Five Days in Summer

should have filed your report first,” shesnapped, “then gone home to visit your teddy bear. I don’t care what you found, we needed it yesterday . We’re working against the clock. We have no time.”
    Geary’s hand on her shoulder, his quick squeeze, calmed her enough to start her lungs pumping again.
    Sorensen kept on watching her and she wondered what he was thinking and tried not to care. She tucked her hair behind her ears, sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “We’re listening.”
    Snow ran his tongue along his upper teeth before he started. “Sal Ragnatelli bought a booth at this convention every year for ten years. He was there rain or shine. People who knew him liked him. He was easygoing and joked around a lot. But this year” — Snow looked fleetingly at Sorensen, then landed his eyes on Amy — “something happened. He was upset about something, so upset he closed his booth in the middle of the day on Tuesday. His buddies say he never did that before — those booths, they cost a bundle, and midday foot traffic’s the busiest.”
    “So he closed down in the middle of the afternoon,” Amy said.
    Snow nodded. “Came back a couple hours later, upset. Opened his booth, stayed open till closing time. All he’d say about it to the guy in the booth next to his was that someone was messing with his head.”
    Amy leaned forward. “Did he describe the person?”
    “Not really. A customer, male, wanted to buy a top-of-the-line vintage Corvette, but when it came to the money” — Snow shrugged — “apparently the customer wasn’t into friendly bargaining, wanted to press a low-ball price on Ragnatelli, kept pushing it. He’d set a meeting, then mess with Ragnatelli’s head for a while.”
    Sorensen paid close attention as Janet typed into her laptop. Some of the task force agents had stoppedworking and started listening in. A few got up and gathered around Snow.
    “Ragnatelli said” — Snow removed a tiny notebook from his shirt pocket — “‘If he wants to steal a car, why doesn’t he do it like every other thief, just take it when no one’s looking? This nut’s trying to get me to agree to practically give it to him.’ That was verbatim, word for word.”
    “And then?” Amy asked.
    “He worked his booth, shut down on time and went back to his motel. The girl at the front desk saw him come in a little after eight, then go out again just before nine. I checked every store and restaurant in the area and found out he ate a burger at the Truck Stop diner, called his wife from a pay phone, then drove to an all-night drugstore and bought himself some aspirin, generic. The pharmacist remembered him comparing prices.” Snow paused and seemed to notice how many people were listening. He sat up a little straighter. “The pharmacist was the last person who saw Ragnatelli alive. He mentioned Ragnatelli looked at his watch a few times, like he had to be somewhere, but he didn’t seem to be rushing to make his appointment.”
    “Then?”
    “That’s it. He was found dead the next morning. The local cops put his death at ten thirty p.m.”
    “So Ragnatelli didn’t give enough customer service.” Tom shook his head. “Gotta provide the customer service.”
    “Or maybe he gave a little too much,” Geary said. “Maybe his mistake was talking to this customer in the first place. This was someone who didn’t like hearing no for an answer.”
    “The Corvette?” Sorensen asked Snow.
    “Gone.”
    “Plates?”
    “Dealer plates, found next to Ragnatelli’s body.”
    “Beautiful.” Ingram nodded at Jones.
    “He made it clear he got his way,” Jones said.
    “Seized control and gloated over it.” Ingram.
    “Okay,” Amy said. “So whoever killed Ragnatelli drove off in the Corvette. And whoever abducted Emily Parker had her in one of Ragnatelli’s other cars, then returned it.”
    “Ragnatelli was the only person who could have identified him,” Brad said, hovering close.
    “He didn’t really want the car,” Geary said.
    “No.” Amy closed her eyes, then opened them. “He wanted to erase a witness.”
    “He knew Mrs. Parker had been connected to the Ford,” Sorensen said calmly. “How?” His bloodshot eyes scanned the room. “Did the media report that?”
    “No,” Brad said. “I’ve been checking as many outlets as I can. They don’t have anything new, except that we’re here. That went out nationally last night.”
    Sorensen nodded heavily, once.