Sonia was getting ready for bed when she remembered that she had promised Wayne she would call him today to tell him if she would meet with him again or not.
Did she want to? Did she want to meet again with a guy who had a horrible reputation with women? Did she want to meet again with a guy who had hit on her so badly before that it had been embarrassing almost to the point of humiliating.
Considering those negative points, she’d be a fool to meet with him again. But . . . he had been totally different yesterday, hadn’t he? And Kelly said he promised her that he would treat Sonia right.
With all that in mind, she fished his card out of her purse, picked up her phone, and dialed before she could change her mind again.
Two minutes later, she sat on her bed with mixed emotions turning her inside out. It was so obvious that Wayne had been surprised that she had called. It was equally obvious that he had been surprised when she said she’d meet him for dinner the next evening. He had been more than just surprised. He had seemed somewhat excited, even overjoyed. She had to admit that didn’t sound like the Wayne Newcomb she had experienced before.
She would have to think about that for a while. But, not now. She needed to get some sleep.
She had just lain down in bed when her phone rang. It had better not be Wayne. Sometimes she hated Caller ID. She hadn’t thought to block hers when she called him, so now he would have her number.
But it wasn’t Wayne. It was dispatch.
“Sonia, we have a 963 pedestrian and it’s a hit-and-run to boot.”
Sonia listened to the location and leaped out of bed to begin dressing. She had the presence of mind to say, “Don’t call out Becker or Thompson. Call Johnson and McCoy instead.”
She knew she didn’t need to tell dispatch why she didn’t want Grant and Stan called out. Everyone in the department knew about the babies.
When Sonia arrived at the location of the incident, she took control. She went up to two uniforms who were standing in the middle of the blocked off street near a body covered by a sheet.
“Hey guys. What do we have here?”
The officers were two veterans who’d seen this sort of thing before. Cody Jones answered her. “First, congratulations on making lieutenant.”
When she thanked him, he continued, “Witnesses said the guy was walking in the crosswalk when this car came from nowhere fast and hit him.”
“Anything on the car?”
“Yeah, new Lincoln Continental, black. Rhodes found it abandoned around the block.”
Sonia had a sinking feeling about this, but she asked anyway. “What did you get on it?”
“No plate. The VIN comes back to Newcomb Motors. Looks like it’s a new car, maybe stolen from their lot.”
Something was telling her that this wasn’t going to be an easy one. Just then, her detectives, Linda Johnson and Mike Blair walked up.
She turned to them and told them everything Jones had told her so far. Then she turned back to Jones and said, “Get a make on the victim?”
He groaned. “You’re not going to like this either.” When she glared at him he said, “It’s W. C. Hogan.”
Sonia wanted to curse. She wanted to hit something. The importance of this case just quadrupled. Hogan was a contractor involved in a huge controversial development being proposed for the east side of town in a newly annexed area. And he was just incidentally a candidate for mayor in the election next month.
“Keep the media as far away as you can. No one is to release any information of any kind, especially his identity.” She thought for a moment. “Has the chief been informed?”
“Yes, he’s on his way here right now. He also told dispatch to call Commander Pennington out.”
Great! Her nemesis would be here trying to muddy up her investigation. There was no way to keep the woman away. She was in charge of public information and press releases among other things.
Sonia had a terrible feeling that this one was going to be a messy one from beginning to end. She just hoped they could close it soon . . . very soon.
As luck would have it, Commander Nancy Pennington arrived on the scene before Chief Winters. Sonia cringed when she saw the woman walking straight toward her.
What could she do? She couldn’t leave. She would just have to take whatever the woman dished out.
“Lieutenant Nordstrom, what have you done so far to preserve the scene and the identity of the victim?”
Sonia had to grit her teeth before she could answer. She wanted to say that she answered directly to Commander Jessup or the chief, not to her. She wanted to say that she knew what she was doing. But she couldn’t say any of those things.
“I haven’t been here long. Jones just finished briefing me on what they have so far.” She motioned to her two detectives. “We were just about to go over to the hit and run car to see what we could find.”
“Don’t touch that car before the lab looks it over.”
Sonia knew her face had to be bright red now, and it wasn’t from embarrassment this time. She was so angry that she had to literally step back from the woman or else she might not be able to control her words or her actions. Even the greenest rookie on the force knew not to touch anything at a crime scene until the lab was finished with it.
“Yes ma’am,” was all she could manage to say.
With that, she motioned to Linda and Mac to follow her and she walked away from the angry commander. What did she have to be angry about? Maybe she hadn’t wanted Sonia to make lieutenant. Maybe she had someone else in mind. Tough! Where did that come from? Sonia didn’t like those thoughts going around in her mind. They certainly weren’t Christian thoughts. She had better cool down and she’d better do it quickly.
Chapter Three
Wayne’s Tuesday was starting out much better than yesterday had. He was in a good mood in spite of or maybe because he was packing up everything in his office and vacating it so the construction workers could start on the remodeling job. Grandfather sure wasn’t wasting any time.
