The Last Day

TWENTY-ONE

At 7:43 A.M. Alice Palmer parked her battered Toyota in the student lot and walked away without locking it. Investigator Todd Hartman moved at an angle across a grassy knoll to intercept her on the walkway leading to the nearby campus buildings. Even if Todd hadn't seen her driver's license and student ID pictures on- line, he would have recognized her from Ward McCarty's description, accurate right down to her rainbow nails.

Head down and wearing a baggy tie- dyed T-shirt, cutoff denim shorts, and yellow flip- flops, she approached in a thin line of students trickling from the parking lot.

When she was ten feet away, Todd stepped into her path.

“Alice Palmer,” he said, turning on his warmest smile.

Blocked by the imposing stranger, she stopped and stared up at him. When she grimaced, her braces glittered.

“My name is Todd Hartman. I'm an investigator.”

“Good for you,” she said, her eyes suddenly suspicious, “I got a class. See ya.” But she didn't try to go around him.

“We need to talk for just a minute,” Todd said.

She looked down. “About what? You think I did something, Officer?”

“I'm a private investigator and my client has hired me to retrieve something for him he believes might be in your possession.”

“Who?” Her eyes looked right then left ner vously to take in the students walking past.

“There's something he may have left on a plane and he really hopes you were kind enough to pick up for him. You sat beside him Sunday on the flight from Las Vegas.”

Todd saw it register in her little kleptomaniac mind, and, almost as quickly she was weighing the various routes of escape open to her. He had given her plenty of wiggle room, and a way to save face. She wouldn't have to admit any wrongdoing.

“I didn't take his little toy car,” she said, cutting her eyes to the right.

“I didn't say it was a little toy car, Alice.”

“You sure did. So, I hope he finds it,” she said, skirting him.

“There's a reward,” Todd said to her back. “A rather substantial one, I suspect.”

She stopped and turned. “How substantial?”

“That model car meant a lot to his son. This is purely a sentimental item for him.”

“Well, he said he didn't have kids. Is he like a liar?”

“His son is dead. If you can help him, he would really appreciate it.” Todd took a card from his shirt pocket and held it out to her. “Maybe it fell into your bag and you didn't even realize it.”

“I'll check and if it somehow did, I'll call you. And you'll…”

“Pay you a cash reward of five hundred dollars. Everybody makes out. No questions asked, no police involvement.”

“Cool,” she said cheerfully, as she took the card. “You know, he said he'd give me a free toy car.”

“He'll be happy to do that. He asked me to talk to you because he just wants his son's car back.”

A slight smile blossomed in her eyes and she combed her hair back with short fingers. “Are you sure he didn't send you because he was like attracted to me? He was, you know.” She smiled at Todd, and walked away with a spring in her step that hadn't been there before.

Todd watched her, thinking.

Something about the odd- looking girl made him uneasy. History told him that big trouble often sprang from small boxes.