“No.” Harvey pointed carefully to the newer damage on the bumper. “This paint matches Dr. Judy Vernon’s own car. The one that was bashed in the parking lot at Henderson’s farm.”
“What?” June stared at him.
“Can we prove that?” Holt asked.
“I think so.” Harvey nodded and then motioned them toward the front. They followed. He pointed to damage near the front bumper and lower paneling. “I found out that Dr. Vernon and Clive Morrison own the same make, model, and color car.”
“Why is that important?” Margo asked, her brow furrowing.
“We’ll tell you at the meeting,” June promised, and their attention turned back to Harvey.
“That’s a weird coincidence,” Holt said.
“I don’t know.” Harvey rubbed his chin. “Dr. Vernon’s had hers for just over a year, according to the auto repair records.”
Margo noticed that information got Holt’s attention. “Do you know when Clive got his car?”
“About three months ago,” Harvey answered.
Margo frowned, wondering what the significance of Clive’s car was. Then her eyes suddenly widened, and her brows shot up as it dawned on her.
“Was it Clive that hit my aunt Lacey the day she was driving my mother’s truck?” Margo gaped at them.
“We’ll explain everything at the meeting,” June told her with a warm smile.
“Is there anything else?” Holt glanced at the front bumper. “What happened there?” He looked at Harvey. “That wasn’t there before, was it?”
Harvey shook his head as he turned toward the dents. “This is going to blow your mind.”
“What is it?” all three of them chorused.
Although Margo didn’t think her mind could be any more blown at that point. She had just learned that it might have been Clive Morrison who rammed her aunt off the road. And it looked like someone had used a truck that looked like her mother’s to hit Dr. Vernon’s car while she was at Henderson’s farm.
“First, hear me out, because I have a theory.” Harvey glanced between them.
All three of them nodded.
“Go ahead,” Holt said.
Harvey rested one hand lightly on the hood of the truck. “Whoever stole Dr. Tanner’s truck from my repair shop knew it wouldn’t get far if they tried to drive it because it was damaged. They took it to get the bumpers and put them on this truck so they could back it into Dr. Vernon’s car at Henderson’s farm.”
“Okay,” Holt said. “Then why steal it at all? Why not just take the bumpers, use them on this truck, and then bring them back?”
“I think because they were going to have Dr. Tanner’s real truck crushed into a neat cube and replace this truck with it,” Harvey told him.
“So you think whoever did this found this one, took the bumpers off Lucy’s truck, put them on this one, and then used it to back into Judy’s car at Henderson’s?” Holt’s brows rose at the implications. “To what? Frame Judy as the person who tried to run Lacey off the road?”
“That would take planning,” June said. “And luck. How would they know Judy would be at Henderson’s?”
Margo’s answer came at once. “Dr. Vernon goes there every day for fresh fruit.” Three faces turned toward her. She shrugged. “She told me when she came into Teacups a few days ago.”
“That would explain the vandalized parking lot cameras at Henderson’s farm the day before.” Holt’s jaw tightened. “And it means they were watching Judy.”
“But why?” June asked. “Judy works with Lacey now. What motive would she have to run Lacey off the road?”
“To make it look like she was getting revenge on my mother,” Margo said, the pieces beginning to slide together in a way that made her feel ill. “My mom did the autopsy on Gilbert Fry. She found accelerant on his shoes. She was the one who helped wrap the case up for the police. That’s how they determined Gilbert set the cabin fire.”
“Gilbert was the only family Judy had left,” Holt added. “It would make a vindictive story.”
