Chapter 2004
Maybe the man buying the medicine was just a random occurrence, or maybe Casey had died long ago.
Both possibilities were grim.
Erick spoke with Raegan about the situation, sharing all the details as Stefan had recommended, even though they hadn’t made any progress.
Raegan listened quietly and then asked, “Erick, can I take a look at that surveillance video?”
The only lead they had was the man with glasses captured on the video.
Erick hesitated, worried about stressing Raegan during her pregnancy, but it was obvious that she was deeply concerned.
He transferred the video to a tablet and sat next to Raegan as she watched it intently, even though he himself had reviewed it over five hundred times, examining every detail of the street corner where the man had vanished.
There were no leads.
It was as if the man had disappeared into thin air, baffling everyone.
Raegan set the video to repeat and watched it over and over.
She noticed something strange about the man in the screen, especially his attire.
His black coat had unusually high shoulder pads.
Such padding was often used to make someone appear more substantial, but on his slim, frail frame, which barely reached 5.
6 feet, the padded shoulders seemed almost ridiculous.
Other than that, as Erick had said, there were no obvious signs of suspicion.
However, Raegan wasn’t ready to give up.
She kept her eyes on the screen time and again.
Erick left to answer a phone call, which took him about thirty minutes.
Upon returning, he found Raegan still nestled into the couch, clutching a pillow and observing the screen with keen interest.
“Alright,” Erick began as he neared.
“Let’s continue this tomorrow.
You’re going to strain your eyes.
”
As he reached out to shut off the tablet, Raegan interjected.
“Wait!”
Erick halted, and Raegan quickly paused the video at a scene where the man with glasses stood in front of a store window for three seconds.
The window revealed nothing but a stark white wall, seemingly unimportant.
What was his purpose during those three seconds?
“She was checking her reflection!” Raegan exclaimed.
Erick looked puzzled.
“What… Raegan, are you saying you want to check your reflection?”
“Not me,” Raegan clarified, gesturing toward the figure on the screen.
“Her.
She was looking at her reflection.
”
Erick turned his attention back to the footage, a scene he had reviewed countless times yet failed to recognize anything out of the ordinary.
“Erick, you’ve got the investigation wrong.
The person who purchased the medicine wasn’t a man, but a woman!” Raegan asserted.
Erick was shocked.
“How can this be? That’s a woman?”
The disguise was convincing.
The woman had shoulder pads under the large coat, shoes with lifts, and wore several layers of pants to look bulkier.
But her brief stop in front of the shop window, a pause often seen in women, stopping instinctively to glance at their reflection, gave her away.