Chapter 35 #2
I kept in mind the time Mike had said Torrie walked into the bar, 7:20, and how long she and “Aaron” had stayed, an hour or so.
If his math was right, they must have left for Torrie’s house between eight twenty and eight thirty last night.
I would give it a fifteen-minute extension on the time they left.
Several times, we saw a person pass by, but we needed two people, and we needed them to be Torrie and her killer.
I watched the clock tick by on the camera footage.
They had to pass the pawnshop, as it was the most direct route to Torrie’s house.
Doubt was beginning to creep in when eight thirty came and went.
At eight forty, movement flashed by the door then the window.
Renz paused the footage so we could get a better look.
It was definitely two people—it had to be them.
The lighting could have been better, but it was clearly Torrie.
Her topknot gave her away. Unfortunately, she was closest to the camera, nearly blocking any view of the person walking with her.
All we could see was the brim of his ball cap and the watch on his right wrist as he swung his arm.
The three-second video was useless as far as identifying the man Torrie was with.
Identifying the watch was impossible, too, and we didn’t know if James Smith wore a watch anyway.
“Back it up, Renz. I’ll record the footage just so we have it. It’s doubtful that anything on it is going to help, but we can let Tech take a look.”
Once the footage was on my phone, I gave Leon his phone back and thanked him, then we left.
I thought about the footage that might be on the camera at Ed’s.
Mike had said they had a camera outside the bar’s entrance.
Since the killer had worn a ball cap, it was doubtful that we’d see the killer’s face, but it was still worth a look.
We might see his watch and know for sure that it was the same man who’d passed the pawnshop.
We could also ask Mike, if he was still at work, if he remembered how Torrie’s “new friend” had been dressed.
“Let’s go to Ed’s. We can take a look at that camera above the door.”
Renz agreed, and we walked the short distance to Ed’s Corner Tap.
I gave the camera above the door a long look and hoped we would see something significant.
Inside the bar, we saw a female behind the counter.
I asked if Mike was still around, but she said his shift was over and that he’d left for the day.
“Is there a chance that we could look at the footage from last night for the camera at the front door?”
“Um…”
Renz pulled out his FBI wallet and showed her his badge. “We were hoping to speak with Mike. We came in earlier today and talked to him about two customers that were here last night. It’s pretty important.”
“Okay, let me get the night manager. He can help you with that.”
We thanked her and waited at the end of the bar.
Minutes later, a thirty-something man with double-pierced ears and his black hair pulled back into a ponytail came out and headed in our direction.
I imagined our business attire gave away who we were.
We weren’t exactly dressed in casual clothing like T-shirts and shorts.
“Hey, folks, Tricia said you needed to see our front-door camera footage from last night?”
“Yes, and thanks,” Renz said. “It’s regarding two customers that came in, but that’s about all I can tell you. We’re looking for a man who arrived alone roughly ten minutes after one of your regulars showed up. We’re thinking he got here around seven thirty.”
“Okay. Yeah, come on back.”
We walked with Charlie to the manager’s office, where a single computer sat on the desk.
“Our security is pretty simple. A camera in the bar area and one above the door. Do you want to see the indoor one too?”
I remembered what Mike had said about the camera not catching the end of the bar, but it could catch the mystery man walking past the camera to sit next to Torrie.
“Thanks. We’ll check out that few-second footage too. Chances are it might help.”
We began with the door camera, and after several minutes of watching it, we saw him enter. It was of no value at all. We saw his left hand pull open the door, and the top of his ball cap. The door closed behind him a second later.
“Maybe the indoor footage will be more helpful,” Renz said.
Charlie switched to the indoor camera and set it for the same time. We saw the man enter the bar, look around, then walk to the end and out of the frame.
“We might be able to glean something from that. Do you mind if I record that footage?” I asked.
“Not at all. Sorry it’s only a few seconds long. I’ll ask the owner to buy more cameras to catch the entire bar in case a situation like this comes up again.”
I recorded those few seconds, then we thanked Charlie and left.
We would return to our headquarters and review what we had from Ed’s and the pawnshop.
I wasn’t sure if either video would help much in identifying the man.
I called Taft, set my phone to Speaker, and said we would head back as soon as we shut down Torrie’s house.
We had two short pieces of footage. Unfortunately, they didn’t look too promising, but we wanted her opinion.
I also had to muster the courage to ask if Renz and I could stake out the Manitowoc marina that night.
“I’d be willing to sit there on my own time, boss.”
Taft chuckled. “Jade, nothing you’d see or do would be allowed in court if you weren’t on the FBI’s dime.”
“So?”
“So, go ahead. If you don’t find him, then the FBI’s involvement is officially done. No more extensions.”
“Understood. We’ll be back in a half hour to show you and the tech department the videos.”