“Nah, sports fans are diehards. A little snow won’t keep them home.”
Reid chuckled. Snow was a rare occurrence in this part of the state and when it fell, grocery stores emptied out and the cities shut down. Only a few inches of snow could bring the area to a standstill for days.
Reid had no qualms about driving in it. He’d learned as a young guy on the resort to drive utility vehicles and other equipment, then the minute he got his license, he drove pretty much everything he could lay his hands on. He perfected his driving skills in defensive driving courses for work, so a little snow? Nah, that didn’t slow him down. A good thing, as Ella had another appointment in the morning, and it was an opportunity for him to show Megan that he was there for them.
At least he hoped he wouldn’t let her down again.
Reid and Jack got out in PJ’s parking lot with vehicles blanketed in fresh snow. Reid had expected the lot to be much emptier, but then, as Jack had said, sports fans were diehards.
“What is it about snow that brings out the kid in you?” Reid asked and took off to slide across the lot.
“Speak for yourself.” Jack laughed and balled a handful of snow to throw at Reid.
Reid ducked and bolted for the door. They were laughing when they entered, but it took only a moment for the pair of them to sober to their mission.
Oakley was behind the bar. Tonight she wore a Trail Blazers jersey. She finished drawing a beer from a tap and frowned at them. The bar was emptier tonight so they were able to march right up to her.
“Hang on,” she said. “I’ll get Guy for you.”
Reid slid onto a stool.
Jack took the one next to him, but his gaze trailed Oakley as she delivered the beer to a bearded man at the end of the bar and then picked up the phone. “I take it that’s the Oakley you talked to.”
“It is.”
“You must be losing your charms, buddy boy. She didn’t seem so eager to see you.” Jack laughed.
Reid didn’t think he ever had charms, but he hadn’t been unfortunate in the dating department. He’d always found girlfriends by simply being himself. Until he’d gone against everything he believed in and bailed on Megan. Then he deserved to be alone. In hindsight, he had to wonder if that was the reason he married Diane. So he wouldn’t be alone. Or so he could forget what he’d done to Megan.
A skinny guy with a goatee hanging down to his chest and long hair in a man bun came out of a door behind the bar. He stopped to talk to Oakley, and she pointed at them.
The man strode in their direction, his goatee swishing. “Manager, Guy Fletcher. Which one of you is Maddox?”
“I am,” Reid said. “But not the Maddox you want. The sheriff isn’t with me tonight. This is FBI Agent Jack Duger. He has the warrant you require.”
Jack fished out his credentials and displayed them, then took out the warrant and slapped it on the bar.
Guy grabbed it and quickly scanned the pages. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive. “The video you want is on here.”
“Were you out here when the man we’re interested in was here?” Reid asked.
“Nope.”
“Did he ever return for his truck?”
Guy rested tattooed hands on the bar. “I doubt he came looking for it or he would’ve come in here demanding to know where it was and we haven’t seen him.”
“Or he could’ve shown up,” Jack said. “Saw the towing sign in the lot and figured out it had been towed.”
Guy shrugged halfheartedly. “Now, if that’s all, I have a bar to run.”
“You have a business card?” Jack asked.
He reached under the bar to retrieve one and slap it on the counter.
Jack took it and studied it. “How long you been the manager here?”
“Going on fifteen years.”
