Doe and Hayes walked into the small business to see a front desk with no one attending it. Along the back wall was a variety of sizes of envelopes and shipping boxes. Hays first action was to lean in and hit the bell. Within seconds a man came out in his early late twenties with a goatee and looked as if they had interrupted his important time.
"How can I help you?" He said with a snide attitude chewing gum loudly.
Frank drew out his badge and held it there for a second before tucking it back away. Then he calmly asked, "Do you know this man?" As he spoke he then placed a picture on the counter.
"He could be a customer. What's his name?" The clerk said trying to be helpful but still chomping on the gum.
"Simon Fulton." Frank spoke not expecting any help from this lead.
"Let me check the computer." The clerk hit a few keys and the system beeped he stopped for a moment then hit some more keys.
"It seems that he did pick up his mail here; based on this receipt last time he picked it up was 6:25 pm yesterday." The clerk said unknowing that this was the last place Mr. Fulton visited before he died.
Frank and Doe looked at each other realizing that this was the last place he'd been seen alive. Quietly Doe said, "Around five minutes."
"Five minutes what?" The clerk asked.
Frank ignored the clerk and as he turned back towards the clerk noticing a surveillance camera, then turned back to glimpse at it before re-looking at the clerk. "I'm gonna need the surveillance video from that camera at about the time Fulton was in here." Frank said.
"It's private property." The clerk said not wishing to give him anymore help if he wouldn't even answer his question.
"This is a homicide investigation," Frank said loudly.
"Oh, well it's a fake anyway," The clerk said without hesitation.
Doe turned to look at the camera and took a step towards it hanging above the door. After a glance he turned back to the clerk. "Actually it isn't a fake it's an ADC Five hundred series black and white CCD camera."
The clerk slightly shocked at first. Then responded, "well smart guy that is true but it's busted all it records is static."
"I'll have to see this myself," Frank said as he looked at the clerk.
"Fine," The clerk opened the counter and the three proceeded to a back room where there the video equipment was. In the corner a broken display rack fell over making a loud bang. Doe ignored it and walked in first and looked at the equipment and gave it a once over and hit a few buttons on it. The video screen that should have displayed the info showed nothing but static.
"It seems the probl--," John started to say but then Frank cut him off with, "Ok thanks that'll be all."
With that Frank started to leave and John followed behind him towards the car they had arrived in. Doe and frank stood in front of their doors to discuss what they had so far.
"So without the camera that ends on that lead." Doe said wondering if there was some other way to get the footage.
"Yup." Hayes said sounding a little depressed.
"Well maybe the picture holds another clue." Frank said as he pulled it out walking around to lay it on the hood. Doe came in to look at it. From first sight there was no way you could tell what the images were. Then the photo was flipped to look at the back. Then it hit John a clue so obvious he wondered how he missed it in the first place.
"I got it." Doe said.
"Got what?" Hayes asked.
"I know where the photo was developed." John said calmly.
"How?" Frank asked again curious how he knew.
"The photo paper, it's produced for individual stores so they can put their trade mark on it. Now if you look right here you see a clear TK and a small logo." Doe said pointing out the marks he spoke of.
"Thomas Kline photography." Frank said recognizing it after thinking a few seconds. "I almost bought a camera there once, but then I found out what the price of it was." Frank added with a chuckle.
"Well let's go" John said as they both got into the car.
They pulled up to the small photography place located in town, within a few minutes of starting their ride. Then they both got out and walked through the door as it jingled to alert the person working there of their presence. A clerk came out with a nametag that listed his name as Steve.
"Hi, how can I help you?" Steve said cheerfully.
"It's about this picture that was developed here," Frank said pulling out the photo and sliding it on the counter for the clerk to see, then showing him his badge as well.
"Well, it's rather bad quality, it's double exposed and both images are unrecognizable." Steve said.
"Have you seen any other pictures like it?" John stepped forward and asked as Hayes was about to speak but then turned to watch John.
"Now that I think of it," Steve scratched his chin a few seconds, "yes, I have."
"Can you remember?" Frank asked.
"Well a gentleman came in and left two disposable cameras, every print came back like this. I offered to give them to him for free but he refused and paid in full." The clerk said trying to remember anything else.
"I'm sorry but that is all I remember," Steve said.
"Thanks for you're assistance," John said as was quick to start to walk out the door, and Frank followed him.
