“According to Sol the vehicle was parked next to the phone booth – there’s another payphone in the store, but it’s the one by the auto shop that was apparently used to call Jillian.”
“But the time’s not right,” Lucy said. “Look it’s not 5:08 yet – it’s only 5:06 and the car’s gone already.”
“I think we’ll find the CCTV was slightly out of sync with the actual time. I’ve watched for fifteen minutes either side of this clip and nobody appears to go near the payphone – although I accept that the payphone itself is out of view. I reckon the two of you should go up there and take a look. It’s not easy to make sense of these videos until you see the place for yourselves. It might not seem much – we don’t have the license or even the color of the vehicle; but if it’s the car that the girls were in it’s a start.”
“I wonder why the mechanic went over there,” Lucy said.
“I asked Sol about that. The washroom’s at the back apparently, behind where the vehicle’s parked.”
“We’ll get up there right away,” I said. “Any luck with the cell phone yet?”
“Not yet, I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”
*
As we drove north to Sol’s gas station the sun was shining in an attempt to cheer us on our way. The weather had been relatively mild since we’d arrived and today was no exception. We turned west off route 54 and almost before you could say Jack Sprat we were there. The main building which housed the office and a small store crouched under a red shingled roof and out front, under a canopy, were the four pumps I’d been looking at an hour or so before in Peters’ office, although they were in color now, with the illuminated red and yellow pectens letting us know it was a Shell station. I pulled over in front of the auto repair shop and could immediately see the payphone in the track between the repair shop and the store. A sign indicated that there was a car wash down there. We went into the store and asked the youth behind the counter if Mr. Firth was available. The youth called out and a sixty-something man in overalls appeared through the doorway behind the counter.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Kane and this is Lucy. I understand that Mr. Peters telephoned you to let you know we were coming.”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing more I can tell you people than I told Mr. Peters already. What’s on the tape is on the tape, but I hope it’s of some use to you.”
“I’d like to have a brief word with your mechanic – the one who appears on the video – if he’s available,” I said.
“Okay, you go on over there; he’s not too busy at the moment. His name’s Bill.”
We walked over to the auto shop and found Bill, who was much the same age as his boss, repairing a tire and singing to himself. He looked up as we approached and wiped the palms of his hands on his overalls.
“Can I help you folks?” he said.
“Maybe; we’ve come about the missing girls. We’ve just been watching the CCTV in the Sheriff’s office in Greene County in which you made a guest appearance. I don’t know whether you watched it.”
“Yeah, Sol showed it to me. It was from about a week ago.”
“You walked past a Caddy on your way to the washroom – I was wondering if you have any recollection of that?” It was a longshot, but worth a try.
“As a matter of fact I recollect it very well,” he said.
“Oh, why is that?”
“I was on my way to the washroom and the driver – I guess he was the driver – was crouching down near the rear wing inspecting a nasty looking scrape and dent on the driver’s side. It ran from the rear fender almost to the driver’s door – I guess they’d had some kind of accident. He was running his fingers over it like he was trying to gauge the amount of damage, and I asked him if he’d like me to look at it.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me to go forth and multiply,” Bill said. “Although not in those words, if you get my meaning. So I went on to the washroom and minded my own business.”
“What kind of car was it?”
“It was a maroon Eldorado; about ten to twelve years old I guess.”
“How about the guy – what did he look like?”
“Nothing special. Young guy, maybe thirty give or take. I didn’t pay that much attention.”
“Do you recall if there was anyone inside the vehicle?”
“Nobody in the front seats. There were two guys and a girl sitting between them in the back.”
“Can you describe them?”
“No, I didn’t pay much attention.”
“Do you think you’d recognize any of them if you saw them again?”
“Maybe,” he said.
I showed him the group photograph. “Is the guy you spoke to in this photograph?”
He looked at it and squinted with one eye, then he rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Hmm, maybe the one on the left,” he said. “I couldn’t swear to it though.”
“Do you remember what he was wearing?”
“Yeah, he was wearing a black leather jacket with a fur collar – like a flight jacket. Probably blue jeans, but I can’t say for sure.”
“How about the girls in the picture – do you recognize any of them?
“Not the two in front; she was younger. Could be the one standing at the back there,” he said, indicating Marisa in the photograph.
I showed him a head and shoulders picture of Marisa. “Yeah, that’s her, I reckon,” he said.
“I don’t expect you to remember the license number, but did you notice the plates?”
“They were Missouri plates. But I ain’t never seen that vehicle before – nor since.”
“You’ve been real helpful; I’m grateful. Just one more thing: did you notice which direction they left – was it towards Cooper Springs or the other way.”
“Sorry, I can’t help you with that. But if it went to Cooper Springs you’ll catch sight of it on the CCTV; if it went the other way you won’t.”
“Thanks, Bill; we’ll let you get back to work.”
We went back into the store to say goodbye to Sol, but there was no sign of him so we asked the kid behind the counter to say thanks for us. We got back in the car and I called Peters.
