The Other Path Chapter 79
Rick points his phone at a device lying on a metal table in the corner. "I'm getting a maximum signal. That has to be it."
Pulling on a pair of gloves, Kate collects the object and places it in an evidence bag. "This is a solid connection to John Doe. But it doesn't get us any closer to his killer."
When Cronut pulls at his leash, Rick follows him out of the building. "Kate, our furry friend found some tracks. It looks like they're from a truck."
Kate crouches to examine the tread markings. "A truck, but not a very large one. Whatever equipment they pulled out of that plane couldn't have been very big or heavy. These tracks are fresh, and it looks like there's a nick or something in one of the tires. If we find the truck, that could provide a definitive ID. And if we pull the video for the last few hours from the closest traffic cameras, we may get lucky."
"That's a lot of video to scrub."
"I'll get the boys to pitch in. They don't have that much to do right now."
Rick swallows, hoping a free lunch bought Ryan and Esposito's discretion, at least until either Kate opens up about her pregnancy or the baby's presence becomes apparent. "Yeah, good idea. I'll walk Cronut around some more while you make your calls. Then we won't have to worry about finding a pet-friendly stop on the way back."
"Hey, Beckett! Take a look at this," Ryan calls from his desk.
Kate's long strides bring her almost immediately to gaze over the slim detective's shoulder. "What have you got?"
"See this truck? It's like the ones people rent to move when they have only a couple of rooms of furniture – except that it doesn't have the name of a rental company on it. I picked it up on a camera near the airfield. The video's timestamped a half hour before you and Castle got there. And that truck appears again on cameras on the route back to Manhattan. I'm still scrubbing, but it looks like it was headed uptown."
"Did you get a plate?"
"Yeah, but it's part of a corporate fleet. It will take some doing to track down the driver. That's assuming the company even knows. Fleet trucks can be stolen without anyone immediately realizing they're gone."
"I'll put Espo on IDing the driver. You stay with the video until you find out where that truck stops, and we can put surveillance on it. I have to go downstairs to supervise one of their interrogations. Robbery collared one member of a three-person team that's been hitting upscale brownstones. We need to get him to flip on his colleagues."
"Good luck. We'll let you know what else we get on the vehicle."
"Any luck tracking the truck?" Rick asks as Kate drops down next to him on the couch.
"Video-king Ryan tracked it to a garage in the Bronx. Espo's still trying to figure out who was driving it. He couldn't ID the passenger either."
"No facial recognition?"
"No usable images. The driver was wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face. He also had a beard that might have been fake. He must have known cameras would catch him. And the cameras caught almost nothing except a beard, of the guy riding shotgun.
"They must have known cameras would pick up the truck."
"Yeah, that's what worries me. Once the truck was inside the garage, it would have been easy to change the plates and change its appearance. But we have a team in place watching the garage. Anything or anyone goes in or out, we'll know it."
"And then what?"
"We catch aircraft parts changing hands and make arrests for trafficking in stolen goods. After that, we'll have to get someone to talk."
"Kate Beckett's famous interrogation expertise."
"I don't know about that. Robbery arrested a suspect for that string of robberies the Ledger put on the front page. He lawyered up, and I couldn't get anything out of him."
"You've had that happen before. After they spend some time in Holding or, worse, the Tombs or Rikers, they get more talkative."
"Yeah, but in the meantime, the robberies can go on. Until now, we've been lucky. The occupants have been out, and no one's been hurt. But that could change anytime."
"How many robberies has that gang pulled off so far?"
"Ten."
"And no one was ever home? That's more than luck, Kate. There has to be an inside person who would know when all those people would be gone."
"Robbery checked on the security companies and any regular delivery services. They all came up clean. Same with childcare."
Cronut pads over with his leash in his mouth. "How about pet daycare?" Rick asks. "I've been looking into that for Cronut so he won't get lonely when we both have to be gone. I'm back on my feet enough to go trailing after you again. And I have meetings and readings. Mrs. Lucci and Stromboli aren't always around. And they're both getting a little grey in the muzzle. But anyway, pet daycare could know when there would be no one in those homes."
"You're right," Kate considers. "I'll pass the idea on to Robbery."
"Good. Now that you have one less thing to obsess about, would you like to accompany Cronut and me on our evening outing? There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. Perhaps we can wish upon a shooting star."
"You really think that with the city lights, we'll be able to see one?" Kate questions.
"We've accomplished things a lot more unlikely than that."
Kate snuggles into Rick's shoulder. "Yes, we have."
Arseny paces his makeshift headquarters. The garage in the Bronx is better than the hangar on Long Island. It has a decent bathroom, a refrigerator, and a microwave. But that's the most he can say for it. Still, he and Ivan won't be here long. They've switched license plates and wrapped the truck in vinyl printed to tout a delivery service. They'll even have uniforms and caps with the logo. With the number of boxes hitting front steps and loading docks in the city, they won't be worth anyone's notice. And even the watchers Ivan spotted outside won't be able to connect the truck with the one that left the airfield. They won't be able to connect Arseny and Ivan with it, either. They've both shaved and colored their hair. The clothing will take care of the rest.
"Any activity?" Kate asks, making her morning check-in call with her surveillance team.
"Nothing," Officer Barkin reports. "Wait, the vehicle exit is opening up. There's a truck with two men, but not like the one in the traffic photos. It's for Larking Delivery Service."
"Ryan," Kate yells across the bullpen. "Did we get any footage of a Larking Delivery Service truck entering the garage?"
"No. Only the airstrip truck," Ryan shouts back.
"Follow the delivery truck, Officer Barkin," Kate orders. "I'm going to call in another unit to pick it up ahead of you, but try not to lose it. Our murder suspect could be in there."
"On its tail," Barkin acknowledges.
"Shouldn't they stop the vehicle?" Ryan wonders.
Kate shakes her head. "A sharp attorney could get the stop thrown out on lack of probable cause. We'll see where it goes. If the guys in there are unloading parts stolen from the aircraft, sooner or later they'll have to reveal themselves. And when that truck parks, I want someone to get a look at the tires."
