*
Josie was in the shower at five the next morning, anxious to get to work. When she arrived she fired up her computer and went back to the same phone records she and Marta had left on the conference table the night before. Josie found Caroline’s records and saw that she had placed one call from her cell phone to Mayor Moss’s cell phone the night of the murder at 9:52 p.m., and received one from him at 9:59 p.m. Both calls were listed on the phone record as “voicemail” calls. If they had traveled to El Paso together for a family emergency, wouldn’t they most likely have been together, instead of leaving each other voicemails? She had to find some way to confirm whether the trip to El Paso was a sham.
Josie kept a close eye on her watch, and at exactly seven a.m. she called a representative with West Texas Mobile whom she knew only as Janet. But she knew Janet well enough to know that she worked the seven-to-three-thirty shift, on a Monday-through-Friday schedule.
As the only carrier with a significant number of towers in one of the most remote parts of the country, West Texas Mobile had a monopoly on phone service in Artemis and Arroyo County. It made accessing phone records for local investigations a much easier task to accomplish. And several times in the past, Janet had provided quick access to phone records before a subpoena could be issued and granted. Josie was careful not to abuse the favor the woman provided, but an unsolved homicide was justifiable in Josie’s mind.
“This is Janet. How can I help?”
“Good morning. This is Police Chief Josie Gray. How are you this morning?”
“I’m fine, Chief Gray! And how are you?”
“I’m doing well. I’m actually calling with a question for you.”
“Certainly.”
“I have subpoenaed phone records for three individuals with West Texas Mobile accounts. I’ll be submitting a request for one more set of records today. I wouldn’t ask for your help, but this is involving a murder suspect and we’re closing in on the case.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m wondering if I can give you a phone number, and ask you to tell me what calls were placed during a sixteen-hour period of time.”
“I think I can do that.” Her voice had lowered to just above a whisper.
Josie read off Mayor Moss’s cell phone number and gave her the date and asked for calls between one p.m., the time that the mayor was supposed to have left for El Paso, and six a.m. the next morning.
Janet placed Josie on hold and a few minutes later read her a list of five phone calls that the mayor placed between those hours. Josie wrote down the list of numbers and immediately recognized both Caroline and Josh Mooney’s cell phone numbers.
“Okay. Now for the bigger question. Can you tell me the location of the tower where each of those five calls were placed?”
“Mmmm. I can do that. I’ll need to place you on hold for a bit.” She paused. “And you’re just looking for a verbal. Right? No printed documents?”
“Just a verbal. I need to know where the person was when those calls were placed.”
“Okay. Hang tight.”
Fifteen minutes later Janet came back on the phone. “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting so long. Sometimes these computers act like they don’t want to wake up in the morning.”
“You’re doing me a huge favor. No need to apologize. Were you able to get anything?”
“I was. Nothing too complicated. All of the towers were within Arroyo County. The first four calls pinged off the tower located off of Nex Road. Are you familiar with that area?”
“Yes. I know that area of the county. I can find it. And the other call?”
“That call pinged off the tower on River Road. It’s located right down near the border. You know that area?”
Josie knew exactly what tower she was referring to. It was within five miles of her home. And a four-hour drive from El Paso.
*
When Otto walked into the office at a little before eight that morning, Josie was standing at the whiteboard finishing a chart that detailed the mayor’s calls, the times they were placed, and the geographical location where they were placed. When Josie turned, Otto took one look at her expression and said, “What’s up?”
Josie described her conversation with Janet.
“Hot damn. So who do those numbers belong to?” he asked, pointing to her chart.
Josie pointed to the top four numbers, calls that were most likely made at or near the mayor’s home. “All four of those calls, placed between three in the afternoon and just after eight that night, were to Josh Mooney.”
Otto winced.
“The last call was a return call to Caroline’s number. The return call was placed at 9:59 p.m. Want to guess what cell phone tower that call pinged off?” she asked.