Body Double: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

direction, vanishing from the camera’s view.
    “Is that all you have?” asked Rizzoli.
    “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” said Larry. “Confirmation of the time she left the building?”
    “But where’s her car? We don’t see her getting into her car.”
    “Is there some question that she didn’t?”
    “I just want to see her leave the parking lot.”
    Larry rose and went to the video system. “There’s one other angle I can show you, from a camera that’s way on the other side of the lot,” he said, changing the tape. “But I don’t think it helps much, because it’s so far away.” He picked up the remote and again pressed PLAY.
    Another view appeared. This time only one corner of the clinic building was visible; most of the screen was filled with parked cars.
    “This parking lot’s shared with the medical-surgery clinic across the way,” said Larry. “That’s why you see so many cars here. Okay, look. Isn’t that her?”
    In the distance, Mattie’s head was visible as she moved along a row of cars. Now she ducked out of sight. A moment later, a blue car backed out of its stall and rolled out of the frame.
    “That’s all we’ve got,” said Larry. “She comes out of the building, gets in her car, drives away. Whatever happened to her, it didn’t happen in our lot.” He reached for the remote.
    “Wait,” said Rizzoli.
    “What?”
    “Go back.”
    “How far?”
    “About thirty seconds.”
    Larry pressed REWIND and digital pixels briefly scrambled on the monitor, then re-formed into an image of parked cars. There was Mattie, ducking into her car. Rizzoli rose from her chair, crossed to the monitor, and stared as Mattie drove away. As a flash of white appeared, gliding across one corner of the frame, in the same direction as Mattie’s BMW.
    “Stop,” said Rizzoli. The image froze, and Rizzoli touched the screen. “There. That white van.”
    Frost said, “It’s moving parallel to the vic’s car.”
The victim.
Already assuming the worst about Mattie’s fate.
    “So what?” said Larry.
    Rizzoli looked at Fishman. “Do you recognize that vehicle?”
    The doctor shrugged. “It’s not as if I pay attention to cars at all. I’m clueless about makes and models.”
    “But have you seen this white van before?”
    “I don’t know. To me it looks like every other white van.”
    “Why are you interested in that van?” said Larry. “I mean, you can see her get safely into her car and drive away.”
    “Rewind it,” said Rizzoli.
    “You want to play this part again?”
    “No. I want to go back further.” She looked at Fishman. “You said her appointment was for one thirty?”
    “Yes.”
    “Go back to one o’clock.”
    Larry pressed the remote. On the monitor, pixels scrambled, then rearranged themselves. The time at the bottom said 1:02.
    “Close enough,” said Rizzoli. “Let’s play it.”
    As the seconds ticked forward, they watched cars roll in and out of view. Saw a woman pull two toddlers from their car seats and walk across the lot, little hands grasped firmly in hers.
    At 1:08, the white van appeared. It cruised slowly down the row of cars, then vanished out of camera range.
    At 1:25, Mattie Purvis’s blue BMW drove into the lot. She was partially hidden by the row of cars between her and the camera, and they saw only the top of her head as she emerged from her car, as she walked down the row toward the building.
    “Is that enough?” said Larry.
    “Keep running.”
    “What are we looking for?”
    Rizzoli felt her pulse quicken. “That,” she said softly.
    The white van was back on the screen. It cruised slowly up the row of cars. Stopped between the camera and the blue BMW.
    “Shit,” said Rizzoli. “It’s blocking our view! We can’t see what the driver’s doing.”
    Seconds later, the van moved on. They had not caught even a glimpse of the driver’s face; nor had they seen the license plate.
    “What was that all about?” said Dr. Fishman.
    Rizzoli turned and looked at Frost. She didn’t have to say a word; they both understood what had happened in that parking lot.
The flat tire. Theresa and Nikki Wells had a flat tire as well.
    This is how he finds them, she thought. A clinic parking lot. Pregnant women walking in to visit their doctors. A quick slash of the tire, and then it’s just a waiting game. Follow your prey as she drives out of the lot. When she pulls over, there you are, right behind her.
    Ready to offer your