Page 29 of A Touch of Murder
A moment later, Barret pushed the door open and stuck his head in. "Care if I join?"
"Come on in." Adam pushed a chair out for him. "What brings you in?"
"I wanted to get the sketch as soon as Maggie was done. Officers will be going around town this afternoon, showing it to people. I wanted to take both sketches out to the truck stop with me since that's probably where these two were seen if anyone saw them." Barret leaned back. "Don't let me interrupt."
Adam refocused on Maggie, and in no time had the sketch done. It took only ten more minutes to add in details to the computer-generated image before it was also finished. "I can't believe how good of an artist you are," Adam told Maggie. "It's like you can see the image in my mind and bring it to life."
"It's my job to do that." She handed the sketch to Barret. "Find these men, then destroy those drawings. Leave no memory of them around." She packed up her stuff, then offered her hand to Adam. "Thanks for putting up with me being rushed. I'm glad we got this done."
"So am I. Good luck with things at the graduation." Adam shook her hand. "If you need anything…"
"I'll be sure to ask." She smiled, then left to speak a bit with Jacey.
"So, you're going to the truck stop?" Adam asked Barret.
"I am. I drove out this morning to talk to the mechanics and they agree that what you described is a sleeper cab, but they see so many that they couldn't identify which one it might be. They gave me some names of trucking companies that have smaller cabs than others, but I'm not sure that will get us any leads. Vance is currently gathering names of companies that drive through Hidden Falls on a regular basis. He's talking to every business in the area that has deliveries. Biggest would be the grocery store, but a lot of the smaller businesses have stuff shipped in on trucks."
"Can I do anything to help?" Adam asked.
"How good is your memory of the sleeper cab? I know you said there were blankets and pillows, but did you see anything else? A fridge, or cups, or anything else that might have been lying around?"
"Maybe. I can't be positive. Why?"
"Can you draw me a crude map of what you saw? Where everything was placed? I was going to ask Maggie to do it, but she warned me she was short on time today. Since it's nothing official, I was hoping you might have enough art skills to draw something up. It could help us identify the truck."
"Sure, I can try. Want it now, or is this something I can work on throughout the day?" Adam asked.
"Throughout the day. I'll drop by tomorrow and pick it up. We got the lab work back on the oil stain that was found near Trina's car the night she was taken. All it can tell us is it was for a diesel engine, but that fits in with our semi narrative. We're stillwaiting for the lab work from the autopsy. Hopefully, that will give us even more to work with."
"How long for that?" Adam asked.
"Could be weeks still." Barret sighed. "I wish things moved as fast in real life as they do in movies and TV."
"Me too." Adam laughed. "Want a water?" He got up and pulled one for himself from the fridge.
"I'm good. I need to get going. I've got to get this back to the station and make copies for everyone." Barret held up the sketch. "I'll be by tomorrow and update you on what we've learned."
"Sounds good. Be safe out there," Adam told him and realized he really meant it. He'd come to consider Barret a good friend over the past week. Surprising after how hostile their initial meeting had started out. He turned as the bell rang over the door again, announcing a customer.
"I will. Looks like you have business to take care of. You take it easy and call me if you remember anything important." Barret nodded a goodbye and quickly made his exit.
Adam downed half the water, then left the bottle on his desk as he walked out front. An older woman stood with Jacey and looked over at him as he stepped toward them.
"This is Mrs. Kendal. She's hoping you might tell her something about this necklace that her grandmother left her. She was told it belonged to royalty in France many years ago but doesn't believe it."
Adam glanced down at the box the woman was holding, curiosity rushing through him. He loved reading old items like this. "I'd be happy to help you. Please read over and sign the contract that Jacey will give you, then meet me in the office. We'll find out exactly where the necklace comes from and if it has any value outside of being a family heirloom."
"Thank you." Mrs. Kendal turned to Jacey with a fifty-dollar bill in her hand. "Tell me where to sign."
Adam walked back into his office and grabbed two more waters and set them on the table, then put a candy bar next to them. Jacey would be there if he needed more, but for a simple reading like this, he doubted it would take too much of his energy. Mrs. Kendal appeared to be well into her seventies. If her grandmother had had the necklace, it had been around for many years. He hoped he could see far enough back and didn't just get images from the Kendal family.
"Okay, here." Mrs. Kendal walked into the back room and set the box on the table.
"Have a seat," Adam told her. "I'm going to have my assistant open the box and then I'll take the necklace. If I touch the box, I'll probably just get a reading of your family and others who have touched the box over the years."
She sat down across from him and Jacey took the seat beside him.
"Would you like this recorded?" Adam asked.
