Susan Davis looked at her watch while she sipped her non-fat latte. It was going on 40 minutes since she spoke to Murphy, but she felt the exchange of information she was about to receive would net her a scoop exceeding that which she would get if she were still jockeying for a soundbite with the other reporters at the scene.
She was also expecting that her friendship with Detective Liz Murphy would increase the likelihood of an exclusive bit of information that no other news outlet would have. Of course, as a friend, she would only disclose it when Liz gave her the okay.
Davis checked her smartphone for messages and email, but there was nothing more important than this meeting, if it happened. She put the phone down and started to grab her latte as she noticed Murphy walking in with sunglasses on. She stood at the door while her eyes adjusted, keeping the glasses on, then she spotted Davis and walked over.
“Hey,” Davis said, “I have your coffee already, plain black, as always.”
“Thanks,” Murphy said, smiling as she removed the glasses. She sat in the chair next to Davis, putting a small bag in the chair across from her. Both women sat with their backs to the wall.
“So what’s the latest?” Davis asked, knowing she was about to add a new puzzle piece to the pile.
“We’re still trying to track this guy down, the ‘good Samaritan’ guy,” Murphy replied. “He walked off and hasn’t been seen since, and he gave us a bogus address.”
“Well of course he did,” Davis said. “He has something to hide, and I may have it on video.”
“So, let’s see it,” Murphy said, moving a bit closer.
“Well, from the witnesses I spoke to,” Davis said, “I thought this guy was already pretty incredible, taking out these two guys with a trash can lid and a bit of hand-to-hand. But when you see what I have, you’ll see why he probably wants to stay out of the limelight. But, I want to see your stuff first. It’s surveillance footage, right?”
Murphy pulled out an iPad out of the bag she was carrying. She tapped the screen a few times and held it up for Davis to see.
“These are from a few different angles, pieced together from the best angles,” Murphy said leaning over to watch with Davis.
After watching it, Davis replied, “Wow, the frisbee action was something else, but yanking the gun and pounding that guy was really gutsy. Just like everyone described.”
“Yeah,” said Murphy.
“But wait until you see this,” Davis said, pulling her own iPad from a leather case. She tapped the screen a few times to log in and start the video.
“Okay, this guy was recording the action from his office in the bank, second floor,” Davis said a bit excitedly. But watch the background. You see the frisbee lid over there as it flies like a bullet right into the guys head. He falls, and the other guy starts shooting, right?” Davis said.
“Okay, yeah I see,” Murphy replied.
“But keep watching the space where the frisbee can came from. The guy dived into that alley. Watch it,” Davis said.
Murphy watched as a blur moved up from the alleyway, up to the 3rd floor of the parking deck.
“What?” Murphy said, cocking her head a bit.
“Keep watching,” Davis said.
At the top of the frame, Murphy could make out a blurry human, picking up a large square object and throwing it. The object comes into the focus of the video landing on the car. The front windshield fractures as the object strikes the car just in front of it, pushing the hood into the engine. Next smoke and steam arose from the car.
The remaining gunman had backed up, almost falling. Then he raced to the car and reached inside.
Murphy touched the screen and rewound the video a bit so she could watch again focusing on the man in the white shirt. She could see the blurry figure leaped down to the sidewalk just after the concrete block slammed into the car. Next, the white shirt became a blur as the man moved from the sidewalk next to the parking deck to the opposite side of the street, next to the car, coming into focus just behind the gunman as he was pulling the duffle bag from the car.
The gunman turned with the duffle in one hand and the rifle in the other. He was obviously a bit stunned to see the man standing there, as he stepped backward. Then the man grabbed the rifle and pulled it easily out of the gunman’s hand. And, in the same motion, he punched the gunman in the head with the butt of the gun.
“Impossible,” Murphy says. “This is unbelievable. What is going on?”
“Pretty wild, huh?” Davis replied. “I was hoping your team had some answers.”
“Well, Susan, you win,” Murphy said. “You’re vid is much more spectacular. My guys can possibly clean it up a bit, but it’s obvious that this one guy stopped this robbery. We just have to figure out how he did it. Cleaning up the video should help us determine that.
“What, you don’t think this is like Clark Kent or something?” David asked, smiling a bit.
“No, Superman does not exist,” Murphy replied. “Something odd at play here, I just don’t know how he staged it.”
“What do you mean, you don’t think this is something extraordinary?” Davis said.
“No, it’s gotta be faked somehow,” Murphy said. “But these guys are in really bad shape now. I can’t image they would volunteer for a stunt like this.”
“And I can’t believe what he did after these guys were put down,” said Murphy. “All the victims he gave aid to, using the shirt off his back for bandaging.”
“So that’s why he was shirtless when he was interviewed. Wow, he is my hero,” Davis said, joking. Maybe.
“This was no stunt,” Davis said. “This was something extraordinary, something super-human.”
Murphy sat back shaking her head, looking at the now-still video image on the iPad.
Davis picked up the iPad, tapped the screen a few times, then closed the cover. “The video is on it’s way to your email,” Davis said. “You owe me a juicy nugget that no one has.”
“Sure, I’ll call you when we have something significant. Right now it’s just a lot of unanswered questions,” Murphy replied. “He gave us a bogus address and phone number, but he called someone with his cell phone from the scene.”
“Really?!” replied Davis. “That’s significant.”
“Yes, a father and daughter at the scene. He was shot, the girl was not. This guy called the girl’s mother and left her a voice mail saying she was all right. When the mother returned the call, this guy gave her Sarge’s number to follow up. So, now he’s checking into that. It’s our only lead for this guy.”
“Well that’s a pretty good lead, right?” asked Davis.
“We’ll see. It could be a burner, but I don’t know yet. The guys are tracking it down now. I’ll let you know if it pans out. I gotta run.”
“OK. Thanks for the info” Davis said.
“Yeah, thanks, Susan” she said, as she put her iPad back in her bag, got up and walked out. She put the sunglasses back on, as the low sun hit her face.