Catch and Release

Chapter 7

Chapter 7Sheppard turned his attention back to the laptop in front of him, clicking and typing with more force than he needed to. He hated using the Bureau computers. He had been using Linux ever since Red Hat began publicly trading in 1999. He couldn’t quite understand why a federal agency with such a heavy emphasis on security would use an operating system like Windows, which has more viruses than a Soviet geneticist.

He rubbed his eyes and looked away from the screen. That was when he noticed Riley staring at him.

“Sheppard, what are you doing?”

“Comparing crime scene photos, seeing if I can catch a glimpse of the killer.”

Haley walked over, stood behind him, and leaned over his shoulder. He noticed how close she had leaned in and shuffled over slightly. Haley turned her head to face him.

“Do you really think the killer would stick around? If I’m right and we’re dealing with a pro, then they would have left almost immediately after the murder.”

“That’s true, but there’s also a chance that there’s an organization behind this and the person who did the killings is on their payroll. If that’s the case, then the killer or someone else may stay behind to keep tabs on the investigation.”

Riley folded his arms, shooting Sheppard a look of disbelief. “That’s a hell of a long shot.”

“Yeah, it is, but I think I may have found something interesting. Come have a look at this.”

Riley lowered his arms and walked around behind Sheppard. With a person on each side of him Sheppard felt a little crowded, so he focused on the computer. He tapped a few keys and clicked the mouse, bringing up a slideshow of several of the photos from each crime scene.

The computer scrolled through the photos at two-second intervals. When it got to the end of the slide-show, Riley turned to Sheppard with an annoyed expression on his face. “We’ve seen all these photos. Hell, we’ve run them through facial recognition, and the only double ups are emergency services workers, all of whom alibi out.”

Haley placed a hand on Sheppard’s shoulder. “Play it again.”

Riley looked at her quizzically. “What did you see?”

Sheppard leaned back and smiled. “It wasn’t what she saw, it’s what she didn’t see.”

Riley waited patiently as the slideshow ran through another cycle. Once the computer had played the final photo for the second time, Haley zipped over to her bag and returned with an artist’s pad and a pencil.

“You two want to let me in on the secret?”

Sheppard played the slideshow again and froze the first picture that appeared on screen. He pointed to a person in a paramedic’s uniform. “There.” He tapped the keyboard for the next photo. “There.” Then the third picture appeared. “And there.”

Riley sat next to Sheppard. “I don’t get it. None of those photos show the person’s face.”

“Exactly. He knew precisely where the cameras were and made sure his face wasn’t captured.”

“So, that gives us a few more details: height, weight, build, skin color and gender. But it still doesn’t give us a face or a name.”

“Not yet, but it will.”

Riley shot Sheppard a confused look. “How?”

“I’ve sent all the photos down to the photo lab. Each of the photos has a partial view of his face, and a couple of them have some weak reflections. A buck gets ten that the eggheads downstairs can compile them together into a full face. I’m guessing Haley had the same idea with sketching.”

Riley stood up with a slight grin on his face. “Good work, both of you.”