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“He didn’t tell me until last month. Before he died, he asked me to clean out his old files. Said there was some stuff in there that he should have gotten rid of years ago. And that’s when he told me about the Careen business.”

“And you didn’t feel the need to tell the police?”

“I didn’t want any trouble! Besides, it’s been years, and I figured it was all ancient history anyway.”

“You do realize that the Careens lost their daughter that night?”

“I know, yeah,” he said a little sheepishly. “And I’m sorry, okay?”

“So who delivered the notebook to Kristina Careen?”

“No idea.” When Chase gave him a threatening look, he added, “I swear! Someone must have picked it out of the fire and handed it to her. But it wasn’t me.”

Chase glanced around.“How many people knew you were burning your father’s papers?”

“No one. I just decided that I better get rid of the stuff.”

“Why now?”

“No reason. Just something I’ve been putting off since Dad died.”

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with the murder of Jona Morro, would it?”

The man turned a little shifty-eyed again, and I thought he probably wasn’t the right person to get your car fixed. He appeared to be fundamentally dishonest.

“Mr. Gusta?” Chase insisted.

“Okay, yes! I read about the guy being killed with his own car and it reminded me of my dad’s old files. So I figured I’d better get rid of them before you people started snooping around. There. Now you know the whole story. Happy?”

“Not exactly,” said Chase. “In fact I’m very unhappy with you, Mr. Gusta. Not only have you repeatedly lied to me, but you have also concealed evidence of a crime, and then tried to destroy it. I think it’s safe to say you’ll be charged for your efforts.”

“Whatever,” the man muttered, then walked off, grumbling under his breath.

We were walking back to the car when a woman came hurrying out of the garage. She was also dressed in blue coveralls, and seemed eager to have speech with us.

“Not here,” she said quietly when she was within speaking distance. “Meet me in the Squeaky Wheel in ten minutes. And please don’t tell my husband, all right?” And before we could ask her who her husband was, she had slipped into the garage again.

Though I think it’s safe to say she was probably referring to the irrepressible Vince.

Chapter 31

Ten minutes later we were indeed in the Squeaky Wheel, when the same woman came breezing in. She’d ditched the blue coverall and was looking more like a regular person now, in jeans and a sweater, her blond hair tied back from her wrinkle-free face. She appeared to be in her early forties. She took a seat at the table, and looked just as nervous as she had when she’d approached us back atthe garage.

“I’m Mandi Gusta,” she said without preamble. “And I’m the one who gave Kristina Careen that notebook.”

“You’re Vince’s wife?” asked Chase.

She nodded, looking a little breathless.“I can’t stay long, I’m sorry. If Vince found out I was talking to the police he’d be very unhappy.”

“I won’t waste too much of your time, then,” said Chase. “What do you know about the hit and run that killed Poppy Careen?”

“Nothing. I only met Vince eight years ago.”

“He never talked to you about that night? Or his dad?”

Mandi shook her head.“But I did see him burn those notebooks the other night, and I had a feeling it was important, so I fished out one notebook and discovered that it covered the month when Poppy Careen was killed. You see, I’d read in the paper about Jona Morro, and about the Careen case, and then when Vince suddenly decided to burn his dad’s old papers, it just made me wonder, you know. So I decided to save that notebook from the pile, and when I saw the entry Jefferson made the day after that terrible accident, I knew that must have been the reason Vince wanted to get rid of it.”

“And so you decided that Kristina should have it.”

Mandi nodded.“I always wanted kids of my own, but we lost…” Her voice faltered, but she soon recovered. “We lost Jason when he was three months old. Crib death. I was heartbroken at the time, and it put a terrible strain on our marriage but we survived. So I can understand what the Careens must have been through.”

“Vince obviously doesn’t,” said Chase, “and nor did his dad.”

“Vince and Jefferson’s first priority has always been the garage. The Careen tragedy got a lot of press coverage at the time, and it’s never really gone away. That kind of thing puts a stain on an entire community, not just the family. And I guess Jefferson didn’t want it to affect us. I think people would have blamed him for the death of that little girl. They would have blamed him for covering up a crime and protecting a murderer. And Vince desperately tried to make that threat go away, same way his dad did.”

“Thanks, Mandi,” said Odelia, placing a hand on the woman’s arm. “It’s a very brave thing you did. And I’m sure Kristina is very grateful that you decided to come forward.”