Don't Scream

Chapter 61

"That is her."

Brian narrowed his eyes on the video screen. Dean had pressed pause when a specific person came into view. It was television footage from Sarra's house after Lexi was found, one dozen of the tapes. This one was shot by channel 13, from far enough away that video tech nerds at the bereau had spent all morning trying to clarify the face. The footage had caught a tall woman in jeans and a sweater, with dark blonde hair wearing gloves and a mask. Like what about a dozen other crime scene specialist had worn when Lexi's body was found. But no one reconized this woman. She wore no ID and no badge.

"Every technision every police officer and FBI agent caught on television tape at Sarra's house has been identified." Dean said. "Except her."

"Him." corrected Harrison.

'You are sure we have all the tapes that was shot?" Brian asked. The place had been swarming with cameras.

O'Ryan nodded. "We offered inside information on the case, newsbreakers, to the film crew who came up with something we could use."

"Better than subpoena," Phil said. Everyone knew he was right. Forcing legalities on newspeople rarely influenced them. Promising them a big story was like offering pure gold.

"Run it again." Brian said and watched it two more times.

He didn't reconize her.  A bigger than average woman, walked like a little jock. No one on the crime scene Unit reconized her. No one in the police force reconized her. No one in the bureau reconized her.

Him. Women didn't pee in coke bottles.

Brandon?

The tape cut to another shot from a diffrent tv crew, but this one was just distant, just a survey of Sarra's yard. Dean poked his finger at the screen to point out the person in question. "Right there," He said. "Looading the duffel bag into the front seat of that van."

"Son of a bitch." Brian said.

"What?"

"I did see her. In the house." He closed his eyes, trying to place her in his mind's eye. "I kicked it out of my way, and she picked it up."

"The crime scene guys came up one bag short at Sarra's house." Harrison said. "The techie who it said it was empty."

"It wasn't empty when I Kicked it. Something hard inside. I heard it crack. No more pictures of his face?"

"That is the footage we have that caught her. Him. Whatever."

"The photo lab came up with this." Max pushed a couple of buttons, and the picture changed. "This is what Brandon James would like in that woman's disguise.  Not a very pretty broad."

Brian stared. Blonde hair female style, on Brandon's face. It wasn't much better than one of those late night Tv show gags where they merge pictures for laughs. But no doubt it was the person who'd looked at him angerly and then grabbed the bag at Sarra's house. "Got this picture on the news?" He asked.

O'Ryan nodded. "And the boy driving the escort Id'd her." She winced. "Him."

Harrison: "He can't stay underground too long. The only reason he got a few days from us is that he was hiding in locked cabinets before we even got going. Now he will need a place to live, a car to drive, something. Someone has to see him."