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She sputtered a laugh at that, and he could imagine her relaxing.
"True enough," she said. "So, in the meantime, if he's intent on currying favor, you might as well fleece him for it. I presume he's paying for this research?"
"Silly question."
That got a real laugh from her, and now he relaxed.
Gabriel continued, "He's paying me to investigate an intriguing case, one that provides a break from the rather dull caseload we're dealing with."
"Fair enough."
"And you'll be home in a couple of days, so if you find it interesting..."
"It is definitely weird."
"Weird good? Or just weird?"
She chuckled. "Weird is always good."
The last bit of tension drained from his shoulders. "Then, if you have a moment, I'd like to get your opinion on one particular bit of weirdness."
"Go for it."
"I'm sending a photo. Let me know when you have it."
A moment later, she said, "Tire tracks through thick brush. Is that where he drove?"
"It is. The road curved, and Lambert kept going. Driving a luxury SUV."
"Make and model?"
He told her, and she said, "Yikes. That baby is not made for off-roading. Especially through that brush. I'd hate to see his vehicle."
"It's quite scratched, according to the report."
"I hope you didn't drive the Jag in there."
"Certainly not. The question is, why did he drive in here? How did he? I can understand missing the turn, given the darkness and the rural setting, but he drove through a hundred feet of brush without realizing he'd left the road."
"Yeah, that's not possible. I've done off-roading. I remember hearing the suspension hitting the ground and the trees scraping the sides. Vehicular sadism. On a car like that, it should be a criminal offense."
"And from what you're suggesting, 'I didn't notice' would not be a viable line of defense."
"Not unless you could manage to convince a jury that it was still raining. Like a torrential downpour. Or that there was a nearby airfield that covered the sound."
"There isn't. It's the same time of evening, and it sounds like this..." He held out the phone.
"Yeah, no defense there. Is it possible he fell asleep at the wheel?"
"My research suggests this particular vehicle is equipped with features that should have alerted him if that happened. While they could malfunction, that would mean not only a technical failure but a man who slept through a very rough ride while dreaming that he picked up a hitchhiker. And, given that the only reason he left the highway was to drop her off, and then he drove almost an hour from there..."
"That's a whole new level of sleepwalking."
"Also, that hour itself is interesting. His passenger claimed her friend lived only a few miles off the regional highway. Yet, while he said it seemed farther, he was shocked to realize he'd gone nearly thirty miles. He did say that at one point, while tracking the odometer, he seemed to have traveled twelve miles in a few minutes and thought he must have mistaken the initial reading."
"Time lapse, then. Which is more commonly something people report with alien encounters." She paused. "Really hope this isn't aliens."
"There's no such thing as aliens. Or ghosts. Or fairies."
