Linda Crowder - Jake and Emma 02 - Main Street Murder by Linda Crowder Page A

Joyner, being deliberately vague.  Emma had warned him not to plant ideas in Cheri’s head about the attack because they could influence the recovery of her memory. 
    “Right now, I am not even sure whether the person who attacked you was male or female.  This,” he said, holding up the picture, “is someone I’m interested in on another case.  I was just hoping you might know him since you seem to know everybody.” 
    Emma smiled at Joyner’s attempt to extricate himself from his self-inflicted dilemma.  Cheri seemed not to notice the detective’s awkwardness.  “Everyone is always saying that, Detective, but Casper is far too big now for me to possibly know everyone anymore.  Ask me fifteen years ago and yes, I probably would have known him or known that he was definitely not from around here,” she shook her head sadly.  “The way the city keeps growing nobody will know their neighbor before very long.”
    Dr. Gibbs dispelled the momentary pall that had fallen over the room by choosing that moment to walk through the door.  Seeing the policewoman standing by Cheri’s bed, his smile broadened.  “I see Detective Joyner has moved mountains over at City Hall to get you home before dinner,” he said.
    Emma said goodbye and promised to call Cheri in the morning as a flurry of discharge activity engulfed her room.  Cheri would be taking the rest of the week off at the insistence of Dr. Gibbs so Emma agreed to call Cheri at her home. 
    Joyner walked out with Emma, giving Cheri privacy while the nurse helped her get dressed.  When Dr. Gibbs had told Cheri she’d be going home soon, Cheri had given Kristy her keys and asked her to go to her house to pick up a change of clothes since the ones she’d been wearing at the time of the attack were now in the police evidence locker.
    “Do you have a picture of the other man?” asked Emma, once they were out of earshot.
    “No, unfortunately he kept his head covered and his face turned away from the cameras,” answered Joyner.
    Emma frowned.  “That’s bad luck.”
    “Very bad,” agreed Joyner.  He kept his speculation about the man knowing the positioning of the cameras to himself.  He’d spoken with the man who oversaw the City’s camera project and learned there was nothing special about that.
    “Anybody who looks up will notice them,” he answered in response to Joyner’s question.  “It’s just like shoplifting cameras in the stores.  Whether somebody is planning to steal anything or not, they just get into the habit of looking for cameras and avoiding them.  Anybody who doesn’t want to be seen can pretty much guess by the placement of the cameras what they can - and can’t - see.”
    Whoever the taller man was, it seemed he had a habit of not wanting to be seen.

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    10
     
     
    Emma’s first few sessions with Cheri were not productive from Detective Joyner’s point of view, but Emma was satisfied with the progress they were making.  She explained to Joyner that navigating the transition from friend to therapist could be tricky but that once Cheri was able to relax and trust Emma as her counselor, they would be able to begin the harder work of exploring the missing memories.
    Joyner, who was accustomed to the methodical pace of good police work, accepted Emma’s assurances and began working to identify the two men.  He’d submitted the shorter man’s photo to the state crime lab, which would run it through their facial recognition database.  If the state failed to make a match, they would send it to the FBI to be run through their national database but that could take months.
    Joyner checked with business owners along the parade route to see if any of them had security cameras that might have caught the two men.  Only two stores had cameras and both had been directed inside to watch for shoplifters. 
    He’d shown each manager the shorter man’s picture and a picture of the two men together.