Arizona.
She got in her rental car and drove back to the mall. Retracing their steps, she checked the store fronts for cameras, but found none. So she went into the men’s clothing store they’d entered first and asked to speak to the manager.
While she was waiting, she tried to relax her face and body. It wouldn’t do her any good to look as tense and stressed as she felt.
The manager approached, a bored-looking man in his forties with dark hair and swarthy skin. His nameplate read Edgar.
“Mr. Edgar—”
“Just Edgar,” he said. “How can I help you, miss?”
“I’m Joslyn Dimalanta, with the O’Neill Agency.” She handed him her business card. “I’m hoping you can help me out.”
He flicked a glance at her card, but said nothing.
“I came in here with my friend about two hours ago. He bought some clothes. But the police are insisting he was across town in a hit-and-run accident at the exact same time.”
“Look, I’m sorry for your friend, but what does that have to do with me?”
“Would you be able to call the police and show them your store video feed?” Joslyn pointed to the discreet camera, which covered the cashiers at the front of the store. “It can prove my friend was here and not at the accident scene.”
Edgar sighed and rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure. I’ll call them tonight after the store closes.”
“You couldn’t do it now? He’s at the police station—”
“He’s not going anywhere, and I’m busy right now.” He nodded to the cashiers, who were all busy with customers. “It’ll have to be later, okay?” He suddenly remembered he was talking to a customer and added, “I’m sorry. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Hold still so I can bop you in the nose. She forced a smile. “No.”
He walked away. He hadn’t even asked the name of her friend in jail.
As she exited the store, her jaw hurting from her gritted teeth, Joslyn reflected that maybe the time stamp on the store wouldn’t even be close to the time of the accident. After all, they’d hit this store first, after parking the car.
She went to the women’s clothing store, but the manager had stepped out for a few minutes, so Joslyn said she’d be back later. Then she made her way to the shoe store.
She asked to see the manager, and while she was waiting, she tried to figure out what she could say so that it wouldn’t be a repeat of her experience with Edgar. Lord, please just tell me what I should do to fix this.
The manager was a woman with short, dark hair that framed her pixie face, but her walk was straight and confident. She held out her hand and gave a friendly smile. “Jody Mills. How can I help you?”
Joslyn squeezed her hand a little harder than necessary. “I’m sorry to bother you like this, but I need your help.”
Jody’s eyebrows rose. “My help?”
“I’m Joslyn Dimalanta, and I work for the O’Neill Agency.” She handed Jody her business card. “I’m in the area with a friend, Clay Ashton, searching for his sister. We’re very worried about her.”
“You think she was here?” Jody looked around her store.
“No, but we were here earlier today because we needed a change of shoes.” Joslyn shrugged. “It’s a long story. Anyway, at the same time, our rental car was stolen and used in a hit-and-run, and Clay is in jail because the police think he did it.” Joslyn nodded to the security cameras. “Do you think I could look at your store video feed? It might show Clay and me here around the same time as the accident, which would prove he couldn’t have been involved.”
Jody’s shoulders straightened. “Of course. That should be easy enough.” She led the way to her office on the far corner of the store, a nondescript door with just a small sign that said Employees Only. They walked down a short, narrow hallway, passing a staff break room on the right, then to an unmarked door.
Inside, a man with a round face, gray-brown beard and merry eyes looked up from where he sat in front of several video monitors. “Yeah, boss?” He had a slight Southern accent.
“Hey, Benny,” Jody said. “We need to see some video from earlier today, around...?” She looked at Joslyn.
“Around noon,” Joslyn said.
“I’ll pull up from eleven o’clock on.” Benny fiddled with the security video computer, punching in commands at the keyboard, then nodded toward a monitor and chair at the desk behind him. “Coming up right over there.”
“Thanks, Benny.” Jody sat at the chair and Joslyn stood to one side.
The screen was split into the four video cameras in the store. Jody moved the mouse at the computer and the feed went into fast forward. Joslyn kept her eye on the video that showed the front door, and as soon as she saw herself and Clay enter, she said, “Stop, there we are.”
Jody squinted at the video. “Yup, there you are.”
They watched the videos as it showed them shopping for shoes and finally paying for them. The timestamp showed them entering the store at 11:37 and leaving at 11:55 pm.
Joslyn sighed and passed her hand over her eyes. Even if Edgar had let her see the video, it would have been the wrong timestamp to prove Clay hadn’t been involved in the accident. Thank You, Lord.
“Your friend’s being held by the police right now?” Jody asked.
Joslyn nodded. “Would you mind calling the police to come look at this? It’ll prove Clay couldn’t have been in the hit-and-run.”
“No problem.” Jody used the phone sitting on the desk next to the computer. “Mall security will call the police and escort them here.”
“Thank you so much for doing this for me. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“You poor thing. You must be so stressed and worried.”
“What’s worse is that the more we’re delayed, the further behind we are in our search for Clay’s sister.”
“When did she disappear?”
“About three weeks ago. Fiona Crowley?”
Jody shook her head. “Sorry, don’t know her.” She nodded to the frozen shot of Clay at the cash register and flashed Joslyn a grin. “He’s a cutie, though. Just a client?”
Joslyn felt her face burst into flame. “Um...yeah.”
Jody laughed. “What do you do for the O’Neill Agency?”
They chatted about Joslyn’s work until a police officer, accompanied by a mall security guard, knocked on the door to the security room.
“Hey, Jody,” said the mall security guard, “this is Officer Winchester. He’s a buddy of mine.”
“Nice to meet you.” Officer Winchester had a deep voice and a self-assured air about him. He shook Jody’s hand.
“Thanks for coming,” Jody said. “This is Joslyn Dimalanta.”
His large hand engulfed Joslyn’s, and his grip was strong.
“So what’s this about?” Officer Winchester asked.
“I have a friend in police custody right now,” Joslyn said. “The detectives say that his rental car was involved in a hit-and-run accident at noon today, and they won’t believe that he was here with me, because he spent some time in jail.”
Officer Winchester’s face was impassive.
Joslyn pointed to the video. “This