“Yes.”
“Well, there you go.”
Michelle couldn’t hide her astonishment. “Mason was sleeping with Sally?”
“At least that’s what she said.” He added, “I never personally saw them doing it. But she’s a pretty girl. I probably shouldn’t be saying this to a woman, but you all live in the same house together, you know, things happen. You see her running around in something skimpy or coming out of the bathroom in a little towel, hey, we’re only human. I’m not apologizing for it.”
“I get the picture. Anyone else?”
“Probably, but I don’t have names for you.”
“Sally said that Bobby had just pulled in driving the Rolls-Royce when he and Remmy got into their argument.”
“The Rolls? It was a beauty. Only something like five in the whole world. Did he end up getting rid of it?”
“Apparently, he did so the very next day.”
“I thought he would.”
Michelle stiffened. “Why do you say that?”
“The morning I got canned I went to get my tools and stuff from the car barn. I always had a thing for that Rolls. That was one sweet machine. Anyway, this was the last time I was going to see it. Not like I’d be buying one of my own.” Edwards laughed.
Michelle, however, was as taut as a strung bow. “So what did you do?”
“I wanted to take one last look at it. Pulled the cover off and sat in it, pretending it was mine.”
“Right, right,” said Michelle impatiently. “But why did you think Battle was going to get rid of the car?”
“Because when I was covering it back up, I noticed that the left front fender was dented and one of the headlights had been cracked. It had to have happened the night before because I’d just checked the car that afternoon and it was fine. It wasn’t all that much damage really, but a car like that you’re talking thousands of dollars in repairs. And you can’t get parts for a vehicle like that anymore. It was a real shame. I guess Battle hit something and was pissed off. The guy hated anything to be out of sync. He used to come down to the barn and ream me if he found oil on the floor or a license plate hung crooked. It probably made him sick to see the damage on that Rolls. If he couldn’t fix it just right, he’d get rid of it. Just the way the man was.”
“Did you ever tell anyone the Rolls-Royce had been damaged?”
“No. It was his car; he could do what he wanted with it.”
“Do you remember the exact date it was damaged?”
“Well, it must’ve happened the night before I got fired. Like I said, I’d checked it that afternoon and there was no damage.”
“I understand that. But what date was that?”
Edwards was silent for a bit. “It was over three years ago, I know that. In the fall or thereabouts. I did some work for a company down in North Carolina until the job in Ohio came through. Maybe September. No, I think it was October or maybe November. At least I think,” he said with less confidence.
“You can’t be any more specific?”
“Look, I have a hard time remembering where I was last week, much less three years ago. I’ve moved around quite a bit since then.”
“Could you look up your payment stubs from when you worked at the Battles’? Or from the jobs in North Carolina or Ohio? That would narrow it down.”
“Lady, I live in a one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood. I don’t have room to keep stuff like that. I barely have space for clothes.”
“Well, if you remember, will you please call me back?”
“Sure, if it’s important.”
“It’s very important.”
Michelle put down the phone and sat at her desk. Over three years ago in the fall. Yet if it had been the fall, it would be about three and a half years ago, since it was springtime right now. She sat bolt upright. Wait a minute, she said to herself. Sally Wainwright would probably remember the exact date. She checked her watch. It was too late to call her. They could do it in the morning. Right now, though, she wanted to get ahold of King and tell him what she’d learned.