“Yes, because I don’t carry a cell phone, you see?I never saw the point of getting one.If I’m home, my sister can reach me by phone, and if I’m traveling, I’m with her anyway, so I don’t need a phone.”
There’s a certain kind of logic in what she says, I suppose, but I’d like to get to the point of my visit.
“Mrs.Dixon, I’m not sure how much you were able to glean from Deputy Sheriff Alexander’s messages, but we were interested in finding out about your car.Your Chrysler 300.I don’t see it parked in the driveway; did you by chance loan it out to someone while you were away?”
“No, I certainly did not.I don’t own that car anymore.I sold it.”
“Sold it?”I echo.
This sends up red flags right away, since the vehicle still shows up in her name.
“Yes, with my eyesight going, I decided a few months ago I wasn’t comfortable getting behind the wheel anymore, so I placed an ad.One of the girls at the library suggested something called Craigslist and helped me set it up.”
“I assume the ad drew interest?”
“Well, not at first, but then a few weeks before I left on my cruise, someone messaged asking if it was still available.A nice gentleman from out of town, who was able to meet me the next day in the library parking lot, would pay in cash, and offered to take care of all the paperwork so I wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
I bet he fucking offered.
“So you met the gentleman?”
“Yes.”
“Did he give you a name?Tell you anything about himself?Do you know where he’s from?”
“Yes, he mentioned owning a used car business near Colville.He said that’s why he took off my license plates and put one of those dealer tags on the back.He did introduce himself…let me think.Wyatt?”
She immediately shakes her head.“No, Emmet.That’s it.I’m positive that’s his name.”
“Did he give you a last name?”
“Not that I can remember.I’m a little confused though, why are you interested in the car?”
Lying would be pointless, because if it turns out it is her car we’re looking for—which is looking more likely by the minute—she will undoubtedly need to be contacted again.
“A vehicle with the same description as your car was reported at the scene of a crime.”
The poor woman’s shock is visible, and I stick around for a few moments to make sure she’ll be okay before I rush out to my cruiser.
Still parked outside her house, I immediately put a call in to Jason Mancuso to fill him in.
“Colville?”he echoes in my ear a few minutes later.“Are you sure?”
“She said near Colville, but yeah, I’m positive.Why?”
“Because we’ve been going over Benjamin’s phone records and there is one number we can’t identify and have been tracking, and it pings from a tower in that area.”
“Are there any used car lots in or near Colville?Preferably owned by a guy named Emmet,” I suggest.
“I’m already looking,” he mumbles, and I hear the clicking of keyboard keys in the background.“Two car lots, but both are actually in town.Let me have a quick look if I can find out who owns them.”
More clicking and a soft curse before he comes back.“No, the one guy is named Sonny, and the other is Monty.Not an Emmet in sight.”
“And there’s nothing outside of town?”
“Give me a sec.Um, not a used car lot anyway.Unless you consider a junkyard the same thing, but it looks to be closer to Kettle Falls.”
Junkyard.Kettle Falls.
