13-09-2019, 07:51 AM
"Of course, Contessa." Sal said, rising to his feet.
"Good." Helen replied. "We need to have a word in your office. Nothing bad, just, you'll probably have to look up stuff."
"Si." Sal said, looking questioningly at Mander.
"Oh, don't worry about him." Helen answered his unasked question. "That's just my big, bald, scary Englishman; he's cool."
Sal escorted them to the office.
* * *
There were only two chairs in the office. Sal offered one to La Contessa and went to the other behind the desk. Mander simply stood behind Helen.
"Now, Sal." La Contessa said, taking out a cigarette. Sal looked around for an ashtray, couldn't find one, and reached for a coffee cup that still had a few centimeters of coffee in the bottle. She nodded her thanks and lit it. "Again, nobody's in trouble here, I might have to ask you to remove something from the videotape I did outside, but just that, because it's the tapes and books we're interested in. And since we don't have time for a lot of questions, you're going to cooperate and tell the truth."
The last had been a command. Sal nodded his understanding.
"Si, I'll be happy to remove what you wish from the tapes." He turned to do so when Helen commanded him again.
"Not yet." She took a drag. "There's something I want to see first. Let's start at the beginning. I'm looking for someone who bought a lot of stuff and paid cash. Any of those stand out in your mind?"
Sal thought.
"It happens often. People come to buy supplies for parties, fishing and sailing trips..."
He trailed off. Helen took in the new information.
"True, someone might buy as much beer and cigarettes as they could if they were going on a sailing trip." She thought some more. "But you can usually that tell by how they're dressed, right? Like, someone shopping for a party would be dressed for a party and someone dressed to go sailing would have on boating clothes. We're looking for a special case that would be neither. His clothing may have been normal or non-descript. Possibly dressed as a tourist. He'll have bought a lot of beer, though." She thought another second. "Probably a lot of German food as well. You have a meat counter in the store, right?"
"Si," Sal told her, taking out this week's books. "Many people buy lots of beer, but I know that a few days ago, someone bought all of the sausages and they needed to order more."
Helen turned and looked up at Mander. Mander looked back down at her. She turned back to Sal.
"That sounds to me like the kind of transaction you could find in the books, note the time, then show us on the tape."
Sal found the transaction in the records and brought up the surveillance tape for that time. A man in a longcoat with red hair that Helen could tell from here was a bad rug had two carts. One contained food and the other, as she suspected, was full of cases of beer. Mander leaned forward to whisper in Helen's ear.
"That looks like enough to keep a dozen idiots from going stir crazy; long as there's beer."
She agreed.
"Sal, we're going to need a copy of that. La Policia will be by to collect it within the hour. Now, delete the part from today where I stopped and talked to the customers and that should be all I need, La Policia may want the receipts and such. You've done a good job today, Sal. Forget the part about erasing my footage and hey, have a nice day."
Sal smiled as Mander held the door for La Contessa and they left him to copy the footage. Once they were walking down the stairs, Mander spoke.
"I don't know how many markets you've got in the City, but it seems we lucked into the right one on the first try."
"We lucked into a lot more than that." Helen said with a smile as they made their way back to the entrance. She waved goodbye and thanked everyone for visiting before they left to go back to the car. Helen took out her phone as she looked around her, then turned to Mander.
"Eliot was shot in the Suburbs. We don't needlessly surveil The People, so there aren't many cameras there. But now, we're in the City Center! Where we DO have cameras! NOW, we can track Bad Red Rug to... well, wherever Dietz has probably already cleared out, but it's fucking something!"
"Good." Helen replied. "We need to have a word in your office. Nothing bad, just, you'll probably have to look up stuff."
"Si." Sal said, looking questioningly at Mander.
"Oh, don't worry about him." Helen answered his unasked question. "That's just my big, bald, scary Englishman; he's cool."
Sal escorted them to the office.
* * *
There were only two chairs in the office. Sal offered one to La Contessa and went to the other behind the desk. Mander simply stood behind Helen.
"Now, Sal." La Contessa said, taking out a cigarette. Sal looked around for an ashtray, couldn't find one, and reached for a coffee cup that still had a few centimeters of coffee in the bottle. She nodded her thanks and lit it. "Again, nobody's in trouble here, I might have to ask you to remove something from the videotape I did outside, but just that, because it's the tapes and books we're interested in. And since we don't have time for a lot of questions, you're going to cooperate and tell the truth."
The last had been a command. Sal nodded his understanding.
"Si, I'll be happy to remove what you wish from the tapes." He turned to do so when Helen commanded him again.
"Not yet." She took a drag. "There's something I want to see first. Let's start at the beginning. I'm looking for someone who bought a lot of stuff and paid cash. Any of those stand out in your mind?"
Sal thought.
"It happens often. People come to buy supplies for parties, fishing and sailing trips..."
He trailed off. Helen took in the new information.
"True, someone might buy as much beer and cigarettes as they could if they were going on a sailing trip." She thought some more. "But you can usually that tell by how they're dressed, right? Like, someone shopping for a party would be dressed for a party and someone dressed to go sailing would have on boating clothes. We're looking for a special case that would be neither. His clothing may have been normal or non-descript. Possibly dressed as a tourist. He'll have bought a lot of beer, though." She thought another second. "Probably a lot of German food as well. You have a meat counter in the store, right?"
"Si," Sal told her, taking out this week's books. "Many people buy lots of beer, but I know that a few days ago, someone bought all of the sausages and they needed to order more."
Helen turned and looked up at Mander. Mander looked back down at her. She turned back to Sal.
"That sounds to me like the kind of transaction you could find in the books, note the time, then show us on the tape."
Sal found the transaction in the records and brought up the surveillance tape for that time. A man in a longcoat with red hair that Helen could tell from here was a bad rug had two carts. One contained food and the other, as she suspected, was full of cases of beer. Mander leaned forward to whisper in Helen's ear.
"That looks like enough to keep a dozen idiots from going stir crazy; long as there's beer."
She agreed.
"Sal, we're going to need a copy of that. La Policia will be by to collect it within the hour. Now, delete the part from today where I stopped and talked to the customers and that should be all I need, La Policia may want the receipts and such. You've done a good job today, Sal. Forget the part about erasing my footage and hey, have a nice day."
Sal smiled as Mander held the door for La Contessa and they left him to copy the footage. Once they were walking down the stairs, Mander spoke.
"I don't know how many markets you've got in the City, but it seems we lucked into the right one on the first try."
"We lucked into a lot more than that." Helen said with a smile as they made their way back to the entrance. She waved goodbye and thanked everyone for visiting before they left to go back to the car. Helen took out her phone as she looked around her, then turned to Mander.
"Eliot was shot in the Suburbs. We don't needlessly surveil The People, so there aren't many cameras there. But now, we're in the City Center! Where we DO have cameras! NOW, we can track Bad Red Rug to... well, wherever Dietz has probably already cleared out, but it's fucking something!"
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