Chase // Van McCann

11. Awfully Suspicious

Next week...

"In the days leading up to her disappearance, her flatmate noted there was a change in her behavior. She was more anxious and terrified but she never knew why," Bondy said slowly, reading the notes from the phone interview. "Her parents haven't noted anything out of the ordinary but they haven't heard from her in a while."

"Did her flatmate ever ask why she was acting strange?" I questioned.

"She never did and regrets it."

"Do you reckon she knew she was next? Like she knew something she ought not to?" I proposed.

"It's a possibility but we'll never know. It's dangerous to make assumptions when we don't have the facts to support it," he reminded me.

"Yeah, you're right," I said, glancing at the clock. "It's almost noon. We should eat lunch if we want to question Peter at one."

Bondy nodded and the both of us went to our office to eat. I had a few questions I wanted to ask him and wasn't sure what Bondy had in mind but hopefully our questions don't overlap.

Alas, it was time to question Peter. He looked paler and as if he hadn't slept well the past few days. It was a stark contrast to how he seemed when I saw Lily talking to him.

"Good afternoon. How are you two doing?" Peter asked nervously, looking back and forth at Bondy and I.

I opened my notebook and tried my best to muster a friendly face to try to ease his nerves. It didn't help when you had a mask covering half your face. "We're fine. And you?" I asked.

"I'm alright. Just nervous as you can tell."

"There's no need to be nervous," Bondy assured him. "Alright, I'll start first." He pulled out a picture of Peter's car and slid it towards him. I could see Peter freeze as he recognized the car. "Does this car look familiar to you?" Bondy asked softly.

Peter gulped and looked at us, fear evident in his eyes. "It's my car."

"We have evidence that Erica went grocery shopping and drove this car on the last day she was seen alive. Why is she driving your car?" Bondy questioned.

"I let her keep it because she needed it more than I did," Peter answered simply.

"When was the last time you saw Erica?" I inquired.

"Over a year ago."

"So you let her keep your car but you didn't transfer the title to her?" I continued.

"She didn't want to own the car. She was afraid that doing so would make it easy for her family to find her. You see—she and her family never got along so she wanted nothing to do with them."

"So do you own any other cars, Peter?" Bondy questioned.

"That's the only car I own. The one I gave to Erica."

"So how are you getting around for work and errands?"

"I've been taking the bus and asking my friends for a lift."

I was upset Peter's answers didn't line up with what Lily told me. It was hard to tell who was telling the truth because Peter's story was plausible as well. What we'd have to do is disprove his story.

I had to find proof that he's seen Erica recently and that he's been driving the car. Perhaps I'd have to pull up the history of maintenance done on the car like oil changes and so on. Or evidence from his credit card that he purchased petrol from the petrol station. I quickly scribbled down my thoughts to remind myself to follow up on those items.