Back in the cruiser, I stretched the seat belt over my coat, and J.T. turned the heater to the highest setting. I dialed Sullivan while we had a minute to spare. He answered on the second ring.
“Captain Sullivan here.”
“Sir, it’s Jade. We have a lead that’s frankly the best we’ve gotten yet. A former police dispatch officer gave us a decent description of someone who ran through his yard last night at bar time. It matches the description given by Erin McNare—same height, build, and hair color.”
“Great find. So what are you doing now?”
“We’re going to patrol a few streets where the runner may have come from and see if anything shakes loose. Has anyone talked to Molly Davis’s friend, Maddie Trapp? I just don’t want anything overlooked.”
“I’m pretty sure Andrews and Fitch are on that right now. There was something about a place called Penelope’s too?”
“Yes, that’s one of those new crossover coffee shops.”
“That’s right. They’re going to stop in there too.”
“Okay, we’ll keep you posted.” I clicked off and pocketed my phone.
J.T. looked up at the street sign. “This is Mayville Street.” He pulled over and glanced through the backseat window behind my shoulder. “If the runner went through Jeff’s yard at an angle going west to northwest, he had to be coming from that direction.” J.T. pointed to his left and turned on Mayville. “Keep your eyes locked on the right side of the street. I’ll watch the left.”
J.T. drove at a snail’s pace down the block. Neither of us spoke as we checked every parked car we passed at the curbs and in the driveways. He was near the end of the street. We’d have to make a decision to either go farther or turn and go south another block.
“Stop!” I yelled so loud we both jumped.
“Geez, Jade, you scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry, but there’s a white Civic parked up ahead on my side. What was the plate number again?”
J.T. clicked on the dome light and pulled out his notepad. He handed it to me as he closed in on the vehicle.
I flipped to the last few pages. “Here it is, late model white Civic, plate number 429-FNP. We have a definite match, and we’ll need forensics out here right away. They’re going to have to open up the car. I hope to hell there isn’t a DB inside.”
J.T. found an open spot along the curb and tucked the cruiser in between two other cars. He grabbed a flashlight from the door pocket and got out. I called Sullivan again and told him what we needed as I watched J.T. shine the beam into the interior of the car. He craned his neck as he followed the light from the front seat floors and into the backseat area. He turned toward me and shook his head. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I closed the cruiser’s door at my back and walked to the Civic, where J.T. stood. “Sullivan said forensics should be here in twenty minutes.” I pointed a thumb over my shoulder. “I could go back and talk to Jen. There’s no need for both of us to wait here.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. Hop back in the car. I’ll drive you over.”
J.T. dropped me off at the front door of Paul’s Tap. The parking lot had filled considerably with cars as the night got later. I excused myself as I passed patrons huddled on the steps and smoking as they tried to stay out of the wind. My thoughts on that? Quit the nasty habit.
I opened the door and stepped into a warm, youth-filled bar. Jackson looked up as I entered, and waved me over.
“Hey, Agent Monroe, are you back to interview Jen?”
“I am. Could you point her out for me?”
“Sure thing. I’ll have Abe cover for her. Do you know how long it’ll take?”
“Hopefully not more than fifteen minutes. There’s somewhere I need to be.”
“Understood.” He yelled out, and a cute brunette turned and faced him. “That’s Jen.”
I thanked him and approached her. With the introductions made, I asked if there was a quiet place where we could talk.
“Either in the storage room or outside. Take your pick,” Jen said.
I’d had enough of the outside for a while and opted for the storage room.
“Sure, follow me.” Jen led the way to a locked door. She reached into the pocket of her skinny jeans and fished out a key ring holding a half dozen keys. She thumbed through them until she found the one with a yellow happy face sticker on it. “Damn keys all look the same otherwise.”
She grinned at me, and I instantly liked her. She pulled the old wooden door open and hit the switch on the wall. A flight of stairs leading to the basement was directly in front of us.
“Sorry, the basement is really dark and creepy. I usually don’t go down here alone, but in the company of an FBI agent—hell yeah. No worries.”
