“Eight-fifteen,” he said.
“That’s right. And it gets better. Freddie’s is thirty minutes away from your office. There is no way Stephanie could have been two places at once.”
“Are you sure about this?”
She handed him the computer. “Look for yourself.”
When he was done, he handed it back to her. He frowned. “I don’t understand why the police didn’t find this.”
“Simple. The picture wasn’t posted until two months ago on what they call Throw Back Thursday.”
“You lost me.”
“Every Thursday people use the hashtag symbol before the words ‘throwbackthursday’ and then they post an old picture of themselves or maybe an old photo of a friend or relative. That’s what Stephanie’s friend was doing here.”
“You’re brilliant.”
She smiled. “No, I’ve just always been good at social media.”
He found it hard to look away.
She angled her head. “What?”
“Nothing. Thank you.”
She pointed at the key in the ignition. “We better go. We need to find a Kinkos or someplace where I can plug in and get copies of everything we’ve found on Stephanie Carr.”
“And then we need to find out where she lives.”
“Carmichael. I have her address.”
“Okay, then. After we have everything we need, let’s head that way. I need to talk to her and see if I can get her to fess up and change her testimony.”
***
After finding a FedEx depot on Madison and getting the copies they needed, they located The Village Apartments in Carmichael. The place was upscale. Palm trees and well-maintained lawns. Since they couldn’t get through the gates, they were forced to park on the street. They had been there for less than ten minutes when Jason spotted a pay phone at the gas station across the street. He put on his hat and sunglasses. Before climbing out of the car, he told Angela he was going to give Colin a call.
“We haven’t ruled him out yet. Are you sure you want to do that?”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about this. We’ve been friends for too long. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He certainly never would have killed Dirk.”
“What if I see Stephanie leave the building?”
“It’s still early. I’ll be right back,” he promised.
Jason headed to the crosswalk and waited for the pedestrian signal to turn green. Brisk air hit his face as he made his way across the street. He inhaled, looked around, then slipped into the booth, inserted some change, and dialed. The moment someone picked up, he said, “It’s me.”
There was a long pause.
“Mom, is that you?” Jason asked.
“So nice of you to call, Brenda.”
It was his sister Tracy. Her voice sounded different—high-pitched and awkward. Law enforcement must have arrived. They were quicker than he’d thought they would be.
“No, they haven’t located Jason yet,” Tracy said, pretending to have a conversation.
“I take it the Feds are there.”
“Yes, that’s right, but we’re holding up okay. It’s stressful having no idea where he is. Mom and I are praying he’ll call sooner rather than later.”
“Tracy. Listen closely. I need you to find my laptop and bring it to me. Mom told me years ago that she was storing everything from my office at her house. Meet me at Dad’s favorite deli. You know where I mean. Two o’clock this afternoon.”
“I will. You take care.”
“Tell mom I love her.” He hung up the phone, and took in a deep breath. They were closing in. He was running out of time. He picked up the receiver again, and inserted more change. A man answered.
“Colin?”
“Yeah. Who’s this?”
“It’s Jason. Are the feds there?”
“Holy shit. I mean, no. They aren’t here, but you’re all over the news. What did you do with the girl? What were you thinking?”
“I had to take her with me. Listen, I don’t have much time.”
“That woman from the morgue is still with you?”
Jason heard a voice in the background. “Who’s that?” It was a woman’s voice. A familiar voice. Jason’s heart dropped to his stomach. “Is that Sophie?”
“We need to talk,” Colin said.
“Yeah, we do. Have the police been to your place?”
“No.”
“I’m meeting my sister at two o’clock. We need to talk and I could use a change of clothes. Do you still live on Sunnyside Court?”
“Yeah, but do you think it’s safe to come here?”
“Probably not, but hiding out in the woods isn’t going to get me the answers I need.”
“Call me after you meet with your sister. I’ll come up with a different meeting place.”
“Thanks.”
“Take care of yourself, Jason. Be careful.”
By the time Jason reached the car, Angela was in the driver’s seat, pulling up next to him. “Get in,” she said through the open window.
The moment he shut the door, she hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot.
“Slow down. We don’t want to attract any unwanted attention.”