The vandalized van
Erica Bennett, who owned Erica’s Garage and Towing, was dating Deputy Lyle Hart. At 8: 30 am, she showed up at the office he shared with Sheriff Carl Grayson.
“I’m here for that cruiser with the broken gas gauge,” she announced, stepping into the sheriff ’s office.
“Later,” Grayson said, pulling on his hat as he gestured to Lyle just outside. “Instead, follow us to Misty Rowan’s place. Somebody flattened the tires on her mobile pet spa.”
Misty had launched Paws ’n’ Claws, an on-site grooming service, two months earlier. She was in her driveway leaning against the vehicle, a fully equipped salon on wheels, when the threesome approached her.
“This happened last night?” Grayson asked, inspecting the ruined tires, all flattened to the ground.
“Between midnight and 7 am, when my alarm went off. I returned yesterday around 6: 30 at night, cleaned the van up for a 9 am house call, locked it and walked Sadie, my 8-year-old Lab. After dinner, I watched a movie and was in bed by midnight, just as the downpour started.”
“Did you hear anything suspicious?” Hart asked, getting down on the ground to inspect the tires.
“Between the rainfall and Sadie’s impaired hearing, whoever did it had an advantage.”
“No punctures or slashes, which would’ve caused noise from the sudden pressure release,” Erica pointed out as she knelt next to Lyle. “They must have unscrewed the valves, creating slow, virtually silent leaks.”
“Any suspects?” Grayson asked after the van was successfully towed.
“Talk to Ken Daley and Chad Monroe,” Misty huffed. “Ken has Pampered Pets on Main Street and is mad that he’s no longer the town’s only grooming outfit.
“And Chad was production manager at Design & Print when his crew ran my flyers with the wrong logo. The company reprinted them, but they demoted Chad back to the plant with a pay cut. His fiancée, Helen Taylor, still glares at me whenever our paths cross.”
“So three folks need to account for their whereabouts between midnight and 7: 00 am,” Hart noted. “Let’s get to work.”
At 10: 30, a bleary-eyed Ken gave a statement. “A Siamese cat having a bad day scratched my assistant during a session,” he grumbled. “He’d been careless about wearing gloves and the wound got infected. Unfortunately, I spent the entire night with him in the ER, got home at around 8.” Chad was spending his lunch hour repairing a bindery machine.
“The Paws ’n’ Claws has been sabotaged. Can you explain—
“—What’s she blaming me for now?” he snapped, jabbing needle-nose pliers into the back of the unit.
“Is there something to blame you for?” Hart retorted.
“No way!” Chad shot back. “I dropped Helen off for her midnight shift, went home, and slept through the whole night.”
Helen, a nurse, was in her pajamas when she opened the door. “You woke me up for Misty’s flat tires?! I work midnight to 9: 00 in the morning. Figure it out!” she said shrilly, slamming the door.
By 2: 30 that afternoon, Sheriff Grayson was back at headquarters when Hart returned from lunch with Erica.
“Give my girl an honorary star,” Lyle said, sporting an ear-to-ear smile as he wrapped an arm affectionately around Erica’s shoulder. “She knows who our perp is!” — Loretta Martin
Q: Who did Erica ID as the saboteur?