Page 33 of Diamond in the Rough

Jake stepped forward to diffuse the situation. “Carl’s had a stressful few days. It’s been playing on his mind. He hates that he might’ve let you down.”

“Yes,” Carl said. “Hate the thought of letting my boss down. Happened right under my nose, and I didn’t even notice it.”

Sam got up from the chair, cast a suspicious look at the computer, then brushed past Carl. “When I find out what’s going on…”

“Then both me and Jake will hand in our notice.”

Sam shot a look at Jake. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Positive.”

Jake closed the door behind Sam, and Carl dropped into the chair.

“What the hell was that?” Jake hissed.

“He was stalling, and I need him gone so I can email the video file to Tom.”

“What about not drawing attention to yourself?”

Carl shrugged. “You were right, I hate the thought that I’ve let my Boss down. Now I’ve got to redeem myself and find the guy that threatened you.”

Jake leaned over Carl’s shoulder, and they both studied the screen. He scrolled through the thumbnails of files until he found Monday’s footage.

“Thankfully, it’s still here.” Carl said.

No one came through the doors at 15:00. The shop was relatively quiet, with Carl behind the counter and Jake walking up and down the aisle.

“At 15:00?”

“Maddox said about 15:00.”

Carl fast-forwarded the footage and tapped the key hard when someone walked through the door. A man walked into the shop at 15:10, a phone pressed to his ear. He was skinny, and narrow-faced, and had long hair tied up in a bun. Smartly dressed and grinning ear to ear.

Jake watched himself approach the man, but the physical memory was nothing but a blur. The man hadn’t looked at him and had completely ignored him when he’d asked if he needed help. The Jake in the video soon turned his back on him and continued his stroll of the aisle.

“Did he say anything to you?” Carl asked.

“No, he was on his phone. You know him?”

“No, I’ve not seen him before.”

“You sure it’s him?”

“Don’t know.”

Carl fast-forwarded the rest of the footage. Other customers entered the shop, but Jake didn’t approach any. He’d moved behind the counter next to Carl and stood, staring into space.

“I’ll send some pictures of the long-haired guy to Tom, see if he knows him. Have you seen him in the shop before?”

Jake shook his head. “No, I barely remember seeing him that time if I’m honest.”

Carl tapped the screen, finger jabbing at himself at the counter. “If he is the one, I didn’t notice a thing, let him get right up to you…if he’d had a knife…”

“He didn’t.”

Carl wiped his hand down his face. “You don’t know that he didn’t.”

“Okay, he might’ve had one, but he didn’t use it. He didn’t hurt me.”

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