Afraid of the Dark - James Grippando [46]
Why did she come?
“There are a couple of things you might like to know,” said Burton.
“Okay, shoot.”
“One, we’re still waiting on the final toxicology report, but the medical examiner suspects some kind of quick-acting toxin that induced cardiac arrest.”
“I’d heard that,” since Vince. “Detective Lopez from Miami Beach gave me an update before handing the case over to you. Any idea how the toxin was administered?”
“That’s the tricky part. The body shows no puncture wounds—no sign of a needle injection. It’s possible he ingested it. But we also have some footage from an outdoor security camera that raises an interesting possibility.”
Miami Beach PD hadn’t mentioned anything about a videotape. “What’s it show?” Vince asked.
“There are surprisingly few security cameras in the area, but they do have one at every cross street. About an hour before the paramedics arrived, we have a series of frames showing the victim in the crosswalk at Jefferson Avenue, which bisects the mall. He’s headed east. Another pedestrian is headed west, and the two of them collide.”
“What’s wrong with that guy, is he blind?” said Vince, smiling.
“Actually, he is,” said Burton, his tone serious. “That’s the interesting thing. We don’t have an ID yet, but whoever ran into Chang was using a walking stick, and the tip of it jabbed Chang in the ankle. The medical examiner notes a strange discoloration of the skin at the point of impact.”
Vince waited for him to say more, but the ball seemed to be in his court. “Anybody get a look at the suspect?” asked Vince.
“No. It was after dark, and the quality isn’t that good, even with digital enhancement. The camera has a head-on view of Ethan Chang, so we can tell that it’s him, but the suspect is filmed from behind. The dark sunglasses and hat don’t make it any easier.”
“Might not even be blind,” said Vince. “Could have just been a disguise.”
“That’s possible,” said the detective.
“Seems more than possible, when you consider the note Swyteck found on his table. Not an easy thing for someone to do without the benefit of sight—find his way to someone’s table and scribble out a note on a napkin.”
“Another valid point,” the detective said.
Vince listened as the detective filled in a few more details, but he was less than totally engaged, still wondering why Alicia had felt it necessary to come with him.
“Anyway,” said the detective, “I won’t take up any more of your time. Let me just say that before I made detective, I was in charge of the team that ran perimeter control around the motel on Biscayne when you were lead negotiator. I have tremendous respect for how you’ve bounced back. For what it’s worth, I hope the state attorney nails the son of a bitch who did this to you.”
“I appreciate that,” said Vince.
Alicia and the detective exchanged good-byes, and Vince thanked him. The detective closed the door on his way out, leaving Vince alone with his wife.
“You didn’t tell him about Brainport,” she said.
“What?”
“You told him how hard it would be for a blind guy to write a note on Jack Swyteck’s napkin, but what if the blind guy was using Brainport?”
Vince smiled and shook his head. “Alicia, that device is still in research and development. You can’t just go buy it. So far, the only people who have ever used the device outside of a clinic are me and Erik Weihenmayer—and he’s the only blind person ever to climb the Seven Summits. I don’t think Erik is a murderer.”
He and Alicia sat in silence, and he sensed that there was something she needed to say. Then she said it: “I was looking through the things from your visit to Pensacola.”
Vince just listened.
She paused, then added, “There were some handwritten notes.”
“Yeah, pretty primitive, wasn’t it?”
“To be honest, it surprised me how good it was.”
“I was doing really well with letter recognition, so we spent some time on writing. We’ll work on that more on the next visit. Like everything else in life, it should improve with practice.”
More silence.
“Vince,” she said, “can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
She hesitated,