“They work fast,” he grumbled keeping his fears to himself.
Tawny interjected. “On the tapes we think we have one of the guys. He must be the one scoping out the patrons and then he tells the others when and where to go.” This information made sense. They had to choose their marks somehow. He had suspected perhaps it was an insider. Someone who knew who was coming to the casino and that they had expensive jewelry. Someone who knew what was being kept up in their rooms.
“You got an ID?” He looked up at this revelation and was met with blank stares. He gazed first at his mother who looked nervous, then his brother whose mask was still in place.
“It’s blurry, but we might have something. Security is working on that. But we can definitely determine, height and build.”
“That’s a start.” He murmured, fear still clutching at him.
Again, he noticed his mother’s eyes quickly dart to Jonathan’s.
“What are you not telling me?”
The elevator doors opened swiftly, and Tawny led the way down the dimly lit corridor to the black doors purposefully not labelled security. Jonathan used his key card to gain quick access and they all walked into the large room with a wall of monitors that were being viewed by four security personal. Tom was coming out of his office as they entered.
He nodded at them and made his way towards one of the guards who had the tapes cued up on one of the monitors. These must be the tapes his mother wanted him to see.
“This is the tape from The Mohegan’s.”
He glanced towards the screen showing the corridor of one of their competitor’s hotel floors. There was just one lone person. A slight figure. Slender. In black. A moment later another figure could be discerned, slightly taller and they entered one of the rooms. He was confused. They were not tall at all like the last tapes. It couldn’t be the boys. He felt momentarily relieved. Unless there were four people working together, or more. A gang, and they took turns being lookouts. Just a minute later he watched as the suspects came out and entered the room across the hall. The other figure was stockier. A man. But the first figure could be a younger boy, or a woman, he thought morosely. They made their way down the hall and disappeared from view. His stomach rolled. The figure he saw was definitely a woman. The curve of the hips was a dead giveaway.
“It’s a woman,” Tom voiced his own fears, and Joseph swallowed the lump that began to form. All were also wearing masks. Clear plastic ones, but they were enough to distort their faces. “Now watch this tape. It is the robbery from ten thirty.” This time the two figures were larger. Much taller, but sinewy. It had to be a gang then. These were not the same figures for the eight thirty robbery.
“That is two different sets of people.” Jonathan explained although he didn’t need to.
Tom interjected. “We think they are taking turns, being the lookout. Or we have a much bigger operation on our hands. But we have the lobby tapes too. Look at this.” Another clip was showing. He saw himself leaving the hotel with Jewel. Jewel nodded at a stockier man on the way out, and he was just a bit taller than her five foot four inches. Joseph recognized him from the restaurant where he had seen the boys. The same young man Lesley and Wesley had played basketball with that morning. He hadn’t noticed him as he lead Jewel out. But she knew him, had greeted him inconspicuously. A ball of lead formed in his stomach. What in the hell was going on? What did it mean? Was he a member of this gang? Was she?
He glanced at his mother. “What? What are you thinking?” His tone came out sharply.
“Do you know that young man?” she asked. He heard the tremor in her voice.
“No. I don’t know him. But yes, I recognize him. I don’t know who he is.” He answered truthfully.
Tom cleared his voice. “It seems like Jewel knows him.”
“So? Why is he important?” He wanted to hear them say it. What were they suspecting?
It was Jonathan who spoke next. “He showed up on our tapes an hour later. Here at The Mystic.” Joseph cut over to his brother. The ball of lead was getting larger. He was in actual physical pain.
“And?”
Jonathan nodded at the security guard, the technician operating the tapes. Once again Joseph was watching the man from the Mohegan enter The Mystic, but from the parking garage. Beside him were Lesley and Wesley. Something in his gut twisted. He saw dangling from Lesley’s hand what looked to be a key card, one only employees had. It had to be Jewel’s.
Another tape was cued up immediately. It was the hallway on the eighth floor. Two tall figures in dark clothing were surreptitiously entering one of the rooms. One carried a duffel bag. They came out of the room, and then entered another before heading out of view. They took the stairwell. Another tape was cued up. The time stamp showed it was shortly after midnight. The boys were leaving with the stocky younger man from the lobby.