. The help leaves momentarily and returns with stack of twelve pictures.  Each picture focuses more and more of the necklace and less and less of the surroundings.  Garrett hadn't thought of that and realized that he should have had that kind of forethought. He basically had one large magnified picture to work with showing Nate. Garrett asks for a copy of that picture and the front desk helps to accommodates by making a copy and giving it to Garrett.  Garret spends the rest of the day checking surveillance cameras in the area of J.J. Jewelry store.  He then is struck with a new thought of expanding his area of reviewing surveillance cameras and trying to follow the limousine as far as he can.  Garrett wonders if any more information about the case will be put into the active file. Since Hanna's confession the case file will be closing and any information that is currently being worked on would be turned in as part of closing the case file. Garrett embarks on a grueling five days of tracking the limousine by surveillance cameras.  It's been a very frustrating search and a learning experience for Garrett.  The frustrating part was that there was a ten miles stretch without any surveillance cameras.  Also, a twenty minutes driving stretch of an area owned by the Dover brothers property holdings. So, the learning experience was that he was finding out that many businesses were without surveillance equipment. He found out that some businesses owners were actually taking out their own surveillance systems.  As a security expert he could see a definite change and it was puzzling to him why businesses would remove their own surveillance cameras.  The main reason that he had received was that the the equipment was constantly being broken by vandals and it wasn't worth the upkeep.  Some surveillance cameras were in place less than 24 hours before being broken and destroyed.  But several businesses owners told they took their surveillance equipment down before it would get broken and destroyed.  Garrett kept going with following what he could that contained a sightings here and there of the limousine. Then on the evening of the fifth day Garrett finds the limousine to track again by viewing video surveillance. At last, it was a moment of discovery and he knew he had hit pay dirt.  In the video the limousine pulls into a storage rental parking lot and the limousine is parked inside one of the storage units.  It's not going to take long for the following day to prove if all of his efforts has been worth it. Early the next morning Garrett was waiting in his car for the storage rental office to open.) 


to be continued: Tomorrow

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