**The Missing Three Minutes**
The surveillance system contained recordings from more than two
hundred cameras.
But the critical camera had a gap.
Three minutes were missing.
Exactly three minutes surrounding the attack.
Daniel stood behind the technician.
"Can you recover it?"
"I'll try."
The technician began working.
Meanwhile, another detective reviewed neighboring cameras.
Camera Eleven showed Emily walking toward the fountain.
Camera Thirteen showed Sophia approaching.
Camera Fourteen showed Lily standing near the ice cream cart.
But Camera Twelve...
Nothing.
Three missing minutes.
Daniel frowned.
"Who has administrative access?"
The technician listed four names.
The mall manager.
The security supervisor.
The IT administrator.
And one temporary contractor.
"Where is the contractor?"
"He's not here."
"Name?"
"Mark Ellis."
Daniel immediately wrote it down.
Then he noticed something else.
A timestamp.
One minute before the footage disappeared, someone had logged into the
system remotely.
Daniel leaned closer.
"Where did that login come from?"
The technician looked at the screen.
"Outside the mall."
"Location?"
"Parking structure."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
Sophia had claimed she was shopping.
But someone had accessed the security system from the parking garage.
Daniel looked toward the mall entrance.
"Find Mark Ellis."
Then his phone rang.
It was the hospital.
Emily had awakened.
And she had something important to tell him.
Something she remembered from just before she fell.
