Part 34 (1/2)
”Oh we've got something.” She munched a bit more. ”Should've picked up a c.o.ke when I had the chance,” she said.
The dispatcher pointed out Edwin Kewell vacuuming the back seat of his cab on the other side of the lot. ”That's him over there. He needs to clean out his unit. I had a complaint, yesterday.”
”Is that a regular thing for him?” Stacy asked.
”No. Just lately. Since he got back.”
”From visiting his sister?”
”Said he was going away for a week. He was back in two days. I guess she got better.”
Stacy had to raise her voice to be heard over the vacuum. ”Mr. Kewell? Hi. Mind turning that off a minute?”
Edwin switched off the Dirt Devil and looked from one to the other. ”What?” he said.
”Hi. Detective Stacy Crean, Dockerty PD. This is my partner, Detective Moen, Metro Homicide Unit.”
”Yeah?”
”So. How's your sister?”
”My sister? What about her?”
”We heard you left town to look after your sister.”
”Oh. She's okay.”
”Did you visit her?”
”For a couple of days.”
”In El Paso,” Adele said.
”What?”
”We were just talking to your father. He said your sister lives in El Paso.”
”Yeah, okay. That was just something I told people. It was a secret.”
”What was?”
”I was, my girlfriend and me, we were eloping.”
”Oh, hey, congratulations.”
”Yeah. Only it didn't happen.”
”That's too bad. Was it Doreen you were eloping with?”
”Yeah. What's it to you?”
”Just interested.” Adele moved away, began looking at cars parked along the fence.
”Why didn't you get married?” Stacy asked.
”We changed our minds. These things happen.”
”Mutual decision?”
”I guess. It's personal.”
”Okay, we can leave that for now. I'm just wondering, did any detectives talk to you about events on the night of Monday, March 14?”
”Why?”
”That was the night a man was shot at the Sunset Motel on 35. When they questioned one of your regular fares, Anya Daniel, she offered your name to corroborate her whereabouts that night.”
”I drove her home, if that's what she says.”
”That's what she said.”
”Fine then.”
”Would you mind telling me where you went after that?”
”Me? Lots of places. Have to check my sheet.”
”Did you stop in Omemee on your way home?”
”Probably.”
”Stop in anywhere for a beer after your s.h.i.+ft?”
”What? Yeah. Probably.”
”Remember where that would have been?”
”Probably the pizza place.”
”What pizza place?”
”It's not a pizza place any more. Lemon-something.”
”Mmm hmm. Right, Lemon-something. Yes. You were there. We've got two people who identified you, the bartender and one of the servers. You were watching a basketball game. The other man there, you'd remember him, tall, red hair? He's the man who was shot later that night.”
”So?”
”Do you by any chance know Dr. Ruth? Lorna Ruth. She may have spotted you at the bar when she came in. She had a date with the man at the bar. You might be the reason they didn't stick around.”
”None of my business what she does.”