Chapter 4

The pharmacy was less than a mile and a half from where the old man had gone down.

Bradley was waiting for me at the door.

He was thinner than in his photo, and there was a fresh cut across one finger.

"This is the place."

"Was there a camera inside back then?"

"Yeah. But the owner said it only keeps footage for fifteen days."

"You didn't come back to check?"

Bradley dropped his head.

"After I paid up, the more I thought about it the more it felt wrong. When I came back a month later, the footage had already been overwritten."

The pharmacy owner's name was Ryan Hancock.

He heard me out, then waved a hand.

"Half a year ago. How would I remember that?"

Bradley got anxious.

"Mr. Hancock, that time I came in and borrowed paper and a pen off you. I signed the settlement right there on your counter."

"I remember you signing something. But I didn't see how the accident happened."

I asked, "Did you switch out your camera system at some point?"

Hancock gave me a look.

"How'd you know?"

The tip online had mentioned an old phone.

I could only follow the thread and guess.

"The camera picture in here now is very clear. That clip from six months ago looked like it was shot on older equipment."

"Right, we changed it last year."

"Is the old equipment still around?"

"Sold it for scrap ages ago."

"Did you ever connect it to a phone?"

He rubbed his chin.

"Back then I did keep an eye on the store off an old phone."

"Do you still have the phone?"

"Screen's cracked. Tossed it in a drawer."

Hancock dug around under the counter for a while and came up with a phone, the paint worn off its corners.

Once it was charging, it actually powered on.

The camera app wouldn't log in anymore.

But the photo album still held a few short videos that had auto-downloaded.

Hancock opened them one by one.

"Around that time I'd just figured out how to save the playback. I'd save it if a cat so much as wandered into the store."

When he opened the seventh video, Bradley slammed a hand down on the counter.

On screen, he was easing his scooter over toward the curb, braking to a stop a good yard short of the old man.

The old man took two steps forward.

He grabbed the back of the scooter first, then let himself sink down onto the ground.

Bradley jumped off and bent down to help him up.

The old man immediately clamped both arms around his.

A dozen seconds later, the man in the gray shirt came running from across the street.

It was Edwin Norris.

Bradley stared at the screen, his lips working for a long moment.

"He told me at the time he'd just happened to be passing by."

Hancock swore.

"Passing by, my foot. He was waiting right over there."

I said, "File a report first."

Bradley hesitated.

"It's already been half a year. Does it even matter now?"

"You've got the payment record, the settlement, and now the footage too. Whether it matters, let the police decide."

"And if I can't get the money back?"

"Then at least the truth gets laid out."

Hancock unplugged the charging cable.

"I can't just hand you the phone."

"That's fine. Bring it with you to the precinct."

He thought it over.

"Let's go. I'll testify for you."

We'd barely stepped out of the pharmacy when the hot dog vendor's call came through.

I had no idea where she'd gotten my number.

Her opening line was, "Antonia Walker, you delete that video right now."

"Why?"

"I can't run my stand anymore. Everybody who walks up asks me why I cut off the beginning and the end."

"You could just post the original video."

"You made me delete the original."

"That's your problem."

"Don't play dumb. You sent your fans to trash me. That's cyberbullying."

"I didn't tell anyone to trash you."

"If not you, then who?"

"When you posted your video of me, did you ask yourself that question?"

She pitched her voice higher.

"I'm telling you, this isn't over. My nephew knows a lawyer."

I glanced at Bradley.

"What a coincidence. I'm on my way to the precinct right now. If you've got something to say, you can come say it there."

She hung up at once.

Bradley asked, "That the one who filmed you?"

"Yeah."

"How does she get off turning it around on you?"

"It's not like she doesn't know what she cut."

I slipped my phone back into my bag.

"She just didn't count on me having the whole video."