inside.
He led her through a maze of offices and back to another door. When he opened this one she immediately noticed the room was dim and lit from only the wall of monitors, four rows of ten across with a long control panel of keypads, switches and color-coded buttons.
Sitting at the panel with his back to them was the lone investigator, square-shouldered, dark hair. There was something familiar about the man. Before he swiveled around Maggie recognized Nick Morrelli.
He, however, was not prepared. He did a double take, looking from Yarden to Maggie and back to Maggie.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he said with his trademark smile, the one that employed dimples and white teeth in the glow of the computer monitors.
“Hi Nick.”
“You two know each other?” Yarden seemed disappointed.
“We’ve worked together before,” Maggie answered, leaving it at that and watching to see if Nick would be compelled to add more. “So you’ve left the D.A.’s office? You’re an investigator now?”
“For United Allied Security.”
“Yes, the mall’s security company. Do the local authorities know you’ve been reviewing the videotapes?” Maggie asked Nick but looked back at Yarden who avoided her eyes. Finally Yarden nodded, his head the only part of him in motion now, arms glued to his sides. He reminded her of a bobble-head.
“Yeah, no problem there,” Yarden said, still nodding.
“They’ve got their hands full, you know?”
She noticed his cadence grew faster with a slightly higher pitch in relation to his amount of guilt. Even the tips of his ears grew red.
“We’re only here to help,” Nick told her but Maggie knew from experience that Morrelli’s loyalties were sometimes divided, and often resulted in something close to personal quicksand.
Four years ago Nick Morrelli had been county sheriff of a small Nebraska community that was held hostage by a killer—a killer who was targeting young boys. To solve the case Morrelli had struggled to abandon a lifetime of loyalty to his father, the previous sheriff, in order to save his nephew. Maggie and Nick’s paths had crossed several times over the years but most recently last summer when, once again, Maggie had been sent to Nebraska to profile another killer. This time Nick’s loyalty to a childhood friend had almost jeopardized the case.
“Well then, so you two know each other,” Yarden said, anxious to break the silence and ease the tension. “That should make this easier, right?” The little man spun a chair around and held it for Maggie. “Ms. O’Dell—”
“Agent O’Dell,” Nick corrected.
“Oh yeah, right. Agent O’Dell.”
She sat in the proffered seat, next to Nick, giving him only a glance and focusing her attention instead on the wall of monitors. They had been cueing the tapes, stopping them at important intervals. Over a half dozen of the screens were already freeze-framed.
“As you can see, all we’ve been doing is tagging segments that might be relevant.” Nick waved a hand at the screens. “Isn’t that right, Jerry?”
“Right. There’s an awful lot of tape to look at. We’re just trying to narrow it down. We’re not discarding anything. We’re just looking and tagging.”
Maggie almost felt sorry for the nervous little man. She could hardly tell him to relax, that it was Nick Morrelli she didn’t fully trust and not Mr. Yarden whom she had only met moments ago.
“Agent O’Dell will need to see the carriers,” Yarden said quickly, grabbing the opportunity to move on. He took the seat on the other side of Maggie. “The tapes are grainy at best.” Even before he scooted his chair forward his fingers were flying over the control panel. “We work on a three-second system. That is the camera takes a shot every three seconds. It’s not continuous, so it might seem a bit jerky if you’re not used to it.”
“Do you have a Z97 filter or HDzoom pack?” Yarden’s fingers stopped in midflight and he looked at
He led her through a maze of offices and back to another door. When he opened this one she immediately noticed the room was dim and lit from only the wall of monitors, four rows of ten across with a long control panel of keypads, switches and color-coded buttons.
Sitting at the panel with his back to them was the lone investigator, square-shouldered, dark hair. There was something familiar about the man. Before he swiveled around Maggie recognized Nick Morrelli.
He, however, was not prepared. He did a double take, looking from Yarden to Maggie and back to Maggie.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he said with his trademark smile, the one that employed dimples and white teeth in the glow of the computer monitors.
“Hi Nick.”
“You two know each other?” Yarden seemed disappointed.
“We’ve worked together before,” Maggie answered, leaving it at that and watching to see if Nick would be compelled to add more. “So you’ve left the D.A.’s office? You’re an investigator now?”
“For United Allied Security.”
“Yes, the mall’s security company. Do the local authorities know you’ve been reviewing the videotapes?” Maggie asked Nick but looked back at Yarden who avoided her eyes. Finally Yarden nodded, his head the only part of him in motion now, arms glued to his sides. He reminded her of a bobble-head.
“Yeah, no problem there,” Yarden said, still nodding.
“They’ve got their hands full, you know?”
She noticed his cadence grew faster with a slightly higher pitch in relation to his amount of guilt. Even the tips of his ears grew red.
“We’re only here to help,” Nick told her but Maggie knew from experience that Morrelli’s loyalties were sometimes divided, and often resulted in something close to personal quicksand.
Four years ago Nick Morrelli had been county sheriff of a small Nebraska community that was held hostage by a killer—a killer who was targeting young boys. To solve the case Morrelli had struggled to abandon a lifetime of loyalty to his father, the previous sheriff, in order to save his nephew. Maggie and Nick’s paths had crossed several times over the years but most recently last summer when, once again, Maggie had been sent to Nebraska to profile another killer. This time Nick’s loyalty to a childhood friend had almost jeopardized the case.
“Well then, so you two know each other,” Yarden said, anxious to break the silence and ease the tension. “That should make this easier, right?” The little man spun a chair around and held it for Maggie. “Ms. O’Dell—”
“Agent O’Dell,” Nick corrected.
“Oh yeah, right. Agent O’Dell.”
She sat in the proffered seat, next to Nick, giving him only a glance and focusing her attention instead on the wall of monitors. They had been cueing the tapes, stopping them at important intervals. Over a half dozen of the screens were already freeze-framed.
“As you can see, all we’ve been doing is tagging segments that might be relevant.” Nick waved a hand at the screens. “Isn’t that right, Jerry?”
“Right. There’s an awful lot of tape to look at. We’re just trying to narrow it down. We’re not discarding anything. We’re just looking and tagging.”
Maggie almost felt sorry for the nervous little man. She could hardly tell him to relax, that it was Nick Morrelli she didn’t fully trust and not Mr. Yarden whom she had only met moments ago.
“Agent O’Dell will need to see the carriers,” Yarden said quickly, grabbing the opportunity to move on. He took the seat on the other side of Maggie. “The tapes are grainy at best.” Even before he scooted his chair forward his fingers were flying over the control panel. “We work on a three-second system. That is the camera takes a shot every three seconds. It’s not continuous, so it might seem a bit jerky if you’re not used to it.”
“Do you have a Z97 filter or HDzoom pack?” Yarden’s fingers stopped in midflight and he looked at
Similar Books
