The Shooter

Chapter 5

"There's the van," Bayley said. She was on duty with officer Tessa Blanchard, continuing the task of tracking down all of the maroon vans in the city that matched the make and model identified from the CCTV footage at the gas station where the second shooting had taken place.

A witness at the location of the third shooting had reported seeing a maroon van earlier in the day, parked down the street. The witness hadn't been positive about the model, but he had responded to a picture of the model in question by saying that it could have been the same as the one he had seen.

Blanchard parked the squad car across the end of the driveway that the latest van they were going to inspect was parked on, just in case the unlikely scenario of a suspect trying to escape in the van somehow came about.

This one was their third van of the shift. It didn't look like a likely contender, Bayley thought as she got out of the squad car. The van had a white rectangular logo for a window cleaning company on it's side. No witnesses had mentioned seeing anything like that.

Bayley waited for Blanchard to walk around the squad car, then they had a quick look around the van. Nothing stood out as suspicious.

"Let's give the door a knock," Blanchard said.

Heading over to the front door, Bayley prepared herself to do the talking. No matter who she partnered with, they tended to leave speaking to the public to her, given her talent for it.

Bayley rang the doorbell and loudly knocked the door. There was only a short wait before a man in his late fifties answered the door. He was dressed in a well-worn t-shirt and a pair of jeans covered in stains – a work outfit. As was often the case, understandably so, he looked surprised to find two cops at his door.

"Help you, officers?" he asked.

"Morning, sir," Bayley said. "I'm officer Martinez, this is officer Blanchard. We're from the SCPD, and we're investigating a case in which a maroon van similar to yours has come up in witness testimony. We'd like to take some details from you and have a look at your van in order to eliminate you from our enquiry. Would that be okay?"

"Uh, sure," the man said.

"Can I start by taking your name?"

"Terry Joseph," the man replied. The company name on the van was Terry's Window Cleaning, Bayley recalled. She took a few more details, then obtained his van key so that she and Blanchard could open it up and check it out.

"Not expecting to find anything here," Blanchard said quietly to Bayley as they went back to the van.

"Nope, but we'll give it a look anyway," Bayley said. From one of the pouches on her belt, she pulled out a pair of blue nitrile gloves and worked her hands into them. Blanchard followed suit.

"You take the front, I'll take the back," Bayley said, pressing the button on the key fob to unlock the van.

Blanchard went around to the driver's door as Bayley opened the rear doors. At first glance, she found herself looking at items and equipment that she would have expected to find in a window cleaner's van.

The voice of a male officer came through on Bayley's radio. "Shots fired at police from a maroon van near a gas station at the corner of Maple and Sycamore! Suspect vehicle heading east at speed! Backup and aerial surveillance needed urgently!"

"They've found the bastard!" Blanchard called out to Bayley.

Bayley was already running back to the house, where Terry was standing in the doorway. "Thank you. We've got to go," she said, tossing the key back to him. He caught it, looking bemused by the whole thing.