Printouts of the pictures littered James’s desk. Bridget had been true to her word, e-mailing them shortly after they’d met. The best picture, the one he looked at now, circulated the news, social media blasts, and was featured on flyers passed out around the university campus. Eva’s bright smile beamed off the page and directly at him.
“Spencer Burke is guilty of being an asshole, but had nothing to do with Eva’s disappearance.” Schilling startled him. James shuffled the pictures together and shoved them under a nearby file. “Roberts and Sanchez found him hung over at the Ambassador. He admitted to bringing her back to his room, but we have witnesses that say he didn’t leave the building all night.” Schilling pulled out his chair and sat down with a grunt. “And, from what he said he tried to pull, it wouldn’t surprise me if our girl was laying low at a friend’s house. I’ve seen it countless times before. The guy does something awful, and the girl gets to feeling ashamed and embarrassed like it was her fault. Before you know it, she’s hid herself away somewhere no one would suspect. Shouldn’t be that way, but it is sometimes.”
“You’re still not convinced that she was abducted?”
“We have no evidence to prove it one way or another. And last time I checked, not letting your mom know where you are wasn’t grounds for a manhunt.”
Before James had a chance to respond, Officer Winslow approached their desks. “Detectives, got some still shots for you.” He took the file from under his arm and waved it in the air. “They’re of the missing girl being abducted.”
“So she didn’t run off?” Schilling questioned.
James felt his stomach drop. He had been working the case like Eva was taken, but he’d still hoped Schilling was right.
“Not unless the definition of running off has changed,” Winslow quipped.
“Well, hand them over.” Schilling collected the file.
“The camera that caught what happened didn’t exactly get the guy’s face.”
James furrowed his brow. "Was he wearing some kind of mask?”
“No, the guy’s face is just missing.”
James stared back blankly at Winslow.
“You're going to have to look at the footage. It should be in your inbox by now."
Schilling turned to his computer and clicked his mouse a few times. “Got it right here,” he said.
James and Winslow crowded around behind Schilling.
The video played and a grainy black and white image of Eva's car appeared on the screen.
“Camera is on the southwest corner of 1532 South Cheyenne. They’ve been having some vandalism issues at this building. When the weekend security guard went in to review the tapes this morning, he found this instead,” Winslow informed.
The video continued to play, and James watched a man in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt enter the view of the security camera. The hood hid his face, and he calmly walked to the car and opened the driver’s side door. He dug around the front of the car for a few seconds before exiting and climbing into the backseat.
“Skip forward,” Winslow instructed.
Schilling put his hand on the mouse. “How far?”
“About an hour.”
“Guy waits for her for an hour?” Schilling asked, incredulous. He clicked and the video skipped forward.
“From this we can tell that she didn’t lock her doors,” Winslow explained. “No cars drive by, no one’s walking around, nada. He just lays down in the backseat and waits.”
Seconds ticked by before Eva came into frame.
“Why is she running?” Schilling asked.
“My guess is that something spooked her. The guard said that it’s pretty dark and empty on that street at night, which is why they have an issue with vandals.”
Eva quickly opened the door and got into the driver’s seat.
James felt like he was watching a bad horror movie. He wanted so badly to yell at the screen and tell her not to get into the dark car.
A shadowy figure sat up in the back, and Eva sat in the driver’s seat screaming. The time stamp revealed that five minutes and twelve seconds passed before her car door flew open. Eva rolled out of the car and came crashing to the ground. She struggled to pull herself up and dart across the street. She was almost to the sidewalk and out of view of the camera when she stumbled and fell. Anxiety filled James as her attacker calmly opened the car door and set his feet on the ground.
“He must not be worried about getting caught. He’s taking his time, and, other than the hood, he doesn’t seem to be trying to hide his face,” Schilling said.
“He doesn’t have to. We never see his face.” Schilling and James both looked at Winslow in disbelief. “Don’t believe me? Just watch.”
Eva’s hands moved wildly on the pavement as she tried to inch herself forward. The man came up behind her, and Eva stilled and then rolled over onto her back. Schilling paused the image.
“What in the hell.” He looked around the keyboard. “Is there a zoom button on this thing? I can’t see his face. It’s all blurry.”
"It doesn't get any clearer than that," Winslow announced.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” James said.
"Tell me about it. His features stay all wavy like that."