At the car Doe stopped and turned to Frank. "This explains it." John said.
"Explains what?" Frank said inquisitively.
"Someone was taking pictures they had developed to send to someone else, the person that killed Fulton. Now they had to get the photos developed at a public facility so to hide the images they made each print double exposed."
"How does Fulton fit into this?" Frank asked.
"Well who ever had the pictures developed probably had taken them to the mail room to have them dropped off. Then the clerk accidentally slipped them to Fulton. So that means his involvement in this is entirely bad luck" Doe hesitated to end his theory there.
"That doesn't explain why he said JD," Frank was quick to point out.
In John's mind all the facts were there as he tried to fit them all together. If Simon hadn't mentioned JD then this would all make sense, as just a case of bad luck.
"That still don't tell us who the murderer is but it does help. It also doesn't explain why someone would kill over your picture." Frank said.
Just then Hayes cell phone rang and he pulled it out and answered it with, "Hayes"
In his face you could see he was thinking as he nodded to the person on the other end.
"We may have a witness after all." Hayes said after hanging up the phone.
"Who?" John asked curiously.
"The building manager says a tenant came to him saying she did see someone." Frank said.
Frank knocked on apartment 5 B that was on the second floor and waited a few seconds before knocking again to be interrupted from a voice inside.
"Who's there?" The voice asked.
"Police Mrs. Preste," Frank said waiting for the door to open.
A few seconds later the door swung open and it was an old lady with gray curly hair.
"I'm glad you came over so quickly" she said.
"I've been informed that you have some information about Mr. Fulton?" Frank said as he wondered what she had seen.
"Well I was taking my garbage out and was in the back exit, that's when I saw them; I thought they were trash collectors." She admitted.
"What did they look like?" John asked curiously since they had one picture of him hidden in the double exposure.
"All of them were men, one of them had grey hair with a fancy hat and coat on, and the other two had green overalls that looked messy, but I only saw them from the back as they went away. It did look like one of the messy men had a gun in hand." She said. "Oh and one of them made hand motions to the tall grey haired man."
John started thinking to the man that they had seen in the painting, the lead that lead him to the old woman and the lies about his identity, and the deaf person that police picked up after Karen was kidnapped, now John knew that's who had to be behind this.
Frank's cell phone started ringing again half way through her talking and he answered it and quietly talked to the person on the other end as John continued to talk with Mrs. Preste.
"Sign language?" John said making sure that is what she had meant.
"Oh yes that's what it was. I wouldn't have called but after hearing what happened to poor Simon I figured I'd better mention it." Mrs. Preste said.
"John we have to go, something urgent." Frank said motioning towards the door.
"Thank you Mrs. Preste." They both said as they walked out the door.
Initially they were both quiet walking down the one flight of stairs and out the door back into the sunlight. John got into the passenger side of Frank's car and buckled up. As Frank sat down in the driver's side starting the engine and began to drive to where he was told on the phone.
"Where are we headed?" John asked.
"Back to the mail shop." Frank said quickly as he made a turn. "What did Mrs. Preste say?" Frank asked after the turn.
"Three people, at least one of whom is deaf." John said wondering if Frank would remember the other incident after they brought in the deaf man for questioning.
They arrived on the scene after a few minutes to see a neighboring store had yellow police tape on it.
Just then the clerk from Jimmie's Mail World, ran out of the store looking like someone was behind him with a knife.
"I heard gunshots; someone is trying to kill me just like they did Simon. It's the photos." The clerk exclaimed.
"Wait, what photos?" Frank asked.
"Um uh." The clerk hesitated for a while.
"It wasn't an accident at all; you deliberately gave him someone else's photographs," John said starting to think that Simon didn't get mixed into this on bad luck, he wanted those photos.
"Well yes, he paid me five hundred bucks." The clerk said trying to explain.
"What photos did you sell him?" Frank asked.
"The guy bought photos and mail from others before, he said he was looking for his brother. This week he said he needed to buy the mail off someone who received pictures that day with a box that ended in zero, three and that was three people." The clerk explained.
"So you gave him mail from all three boxes?" Frank asked.
"No, one person had already picked up their mail for the day I gave him the other two. Then like two minutes later two guys come in and hand me a note to tell me they want to pick up the mail, but I had just sold it to the other guy." The clerk said.
Frank and John listen to his story and try to fit the new pieces into the existing puzzle they had.
