Did Ford have direct contact with "our contacts" at this shady address? Maybe not: His chief of staff and director of logistics were the politicians with answers on the day the story broke. But how Ford came to knew of this address — especially if that turns out to be a murderous locale, in addition to a holding ground for a scandalous videotape — will be key as the truth continues to leak out. The Star's team says they've visited the units in question and that they have "been told by neighbours that numerous young men are seen coming and going there at all hours of the night and day. Nobody said they had seen Ford."

Another way into the story, of course, is the murder of Smith. If you find out who killed Smith, who may be the original owner of the video or had some knowledge of the video, then you could — if Smith was really killed for the video — work your way to the two apartment addresses, and perhaps make the connection to Ford and his office. Police on Thursday announced they had a arrested a second man in connection with Smith's shooting. The man is 23-year-old Hanad Mohamed of Toronto, who now — along with Nisar Hashimi — faces first-degree murder charges. "Sources familiar with the investigation said detectives have obtained search warrants for Mr. Mohamed's cellphone and homes and are looking for at least one other suspect," The Globe and Mail reported on Thursday.

That may be the trail back to the video, but it's also difficult to find out who's trying to sell it at the moment. Gawker has announced that it surpassed its goal of raising $200,000, but before that, Gawker editor John Cook wrote that his contact with the sellers had dropped off. "The last time we established contact with the people who are in possession of the video was this past Sunday, and we have not been able to reach them since," Cook wrote last Thursday. And he reiterated as much on Tuesday, when he announced the fundraising project had mets its goal:

I updated the Indiegogo campaign site yesterday morning to reiterate that there had been no movement on that front, and am repeating it here right now. You won't hear anything more from us about our attempts to get the video for some time. This will be a very delicate transaction. If the people who are in possession of the video are reading this: Please get in touch with our mutual friend, or with me at john@gawker.com. We did what you asked.

If Gawker's sellers are connected to Hashimi and Mohamed and the murder of Smith, the disappearance would make sense, but it also turns a great tabloid story into a grisly black-market tale of corruption, murder, drugs, and greed.

Update, 4:45 p.m. Eastern: In a press conference ostensibly about personnel that have left his staff in the last week, Ford was asked almost entirely about the video and his own future as mayor. "I'm not stepping aside," Ford said repeatedly. "I'm running in the next election," he added, insisting that he "can't wait" to get on the campaign trail. Faced with only more questions about his drug use, he asked a question of his own: "Anything else?" then walked away.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.