I chuckled and began descending. A musty, damp smell filled the air when we reached the basement floor. The small room was jam-packed with wooden crates and boxes. The more stable crates were stacked and nearly reached the ceiling. The basement was cool, but with my coat still zipped, I didn’t mind.
“Sorry about the air quality down here.” Jen shook her head as if disgusted. “I swear, if I was a smoker, I’d light one up right now just to kill the basement smell.” She pointed at a crate. “Grab a seat.”
I did. “Did Jackson give you a heads-up?”
“Not much, just said a couple of feds stopped by and wanted to talk to me about Kristen and Bethany. Where’s your other half?”
I laughed. I loved the fact that she had very little filter when she spoke. She seemed forthright and uninhibited. Jen would do fine with the interview.
“My partner is busy at the moment. Anyway, Jackson said you waited on Bethany and Kristen last night?”
She snapped her gum. “Yep, I sure did, just like every Tuesday night. Those two are permanent fixtures here on ladies’ night. Bethany always gets here first. Come hell or high water, nobody better take their table. She’d have something to say about that. Seniority, you know?”
“I bet. Did they stay until bar time?”
“Yeah, I think so. We were swamped last night because of the pay-per-view boxing match. It brings the guys in by the truckloads, which naturally brings the chicks in. The double banger was the ladies’ night specials—two-for-one drinks. It was wall-to-wall people, but we stayed within the fire code limit.”
I smiled. “I’m not here to bust your chops.”
“Thanks, you’re cool. Anyway, it’s the same every night starting around two thirty. All hell breaks loose. Everyone wants their final few drinks before last call. The bar gets really jammed up at that time. The last time I glanced toward Beth and Kristen’s table, they were nursing a couple of beers. They didn’t look like they were too enthused to stand behind fifty people and get shoved toward the bar while they waited their turn to be served, if you know what I mean.”
“So you didn’t see them again after that?”
“Only from behind and for a split second when they headed out the door. It was right when Jackson turned on the lights. That’s fifteen minutes before we actually herd everyone out to meet the three o’clock closing time. We’re pretty strict with that. We don’t want fines or our liquor license pulled.”
“Did the girls walk out alone?”
“Hmm.” Jen massaged her eyebrows as I waited for an answer. “A guy walked out with them or maybe just the same time as them. I couldn’t really say they were together given the number of people here at the time. It could have been nothing more than a coincidence, and they got mashed together at the door.”
“Could you tell what he looked like?”
“Hell no. All I saw was a blond guy wearing a parka, and that was from the back.”
“Could it have been a dark goose down jacket?”
“Yeah, I guess it could have been. It didn’t have the fur around the hood like a true parka does.”
“Did he look taller than the girls?”
“Hard to say, but he didn’t tower over them at all. Keep in mind, especially when women are out for the night, they usually wear heels of some sort.”
“True enough.” I sighed and reached into my coat pocket. I pulled out two cards and handed one to Jen. On the other, I wrote down her full name and phone number then stashed it in my pants pocket so I wouldn’t accidentally use it. “Okay, I think that should do it. I really appreciate your help, Jen.”
“No sweat. It isn’t every day I get to talk to a fed.”
We headed up the stairs and parted ways as she thumbed through the keys again to lock the basement door. I thanked Jackson for his help and called J.T. as I made my way to the exit. “Hey, partner, are you able to pick me up, or do I have to hoof it?”
“Nah, the cavalry is on site, and they’ve already popped the trunk. Thankfully, it was empty. They’re loading the car up on the flatbed as we speak. It’s going to the evidence garage so they can give it a thorough once-over tonight. Sullivan dispatched a half dozen patrol units to check the neighborhood for Bethany’s car, going out five blocks in each direction. If there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. We already spoke to the lookie-loos who were peering out their windows. Nobody saw the car being dropped off. So did you get anything from Jen?”
I chuckled. “What a character. I’ll tell you all about it on our drive back to the station. Come get me.”
“Yep, I’m a block away. Watch for my headlights.”