Page 7 of Twin Threats In Austin
“Or he’s smarter than we realize and committing crimes without getting caught,” he said.
“The male in the surveillance video resembles his build, but the perp is a master at hiding his face from the camera,” she said as she cut a left-hand turn.
“As though he knew he was doing something wrong and didn’t want to get caught rather than leaving a nightclub after having a drink,” Camden pointed out.
“Do you believe that he didn’t have alcohol?” she asked.
“We could always check more of the footage,” he replied. “The ball cap bothers me.”
“What about it?” Rochelle asked.
“The guy caught on camera had on a Texas Rangers baseball cap,” Camden said.
“Yeah?”
“Do you like sports?” he asked her.
“Not really,” she answered with a glance in his direction. “I know the irony of living in Texas and having no real fondness for football.”
“Some people might consider that a sacrilege,” he pointed out with a smirk.
“Don’t tell me you bought in to the wholeFriday Night Lightsbit,” she said, sounding surprised.
“I played,” he said. “I’m from a small town in Texas.” He laughed. “If you don’t play sports, there isn’t a whole helluva lot else to do.”
“You got me there,” she said. “I was born here in Austin.”
“Are you on the keep-Austin-weird committee?” he asked, relaxing a little bit after the tense exchange with Kage. The problem with talking to Kage Durham was that a piece of Camden actually believed the guy, which went against all logic and all of Camden’s experience in law enforcement.
But, hey, anomalies were rare. If they were common, they’d be called ordinary. Camden almost laughed at his own wittiness.
“When he was alive, my dad was a huge hockey fan,” Rochelle said. “He made a big production of game days. My mom would make cookies in the shape of hockey pucks, complete with icing. She really went all out.”
“What was his favorite team?”
“Easy,” she said. “Pittsburgh Penguins. His family was from Pittsburgh, and there’s a long line of Penguin fans on the Paddock side of the family.” She added, “My parents moved toAustin after they got married for my dad’s work and then earned their hats and boots years later, after falling in love with Texas.”
“Would your dad ever wear a Philadelphia Flyers jersey?” he asked.
“My dad wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those,” she quipped. “Are you kidding me? That’s a sacrilege even to suggest it.”
“Exactly,” Camden pointed out.
“Kage is a self-proclaimed Houston Astros fan,” Camden said. “He wore their ball cap the day I arrested him. I commented about it on the ride to the station and he was clear about his allegiance to the team. Why would he be wearing a Texas Rangers hat?”
“I’m guessing those teams are big rivals if you’re comparing them to the Penguins and Flyers…?”
He confirmed with a nod.
“Kage, of all people, would know about the rivalry,” Rochelle offered.
Camden nodded again. But Kage might wear a rival’s ball cap to throw others off his trail.
“It’s also possible that he stopped off at a convenience store at some point and bought the first ball cap he could find,” she offered.
“I thought of that too,” Camden said. “And, yes, it makes logical sense that Kage could try to throw law enforcement off by wearing a rival team’s ball cap. However, something in me doubts he would go to that much trouble. Wouldn’t he just grab a cap that he already owns?”
Even people willing to break the law had a code. That had been niggling at the back of Camden’s mind.
