able to clarify this photograph then, but you can do it now, can’t you?'
'Probably. I’ve sent another duplicate to Quantico.' He paused. 'But I wondered if you’d like to take a shot at it yourself. You work with photographs too.'
'My specialty is age progression, and that’s completely different from what you need here.'
'Oh.' Spiro was disappointed. 'Too bad.' Yes, it was, she thought with frustration. 'Nothing you can do?' Spiro asked.
She thought about it. 'Maybe.' She stood up and got a phone book. 'If there’s a film developer in town who does global corrections.'
'Global corrections?'
'Air brushing and other kinds of— Here it is.' She had found an advertisement in the yellow pages. 'Pixmore. Now we’ll have to see if they have the equipment and the experts to do the job.'
'Glamour shots?' Joe was looking over her shoulder at the ad, which showed a close-up of a beautiful woman. 'Not exactly scientific.'
'How do you think companies like this make their money? They remove everything from zits and facial wrinkles to dark hair roots on photographs.' She looked at the photograph again.
'They might be able to do it. Correctors prefer to work with slides, but I’ll take this to them, see if they have someone qualified.' She put the picture back in the envelope. 'These places are usually backed up for weeks. Can you put a little FBI muscle behind me?'
'I’ll have Charlie meet you at Pixmore,' Spiro said. 'How long should it take?' She shrugged. 'I don’t know. Maybe twenty-four hours. It depends on how good the technician is and what kind of overtime he’s willing to put in.'
'I’ll ask Charlie to stay with him until it’s finished.”
“Good.' She moved toward the door. 'That will probably help.”
“I’ll drive you,' Joe said. 'That’s not necessary.'
He made a face. 'At the moment I don’t seem able to make any other contribution. I’m feeling the need to be needed.'
was thirty minutes from north Phoenix and perched on the summit of a curving mountain road.
The one-story building was all glass and stone and gleamed in the sunlight. Charlie Cather The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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pulled into the parking lot right after Joe and Eve.
'I’m glad you think we can get something done with that photo.' He shook his head. 'I was disappointed. I thought I’d really zeroed in on something.'
'You did,' Eve said. 'It still may be salvageable.'
'That’s what Spiro said.' He nodded at the Toyota driving into the parking lot. 'There’s Grunard.'
'What’s he doing here?' Eve asked.
'He was with me at the hotel when Spiro called. He’s been bugging the hell out of me.' He made a face. 'But he’s not a bad guy.'
'Spiro won’t like it.'
'I cleared it with him. He said give him an appetizer but not the main course. He leaves before they start working on the photo.' Mark was coming toward them, smiling.
'Don’t look now, but he appears ready for dessert,' Joe said dryly.
'Can’t you get me a negative?' The technician’s name was Billy Sung. He was under twenty-five and definitely not optimistic. 'I’m not a miracle worker, you know.'
'No negative,' Eve said. 'Your boss says you’re the best technician he has. I’m sure you won’t have a problem.'
'Don’t give me a snow job. I’ll have a hell of a problem. This print has multiple errors. One would be easy to correct, but not all of them. You need one of those digital imaging companies in L.A. or a university think tank to enhance those pixels. Pixmore doesn’t have the equipment.'
'No chance?'
He shrugged. 'Maybe. I have a college professor who has a government research grant, and his equipment is way beyond state of the art. He usually lets me use it.'
'You’re a student?'
'Yeah, I need a degree to get a job with one of those companies on the West Coast. I have to compete with all those whiz kids from UCLA and USC. Those companies are cutting edge. It’s incredible what they do with digital computer and software equipment.' He looked back at the photograph. 'But I do damn well considering what I work with.'
'I’m sure you do,' Eve said. 'Who is this professor and where’s his lab?”
“Professor Dunkeil. Ralph Dunkeil. His lab’s about five minutes from here on Blue Mountain The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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Drive.'
