Montoya nodded. “Or maybe the not-as-bad news, as we might have caught a break. A security camera at a parking lot near Bourbon Street, where the Denning twins were last seen, got footage of a man struggling with a woman. He subdues her and throws her into a vehicle parked at the edge of the lot. The camera only caught the rear tire and back panel of the vehicle, but it looks like a light-colored van, possibly a truck. I haven’t seen the tape yet, but it’s being sent over. Got a copy going to the lab to see if they can enhance.”

“One woman?” Bentz strapped on his holster and sidearm.

“Yeah, don’t know if it’s one of the Denning sisters. Could be someone else. But the date and proximity are right. The time, too, near the time that the Denning girls’ phones stopped working.”

“How’d you find out about it?”

“After we interviewed the bartender, he told everyone who worked there about it, and the boss decided to review all their security tapes. I’m already checking with other businesses nearby. Maybe they’ve got something.”

“Let’s hope.” He shrugged into his jacket, though he’d probably peel it off again before midday. They headed downstairs to the parking lot. All the while Bentz felt that little buzz that always accompanied a significant break in a case, a little jolt of adrenaline that came with knowing they were on the track of something. So far he wasn’t sure what.

“Let’s check out the apartment off Chartres,” he said. “Then I need to stop by and talk to Selma Denning, check out the twins’ car. By the time we get back, the tape might be back from the lab.”

“If we’re lucky.” Montoya was already stepping through the doors to the street, where hazy sunlight filtered through a canopy of branches and reflected off the concrete. As he reached into the pocket of his jeans, he said, “I’ll drive.”

As if there was any question.

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 23

“Rise and shine!” Jase set a cup of coffee on the table near the end of the couch where his father rested, faceup, mouth open, beard shadow more pronounced than it had been less than five hours earlier. Jase had already checked the news feed and had a major lead that he couldn’t ignore, a possible homicide. “Come on, Ed, you know the old saying, the one you always repeated? ‘If you’re going to soar with the eagles, you have to rise with the sparrows.’”

“Go ’way,” his father grumbled, and rolled onto his side to face the back of the couch.

“Dad—”

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Ed burrowed deeper, yanking the cover over his head.

“I have to go to work.”

“Then go already! Who the hell’s stoppin’ ya?”

“Fine. But I’ll be back, and then we need to talk.”

“Yeah, yeah.”