The airport pickup lane came to a complete stop.
Police officers asked every waiting passenger to remain behind the barriers while investigators secured my taxi.
“I’ve already told you everything.”
“She was my last passenger.”
“I never saw any jewelry bag.”
The businesswoman folded her arms.
“You loaded my luggage yourself.”
“You expect me to believe you never noticed it?”
The officer opened every door of my taxi.
The trunk.
The glove compartment.
Even beneath the seats.
Nothing.
One detective looked toward the airport security office.
“Let’s review the surveillance footage.”
A technician loaded the recording from the arrival terminal.
The video showed the woman leaving the airport with two rolling suitcases.
A handbag over one shoulder.
And a small black leather bag in her left hand.
She entered my taxi.
The recording continued.
Ten minutes later, my taxi arrived at the hotel entrance.
The woman stepped out.
She pulled two suitcases onto the sidewalk.
Her handbag remained on her shoulder.
The detective paused the footage.
“Where’s the jewelry bag?”
The woman frowned.
“I carried it into the hotel.”
“But it’s gone now.”
The officer requested footage from the hotel entrance.
Everyone watched quietly.
The camera showed me unloading both suitcases.
Nothing else.
The woman walked through the revolving door.
Still carrying her handbag.
But the black leather bag couldn’t be seen clearly.
The detective rubbed his chin.
“Let’s check the taxi dashcam.”
The video began inside the vehicle.
The woman answered several phone calls during the ride.
At one point she leaned toward the opposite seat.
Then reached down beside her feet.
The camera angle couldn’t fully show the floor.
The detective replayed the scene.
“Zoom in.”
The image became grainy.
Something dark briefly appeared near the rear seat.
Then disappeared from view.
The officer turned toward me.
“Did anyone enter your taxi after she left?”
“No.”
“Did you stop anywhere before returning to the airport?”
“Only at a traffic light.”
The GPS report was opened.
Every stop was listed.
Except one.
A thirty-six-second stop appeared on a side road beside the hotel.
I stared at the screen.
“I’ve never been there.”
The detective looked at the GPS technician.
“Can GPS data be wrong?”
The technician hesitated.
“Rarely…”
“But not impossible.”
Before anyone spoke again, airport security arrived carrying another hard drive.
“We found footage from the hotel loading dock.”
The detective looked up.
“Loading dock?”
Nobody had mentioned that location before.
And suddenly…
the missing jewelry bag was no longer the only mystery everyone wanted to solve.
