THOR - ONC 2024

14. On Track

I opened calls, tapped recent and selected Daryl, allowing it to ring half a dozen times, before closing the call. Within moments of setting the phone on the granite top, it pinged. I picked it up, thumbed in and answered, "Mason."

"Sorry, sir. Traffic too thick. Had to pull over and stop."

"Yes, safety first. Great work on the van."

"Thank you. The exhaust pipe was still a bit warm, but there was no sign of him or the dog. Busy lot with people arriving from work, so not safe for anything but a quick look and a simple bug in a wheelwell. I'll return after dark in my dog-walker disguise and plant a logger. Rear bumper looks good."

"Excellent. You have a dog?"

"I do. A Rottweiler named Quiang. Used him a fair bit as a surveillance ploy in my gumshoe days."

"Oh, wonderful dogs, Rottweilers. Anything else?"

"Yes, I've bookmarked Wilson's Facebook page – no time to dig beyond the surface before I left the office. I'll look at it after dinner."

"Email me the link, and I'll do that."

"Okay, but I'll still dig there." Daryl chuckled. "The thrill of the chase. Haven't had anything but ledgers, archives and reams of paper for ages."

"True. But you're so good with those. Remind me to give you an occasional out-of-office assignment."

"Thank you, I will."

I clicked off, and as I set the phone on the counter, Marissa said, "Still warm. So not long there."

"True. He's had the van for twelve days now. New license plates two days ago, just under the reregistration time limit. Could be trying to look normal with comings and goings, maybe testing the observations of the neighbours."

"How would he know what looks normal?"

"If he's clever, and it's folly to think he's not, he would have dithered with the purchase for a day or so – possibly longer. Maybe a story about waiting for the money, a paycheck or whatever. Old vans like that are slow sellers, and Wilson would have been patient, knowing he had a potential buyer. Could have been a deposit to hold it." I shrugged. "This is all speculation, but doing scenarios like this allows us to see possibilities."

Marissa nodded. "And used his ingratiating manner to gain Wilson's confidence, allowing him to watch his routine."

"Yes, another possibility. Remember, Norman's been out for eight months, so it appears he took his time to find the perfect victim and to set him up."

"Like he took the time to watch me. My routine." She shuddered. "Scary."

"Indeed. And he played good boy, reporting all his address changes – which reminds me, Daryl was going to look for a pattern in the addresses." I picked up my phone, thumbed in, selected memos and spoke, "Norman's address pattern."

"What would you learn from that?"

"If he favours an area. Favours a housing type. If there was anything unusual while he was at any of them. If any of the others were spurious – like Trout Lake. Many things that might give us a better picture of him."

"Yeah. And speaking of picture, Daryl wouldn't know what he looks like."

"Oh, he would. Online photos and a full description are part of the sex offender registry."

Marissa nodded. "A small mercy. But how many would look at that?"

"Very few. The public have no access to it – only accredited police agencies, such as we are. Also, it lists vehicles registered, driver's license, passport number, work address, and so on."