Greene cut Josh off before he could speak, as Josie assumed he would. “I would suggest you not answer that question until we’ve had a chance to talk.”
Josh looked at Greene, and then back at Josie. He shrugged, as if to say, What can I do? He won’t let me answer.
“How many times did you drive out to the pasture where Renata’s body was found?”
Josh looked at his attorney, who nodded for him to answer.
“A couple times.”
“I need exact dates.”
“Okay, sure.” He held a hand up, staring at his fingers as he ticked the days off, mumbling to himself. He finally said, “It was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”
“What time did you go out each night?”
“It was about two in the morning. Something like that. So I guess it would be Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at about two in the morning.”
“Who went with you?”
He hesitated and Josie sensed a lie formulating in his brain.
“Don’t do it, Josh. Don’t start telling me lies. I want the truth.”
Greene said, “If you aren’t sure about an answer, we can stop the interview. We’ll chat for a moment, and then reconvene with Chief Gray again when you feel more confident.”
Josh looked confused. “Sure.”
“Who went with you each of those nights?” Josie asked.
“The first night, Ryan came with me.”
“That would have been Saturday night, into early Sunday morning?” she asked.
“Yeah. Then I went by myself.”
“Why didn’t Ryan go back with you?”
“You can’t trust him. He signed on for the trip. Then things got tough and he quit.”
“Who went with you on Sunday, into Monday morning?”
“Nobody. I went by myself.”
Josie was getting frustrated. She looked over and saw Otto scowling at Josh.
“Let me get this straight. You drove out alone to the location where Renata was murdered, on the day that she was murdered, and you’re telling me you had nothing to do with her murder later that night?” she asked.
“That’s what I’m saying. I didn’t want to kill her. I wanted to deliver her. I don’t make money off dead girls. Right?”
“Here’s the way I see it,” Josie said. “You wanted to capture both women and deliver them both, but you couldn’t. You tried several different days and couldn’t catch them. So you panicked. You were afraid these women were going to get to me and tell me what happened to them. Which of course is exactly what happened, and look at the trouble you’re in now. So you decided, if you couldn’t catch them, you’d kill them.”
Greene broke in, “That’s enough.”
Josh cut him off. “That’s not what happened! I wasn’t worried about that at all! They don’t have any documentation. No ID. They’re too afraid of getting deported to go to the authorities. I just wanted to get them in the van so I could make the delivery and keep my job. I did not shoot that woman!”
“When did you tell your boss that the two women had escaped?” Josie asked.
“I sent her a text message the day after it happened.”
Josie jotted a note on the pad in front of her to get a subpoena for the phone records. “Did the police take your phone as evidence last night?”
“You don’t see it on me, do you?” he said, looking down at his orange jumpsuit.
Josie ignored his sarcasm. “I need to know who your boss is. I’m finding it hard to believe you don’t at least have an idea who she is.”
“Go talk to Ryan. He seems to know who she is.”
Josie gave Josh a skeptical look. “Ryan told us you set him up for this trip. He said he met you at a party at Cici’s place.”
“That’s where we met. That’s where I told him the details. The drive, how many days it would take, what he’d be doing. But it was the boss lady who told me I’d be working with him. I’d never met the guy before.”
“How did she tell you about him?”
“She sent me a text. Told me Ryan’s name and told me to contact him. She said he’d be expecting my call. So I called and told him to meet me at Cici’s.”
*
After the interview, Josie completed the proper paperwork to keep the chain of evidence clear and retrieved Josh Mooney’s cell phone. She and Otto walked out to the parking lot, clear on their next move without needing to discuss it.
“I’ll drive,” Otto said.
As he started his jeep, Josie called Turf and Annuals and asked for Lisa.
“This is Lisa. Can I help you?”
“Hi, Lisa. It’s Josie Gray.”
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Can you tell me if Ryan’s working today?”
“He is. You want to talk to him?”
“I do. But I want to talk in person. Will he be leaving for lunch soon?”
“No. He always eats here. Brings his lunch.”
“Okay. Please don’t mention our visit to him. We’ll be there in a few.”
*
On the drive to Turf and Annuals, Josie opened Josh’s phone and discovered he’d wiped it clean before the police had gotten to it.
“How’d that bastard get his phone clean as he was driving down the interstate with a van full of Guatemalan women?” Otto said.
“I hear there’s an app that’ll wipe everything on your phone clean with one click.”