CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was a windy, cloudy morning when May drove up to Stan's Wheels in the town of Lakeview.
The used car lot was surprisingly large, she saw. There was a massive warehouse, with ranks of paved parking outside, where vehicles of all shapes and sizes were parked. At this early hour it looked to be open and busy. Salespeople were welcoming customers inside, and attendants were working their way down the rows, cleaning and polishing the vehicles.
There was even a man dressed in a yellow and blue mascot costume, with a fake rubber tire around his middle, standing on the sidewalk with a 'Stan's Wheels' sign which he was waving mightily.
Owen pulled up behind May and they headed inside to the large reception desk.
"Welcome to Stan's Wheels. Where can we drive you today?" the young, blonde receptionist asked them with a rather plastic smile, as if she was somewhat sick of repeating that catchphrase.
"We're police," May said. "We're looking for one of your employees, Humphrey Andrews."
Her eyes widened. "Why?" she asked.
"Routine questioning," May said. "We're hoping to get more information on a case."
"Oh," the blonde said, seemingly disappointed, as if she'd been hoping for a chase down and an arrest. "He's outside."
"Is he polishing the cars?" May asked.
She had seen on the description in the case file that Humphrey was a plump, redheaded man, and May hadn't noticed a redhead outside, but maybe she hadn't looked hard enough.
"No, he's the mascot."
The blonde pointed to the blue and yellow costumed man, vigorously waving the sign.
Owen spun around and gazed outside, looking surprised.
"Thanks," May said.
They headed out to interrupt Humphrey Andrews in his important marketing role.
"Excuse me," May said, walking up to him. It would have been impossible to recognize him without knowing who he was. The costume covered his hair completely. The blue and yellow hood framed his face so that all she could see were two green eyes and a puckered mouth.
"What is it?" Humphrey asked, stopping waving the sign and staring at them. "Do I need to move? They told me I was allowed to stand on the sidewalk if I don't cause a disturbance."
"No, no," May said. "We need to speak to you. We want to ask you a few questions."
His eyes widened. "What's this about?" he asked. Now, May thought he sounded nervous.
"It's about the recent murders. The bombings. We understand that you sent Sheila, your lawyer, a threatening letter when you were sentenced. She was targeted in one of the blasts. So we need to question you on that." May turned to the enormous car dealership. "Shall we go inside?" she asked.
But Humphrey took a step back.
"No!" he said. "You’re just here to cause trouble for me. I'm not answering your questions and I'm not going inside with you!"
“But you need to – “ May began. She didn’t get any further.
The next moment, she ducked instinctively as Humphrey flung the large, cardboard sign at them. It whizzed toward May and Owen, borne on the wind like a giant boomerang.
She hit the ground as its cardboard edge whooshed sharply past.
Then the sign clattered to the ground, wafting slightly in the breeze.
May scrambled hurriedly up. Humphrey was no longer around. He was fleeing, sprinting down the sidewalk in his ridiculous costume, with the tire around his middle bouncing as he ran.
"We need to get him!" Owen said.