He laughed to himself. He could see Grandmother’s hand in all this need for rushing. The only problem was, that for the next week or so, he would have to use one of the carrels in the common area. He hoped that it wouldn’t be any longer.
He had stopped packing and was concentrating on last week’s sales report when the new car sales manager knocked on his door.
Wayne looked up and said, “Come on in Mike.”
Mike Owens had been hired from another dealership specifically for his current position. He was five years older than Wayne and was every inch the salesman that Wayne had never claimed to be. Sure, Wayne had worked his way around the dealership when he first graduated and came here to work full time. He had worked in every department before finally assuming the general manager position. But he was never really a salesman. He was a manager and that was what he had gone to school to be.
Mike stepped in and sat in one of the chairs in front of Wayne’s desk.
“We’ve got a problem, Wayne.” Wayne dropped the sales report and gave Mike his undivided attention.
“One of our new Continentals is missing.”
Wayne leaned forward in his chair. “Did you call the police yet?”
Mike shook his head. “No. And I’m not sure it’ll come to that, at least not yet.” When Wayne gave him a puzzled look, he continued, “The keys are missing too.”
Wayne eased back in his chair. “Okay, all we have to do is find out who took it home and also find out why.”
Mike shook his head again. “I’m afraid it’s not going to be that simple. All of the sales people are here today and no one admits to having taken the keys or the car.”
Just then, the receptionist called on the intercom. “Wayne, Lieutenant Nordstrom is here to see you.”
“Send her right back Darla. She knows the way.”
A thrill went through Wayne at the prospect of seeing Sonia again sooner than he had expected. But if he wanted to be alone wit
h her, he had to get rid of Mike first.
“Okay, Mike, why don’t you check around everywhere else to see if someone else took the car? You might start up here in administration.”
With that, Mike walked out the door just before Sonia and another woman, who looked like a drill sergeant, entered his office.
He was disappointed that Sonia wasn’t alone. But, he tried to hide it as he stood and extended his hand to her and said, “Good morning Sonia, it’s good to see you.”
She shook his hand and said, “Good morning, Wayne.” She nodded to the other woman. “This is Detective Linda Johnson.”
He shook the other woman’s hand and marveled at how strong a grip the woman had.
Sonia turned back to Wayne and said, “I’m afraid this is an official visit.”
Wayne motioned to his small, round conference table to the side of his desk. “Why don’t we get comfortable over there first?”
Once they were all seated, Sonia spoke. “Are you aware of the fact that one of your new cars is missing?”
Wayne didn’t like the way this was starting. His stomach suddenly felt wheezy. What now?
“Yes, I am. As a matter of fact, the man who left as you came in is my new car manager and we were just discussing the fact.”
Sonia frowned and cleared her throat. He was sure she was uncomfortable with what she had to say, but she started anyway. “So I take it that you don’t know who had the car last night?” When he shook his head, she said, “I hate to tell you this, but your car was used in the commission of a crime last night.”
She paused and Wayne tried to grasp all the ramifications of her statement. He hadn’t quite made it yet when she continued.
“Someone hit a pedestrian with your car and killed him. We found the car abandoned nearby.”
He knew she was watching him closely for his reaction. He was stunned and was sure she could tell because she let out a breath and leaned back a little in her chair.
“Do you have a record of who has used the car, shown it, or simply touched it in the last two weeks?”
Wayne had to shake himself mentally to be able to answer her question. “Yes, of course, we keep a log of every single thing that happens to each one of our vehicles from the time it arrives on the truck to the time a customer drives it off the lot.”
He picked up his phone. “Excuse me a moment while I call my assistant to see about getting that log for you.”
An awkward silence filled the time it took for his assistant to get back to Wayne. He was extremely uncomfortable being near Sonia like this and not being able to talk to her the way he would like.
When his phone rang, he grabbed it quickly. After he placed it back down, he looked at Sonia and didn’t want to tell her what he’d been told.
“Sonia, I can’t explain how it happened, but she said that the entire log for that particular car is missing too.”
Sonia seemed to think for a moment before she said, “How many people have access to that log?”
Wayne was afraid that question was coming and he didn’t want to answer it. “Each log is kept by the sales manager’s assistant.” Sonia started to speak, but he rushed on. “Every time there is any activity on a given vehicle, the person doing it, takes the keys and the log from her. Whether they’re showing it, or simply washing it, they fill in the ICN – that’s the inventory control number – date, what was done to it, and who did it. Then they turn the log back in to her along with the keys when they finish. She keeps all the logs in the same locked cabinet with the keys.”
“Is she the only person who has access to that cabinet?”
“No, she leaves it open during business hours. Then she locks it and puts the key in her desk drawer which she also locks and then takes that key home with her.”
While Sonia and the other detective were talking softly to each other, Wayne thought of something.
“Wasn’t there any fingerprints on the car that you could use?”
