Rick nods. ‘We know she was seen alive earlier in the week, arguing with the driver of a beige station wagon. The vehicle had a Maryland plate, number 6JB7892, and a Chicago Bulls bumper sticker.’
‘Yes,’ says Philip, drawing a line from ‘Jane Doe’ to a question mark and the words ‘Driver Beige Station Wagon’。 He bullet points the information about the sightings. ‘We know Donald and Clint both saw the vehicle on different occasions within the last week.’
‘Yep, that’s right,’ says Rick. ‘At the watch meeting earlier, Donald said he’d seen the vehicle early in the week on Seahorse Drive. He witnessed the argument with a woman he thinks was our vic, but he didn’t get a look at the person inside. Clint said he saw the vehicle last night on his patrols. From memory he thought it was there at one o’clock and also around two, but he was going to double-check his log notes. Both times the vehicle was parked up at the head of the Wild Ridge Trail.’
Philip scribbles the points below the ‘Driver Beige Station Wagon’ heading.
‘The start of the Wild Ridge Trail isn’t far from Manatee Park,’ says Moira. She glances at Lizzie who seems to be staring over her shoulder, into space. Tilting her head, she focuses on Lizzie until she notices and gives a little nod. Moira looks back at Philip. ‘The driver could have used the trail to get around the back into the park to avoid being seen by any street CCTV cameras.’
‘We need to know where the cameras are,’ says Rick. ‘Surely there are some inside the park?’
‘There must be.’ Lizzie’s nodding. It’s the first time she’s got involved in the discussion about the murder. At first her voice is hesitant, but it grows in strength as she warms to her theme. ‘And we need to get exact confirmation of the times Clint and Donald saw the vehicle.’
‘We do,’ says Philip. He runs his hand over his bald pate, smoothing an imaginary strand of hair back into place. ‘We need everything our patrols have seen over the past few weeks. Someone else might have seen something but not remembered it.’
‘Agreed,’ says Rick. ‘I’ll get the logs off the patrollers.’
‘And we need to get a look at the gate register – a Maryland plate means the driver is most likely an outsider. Anyone coming into the neighbourhood has to sign in at the gate. There should be a record of them arriving and leaving.’
‘Good thinking. And we need to get the details on whoever drives the station wagon too,’ says Philip. He takes a couple of steps sideways and starts a new list. Writes ‘Action Log’ at the top, then numbers the actions – first is the community-watch logs, second is the gate register, third is checking the driver ID of the station wagon, fourth is trying to access the CCTV. Turning back towards the group, he asks, ‘What else?’
‘We need to know who the man following Moira is,’ says Lizzie.
Damn. Moira turns to look at Lizzie. She hadn’t wanted to bring up the blond guy; she was going to handle that herself. ‘It might not be connected.’
‘What guy?’ asks Rick, frowning. ‘Is someone stalking you? That’s a real problem, we should—’
‘I don’t know for sure,’ says Moira. ‘He was near Manatee Park this morning, parked across the street from Philip, and as I was getting into Philip’s car he took a picture of me. Then, when I was out in the garden with the dogs, he was watching me, and—’
‘He was here too. Outside the gate on to the street,’ says Lizzie. ‘Moira chased him but he jumped into a silver Beetle and drove away.’
Rick looks thoughtful. ‘Sounds like you’ve got a stalker to me.’
‘And if he was outside the crime scene this morning, he could be connected to the murder. He could have seen something,’ says Philip, making a note on the glass.