“The building is located in a high crime area so the owners installed security cameras in the lobby, elevators, and hallways. There are sign-in sheets documenting everyone who entered and left the premises,” he said.
“The next picture you’ll see is of a woman entering approximately one month ago.”
“I’m surprised they still had footage from that long ago,” Sin said.
“We got lucky. This place has seen its better days and they still keep their footage on DVD.”
“The person I spoke to,” Evelyn interrupted, “said it was cheaper to buy DVDs than to upgrade the system.”
With a click of a remote, everyone saw Miranda standing at the front desk.
“I went and spoke to the receptionist who was working the day Miranda arrived.” Garcia clicked to the next slide. “She signed the visitor’s log with a fake ID. Well…sort of a fake ID. She checked in under Joanna Ash.
“I found it interesting that this was the only time the cameras ever picked up Miranda entering Joel’s residence.”
“And you followed up?” Sin said. It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. She knew Garcia wouldn’t have left any threads hanging.
“I did. I will come back to that point in a few minutes. It ties in with the next few slides.” He flipped to the next picture. “Here’s George arriving at the exact time Ashley thought he had. The next slide shows him stepping onto the elevator. The next thing you will see is a short video. I wanted everyone to see what I saw when I viewed this footage.
“The camera angle’s not very good. There are two cameras on every floor situated on both ends of the hall.”
Everyone was spellbound, their gazes were locked onto the screen as George was seen stepping off the elevator. He tentatively walked down the hall, checking room numbers as he went.
“It’s evident that he had never been there and was unfamiliar with Joel’s apartment,” Fletcher remarked.
“Affirmative,” Garcia said. “Keep that in mind.”
George hesitated before knocking on Joel’s door.
When the door to the apartment opened, the conference room became more than silent; it became a graveyard.
George was grabbed and pulled into the apartment, the door slamming shut behind him.
Charlie was the first one to his feet. He pointed at the video. “Do you have stills of what just happened?”
Garcia nodded, clicking to the next picture. “Evelyn was kind enough to call in a few markers and have these next few photos enhanced.”
“I only had enough time to get a few of them done,” she announced, sounding apologetic.
“You did more in the time you were given than any of us could have done,” Garcia said.
Sin caught her smile at the compliment.
“This first picture is a close up of George knocking on the door,” Garcia continued.
“He looks petrified,” Sin said.
“This next one shows him talking to whoever was inside.”
“There appears to be a fresh resolve in his expression,” Charlie commented.
“As if, he had no choice,” Sin said. “He had been pushed around his entire life. First by Miranda and then by his sister. Ashley said that she tried to talk him out of doing anything rash, but his mind was made up.”
“It looks like he gained some courage,” Charlie acknowledged.
Garcia clicked to the next picture. “This next slide may change your mind on that.”
The picture showed the door open and a look of abject horror on George’s face. Garcia didn’t stay on the slide for long, but quickly brought up the next slide. It showed a close-up of a hand reach out and grab George by the hair, pulling him into the apartment. The hand was weathered and appeared female.
“Is that Miranda’s?” Fletcher asked.
“That would explain some things, but it leaves me with even more questions,” Sin said.
“Let me finish and I think all of your questions will be answered.”
Sin filled a mug with coffee, and listened as Garcia proceeded.
“The next photo will be of Ashley arriving. I have another short video for you to watch.”
The video, like the one before, followed Ashley as she entered the elevator and got off on Joel’s floor. She walked down the hall, knocked on the door, spoke, and was let in.
“Well?” Garcia said, temporarily pausing the video.
“She knew where she was going,” Sin said immediately. “She never looked at the apartment numbers and didn’t hesitate when she knocked on the door.” Sin pointed to the blank board. “She appeared to announce herself calmly and the door was answered right away.”
“By who?” Charlie said.
“By Joel,” Sin answered.
“There was no surprise or fear on her face when the door opened,” Garcia agreed. “It had to be Joel.”
“So what does any of this tell you, because I’m still lost,” Evelyn chimed in.
Sin wagged a manicured finger in the air. “The puzzle is still missing a few pieces. We’ve seen Miranda, George, and Ashley enter the building at different times, but we have not seen any of them leave.”
Garcia smiled. “That was my first question after I viewed this footage. I asked if there was another entrance or exit for the building and I was told that the only way in was the front door, but there was a back door—a fire exit.”
“And was there a camera on that door?”
“There was a camera and an alarm. Both had been deactivated because so many of the residents had been using that door to go out back and smoke. The staff was tired of hearing the alarm go off, and since it was a fire exit and no one could get in through that door, someone decided to unplug the camera.”
“That must have been how Miranda came and went after her first visit,” Sin proclaimed. “Joel was so scared of his mother he would do anything she asked, fearful of what her retribution would be if he didn’t. He must have let her in through the back door.”
“But what about George and Ashley?”