"They left and a third guy comes in and he has one of those devices to type into, I told him I lost the mail but he didn't believe me. I eventually pointed out who I sold it too as he was leaving a store across the street. Then he gets mad and totals a display I have up then walks out." The clerk said as his voice was shaky and he was afraid he would be killed next.
"What were they wearing?" Doe asked intrigued.
"Normal clothes," The clerk said.
"What was the other man wearing?" Doe asked?
"A trench coat? I don't remember he had a hat and didn't look up much, I saw he had semi long grey hair." The clerk said unsure.
The officer from the other scene came over and greeted Hayes walked over to him and they talked a few feet away. Then Frank walked back over to the clerk who was standing next to Doe in silence.
"Someone tried to rob the place next door, two shots fired just as he was trying to leave to scare people away. But he ran into someone and fell down and an officer caught him." Hayes said clearing up that no one was after the clerk.
"Who owned the box he bought photos from?" John asked.
"I'd have to check inside," The clerk said heading towards his store.
He made his way to the computer and punched in information into the keyboard, he continued to type. Then the system responded with a beep.
"What?" The clerk said confused as all the data on the screen got messed up and the screen started displaying error messages.
John leapt up and started typing on the keyboard, but it was too late after typing a few seconds the computer displayed a series of odd messages, in a screen with a distorted image it had the words 'Open it' then if flashed to white and flashed 'Message' then 'inside 2065-55' almost to simultaneously to read before resting into a black screen.
"No!" John said angry hitting the counter he couldn't get to it in time. He sat back and took a breath.
"Did you see what name it said?" Doe asked the clerk hoping he may have seen something.
"It looked like it said that the box was registered to Samuel Buck or Bick," The clerk said not totally certain.
"Samuel Buck, British artist died 1779," Doe thought about it but didn't see any other connections or how this information could help.
John thought for a few seconds then studied the computer wondering how the person got in to the computer in the first place. He felt behind the computer and noticed something, a small device that had the phone line plugged into it and then it went into the phone in line for the modem. He pulled the device to the front and looked at it. It was about the two inches tall, independently manufactured. In a solid grey metallic looking case.
"This device probably bounces sites you visit and information about this computer to someone else on the internet. They've had plenty of time to upload a virus since yesterday, and after we started looking it was activated. To find out for certain I'd have to take it apart."
Then suddenly on the side of the case John noticed the numbers '2065-55' suddenly he thought about the last message on the computer screen maybe it wasn't just part of the virus.
John further examined the tube then noticed one little crevice and what looked like a line around it.
"Get me a pocket knife" John said as he wondered what could be inside the tube.
Frank handed him one out of his pocket and John opened up the blade and slid the tip of the blade into the small crevice and pushed upward until there was a click there was now an obvious separation where the tube could be opened turning the knife and used it to push the cap. But it was still hard to push then with one push it flew off. A small red flame flared out of the end for a second then vanished into the tube leaving a trail of smoke. John looked inside the tube to see it had scorched any working parts that remained.
"Guess I won't get to analyze the chips" Doe said.
"What was that red flame?" The clerk said shocked after seeing the fire.
John sniffed the air and thought about the flames color, "Strontium." He said in a sort of low voice continuing to think.
"Strontium?" Frank asked knowing Doe was about to do his thing.
"It could be a few different things but my bet is it's Strontium, symbol Sr, atomic number 38, first discovered by William Cruikshank, although Adair Crawford is often credited with the discovery, in the mineral strontianite. Common uses are in road flares, red color in fireworks, in its natural state it is highly reactive to air." Doe spoke as the thoughts crossed his mind.
He turned his attention to the other end of the device that looked like it could be removed by unscrewing it. So he turned it a few times and the end popped right off. He poured the few contents onto the counter and looked at them.
It was a mix of grains that poured onto the counter into a small pile, and some flowed off the edge and onto the floor. John stared at them then took a smell, and was feeling some of the grains.
"Red Pine," He said aloud thinking about what it could mean.
After finally making the clerk realize no one was after him. John and Frank headed out the door and made their way back to the car. Frank started it up.
"I should have charged him with mail tampering," Frank said jokingly.
John looked up at the stop light for a second thinking about the clues suddenly it hit him what they had meant.
"Pine Street and Crawford Place, they're road names." John said knowing that had to be the connection.