The rubber smell of new tires fills my nostrils as I approach the back of the store. I make a left, walking between massive, floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with tires of every shape and size. Ahead, I hear laughter. A door stands open at the end of the aisle. I purposefully arrived at the start of the business day to catch Beck off guard. I want him unprepared so I can gauge his unrehearsed reactions when I ask him about Amanda Horner.

I find Donny in the break room wolfing down a breakfast sandwich from the diner. A petite blonde wearing a Quality Implement smock sits across from him, slurping Coke through a straw. Both young people look up when I enter. The sandwich stops midway to Beck’s mouth. He knows why I’m here.

I give the girl a pointed look. “Can you excuse us?”

“ ’Kay.” She grabs her Coke and leaves the room.

Closing the door behind her, I face Donny Beck.

He swallows hard. “I guess you want to talk to me about Amanda.”

I nod. “I’m Kate Burkholder, Chief of Police.”

“I know who you are. You gave my dad a speeding ticket once.” Rising, he leans over the table and extends his hand. “I’m Donny Beck. You already know that, though.”

I shake his hand. His grip is firm, but his palm is slick with sweat. He seems like a decent young man. A farm boy. Probably uses the money he earns here to fix up his muscle car and raise hell on Saturday night. “When’s the last time you saw Amanda?” I begin.

“The night we broke up. About six weeks ago.”

“How long had you two been seeing each other?”

“Seven months.”

“Was it serious?”

“I thought so.”

“Who broke up with whom?”

“She broke up with me.”

“Why’d she do that?”

“She was going back to college. She didn’t want to be tied down.” He grimaces. “She said she didn’t love me.”

“You get pissed off when she dumped you?”

“No. I mean, I was upset, but I didn’t get mad.”

“Really? Why not?”

He chokes out a sound of denial. “I’m not like that.”

“Did you love her?”

Emotion flashes in his eyes, and he looks down at his half-eaten breakfast sandwich. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“Were you sleeping with her?”

To my surprise, his face reddens. He gives me a nod.

“She sleep around with anyone else?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Did you two fight?”

“No.” As if catching himself, his gaze snaps to mine. “I mean we did. Sometimes. But not often. She was pretty easygoing.” He shrugs. “I was crazy about her.”

“Did she have any enemies?”

He shakes his head. “Everyone liked Amanda. She was sweet. Fun to be with.”

“Where were you Saturday night?”

“I went to Columbus with my dad and little brother.”

“What were you doing in Columbus?”

“We went to a basketball game. Special Olympics. My brother’s handicapped.”

“You spend the night?”

“Yeah.”