(Fiction)

For chapter 12 click here: Chapter 12

To go to chapter 1 of the novel click here: Chapter 1

(Author’s note: This chapter has multiple pages. Please click the number at the bottom to continue reading the next page

The Miami police had a dilemma. Information provided by Ted was not enough to track down the car involved in the hit and run that killed Owen. The possibilities were numerous — someone living in the neighborhood rushing to go to work, a visitor from out-of-state, a landscaper. There were no clues. The police had requested the Department of Motor Vehicles to run a check of the partial license plate numbers. They had a backlog and were going to take a few days. If the driver was from out-of-state it would be out of jurisdiction of the Miami police.

Police were interviewing the residents of the neighborhood. The forensic lab had reported finding traces of marijuana in Owen’s blood. Was Owen going to rendezvous with a dealer? This meant that they definitely needed to get the FBI involved.

Two weeks passed when they got a call from the airport Budget Rent a Car office. Officer Martindale answered the phone.

“You’ll probably be interested in this,” said the agent. “A bag of cannabis was found in a car we had rented out.”

“Really? When was the car rented?” Martindale asked, sounding inquisitive.

The date provided by the agent matched the date of the hit and run accident that killed Owen.

“Got any more details?”

“The car was rented to another person the same day and he drove it across the country. We didn’t check the car thoroughly to see if anything was left back, we should have. The person who returned the car, today, told us.”

“Can you tell us about the car and the license plate?”

“Grey Ford Escort with license plate number TS9 577.”

“Who had rented the car?”

“A Mr. Demond Ibori. He listed his address in Brooklyn, New York.”

“Why are you calling us about it now?”

“The story about the doctor’s death in a hit and run case. The car was rented on the night prior to the date of the accident and was returned sooner than the estimated time. And now, the discovery of the drugs! We have no way of knowing where the car was driven, but there’s a chance maybe the doctor was involved with some bad characters.”

“Possible. But it’s a long shot.” Martindale said. Martindale didn’t want to tell the agent about the forensic report.

“By the way,” He continued. “Did Mr. Ibori rent a GPS from you guys?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Martindale thanked the person from the rental company.

Martindale had a new lead. If Demond had rented a GPS from Budget it would have provided information on the routes he had taken. Perhaps he used the map function from his smart phone, but there was no way of knowing.

Martindale poured himself a cup of coffee, walked back to his desk and retrieved the file with Ted’s interview. Ted had mentioned the car was a grey late-model American car with the license plate that had letters T and S and two 7’s at the end. He wondered if Owen in fact was involved in drug trafficking. He had to talk to Agnes.