Page 27 of Nowhere to Hide
“My older brother Ralph and I were partners until he passed a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, but I’m sure you’re a busy guy. What can I do for you, Detective?”
“I have some questions about a vehicle that was brought in by the Metropolitan Police Department thirty-three years ago. I don’t suppose you keep records going that far back?” Eric would treat it as fact that Crawford’s Chevrolet Cavalier sedan came here.
“I keep everything when it comes to files and paperwork. The lovely Internal Revenue Service only asks businesses to keep the last three to seven years. Let’s just say, I’m not a trusting fellow.”
Not a great way to go about life, but Eric was happy for what this could mean for him. “Then you could look up a vehicle from back then?” He was struggling to accept his good fortune. There was still plenty of time for the ground to drop out beneath him.
“Sure, give me what you have, and I’ll see if I can fill in some blanks for you. Just before I do this, though, could you tell me what this is about? Thirty-three years ago is long done and gone for some detective to come around asking about it.”
“Let’s just say that recent events have necessitated this trip to the past.”
Lyman gave Eric a knowing smile. “I’ll see what I can do to help. Which vehicle? Make, model, owner’s name? Any or all of those details would be helpful. Then I’ll see what I can find in the system.”
“A Chevrolet Cavalier sedan, registered to Susan Crawford. It would have been in January.”
“The year? To save me from doing the math.”
Eric told him.
“All right, just give me a minute here.” Lyman typed on his keyboard, and a moment later he was smiling. “You’re in luck, my friend. I’ve got the scanned copy of the requisition right here. It was requested destroyed on January tenth.”
Theday of the accident… what the…Had the vehicle gone straight from the accident scene to here, bypassing the MPD lot and any examination? “The tenth? Are you sure?”
He swung the monitor around to face Eric and pointed at a spot on the screen. “That’s the date right there.”
Eric absorbed what was in front of him. The date in black and white. Handwritten. He looked up the form in search of the name of the officer requesting the destruction. At the sight of ablank line where it should have been, his stomach turned sour. “There’s no name on this.”
Lyman turned the screen back to face him, brows downward in concentration. “Ah, but see, there doesn’t need to be. There is a signature.” He started to spin the monitor around again, but Eric stopped him.
“I saw that, but…”
Lyman looked at the form again, his eyes narrowing. “It is illegible, isn’t it? More like a scrawl than an actual signature. But it is signed. It’s not my job to analyze or question that.”
Eric sensed defensiveness rising in the man. “No one is challenging why you destroyed the car. Could you bring up other requisitions from the MPD around that time? We might find that signature on a form with a name.”
“Let’s see.” Lyman tapped on his keyboard again. “Okay, so I brought up all the requests from the MPD. Just give me a few minutes here.”
While Lyman worked, Eric stood there and stewed.
“Yep, here we are.” Lyman turned the monitor again and pointed out the line with the name.
Eric stared in disbelief.
“That helpful?”
“You have no idea how much.” Helpful aside, his life had just become more complicated.
Lyman smiled and turned the monitor back. “Good thing I digitized all the old paperwork, eh? But if that’s all, I should get back to work. And track down Alice.”
“Actually, could you print out the requisitions? The first one without a name and this one?”
“Yeah, sure, not a problem.”
A few minutes later, Eric was thanking Lyman and heading out the door with them in hand.
