“Sure is! How’s Jenna doing?”
“She’s fine. She’s back from Tennessee for the holidays. She’s at her father’s in Seattle right now. Did you know she was working for her sorority?”
“Yeah. Cool. I heard that. I still want to go to college, but, you know, being a single mom hasn’t made the timing for that so good right now.” She pointed to a picture of a little boy on the credenza behind her.
Emily studied the little boy’s photo, and suddenly felt sorry for Darla. The timing of the pregnancy, of course, was what had been out of whack. College first. Then a job. Married next. Baby last. That’s what she told Jenna over and over, and so far, it seemed that the mantra had sunk in.
Mitch Crawford poked his head out of his office. He appeared irritated.
“Enough of the photo,” he said. “I thought you’d never get here.”
Darla looked hurt and embarrassed, and it was apparent that the man who took his father’s job was absolutely nothing like the man who’d built the dealership on brains and undeniable charm. Mitch was devoid of any of that.
Emily turned toward Mitch. “Would have been nice if you’d called us, if you’ve been waiting for us to show up.”
“I did call. Earlier.” He let out an annoyed sigh and commanded Darla—without saying a word—to sit down and get back to work. She did.
It was a peculiar conversation, and Emily made note of its strangeness. None of Mitch Crawford’s words were about his concern for Mandy, which was the reason they were there. He seemed more bothered by how he’d been inconvenienced by the sheriff and her deputy not being there earlier. But they’d come because of Jeanne Parkinson’s apprehension. Not because he called anyone.
“Look,” he said, “the end of the month is a hectic time around here. We’ve got sales goals to hit.”
“Of course. I have a goal, too,” she said measuring her words. “It involves finding your wife.”
Mitch toned down his conspicuous irritation. His eyes meandered from the sheriff to the deputy. “I understand. I’m busy. I’m sure she’ll turn up.”
Emily wanted to smack the guy and she was pretty sure, judging by the way Jason looked at him in contempt, he’d have told the review board that he’d seen nothing happen.
“I’ll try to move this along. Can we sit down?” Emily asked, taking one of two visitor’s chairs in an office that resembled more a trophy case of his father’s achievements than anything Mitch Crawford had done. Number 1 Dealership in the Northwest, Grande Champion for Auto World’s Contest of Excellence, and other over-the-top plaques that make no sense to anyone outside the auto-sales industry.
“I talked to one of your employees last night,” Emily said, removing her coat. “She said you’d talked with Mandy.”
Mitch’s eyes were alternately fastened on Emily, then on Jason. It was like a Ping-Pong match.
“No, I didn’t. Must be a misunderstanding. I told the crew I was worried about her. Wanted to see if her car ran into a patch of black ice or something. I drove the highway all the way to Spokane and nothing. Not a trace.”
Jason glanced at her, but Emily ignored him. She made another mental note to tell him not to do that again. The best reaction when you want someone to keep talking is no reaction.
Darla, who was listening to every word, popped her head into the office.
“Mrs. Kenyon—I mean Sheriff Kenyon, I can clear up the phone call thingy. I told Tracee Connors, the night receptionist, that Mr. Crawford wanted to talk to his wife. She screwed up.”
Mitch glared at Darla. “Not the first time around here, that’s for sure.”
Darla went back to her desk, her face red.
“Let’s take a moment here,” Emily said, turning back to Mitch. “We need to locate your wife. So let’s calmly review what you’ve told us to see if we’ve missed anything.”
Mitch slid into his leather office chair and swiveled toward the window. “Right. We need to find Mandy. She could be hurt. The baby could be in trouble.”
“That’s right. So, like I said, let’s go over what you remember.”
“That morning she told me she was going to take Toby out for a walk, then she was going to Spokane.”
“OK, what was she driving?”
“Her car, a silver Camry, 2003.”
It seemed odd to Emily that a car dealer had his wife driving an older car, not to mention one that was neither make nor model sold at his dealership. Jason wrote down the plate number.
“Why was she going to Spokane?”
“She said she was sure the baby was going to come early and she wanted one last chance to get some things she’d been wanting.”
“OK, good. That’s a detail we didn’t have. But what about the baby shower at work?”
Mitch stared, blank-eyed. “Maybe she screwed up the date? That would be just like her.”
The remark caught Emily by surprise. It seemed cold, harsh. He didn’t know where his wife was, and Mitch Crawford was happy to disparage her. Either Mandy was a ditz or her husband didn’t care much for her.
“Where did she shop for the baby?” Emily asked. “Do you know?”
“Baby Gap and Chelsea’s.”
Emily narrowed her brow. It was a name she hadn’t heard of, and she figured it was because she hadn’t been asked to a baby shower in three years. And, well, her own baby days were long behind her with Jenna out of college and on her own.
“It’s an overpriced boutique on the first floor of the Riverside Square,” Mitch said. “I don’t know why she wanted to buy that crap. It’s just a baby, for Christ’s sake. A baby doesn’t know what the hell it’s wearing. But Mandy knows how to spend the dough. She’s not the Walmart type.”
Jason took notes while Emily focused on getting all the information she needed.
“OK. Now, about the morning walk with Toby.” She stopped herself for a moment. She recalled the scratched door at the Crawford house and how silent the place had been when she’d come by the day before. “Where is Toby?”
“Good question. I haven’t seen him since yesterday when I left for work.”
“Doesn’t that concern you?” Jason asked, for the first time inserting himself into the conversation.
Mitch looked at the young deputy. They weren’t that far apart in age, but it was clear that Mitch regarded Jason Howard as someone well beneath his station in life.
“No, as a matter of fact, it doesn’t. The dog gets out all the time and runs up and down the street. If I had a dollar for every time I had to go out and call for him in the middle of the night, I could close this dealership and retire. Trust me, Toby will be home tonight. He’ll be hungry.”
“So what happened next?” Emily asked. “Did Mandy take Toby for a walk?”
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess so. I wasn’t there. One of us has to work, you know.”
Emily wanted to say something about how Mandy did have a job. And about how if Mitch had been half as good a man as his father, his dealership wouldn’t be hemorrhaging customers. Instead, she smiled.
Anything to keep him talking.
“Did Mandy phone you? Text you? Contact you in any way yesterday? After you—you saw her last?”
He shook his head. “No. We’re not like those couples who have to check in with an ‘I love you’ every five minutes.”
Duly noted.
“Look, I know you’re here to find my wife, but I get the vibe from you that you don’t like me. I don’t care. You don’t have to like me to find her, now do you?”
Jason piped up. “You’re right. We don’t have to like you.”
Emily glanced at Jason. She let a slight smile break across her face. “But, yes, we will find her.”