The Buck Stops Here

The Buck Stops Here by Mindy Starns Clark

Book: The Buck Stops Here by Mindy Starns Clark Read Free Book Online
Authors: Mindy Starns Clark
comes with it. I mean, we say it’s free, but they don’t understand that we build the cost of the boat into the rental price, if you know what I mean. Anyway, the police impounded the boat and kept it for a couple weeks. The folks that had the rental during those weeks were furious. We finally had to rent another speedboat for their use just to shut them up. It was terrible. What a pain in the neck.”
    “A pain in the neck?” I said, feeling a sudden rage. “A man died .” Certainly, she could hear the anger in my voice, because when she spoke again, she was much more subdued.
    “Yes, well, anyway,” she said, “once we finally got the boat back from the police, we weren’t really involved anymore. Though I think our insurance company did end up giving a big settlement to the widow.”
    I hesitated, knowing that I was the widow in question and that, yes, the settlement had been satisfactory.
    “Well,” I said, trying to regain my composure, “I really just need the name of the person who was renting the house when the accident happened.”
    “Yeah, Misty gave me the file. That information doesn’t seem to be in here. Huh. That’s weird. It’s like somebody came along and just plucked that page right out of the file.”
    “But you handled the rental. Don’t you remember who it was?”
    “No, I’m sorry, I don’t. They rented the place sight unseen over the phone. After the accident we turned everything over to our insurance company.”
    “How about Tom Bennett?” I pressed. “Does that name ring a bell?”
    “No, I’m sorry, hon. I handle so many rentals. Unless they’re a repeat customer, I’m not going to remember their name.”
    “And you don’t remember anything about the rental?”
    “No, but I’ll tell you this. When the accident happened, I was really surprised.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I do remember that the renters weren’t even interested in the boat. They called here wanting a place with privacy. That’s the most private rental we have, you know, way off at the end of that dead-end road. Even though it’s one of our more expensive properties, they took it. I don’t think we ever even talked about the fact that it came with a boat. I guess they figured that out on their own.”
    “I guess so.”
    I asked her a few more questions about their company’s billing and contractual procedures, trying to find some way to learn the identity of the person who rented the house.
    “What about payment?” I asked. “Could I track the rental payment somehow and find the name that way?”
    “Probably not. I mean, I suppose you could go through old deposit slips or something, but we handle a lot of properties. You wouldn’t have any way of knowing which payment went with which property unless you pulled all the files of all the properties and cross referenced them with each other, eliminating the ones you do know. It would probably take you a week just to figure it out, if you even could.”
    “I understand,” I said, exhaling slowing. “One last try. Misty said there was a computer file that was deleted also. Would there be a history to the record? Some way to pull up what had been there before?”
    “It’s just a simple database,” she said. “Far as I know, all you can see is what’s on the screen in front of you.”
    There wasn’t much else she could tell me, so finally I thanked her for her help and concluded the call. Then I pulled out onto the road, not even sure where to turn next.

Nine

    My cell phone died as I got back into town. The sun had set, and I realized I didn’t even have a place to stay for the night. Feeling a little lost, I checked into the Holiday Inn along the main drag. As I carried my things to my room in plastic shopping bags, I decided I would need to pick up some inexpensive luggage very soon.
    Once I was organized in the room, including plugging my cell phone into the charger, I used the motel phone to call my old Virginia law firm, the place

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