Hour Game

Chapter 67

Michelle had driven home, done some kickboxing on the heavy bag hanging in her basement, put away some laundry and actually cleaned her kitchen. After that she showered and was thinking about going to bed but had grown very restless. Her mind kept returning to the murders. Was there something they were overlooking? King had suggested that Mrs. Canney hadn’t died in a car accident, that she had been murdered. If so, by whom?

Her head buzzing, she decided to go for a drive; that always helped her think more clearly. Her route took her past her and King’s office. She parked and went inside, figuring she’d go over her voluminous notes on the investigation she kept in her desk to see if anything clicked.

As she passed through the small office foyer, she saw some telephone messages on the part-time receptionist’s desk. There was one for King from a Billy Edwards. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. The area code was from the Los Angeles area. It was still early enough there, she decided. One thing that annoyed her about working with King was that he kept things incredibly close to the vest, even at the expense of his partner. This might be a chance for her to get the jump on him. She called Edwards. On the third ring the phone was picked up.

“Billy Edwards?”

“That’s right. Who’s this?”

“Michelle Maxwell. I’m partners with Sean King in Wrightsburg, Virginia. I believe he called you?”

“That’s right. I was just getting back to him.”

“He’s out right now and asked me to return the call.”

“Fine with me. So what do you want to know about the time I worked at the Battles’?”

Now the name clicked. Billy Edwards was the mechanic for Bobby Battle’s classic car collection. He’d been let go the day after Bobby and Remmy’s argument, the one Sally Wainwright had overheard.

“That’s right,” Michelle said quickly. “We understand you were let go very abruptly.”

Edwards laughed. “Try thrown out on my ass with no warning.”

“By Bobby Battle?”

“The one and only. I heard on the news that he died. Is that right?”

“Yes. Did he give any reason for letting you go?”

“Nope. But he didn’t have to. It didn’t have anything to do with my work, I know that. Now, I admit I was pissed with how it was handled, but the man treated me good. Paid me a nice severance and wrote a damn fine reference that helped me get another job pretty quick out in Ohio working for another rich guy with a car collection bigger than Battle’s.”

“Good for you. Now, we understand that the night before you were let go he and Mrs. Battle had an argument in the car barn.”

“Remmy Battle, now, there’s a real piece of work. Let me tell you, those two were equally matched, like Godzilla butting heads with King Kong.”

“Agreed. But did you know anything about an argument?”

“No. How’d you find out about it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, it’s confidential.”

“Uh-huh. I bet you it was Sally Wainwright, wasn’t it?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she liked going down there and hanging out by herself. Of course she’d go down there with me sometimes too,” he added with a chuckle. “Oh, yeah, we had some good times together, me and Sally.”

“So you two were… seeing each other.”

“No. It was just messing around. She was wild, let me tell you. If Battle had known what we’d done inside some of his vehicles…”

“Really?”

“Hell, yes. But I wasn’t the only one.”

“Who else?”

“Is Mason still working there?”

“Yes.”

“Well, there you go.”

Michelle couldn’t hide her astonishment. “Mason was sleeping with Sally?”

“At least that’s what she said.” He added, “I never personally saw them doing it. But she’s a pretty girl. I probably shouldn’t be saying this to a woman, but you all live in the same house together, you know, things happen. You see her running around in something skimpy or coming out of the bathroom in a little towel, hey, we’re only human. I’m not apologizing for it.”

“I get the picture. Anyone else?”

“Probably, but I don’t have names for you.”

“Sally said that Bobby had just pulled in driving the Rolls-Royce when he and Remmy got into their argument.”

“The Rolls? It was a beauty. Only something like five in the whole world. Did he end up getting rid of it?”

“Apparently, he did so the very next day.”

“I thought he would.”

Michelle stiffened. “Why do you say that?”

“The morning I got canned I went to get my tools and stuff from the car barn. I always had a thing for that Rolls. That was one sweet machine. Anyway, this was the last time I was going to see it. Not like I’d be buying one of my own.” Edwards laughed.

Michelle, however, was as taut as a strung bow. “So what did you do?”

“I wanted to take one last look at it. Pulled the cover off and sat in it, pretending it was mine.”

“Right, right,” said Michelle impatiently. “But why did you think Battle was going to get rid of the car?”

“Because when I was covering it back up, I noticed that the left front fender was dented and one of the headlights had been cracked. It had to have happened the night before because I’d just checked the car that afternoon and it was fine. It wasn’t all that much damage really, but a car like that you’re talking thousands of dollars in repairs. And you can’t get parts for a vehicle like that anymore. It was a real shame. I guess Battle hit something and was pissed off. The guy hated anything to be out of sync. He used to come down to the barn and ream me if he found oil on the floor or a license plate hung crooked. It probably made him sick to see the damage on that Rolls. If he couldn’t fix it just right, he’d get rid of it. Just the way the man was.”

“Did you ever tell anyone the Rolls-Royce had been damaged?”

“No. It was his car; he could do what he wanted with it.”

“Do you remember the exact date it was damaged?”

“Well, it must’ve happened the night before I got fired. Like I said, I’d checked it that afternoon and there was no damage.”

“I understand that. But what date was that?”

Edwards was silent for a bit. “It was over three years ago, I know that. In the fall or thereabouts. I did some work for a company down in North Carolina until the job in Ohio came through. Maybe September. No, I think it was October or maybe November. At least I think,” he said with less confidence.

“You can’t be any more specific?”

“Look, I have a hard time remembering where I was last week, much less three years ago. I’ve moved around quite a bit since then.”

“Could you look up your payment stubs from when you worked at the Battles’? Or from the jobs in North Carolina or Ohio? That would narrow it down.”

“Lady, I live in a one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood. I don’t have room to keep stuff like that. I barely have space for clothes.”

“Well, if you remember, will you please call me back?”

“Sure, if it’s important.”

“It’s very important.”

Michelle put down the phone and sat at her desk. Over three years ago in the fall. Yet if it had been the fall, it would be about three and a half years ago, since it was springtime right now. She sat bolt upright. Wait a minute, she said to herself. Sally Wainwright would probably remember the exact date. She checked her watch. It was too late to call her. They could do it in the morning. Right now, though, she wanted to get ahold of King and tell him what she’d learned.

She called his cell phone but there was no answer. She left a message. He didn’t have a hard-line number at his houseboat. He was probably asleep. She stared at her phone, mulling over what to do. Part of her said to call it a night and go home, yet as she looked down at her phone, she started to get a very strange feeling. Sean was a light sleeper. Why hadn’t he answered? His caller ID would have shown it was her. Unless he couldn’t answer the phone! She grabbed her keys and raced to her truck.