Chapter 33
We walked to Torrie’s house and climbed into the car. I plopped down then fastened my seat belt.
Renz stared at me before starting the car. “What’s on your mind?”
I shook my head. “Too much.”
He chuckled. “My guess is that he took Torrie somewhere given the fact that her house looked spotless. Mike said this Aaron guy bought a bottle of wine, obviously for them to share, yet there wasn’t a bottle, cork, or foil in the trash. No dirty wineglasses and no corkscrew left out.”
“True, but all of that is easy to clean up. He must have taken her somewhere, probably to a hotel room. That way, he could clean it up at his leisure.”
Renz wagged his finger at me. “Keep in mind that other people stay in hotels, and walls are thin. What if Torrie screamed? If he did kill her, then how did he get her out of the hotel unseen?”
I groaned. “My brain hurts.” As I rattled my fingers on the dash, Renz pulled out onto the street. “Wait. Stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Stop the car. Something is bubbling up in my brain.”
Renz pulled to the curb.
“Did we ask Mike what time Torrie showed up last night?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Maybe she did go home first to freshen up after her workday. She walked to the bar while James watched from a distance. He parked somewhere along her route home, had his whole ruse made up, then entered the bar. He got her a little tipsy there, and when they left, they walked to Torrie’s house with the wine.
James could do whatever he wanted to her there without being heard, plus he’d have plenty of time to clean up the house.
His vehicle was parked somewhere nearby, and when the time was right, maybe late in the night, he left with her.
Torrie is stashed somewhere, and tonight, he’s going to take her to the marina, get in the boat, and dump her miles out like he does with everyone he kills. ”
“You might be onto something, Jade. If James wanted to kill indiscriminately, he would choose anybody at that corner, day or night. He had already picked Torrie, and that’s why he followed her.”
I agreed. “We need to know when Torrie got to the bar. We have to go back and ask Mike.”
Renz made a U-turn, and we headed to Ed’s Corner Tap. Mike looked surprised when we walked in.
“Agents? Forget something?”
“I guess we could have called, but face-to-face is what we prefer whenever possible.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“We forgot to ask what time Torrie arrived here last night. Was it on her way home, around six o’clock?”
“Nah, it was later. The baseball game was on TV, playing in the background, but only a few people were watching it. The game began at seven and had been on for about twenty minutes when Torrie walked in.”
“You have cameras here?” I looked around and didn’t see any.
“A couple that are strategically placed. One by the door and another covering the till. Torrie sat at the end of the bar, and the camera doesn’t reach that far. She’d be out of the frame.”
“That’s okay. We just wanted to know when she arrived. Also, did Aaron buy her drinks?”
“Yeah, sure. He bought her two old-fashioneds after he sat down. They stayed an hour then left with that bottle of wine.”
Renz reached across the bar and shook Mike’s hand. “Thanks again, buddy. I think that’s all we need.”
As we returned to the car, I mentioned to Renz that we should be the ones who staked out the marina that night.
“If we wait for Manitowoc PD, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office, or even Two Rivers to decide who has the right to stake out the marina, he’ll be long gone.”
Renz nodded. “We’ll discuss it with Taft as soon as we get back.”