That was the fourth day. On the fifth, they played the video.

The station on Route 40 had a local recording unit with sixty-day retention and Deputy Barrett had gotten to it on day forty-three. Nine days later there would have been nothing. I have thought about those nine days more than is good for me.

The forecourt camera is mounted above pump three and the picture is not good. But it is good enough.

At 10:14 p.m., a dark SUV pulls into the lot and parks at the edge of the light, away from the pumps. Nobody gets out for six minutes.

At 10:19, a small sedan pulls in and parks two spaces down. Claire Ashford gets out and gets into the passenger side of the SUV.

At 10:23, a third car — my daughter’s — turns in off the highway and stops at the far edge of the frame, nose out, engine running.