Sonia turned back to him and said, “I want you to keep this strictly in this room, Wayne.”
“Of course.”
“Okay. It appears that the car had been wiped clean inside and out before the collision last night. The lab said that it had even been thoroughly vacuumed too. They couldn’t even find a hair in it anywhere.”
That stunned him. “Does that mean that you think this whole thing was planned?”
She frowned. “Again, this is strictly confidential.” When he nodded, she said, “The victim’s name hasn’t been released yet, but it was W. C. Hogan.”
Wayne knew that his dark complexion didn’t help him this time. His face had to be extremely pale. “But he’s the father of one of my best friends.”
He realized that Sonia was still talking to him. He had to pay attention to her. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
Sonia looked into his eyes then gave him an understanding smile. “I said that I don’t want you calling your friend or anyone else for that matter about this until you see or hear Hogan’s name in the media.”
Wayne managed to nod his head and say, “Sure.”
* * *
When Sonia and Linda walked into the detective office together after their meeting with Wayne Newcomb, Sonia turned to Linda and said, “Linda, how many cases are you working on right now?”
Linda seemed surprised by the question. “I think I have ten, not counting this one.”
Sonia frowned. “That’s what I thought. Add to that the fact that you’ll be doing most of Mac’s training. I’m afraid that’s going to be too much for you to stay on this case.”
Linda looked as if she were about to protest but Sonia cut her off. “Besides, the chief wants me to handle this case personally, and since they don’t have any other cases now that they’re sergeants, I’ll get Grant, and Stan to work with me on this hit and run case. Right now, that will probably be enough. If we need more help later, we can always pull more detectives in on it.”
As Sonia turned toward her new office, she wondered about Linda’s reaction, or was it her attitude? She thought back to yesterday when she’d called a meeting of all detectives to tell them about the new structure and promotions. Linda had acted strangely ever since.
Then Sonia had a stray thought. Did Linda possibly think she had been due to make sergeant instead of one of the others? That might explain her attitude. She decided she’d have to keep an eye on Linda for a while, just in case.
Sonia stopped in front of her new office. It was twice as big as her old one with a small round table for meetings. Even the sergeants’ offices were bigger than her old one. Hers was in the middle between the other two offices. All three had glass fronts on them.
She called out to Grant and Stan. When they looked up, she motioned with both hands for them to follow her. She then entered her office and sat at her conference table to wait for them to join her.
Sonia had worked with Grant and Stan longer than any of the other detectives and thought she knew them quite well. Right now, she could clearly see that they were both upset. She might as well take care of that first.
“I can tell by the expressions on your faces that you know about last night’s hit and run. I’m also quite sure that you’re upset about not being called out for it.”
She looked at each one then blew out a breath. “I chose not to call you out because of your new baby, Stan, and your very pregnant wife, Grant.”
“Now, had I known the seriousness of this case and who the victim was, I would have called you anyway. As of right now, the three of us are working this case together.”
They both settled back into their chairs and Grant said, “I assume you talked to Wayne Newcomb about the car already this morning.”
Sonia relaxed some too. “Yes I did. Why don’t I start with last night and fill you both in on all that I know to this point.”
When she finished, Stan said, “Do you think that it was someone who works at Newcomb Motors?”
She had
been thinking about that ever since she and Linda had left Wayne’s office. “I’m not so sure of that being the case. I’m wondering about it though. It seems too obvious, too easy to trace.”
Grant said, “You’re thinking that part was some sort of smoke screen, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but I’m only speculating at this point. It just seems too pat. The keys and the log were locked in the sales manager’s assistant’s office. There was no sign of anything but a key having been used on either of those locks. So, the keys and the log must have been taken during business hours while the cabinet was open.”
They all sat back in their chairs to think over all that she had just said.
Grant leaned forward. “I’ve been in the area of that assistant’s office. It’s in a hallway behind the individual sales offices and is not a high traffic area. If someone picked just the right time, say lunch time, they could get in there and out without being seen by anyone.”
Sonia nodded. “That’s what I thought when I was in there this morning.”
They were all silent and deep in thought. After a few minutes though, Stan broke the silence. “No one has actually said it yet, so I guess I will.” He frowned. “We’re looking at a case of premeditated murder of a prominent citizen of this city.”
The other two nodded and Sonia said, “Let’s all get busy with some phone calls. First, Grant, call Wayne and see if he can get us a list of all outsiders who have been in that area in the past two weeks, longer if he can.”
She turned to Stan, “Go through all of our files, the internet, and especially the newspaper articles to find everything you can on Hogan, especially friends and enemies.”
I’ll call the chief and see if we can talk to the mayor, councilmembers, city manager, or anyone else who has had contact with Hogan recently. We need a list of all the people out there who could have a motive to kill Hogan.”
As the two sergeants rose to go back to their offices, Sonia smiled and said, “As soon as I get off the phone with the chief, I have a lunch date with your wives, and of course, William Stanley Becker II.”
Resolved Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 3) Page 4