13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Bobby “Bit” Nowacki January 2025 Friday — 9:04 am
“Tell your mom that I'll be ready at five o'clock in the morning on Sunday,” Bit advised as he rolled back his chair. He tapped his earbud to turn up the volume. “Not that I get why people open estate sales that early to the public. Weekends are for sleeping in, Zoey.”
“Exactly. I don’t understand why we can’t skip this weekend. We’ve gone to an estate sale two weeks in a row,” Zoey pointed out over the faint sound of a chime. He recognized the peal from her microwave. “I say we skip this one and sleep in until noon. My mom won’t mind, Bit.”
Up until last summer, Bit had never been to a garage sale. He had inadvertently caused Zoey’s mother to believe he was fond of them, and he had found himself unable to confess the truth. The confusion inevitably ended up with him tagging along with Mrs. Collins one weekend to an estate sale in Spring Valley. The outing turned out to be a turning point for him as he discovered a shiny, brand-new hobby.
While the more productive finds occurred during the summer, Mrs. Collins had a talent for discovering the most remote sales even during the dead of winter.
“We’ll just take some energy drinks with us,” Bit said, unable to pass up an estate sale that might have some vintage computer equipment. “We’ll even stop in at the bakery to grab some chocolate-glazed donuts on the way.”
“Double chocolate-glazed, and you have yourself a deal.”
“Done and done.”
As he continued speaking to Zoey, Bit settled in behind one of the monitors and typed a message for Brook. He had discovered something of interest that she would want to know about right away, and he was relatively certain that she was still in her office.
After he tapped the enter key, he rolled back to the monitor with the video footage of the Persimmon Restaurant. He rewound the recording until he made it to where he could simply press play for Brook. The team had mentioned quite often that his space resembled a NASA station with all the screens, cables, and blinking lights. While his area might come across as unorganized to others, everything had its place. He tried his best to make things easier for them.
“…should get to work. I’m due to check in soon.”
Zoey worked as a customer service representative for a major retailer. The position afforded her the ability to work from home, so she often wore sweats and a t-shirt. He smiled, picturing her with tousled hair and her big fluffy slippers.
“Call me at lunchtime.”
Bit tapped his earbud to end the call as Brook entered his office. She held the mug he had given her for Christmas in her left hand while typing something on her cell phone with her right. When she was done, she slipped her phone into a small, square pocket on the front right side of her black suit jacket.
“Did I hear you say you’re going to another estate sale?”
“That you did, Boss.” Bit closed his fingers around the mouse, but he didn’t click the button just yet. “Last week, I discovered one of the first Apple computers in a box labeled 'junk'. That baby was an Apple-1, hand-built by the Woz himself, Steve Wozniak. Only 200 were ever made, and even fewer have survived. At auction, it could easily fetch over three hundred thousand dollars.”
“Mrs. Collins is turning you into a genuine tech archaeologist. Pretty soon, you’ll be handing in your resignation because you discovered some rare computer chip that is valued at ten million dollars.”
“I’d never leave you, Boss.” Bit meant every word, too. The only reason his life had become so grounded in recent years was her unwavering support of his abilities. She had created an environment—not just for him, but the entire team—where they could all be themselves. “But since we are on the topic of treasure, I might have found something on the victim.”
“Go on,” Brook encouraged, her gaze locked onto the screen that came to life.
“Well, you know that Kitsis issued a warrant for the restaurant on the two dates in question when Mara supposedly met up with Derek Haze. Turns out, Derek wasn't lying about having a standard lunch date with his sister.”
The first part of the video played, allowing them to observe Derek and his sister sitting at a table. Before too long, she stood and leaned down to kiss his cheek. After Derek’s sister exited the restaurant, a waitress appeared with the check holder and presented it to Derek.
One of the things Bit admired about Brook was her patience. True to her nature, she never said a word or asked a question regarding the footage as it played out. She continued to observe while Bit fast-forwarded to the interesting part of the film.
Derek was witnessed following in his sister’s footsteps when it was obvious from his body language that someone had caught his attention. His hesitation was brief, and he eventually made his way over to a table where a woman was seated by herself.
The woman in question was Mara Miles.
After speaking with her for a short time, Derek pulled out the chair next to her and joined her at the table. After a couple of minutes, when it appeared that Mara did most of the talking, Derek could be seen taking an unused napkin from a nearby table and handing it to her.
“It looks like Mara is crying,” Bit observed, not wanting Brook to miss the most important part. “Derek Haze appears to be comforting her, and this lasts for approximately sixteen minutes. Then? Haze pats the back of Mara’s hand before leaving the restaurant.”
“There is only one setting at Mara’s table,” Brook noted with interest. “I take it she dined alone?”
“Yes.” Bit pulled up the second footage obtained from the warrant. This time, Derek excused himself in the middle of his lunch date with his sister to stroll over to Mara. They spoke for under two minutes before he rejoined his sister. “Now comes the curious part. Watch this.”