“We’re just about to leave Sol’s but can you look at the tape again. Is there any sign of the Cadillac heading towards Cooper Springs after it left the station?”
“No, I already checked that; they must have headed east.”
“How about arriving?”
“No sign of it. They must’ve come from the east too.”
“Then we’re on our way back,” I said. “Looks like we’re not going to see Cooper Springs after all,” I said to Lucy.
“It seems to confirm what you thought,” Lucy said as we drove back to Springfield. They obviously made a special trip with Marisa to Sol’s solely for the purpose of getting her to make the call. Then they probably drove back to their hideout. If they’d been on the way to someplace else, Vicky would have been in the vehicle too.”
“So they went somewhere to the east, but that’s all we know.”
“I wonder how the car got damaged,” Lucy said.
“The guy was apparently inspecting the damage, which suggests it had just happened. We’d better get the police to check whether there were any reports of a minor collision with a maroon Eldorado on that day. If there was it’s a cinch they would have been reluctant to stop and risk a police investigation with Marisa in the back of the car.”
“Holy cow, good thinking, Batman.”
“Back to Gotham then,” I said.
Chapter Twelve
The Best Laid Plans
We parked the car at the hotel and then called in to see Peters.
“It was well worth the ride,” I said. “The vehicle is a maroon Eldorado, ten to twelve years old with Missouri plates. On the day it had recently been in some sort of collision and the wing and passenger do
or on the driver’s side had been damaged. Marisa was in the back of the car between two guys and the driver wasn’t wearing his hippie disguise anymore. We need the police to check whether any vehicle was involved in a collision with a maroon Eldorado that day. From the description given to us by the mechanic the driver was inspecting the damage as if it had occurred recently – probably on the way to Sol’s. If there’s any report of a collision it could help us pinpoint which direction the Cadillac had come from.”
“Every time you step into my office you give me something new to investigate Kane; it’s lucky I’m good at delegating,” Peters said.
“Well we should get all the body shops checked out as well to see if anyone’s been asked to repair the vehicle,” Lucy said.
Peters raised his eyebrows and sighed. “Anything else?”
“Not for the time being,” Lucy said. “We’ll leave you in peace now – it’s lunchtime.”
“As if I have time for lunch,” he said.
“We’ve done a good morning’s work,” Lucy said to me as we roamed around trying to find somewhere to eat lunch. “Especially as you didn’t even want to go there.”
“That was before we got the CCTV.”
“Which shows how on the ball I am,” she said, elbowing me in the ribs.
*
We’d barely finished eating when the call came from Peters.
“We’ve got the data from the phone company,” he said. “We’re just analyzing it now.”
“Do you want us to come over?” I said.
“Later; give us an hour or two to study it first.”
I looked at my watch; it was two o’clock. “Peters has the tracking data for Marisa’s phone. He wants us to drop by in a couple of hours − after they’ve had a chance to study it.”
“Perfect,” Lucy said.
“Why?” I asked cautiously.
“Because they’re showing Fifty Shades at the Moxie – it’ll help pass the time. Besides, I haven’t watched a movie in ages.”
“Three days counts as ages, does it?”
“It’s all relative, like Einstein said. Come on, let’s go; it starts at twenty past.”
“But we watched it already,” I said.
“Only once – come on.”
“You go,” I said. “I don’t want to see it again.”
“Yes you do; you only think you don’t, but really you do.”
It was easier to go than argue.
*
When we arrived at Peters’ office he had both small and large-scale maps spread out on his desktop. He’d drawn a circle on each map. On the small-scale map the center of the circle was about fifteen miles south east of Clinton. The small town of New Milton, near the center of the circle was about an hour’s drive from Springfield, maybe a little more.
“This is the best they can do,” Peters said. “The signal was intermittent, but the last signal – picked up on 31st of January at about three in the afternoon − put them somewhere in this circle. As I’m sure you both know it’s rarely possible to be much more accurate than this – the technology is based on the relative strength of the signals picked up by each sensor. Frankly there’s a lot of horseshit talked about pinpointing a specific location by cell phone signals. It’s a very thinly populated area – New Milton has a population of less than twelve hundred and, as you can see, that’s one of the bigger towns. The fact that the last signal was picked up in this area doesn’t mean that the journey ended there, of course, but it’s the best we’ve got for the time being. You’ll notice that Cooper Springs is well outside this circle to the west.”
“How big’s the area inside the circle?” Lucy said.
“The diameter of the circle is thirty miles. According to my math that makes it an area of about two thousand seven hundred square miles.”
“Pi r squared,” Lucy said.
“She was good at math when she was at school,” I said helpfully. “But then she was good at most things, so she tells me.”
Peters looked up from the map and grinned. “Then it’s a good thing she’s on our side. If we assume that the journey came to an end somewhere inside this circle then we could probably narrow that down quite a bit by looking at the roadways – much of that area is open countryside. Sol’s gas station is way over here,” he said, placing the tip of his index finger on the small scale map.
