Chapter 19 - The Recording Nobody Was Supposed to See
Less than an hour later, detectives gathered inside the transportation depot's security office.
Multiple monitors displayed footage from different buses.
Detective Harris selected yesterday's route.
"There."
The screen showed Ethan boarding shortly after sunrise.
He chose the same aisle seat as always.
Head lowered.
Quiet.
Alone.
Nothing unusual.
Several stops later, another passenger entered.
Gray baseball cap.
Dark sunglasses.
Black gloves despite the warm weather.
Teresa immediately pointed.
"That's him."
The man never sat down.
Instead, he positioned himself near the rear exit where he had a clear view of Ethan.
Detective Collins zoomed in.
The suspect wasn't reading.
He wasn't using his phone.
He was watching.
Only Ethan.
Minute after minute.
At one stop, Ethan briefly closed his eyes, exhausted.
The suspect quietly stepped forward.
He pulled something from his jacket.
A tiny object no larger than a coin.
"What is he holding?" asked the nurse.
The video quality wasn't perfect.
But the suspect leaned close enough to Ethan's injured leg that everyone could clearly see one movement.
His hand disappeared beneath the edge of Ethan's coat for less than two seconds.
Then he calmly returned to the back of the bus.
Ethan opened his eyes only after the man had already walked away.
"I never felt him," Ethan whispered.
Detective Harris paused the video.
"He touched your brace."
The orthopedic specialist who had arrived from the hospital studied the footage carefully.
"If he carried the correct tool..."
"He could release part of the locking mechanism in seconds."
"Without being noticed."
Collins replayed the clip several times.
Then something else caught his attention.
"Wait."
He enlarged the reflection in the window beside the suspect.
Another face appeared briefly.
Not the suspect's.
Someone sitting inside a parked car outside the bus.
Watching.
Taking photographs.
Two people.
Working together.
The investigation had just doubled in size.
Then the depot manager entered the room carrying another storage drive.
"We found footage from outside the station."
"Earlier that morning."
Detective Harris inserted it into the computer.
As the video began playing...
Ethan suddenly leaned forward.
"I know that car."
Everyone turned.
May you like
"It belonged to my father."
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