Bit quickly and efficiently switched to the appropriate camera view of a small hallway near the restrooms. Once the footage began to play, it became very clear that Mara was speaking with one of the waitresses. The two didn't seem to be arguing so much as engaging in a serious conversation. They spoke for just under three minutes before Mara walked into the restroom. As for the waitress, she went back to work without hesitation.
“It’s as if Mara knows the waitress personally.”
“That’s the conclusion that I came to, as well,” Bit said, rolling his chair to another monitor. Brook followed, her heels softly clicking on the long clear mat specifically designed for his office. With the tap of a few keys, he had the woman’s information on display. “The waitress’s name is Nora Miske. She went to the same high school as Mara, but two grades lower. That puts her in Vaughn Queller's class.”
“Excellent work, Bit,” Brook praised, tilting her head as if something had just occurred to her. “Would you please comb through the security footage of the Miles’ estate? I want to know if Nora Miske has ever been to the residence.”
“I’ve been working backward on that, capturing an image of every single person who drove through the gates over the course of the last twelve months. It took me a couple of hours to write the program, but we should have the results by the end of the day.”
“I thought the footage was erased after three months.”
Bit flashed her a smile, not bothering to go into detail about the security system that the Miles had chosen for their home. While the security company was one of the best, their software system could use a little tweaking here and there.
Bit had already reached out to the owner.
“Don’t ever leave us, Bit,” Brook said before turning to leave. “Sylvie left the office to meet up with Theo. They’ll spend the rest of the day canvassing the drug dens around both cities. I’ll take a drive to speak with Nora Miske. Maybe there was something to that conversation. If we’re lucky, Nora even knows the identity of AM.”
“What about the Steward Leone and Claudia Hart connection?”
“I don’t want to speak with Claudia while she is with Jordan. I’ll wait until later this evening to carry out that conversation. Barry Ackles has a meeting with Jordan at the penthouse, so I should be able to swing by Claudia’s apartment during that time.”
“Speaking of Claudia, her cousin’s name is Andrea Arlene Crowe. Twenty-six years old, a nurse, and the story about the frozen pipes in her apartment building is true.”
“So, no connection with the initials AM,” Brook murmured in disappointment. “Okay. Thanks, Bit. Keep me posted with anything new throughout the day”
He debated on waiting to share what he had discovered about Mitch Norona and Jacob, but there was never a good time to bring Brook’s brother up in a discussion.
“Boss?” Bit’s voice stopped her in her tracks. “There's something else I want to run by you. It's about Mitch Norona.”
Brook slowly turned, her gaze somewhat cautious as she waited for him to continue.
“Norona went on an ice fishing expedition in Alaska in the month of February, the same year he switched from finance to criminal law. He went again the following year, same month, but then never returned to the state.”
There was no need to highlight the significance of the timeline.
"Jacob was quiet during those winter months back then.” Brook cleared her throat, as if trying to eliminate the blame she shouldered for her brother’s sin. “Before Jacob turned himself into FBI headquarters, there were many winters where I couldn’t pinpoint his location.”
“Which brings us back to how Jacob has managed to financially survive all these years.”
Bit rolled his chair over to a separate laptop, away from his usual setup. He had gone to great lengths to keep any potentially questionable activities away from S&E Investigations. He had even implemented measures to destroy the hard drive, if necessary.
He would always protect the company from any potential backlash due to his actions.
“You said that Jacob worked at a garage in his late teens. That he knows engines like the back of his hand. We assumed he was taking part-time gigs that paid cash in out-of-the-way towns. But we also agreed the amount of money needed for his lifestyle when he's actively killing isn't chump change. And Jacob doesn't strike me as someone who would live on the streets.”
“No,” Brook murmured softly as she came to stand behind him. “No, he doesn’t.”
Bit already had several occupations displayed on the screen. He pointed toward the area shown on Norona’s social media accounts.
“Norona was ice fishing in this area—twice. I have the name of the travel agent and fishing tour guide company that he used at the time. The travel agent is now out of business, but the fishing tour guide company is still operating in and around the region. Is there a possibility that you can get the federal prosecutor to put in for a warrant on Norona’s finances? That would help me with a timeline of the man’s vacation. If we’re right about Norona meeting Jacob somewhere in Alaska, we might be able to pinpoint where Jacob worked when he wasn’t…you know.”
Brook was quiet for longer than usual, prompting Bit to glance over his shoulder. Her expression was closed off, but that wasn’t uncharacteristic of her. There had been several times that he had crossed lines for her, and he wouldn’t hesitate to do so again. Only she had been very cautious in the past year about when and for what cause.
“No federal judge is going to sign off on a warrant of that magnitude, Bit,” Brook said in a measured tone that had him leaning back against his chair. Theo had pretty much said the same thing to Bit over the phone, which tied his hands. There was something in Brook’s expression that gave him hope she would be open to a workaround, and he didn’t want there to be any miscommunication between them. “I’m sure there’s enough information online for you to piece together a timeline. Right?”
Bit understood the assignment—any damning connection that he discovered between Norona and Jacob would be kept in-house. The manner in which he uncovered such information was better left out of the conversation.