“That’s what we think.”
“They can’t get far,” said Phillip. “You’re surrounded by water, and it’s night. No planes have left the island, right?”
“That’s correct. We’ve confirmed that there’s been no activity at all today at the island’s tiny airstrip.”
Tessa nodded as Cate spoke. She’d contacted the owners of the airstrip, who lived adjacent to it.
“And we’ve got deputies at the marinas right now to see who has left within the last couple hours.” Cate looked at Tessa. “What have you found out?” She touched her phone, switching it to speaker before setting it on the counter between them.
“Deputy Black here,” said Tessa, leaning toward the phone. “We believe two boats left Harlot Harbor Marina within the time frame, and none from Bishop Bay. I have men viewing the videos at Harlot.”
“Your island has the oddest names,” said Phillip. “Good work, Deputy. Cate, I’m sending Special Agent Isla Ross and a team first thing in the morning. You should get a call from her any minute. The robberies have been her case for the last four weeks. She knows them inside and out.”
“Good,” said Cate. She’d met Special Agent Ross a couple of months before and knew she was a skilled agent.
“I’ve got one!” said Julie, straightening in her chair.
Cate turned her attention to the screen and immediately agreed. Julie had frozen the feed as a man stepped in the door. His height and build were perfect. “Keep it going,” Cate told her. Julie started the video in slow motion, and the man paused at the door and took a long look around the waiting room.
“He’s looking for a camera,” Julie said smugly. “And he didn’t spot it.”
Julie had shown Cate the little waiting room camera hidden in the pot of a silk plant on a high shelf. The plant and pot were nondescript, nothing a patient would want to examine closer or handle. Julie had said they’d debated putting the camera in a stuffed bear on the shelf but worried someone would take a closer look or pull it down for their kid.
“What’s going on?” asked Phillip through the phone’s speaker.
“I think we’ve found one of the robbers casing the clinic at two o’clock this afternoon,” said Cate. “He’s unmasked.” She stared at the man’s face as Julie enlarged the video. He looked young, possibly still in his twenties. He had thick eyebrows but not like the ones Cate had noticed on one of the robbers.
“He must be the one with the rough voice,” said Julie.
He wore a T-shirt with Widow’s Island emblazoned across the front, cheap nylon shorts, and flip-flops one would find in a bulk sale bin. “Looks like he got a change of clothing at one of the souvenir shops,” said Cate. “I know of three different stores where he could have bought that shirt. We can check their cameras—”
“I know exactly which three shops you’re thinking of,” Tessa said. “I’m positive two don’t have cameras. I can check the third, but it’s doubtful. I’ll find the owner’s number and give her a call.” She walked to the far side of the waiting room and tapped on her phone.
“I’m surprised you found them on video,” said Phillip. “We’ve combed through weeks and weeks of video before the first three robberies, searching for when they cased the banks. There’s no way they skipped that step. They moved deliberately in each one and knew exactly where they were going. Why would they suddenly be sloppy with casing a medical clinic?”
“My guess is desperation,” said Cate. “They’ve been forced into action here. Previously they had time to plan the robberies—possibly they used a fourth person to case the banks. The third person’s injuries have screwed with their plans and changed their priorities.”
“Honor among thieves?” asked Julie. “I can’t believe they’d risk prison and losing the money because of someone’s injuries. How much money did they steal?”
“Sixty-five thousand altogether,” said Phillip. “Don’t repeat that number to anyone, and if you do, I’ll deny that you heard it from me.”
“FBI doesn’t release amounts,” said Cate, surprised that Phillip had broken a policy.
“That’s a lot,” said Julie. “But it isn’t much divided between three people—make that four people if there is another person casing for them. You’d think they’d cut their losses and leave the injured guy to die.”
“Or kill him,” added Cate. She’d seen it happen a number of times—robbers had turned on one another and left bodies behind. One time a robber had barely been alive when the FBI had found him, and he’d helped the FBI arrest and prosecute his partners.
“Who knows what they’re thinking,” said Phillip. “Send me a copy of the unmasked video, and I’ll get it to Special Agent Ross. I’ll be in touch, Cate.” He ended the call.
Tessa rejoined them. “The owner isn’t answering her phone. I left a message to call me immediately.”
“It’s almost midnight,” said Cate. “Normal people silence their phones at night.”
“I never do,” said Tessa.
“Me neither,” added Julie.
Cate didn’t either. “You’re proving my point.”
Tessa’s cell rang. “It’s Bruce,” she said as she put him on speaker. “Did you review the marina videos, Bruce? You’re on speaker with Cate and Julie.”
“Hey, Julie,” he said.
“Deputy Taylor,” Tessa stated. “Did you review the video?”
“Yes.” Bruce’s tone shifted into business. “Two boats left Harlot Harbor Marina in the time period you specified. The first boat had three women get on board.”
“Are you sure?” asked Cate. Her brain was considering all angles. Men could have disguised themselves.
“Positive,” Bruce said dryly. “There was no hiding the fact that these were women.”
“And the second?” asked Tessa.
“One guy sprinted to his boat and boarded. I backed up the video, and no one else boarded the boat earlier. The boat also went faster than it should have while leaving the harbor. It’s registered to an address on the north side of the island. I checked an aerial view of the area, and there is a private dock at that home.”
“Can you and Kurt get over there and talk to the owners? And see if the boat is there?” asked Cate, glancing at Tessa, knowing she was overstepping since she was no longer law enforcement. But her friend nodded in understanding.
Maybe he was going to meet the two men who have Henry.
“On our way,” said Bruce. “Kurt thinks the guy in the video might be a son or son-in-law—says he’s too young to be the homeowner. He knows the owners and mentioned that they won’t appreciate being woken up.”
“Too bad,” said Tessa with no sympathy at all. “Let me know what you find.” She ended the call and looked at Cate. “I’m going to the souvenir shop owner’s home to wake her up. We need to know ASAP if her shop has video.” She looked pointedly at Cate. “Stay with Julie, and watch the rest of the clinic video. Maybe the other guy comes in for some reason too.”