“Okay,” I said, “so we have a circle centering on New Milton. That looks to be no more than an hour’s drive, maybe a bit more. According to Jillian the girls left home after breakfast, so if the signal was picked up at three it probably means that they’d already arrived at their destination. Where do we go from here?”
“Well we’re following up to see if there were any reports of a collision with the Eldorado on the day the phone call was made,” Peters said. “We’re also following up to see whether any body shops have repaired the vehicle since then. If the Eldorado collided with a large vehicle, like a truck, then the other vehicle may not have sustained significant damage, or the driver of the truck might even be unaware of the collision. Then again, the Eldorado might have sustained that damage by colliding with a stationary object, like a crash barrier – either way there may not have been any report of a collision. Frankly I think Lucy’s idea of checking the body shops may be more likely to bear fruit.” Lucy kicked my ankle and smiled smugly at me, her eyes sparkling. “But as you can see the area we need to concentrate on extends over more than one county – Henry, Benton, St Clair − so it’s going to take some time to check both of those things.”
“So in the meantime we just sit here and twiddle our thumbs, I guess,” I said. “It’s frustrating, but not unexpected. We’re grateful for your help.”
“There is an alternative,” Lucy said. “We can drive to all the small towns within that circle and see if anyone has any knowledge about the people in the photograph or a maroon Eldorado and hope we get lucky.”
Peters looked at us. “I think that’s a good idea,” he said. Lucy gave me another kick on the ankle. She was having a field day; I’d probably never hear the end of it. “I can take care of things from this end,” Peters said, “and I can call the county sheriffs to let them know you may be dropping by.”
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll drive over there tomorrow and make a start.”
“So are we going to look for somewhere to stay inside the search area?” I said to Lucy as we wandered back to the hotel.
“I vote we stay where we are and drive there each day so that we’ll be on hand if there are any developments with the investigation here,” Lucy said.
“Your vote wouldn’t have anything to do with the quality of the accommodation we’re likely to find over there, would it?”
“I’m taking the fifth,” she said. “I’m going to call Brenda when we get back to the hotel,” she said, “to make sure she’s managing okay.”
“I doubt she’s been rushed off her feet,” I said.
“I think we should invite Shakes and Jillian for dinner tonight,” Lucy said. “Jacky and Tommy too, if they’re all free. We can update them on the state of play.”
So that’s what we did. It was Friday evening and Jacky was working, but we arranged to meet the others at eight in the hotel and let them choose the venue. We ate in a steakhouse and we told them our news.
“We can help with that, can’t we Shakes?” Tommy said through a mouthful of steak. “We got more than sixty guys in the Scouts be willing to ride up there on Sunday and ask around. We can split up the territory and if we all have a copy of the photograph we could cover the whole area in a day.”
“It’s a thought,” Shakes said. “What d’you guys think?”
“That’d be awesome, wouldn’t it Kane?” Lucy said.
“It’s a generous offer. Let’s see how far Lucy and I get first; but we may well take you up on that later.”
“You didn’t seem too keen on Tommy’s idea,” Lucy said when
we got back to the hotel. “I think it’d be an excellent way to cover the ground; it’s a big area.”
“It’s not that I’m ungrateful Lucy, but in the first instance I want to keep our inquiries discreet. If Marisa and Vicky are still being held in that area the last thing I want to do is spook their captors. If we do that they’re either going to run or destroy the evidence. The way I see it there are three possibilities. One, the girls are already dead. Two, they’re far away someplace. Three, if we’re lucky, they’re still alive and being kept somewhere in that circle. If they’re still there then there’s a good chance we’ll find them eventually. If they’re still alive now I want to keep it that way. Tommy and Shakes mean well, I know that, but I’m concerned that it would be counter-productive. I imagine a horde of bikers suddenly showing up is likely to freak the locals out, however good-intentioned it may be.”
“Yes, you’re right I guess. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
“Let’s try it my way first and see what happens. We’ll drive up there tomorrow and get the lay of the land at least.”
But, as things turned out, we wouldn’t be driving up there the following day because the investigation was about to take on a new urgency. Had I known about the events that were about to unfold as I lay in bed replete with a stomach-full of food and booze, drifting lazily to sleep, I would have been reminded of the Scottish poet Rabbie Burns’ famous observation: ‘The best-laid schemes o' mice an’ men gang aft agley’.
Chapter Thirteen
A New Development
The call came from Peters soon after we left the hotel parking lot, before we’d even reached the city limits.
“If the pair of you are still in town I’d like you to get right over here. If you’ve left town already I suggest you turn back; something’s come up.”
Although the call was made to me, Lucy had picked up my cell phone off the dash.
“We haven’t left the city yet,” she said. “What’s happened − it’s not bad news is it?”
Missing - Mark Kane Mysteries - Book Five: A Private Investigator Crime Series of Murder, Mystery, Suspense & Thriller Stories...with a dash of Romance. A Murder Mystery & Suspense Thriller Page 8