Page 52 of The Sinner's Son
The team thanked Cory profusely as he left, but he didn’t acknowledge them.
“You dodged a bullet there,” Marina said.
“Yeah,” Ricky agreed, the trademark twinkle in his eyes shining brighter than usual. “That wasn’t nearly as dramatic as I thought it would be.”
“Oh, hush,” Alec told them as he moved to his own laptop. “Can you send those photos to me? I want to compare Cory’s enhanced image to the evidence photos.”
Sawyer forwarded them to Alec and waited for him to display them side by side. “Holy shit.”
“See that shadow on the cameo in the enhanced photo? It’s in the same place as the chip on the cameo I found in Andrew’s box.”
It felt irrefutable to Sawyer. “Add in Becca’s account of the photographer with the red Camaro, and I think the FBI has to take this claim seriously.”
“And I have a good picture of Andrew with his hot rod,” Alec said. “I haven’t shared it publicly because I’m saving it to use as the podcast cover art and possibly a second book cover. I wonder if Becca would do a photo lineup for us.”
“It’s a good idea, but I think that’s something the FBI should decide.”
“And if they don’t?” Alec pushed.
“We talk to Chief Mendoza and see how he wants us to proceed. We could close Monica’s case as solved without the FBI’s involvement. I know that won’t be as newsworthy, but I think Monica’s family would appreciate the closure.”
Alec pulled up the contacts in his phone. Glancing over at Ricky, he said, “Are you still recording?”
“Hell yeah. This is documentary gold.”
Alec dialed a number, and they listened as it rang. The call went to a voicemail box where a woman identified herself as Special Agent Veronica Wilson. She wasn’t available to talk and asked the caller to leave a message and their contact information. Alec calmly introduced himself, gave a brief recap of what they’d discovered, and left his phone number. “Now, we wait.”
A knock sounded on the doorjamb, and they all turned to see Detective O’Connell standing just outside the conference room. She wore a somber expression, and Sawyer braced for bad news.
“Can I have a word?” O’Connell asked Alec.
“Sure.”
“You can use my office,” Sawyer said.
“Can Sawyer come too?” Alec asked the detective.
She shrugged and stepped back. “It’s fine by me.”
Sawyer followed them into his office and shut the door. He opted to stand off to the side and gestured for O’Connell to take his chair.
“Thanks,” she said. “I just wanted to give you a brief update on where I’m at. We completed the search of your car and your house, so I wanted to return these to you.” She placed a set of keys on the desk in front of Alec. “I do not consider you a suspect. Besides your full cooperation in the matter, I have located footage from multiple Ring cameras in your neighborhood that back up your statement. The neighbor directly across the street really needs to adjust their motion settings. They captured the shared kiss on the porch, Dane walking down the driveway, and you going inside the house.”
Alec bolted upright. “What else did it show?”
“Two cars stopping in front of your house,” O’Connell replied. “The first was a four-door silver sedan. We found the vehicle on additional footage in the neighborhood and know it was parked down the street for a significant period, as if watching your house.”
Alec jerked like she’d slapped him.
“I can tell from the time stamps from both cameras that the car pulled away from the curb as soon as Dane stopped at the end of your driveway. He was busy on his phone and got into the back seat of the silver sedan without checking to see if the car was his ride. His Lyft driver arrived two minutes later in a small black SUV.”
“I didn’t tell him what kind of car to expect,” Alec said.
“This isn’t your fault,” Sawyer reminded him. “What else did the cameras catch?”
“A device at the end of the street came on when a cat ran across the lawn, and it captured the silver sedan turning left to exit the neighborhood. Some of the license plate lights were out, so I only have a partial number, but it will be enough to get a match. I’ve got someone scouring the DMV database right now.”
“That’s certainly helpful,” Sawyer said.