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.On the tape Gloria Torres approached the counter and smiled at Kang.Then came the gunman and the shot that threw her body forward over the counter.McCaleb froze the image and used a pen from his pocket to point at Gloria�s left ear.�It�s pretty murky but on a blowup you can see she has three earrings on this ear,� he said.Then tapping the pen at each point on the ear, he added, �A crescent moon on a stud, a hoop and then dangling from the lobe, a cross.� �Okay.I can�t really see it too well but I�ll take your word for it.� McCaleb hit the freeze button again and the video started playing.He stopped it at the moment Gloria�s body rebounded backward, her head turning to the left.�Right ear,� he said, using the pen again to point.�Just the matching crescent moon.� �Okay, what�s it mean?� He ignored the question and hit the button again.The gun was fired.Gloria was hurled into the counter and then rebounded backward into the shooter.Holding her in front of him, he fired at Mr.Kang while stepping backward out of the camera�s field of vision and lowering Gloria to the ground.�The victim is then lowered down out of view of the camera.� �What, you�re saying that was intentional?� �Exactly.� �Why?� He opened the satchel again and drew out the property report and handed it to Winston.�That�s the police property report on the victim�s possessions.It was filled out at the hospital.Remember, she was still alive.They took her things there, gave them to a patrol officer.That is his report.What don�t you see?� Winston scanned the page.�I don�t know.It�s just a list of�the cross earring?� �Right.It�s not there.He took it.� �The patrolman?� �No.The shooter.The shooter took her earring.� A puzzled look came across Winston�s face.She wasn�t following the logic.She hadn�t had the same experiences or seen the same things that McCaleb had.She didn�t see it for what it was.�Wait a minute,� she said.�How do you know he took it? It could have just fallen off and gotten lost.� �No.I�ve talked to the victim�s sister and I�ve talked to the hospital and the paramedics.� He knew this was exaggerating his investigation into this aspect but he needed to pin Winston down.He couldn�t give her a way out or a way to any other conclusion than his own conclusion.�The sister says the earring had a safety hasp.It is unlikely that it fell off.Even if it did, the paramedics didn�t find it on the stretcher or in the ambulance, and they didn�t find it at the hospital.He took it, Jaye.The shooter.Besides, if it was going to fall off, despite the safety hasp, it probably would have been when he fired the round.You saw the impact on the head.If the earring was going to come loose, it would have been then.Only it didn�t.It was taken off.� �Okay, okay, what if he did take it? I�m not saying I believe it yet, but what are you saying it means?� �It means everything changes.It means this wasn�t about a robbery.She wasn�t just an innocent nobody who walked into the wrong place at the wrong time.It means she was a target.She was prey.� �Oh, come on.She.What are you trying to do, turn this into a serial killer or something?� �I�m not trying to turn it into anything.It is what it is.And it�s been that way all along.Only you people�we, I mean�didn�t see it for what it was.� Winston turned away from him and walked toward the corner of the room shaking her head.She then turned back to him.�Okay, you tell me what you�re seeing here.Because I�m just not seeing it.I�d love to go to the LAPD and tell those two jerks that they fucked up but I�m just not seeing what you�re seeing.� �Okay, let�s start with the earring itself.Like I said, I talked to the sister.She said Glory Torres wore this particular earring every day.She played around with the others, switched them, used different combinations, but never the cross.It was always there.Every day.It had the obvious religious implications but for lack of a better description, it was also her good luck charm.Okay? You with me so far?� �So far.� �Okay, now let�s just assume that the shooter took it.Like I said, I talked to the hospital and the fire department, and it hasn�t showed up anywhere.So let�s assume he took it.� He opened his hands and held them up, waiting.Winston reluctantly nodded her agreement.�So then let�s look at that from two angles.How? And why? The first one is easy.Remember the video.He shot her and let her rebound off the counter and then fall back into him and then down to the floor, outside the view of the camera.He could take the earring then without being seen.� �You�re forgetting one thing.� �What�s that?� �The Good Samaritan.He wrapped her head up.Maybe he took it.� �I thought about that.It�s not beyond possibility.But it�s less likely than it being the shooter.The Good Samaritan is the random player in this.Why would he take it?� �I don�t know.Why would the shooter?� �Well, like I said, that�s a question.But look at the item that was taken.A religious icon, good luck charm.She wore it every day.It was a personality signature, its personal significance more important than its monetary value.� He waited a beat
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