Mirabe pulled out her phone, nced at it, and got up from her chair. "You guys mull this over, I need to take a call."


    She was already by the window, pressing the answer button.


    Collins looked up from hisptop and called out, "I''ll send this video to my buddy, see if he can ID this guy."


    "Sure," Mirabe replied, then turned her focus back to the phone. "Hey, what''s up?"


    It was James on the other end.


    Hearing Collins in the background, James asked, "Gotpany?"


    "Not really, just Leo''s agent," Mirabe answered.


    James raised an eyebrow, piecing together what he''d heard. "Right, about your


    brother''s car trouble, I''ve got some leads. I''ll send you the details."


    Mirabe was intrigued. "You found out who messed with the car?"


    "Yeah."


    "Hold on a sec," she said, then turned to Collins. "Never mind sending it to your friend, we''ve got our guy."


    "Huh?" Collins, mid-message on Messenger, looked up, puzzled.


    Mirabe told James to send the information immediately, then hung up. Momentster, she received the files from James.


    Opening them, she saw several clear mugshots. The face matched the tall, slim figure with the baseball cap they''d seen in the surveince footage.


    The guy was definitely the same: Emerson.


    Mirabe zoomed in on the photo and handed it to Collins. "This is the guy who messed with the brakes."


    Collins took the phone, studying the face. "Looks familiar, like I''ve seen him around, but I can''t ce him."


    "Let me see," Leo said, leaning in. His reaction was immediate and filled with confusion.


    Collins noticed his expression. "You know him?"


    Leo''s face was a mix of emotions. After a pause, he nodded. "I know him, but... are we sure he''s the same guy from the parking lot?"


    There were several photos, so Collins flipped through different angles,paring them to the figure on theptop screen. It was unmistakably the same person.


    "Who is this guy, really?" Collins asked.


    Leo was silent for a moment. "He''s Emerson."


    "Emerson?" Collins''s eyes narrowed. "Isn''t Emerson Jay''s younger brother?" "Yeah, but why him?" Leo murmured, his expression turning somber. Mirabe nced at her little brother and asked Collins, "Wasn''t it some guy named Jay who spread those rumors about Leo stealing music online?"


    "Right, this Emerson is his brother. Jay''s always been jealous of Leo. If he''s behind this, it all makes sense," Collins deduced.


    After a brief pause, he added, "You know, now that you mention it, Jay once bragged that his brother works at a garage."


    Someone who worked at a garage would know a lot more about car troubles than the average Joe. If he tampered with the car covertly, he could probably do it without getting caught.


    And as for wiping the dashcam and parking lot surveince footage... maybe he''s also a whiz withputers?"