Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
I take it off and shove it in my pocket before moving to the trunk. Mykel, who is quiet, pops it for me and I quickly get to work checking things out in there. Obviously, the drugs in the back are now gone, and it seems rather tidy. Nothing more than a spare tire and a few old picnic blankets. I close it and then go around to the passenger side of the car, opening the glove compartment and searching for anything in there that might indicate where Magnolia is, or has been.
There are a few letters addressed to her, and I notice they have a few different addresses, so I take them out, noting that I’m going to have a look at where those addresses are. There isn’t a great deal else, except a piece of paper with the name Dax on it and a phone number. I take that, too. Then I tell Mykel I’m done and get back into the truck.
On the drive home, I go over everything I just saw, and randomly start blurting out my theories to whoever is listening. I’m not entirely sure they are listening at first, but I talk anyway, mostly to get my thoughts out loud so they’re not running through my head. “It wasn’t her blood,” I begin. “That blood was on the outside of the car, on the handle. Whoever stopped her must have had a bleeding hand for whatever reason. It’s a fair amount of blood which makes me think they were hurt. Why, I don’t know. The blood was on the side of the seat and the steering wheel. So when whoever it was leaned in, they’ve transferred it over.”
I take a breath and go over the other thoughts in my head.
“Her purse was open to her license and registration. Whoever pulled her over, she possibly thought she was getting pulled over by a cop because she had that ready to show. There were no signs of a struggle getting her out of the car, so she’s gotten out willingly, again, maybe the person was acting like a cop. I’m guessing it was dark and she didn’t see the blood, which makes sense. She wouldn’t unless it was right in front of her.”
I purse my lips, my mind going a million miles an hour. “It makes sense, because she would have gotten out, and all they would have had to do was hit her over the head or knock her unconscious in some way and carry her off, which explains why there are no signs of a struggle outside the car. Is it possible the person she’s dealing with is someone she knows, someone acting like a cop, or even a dirty cop? I think anything is possible here, but one thing is for sure, she wasn’t scared when she got pulled up. That tells me a whole lot more than if there had been a struggle.”
“Jesus,” Cohen mumbles, “you should have been a fuckin’ detective.”
I snort. “I’m just very observant. I also like crime shows. Real life ones, you know? They tell you a lot, and they give you a lot of things to look for that you probably wouldn’t look for any other time. I’m just trying to piece together what might have happened to Mags, because if I don’t, it could be too late by the time we work this out.”
“Well,” Cohen says, his voice rather impressed, “you’ve got me thinkin’ that’s for sure. What I’m thinkin’ about is that there have been rumors of a dirty cop. The people we deal to have been sayin’ to watch out for it, that there is supposed to be one in the mix who is dealin’ with some pretty bad folks. I might just have to look further into that.”
I smile. “See, you wouldn’t have if I didn’t bring out my incredibly smart brain.”
Mykel chuckles. “Gotta admit, I’m pretty impressed.”
“Well, you should be,” I grin. “I’m pretty impressive. Oh, I also found a hotel/motel key on her bag in the back. You know the little tabs you open the doors with. Let me see if it’s got the hotel name on it.”
I reach into my pocket and pull the tab out and then use the flashlight to shine it over the little plastic square. I see a room number on the back but no hotel name. I purse my lips and hand it to Mykel and say, “Have you seen a key like this?”
He takes it from me and studies it for a moment, then murmurs, “Fuck yep. It’s for The Inn. New rooms out back. Stayed there a few times with women, pretty sure that’s the key.”
“Any chance you guys feel like going to The Inn tonight?”
Cohen shrugs. “Why the fuck not, you’ve got me curious now.”