Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
If Eric could find the hit-and-run driver, he’d be one step closer to wrapping this thing up. Step one would be tracking down that cargo van.
He walked through the door at Travel Safe, setting off a chime throughout the store.
A thirty-something woman with blond hair at the front desk offered a kind smile. “Welcome to Travel Safe. How can I make your adventure a reality?”
The way she rattled off the greeting, Eric felt for her.
Not just because she was made to greet people that way but for how perverts might respond.
She probably dealt with a slew of them every week.
He pulled back his jacket to disclose the badge on his waist. “Detective Birch.” He leaned in to read her nametag.
“Jodi, do you keep records on file from thirty-three years ago?”
“I can check. What are you looking for?”
“It was a rental for a white Chevy cargo van. To start, I’d like to know whose name it was under.” He provided her with the month and year of the crash.
“On second thought, I’m not sure my boss would be too happy with me just handing that over.”
“Is your boss here?”
“No. Fine. I’ll do it.” Jodi typed on her keyboard.
Eric couldn’t even be stabbed by guilt. Susan Crawford was delayed justice for long enough. And besides it hadn’t taken any effort to get Jodi to cave.
“Okay, I see one here.” She told him the date it was picked up and returned, which came down to one day before the accident and three days afterward.
“Who rented it?”
Jodi clicked her mouse. “Hanson Property Development Inc.”
Eric’s chest tightened. “Any person’s name associated with it?”
“Well, the rental agreement would have needed to be signed. Then it would be scanned and added to the file.” One mouse click. “Ah, there’s no attachment.”
Had Timothy Hanson paid someone here to make the rental disappear? “No attachment? What about hard copies? Would they still be kicking around?”
“Knowing Carly, it’s possible. She’s my boss. She keeps a lot in the file storage room, but thirty-three years ago might be pushing it.”
“I’ll need you to look to see if there’s a signed agreement in there.”
“I can’t do that. You’ll need to wait until tomorrow when Carly gets back. She’s the only one with a key to the room.”
“Is there any way I can reach her today? It’s rather urgent.”
“Nah, sorry. She’s traveling home today from a European vacation and offline.”
Eric’s mind tried to solve the problem, but he had to admit defeat. “I’ll come back tomorrow. What time will she be here?”
“Nine AM.”
“Could you leave a note for her about which agreement I’m interested in? Maybe she can pull it out when she gets in.”
“Sure.” Jodi snatched a piece of paper off a message pad and scribbled away.
“Carly’s last name?”
“Knox.”
“Before I leave, is there anything else you can tell me from the system? Like what its condition was when it was returned?” Based on Selma’s account, the van would have shown extensive damage.
She had mentioned the scraping of metal.
From renting a truck in the past, Eric knew rental companies were meticulous about cataloging any damage to their vehicles both before and after.
“One second.” Jodi set the note she wrote on the desk and clicked on her keyboard. A moment later, she said, “Hmm.”
Tingles shot down Eric’s spine. He’d expected to be told the file was missing. “What is it?”
“Here. See for yourself.” Jodi turned the screen toward Eric and pointed out one area. “There’s a notation in the system from before it was picked up.”
Visible scuff on the driver’s front quarter panel.
“And this…” Jodi clicked her mouse, and the screen changed to another form. “This is the clerk’s notation upon its return.” She pressed her fingertip to the screen in another area.
No visible marks or damage. Vehicle in excellent condition.
“The van was returned in better condition than when it left?” Eric wanted to make sure he was reading this right.
“That’s what it says, and that’s a first for me.”
But this made sense if the cargo van was used to push Susan’s car off the road.
It was returned three days after the accident, which would have allowed time for repairs to be done.
And in doing so, the original marks would have also been erased.
“Thanks, Jodi. I’ll be back in the morning.
” Waiting wasn’t ideal, but he didn’t have much choice.
He sure hoped the hostage situation was over long before tomorrow, but none of that affected his plan.
He was going to get to the truth of what happened to Susan Crawford and who put her in the grave, no matter how long it took.