Chapter 61

"That is her."

Brian narrowed his eyes on the video screen. Dean had pressed pause when a specific person came into view. It was television footage from Sarra's house after Lexi was found, one dozen of the tapes. This one was shot by channel 13, from far enough away that video tech nerds at the bereau had spent all morning trying to clarify the face. The footage had caught a tall woman in jeans and a sweater, with dark blonde hair wearing gloves and a mask. Like what about a dozen other crime scene specialist had worn when Lexi's body was found. But no one reconized this woman. She wore no ID and no badge.

"Every technision every police officer and FBI agent caught on television tape at Sarra's house has been identified." Dean said. "Except her."

"Him." corrected Harrison.

'You are sure we have all the tapes that was shot?" Brian asked. The place had been swarming with cameras.

O'Ryan nodded. "We offered inside information on the case, newsbreakers, to the film crew who came up with something we could use."

"Better than subpoena," Phil said. Everyone knew he was right. Forcing legalities on newspeople rarely influenced them. Promising them a big story was like offering pure gold.

"Run it again." Brian said and watched it two more times.

He didn't reconize her.  A bigger than average woman, walked like a little jock. No one on the crime scene Unit reconized her. No one in the police force reconized her. No one in the bureau reconized her.

Him. Women didn't pee in coke bottles.

Brandon?

The tape cut to another shot from a diffrent tv crew, but this one was just distant, just a survey of Sarra's yard. Dean poked his finger at the screen to point out the person in question. "Right there," He said. "Looading the duffel bag into the front seat of that van."

"Son of a bitch." Brian said.

"What?"

"I did see her. In the house." He closed his eyes, trying to place her in his mind's eye. "I kicked it out of my way, and she picked it up."

"The crime scene guys came up one bag short at Sarra's house." Harrison said. "The techie who it said it was empty."

"It wasn't empty when I Kicked it. Something hard inside. I heard it crack. No more pictures of his face?"

"That is the footage we have that caught her. Him. Whatever."

"The photo lab came up with this." Max pushed a couple of buttons, and the picture changed. "This is what Brandon James would like in that woman's disguise.  Not a very pretty broad."

Brian stared. Blonde hair female style, on Brandon's face. It wasn't much better than one of those late night Tv show gags where they merge pictures for laughs. But no doubt it was the person who'd looked at him angerly and then grabbed the bag at Sarra's house. "Got this picture on the news?" He asked.

O'Ryan nodded. "And the boy driving the escort Id'd her." She winced. "Him."

Harrison: "He can't stay underground too long. The only reason he got a few days from us is that he was hiding in locked cabinets before we even got going. Now he will need a place to live, a car to drive, something. Someone has to see him."

"Yeah, but the guy is a theater major," Phil said. "Probably knows stage makeup. He could have ten more disuises." He shrugged. "Guess he carries his own eye brow pencil."

Dean turned to Brian, who began pacing back and forth. "How is Sarra holding up?'

Brian blinked. "Scared shitless. Too stuborn to break."

"What is with the dog?"

ORyan perked up looking for the story "Dog? What happened?"

Brian slumped, still stewing over the pictures. "Sarra got a call from Emily Fisk last night. Her dog disapeared."

"Aw geesh," Oryan said. "What else could happen to that poor woman?"

"Brandon"? Harrison asked.

Brian shook his head. "That was my first thought too, But mrs Fisk thinks her three year old left the gate open. Apparently it has happened before, and Justice has always come back.'

"So sarra is taking it ok?'

Brian closed his eyes. Sarra had blown off the news about Justice like it was nothing. Just sucked it all up and offered to have sex with him. "Mrs Fisk is putting up signs around the neighbor hood," He said. " Sarra is convinced that he will show up."

"One paw time at a time in the mail," O'Ryan said

"Get us a picture of the dog."Dean sighed. "Guess we ought to know what it looks like."

"APB's on mutts." Harrison said.

"Should we call in the canine unit?" O'Ryan quipped.

"So if you were trying to get close to Sarra Jane, and you had money and knew the make up, how would you go about it?" Dean posed that question to Stard, who had just slipped into the door.

"You'd get into her proffession, become, someone she talked to, but not someone so close she'd know you well." Stard answered. "And you'd probably run into her ,visit with her some. Then go home and jerk off and thinking how well you are fooling everyone."

"Jesus." Brian said. Then half-formed idea congealing in his brain, he straightened. "Wait a minute." He said. "Go back to the close up of the woman at Sarra's house."

The head shot came onto the screen and Brian narrowed his eyes. "Did we ever get a picture of Chadborne?"

A couple of brows furrowed, then Harrison said, "Ya think?"

Max's Fingers started flying."There is no Drivers lisence, we already know that. But I was just looking for a picture. I didn't check the Social Security or Birth Certificates."

Brian felt as if his head was about to explode. Too many ideas some so tangled he could barely pull them out one at a time. But this one...Damn it this one made sense.

"Nothing," Max said "I will chek plane tickets from Boise..."

Dean stood. He was vibrating. "God almighty, that woman doesn't even exist."

"It was Brandon all along." Brian said. He tried to unclench his fingers but couldn't. "Brandon didn't meet Chadborne at those exhibitions. He created her."

"Have the photo lab do a mock up of an old woman using Brandon's face." Dean said to Max.

"He won't use her as a disuise anymore." Max said "Not if he thinks we are on to him."

"How will we know?" O'Ryan asked " I can keep it out of the news."

"No." Brian said " He knows, by now. Hell he probably been laughing at us all a long, waiting for it. All we had to do is start looking for Chadborne. Sooner or later we's relize we were looking for someone who don't exist.'

"Take the mock up's to Foster's anyway." Dean said. "Maybe someone saw her, Chadborne, Go into the garages there and mess with the cars, something like that." He rubbed his head. "I am too old for this shit."

"If we are right." Harrison said . "It explains a few things, but dosen't help us find Brandon now. He is out there, and we don't hear from him agin until the next body shows up."

"Yes, we will." Brian said and looked at Stard. "Because he won't beable to stay away from Sarra. Am I right?

"He will contact her," she suggested. "I don't know how, but mark my words . He will find away."