The camera’s lens covered only the entrance to the street. He watched as the perp climbed into a red car parked by the curb outside a small strip mall and drove off. Pryce zoomed in, but the shot only picked up the first three digits of the license plate. He couldn’t be sure of the make or model of the car either.

“Dammit.” He slammed his fist against the desk.

“Hey, what’s up, partner?”

Pryce hadn’t noticed Medina return to his own workstation.

“All done with Sherman?” he asked.

“Yup,” said Medina. “Our pal Fat Frank looked like he’d just been offered a free weekend in Vegas with a high-class hooker when I broke the news. Then he threatened to sue the department. What’s up with you? Your application for Hot Asian Angels get rejected?”

“Very funny.” Pryce motioned for Medina to join him at his desk. “Have a look at this.” He played the feeds from both cameras on La Brea for the benefit of the other detective before freezing the shot on the red car. “Any idea what the make and model is?”

Medina leaned closer to the computer screen. He stabbed a finger at a small dark oblong smudge. “Looks like a Ford badge to me.” He screwed up his eyes. “Can’t tell which model. Probably a Focus.” He moved his finger to another tiny smudge on the rear window. “And that looks like a barcode.”

“A barcode?”

“Rental car,” Medina explained. “Allows the rental car company to scan the vehicle when it goes in and out of the lot so they can keep track of it.” He looked at Pryce. “This is good news, partner.”

“How so?”

“We have three digits from the license plate,” Medina said. “We also have the color and make and possible model of the car. My bet is on a short-term rental, picked up the day of the killing and returned the day after. I’ve got a buddy at QuikCar. I’ll call him now with what we’ve got, and hopefully we get a hit.” Medina saw the doubtful look on Pryce’s face. “It’s a long shot, I know, but it’s gotta be worth a try.”

“You’re right,” Pryce said. “I’ll try Avis and Hertz, and then we can work our way through the other major rental companies.”

Medina called QuikCar, and Pryce spoke to three different staff members at Avis before reaching someone senior enough to handle his request.

Ten minutes later, they reconvened.