“I’m going to pretend that I have no knowledge that the likes of him has any intersect with my daughter. Do you feel as if you need a shower?” A.L. asked.

“Sort of. What do you think Troy Whitman was doing between 7:15 and 9:00? His house is only a fifteen-minute drive to Garage on Division.”

“I know. That’s what I was checking in my notes. He said that he was anxious because he doesn’t generally do mornings, that Leah did them. That meshes with Prider saying that Troy is usually the first one in.”

“But not on Wednesday,” Rena said. “We’re going to need to ask him.”

“Yeah. Let’s finish up with Pete Seoul first.”

Rena fetched the man from the waiting room. He was probably about the same age as Cory Prider but he carried some extra weight in his belly and his right knee looked a little stiff when he walked.

“Mr. Seoul, we’d like to talk to you about your job at Garage on Division,” Rena said.

“Okay.”

“How long have you worked there?” she asked.

“Twenty years.”

“You’ve seen some changes I suspect,” she said.

“More than some.”

“Help me understand that better,” she said.

“Simple. Used to be I could tell you what was wrong with a car by listening to it. Now I got to hook it up to a machine that tells me.”

He didn’t sound angry. Just matter-of-fact. “So you were employed at the garage when Troy Whitman purchased it.”

“Yeah.”

“How did you feel about that?”

“Okay.”

Rena smiled at the man, trying to remember that honey could be better than vinegar. “What’s your relationship with Troy Whitman?”

“He’s my boss.”

“I understand that,” she said. “Are you friends outside of work?”

“No.”

“Do you know his wife?”

“Not really.”

She was not a dentist but she was pulling teeth. “Mr. Seoul, can you walk us through your day last Wednesday?”

“I worked.”

A.L. leaned forward. “What time did you arrive at work?”

“Seven thirty. That’s when I always arrive. I leave my house at 7:21 and it takes me nine minutes to get there.”

“Was anybody else at the garage when you arrived?” A.L. asked.

“Cory Prider.”

“What time did Davy Grace or Troy Whitman arrive?”

“I don’t think Davy worked that day. Least I never saw him. Troy rolled in when I was taking my break. I take that from 9:00 to 9:15 every day.”

She just bet he did. “Mr. Seoul, are you aware of any customers or other employees who might be angry with Troy Whitman?”

He shook his head.

“We’re aware of a complaint that came in from a Mr. and Mrs. Thompson after their car was worked on at the garage and subsequently had trouble.”

“I didn’t work on that car.”

“Right.”

“Have you spoken to Troy Whitman since the disappearance of his daughter?”

Pete Seoul shook his head.