Read Online Death By Chocolate 6 (Mystery and Women Sleuths) (Josiah Reynolds Mysteries) by Abigail Keam - Free Book Online Page B

necks to get a look at me.
    Mr. Klotter had no choice but to follow me.
    I took possession of a ratty duct-taped recliner and waited for Mr. Klotter to ease himself into a chair behind his desk cluttered with fishing paraphernalia and paperwork.
    Opening a folder, I took out a picture of Dwight and handed it to Mr. Klotter. “Mr. Klotter, is this the man you rented a boat to on July third of this year?”
    Mr. Klotter took the photo in hand and fished out a battered folder on his desk. He compared the picture to something in the folder. “To the best of my recollection, yes. This is the same man.”
    “May I ask what you are looking at?”
    Billy Klotter handed back the photo and a stained 8x10 sheet of paper. On it was a photocopy of Dwight’s driver’s license.
    “According to our records, the man in this photograph rented that boat.”
     
    “May I have a copy please?”
    “No problem. Yep.”
    “But can you identify just from the photograph that I handed you that this was the same man who rented the boat and then went missing on the third ? ”
    Billy Klotter shook his head. “No ma’am. No one who worked on that day can do that. When we rent out a boat, we ask for a credit card deposit and make a copy of their driving and fishing license. That’s for our protection. As you can see, here is his credit card slip. I’ll make a copy of that for you too. Maybe you can have his handwriting analyzed, but as far as we are concerned that man in your photo rented a fishing boat on July third. We would never claim to identify him from a photo. We can’t, due to the sheer number of people we serve. After awhile, everyone looks the same. You see?”
    I was disappointed. I was hoping that Mr. Klotter would point to the photograph and state, “Why – that is not the man who rented the boat!”
    “Can you tell me what happened on the third?”
    Klotter peered at his paperwork. “Mr. Wheelwright rented the boat around 9 am and should have been back at 6 pm. Around 7 pm, I went out looking for him. It’s not unusual for people to become lost or run out of gas.
    “I found the boat forty minutes later. It was empty but contained his wallet. It was lying on the floor of the boat. The gas tank was almost full. I called the local authorities, who called the state cops.” Mr. Klotter shrugged. “And that was that.”
    “Wait a minute,” I said looking at my notes. “You said his wallet was in the boat. The police report says that his wallet was found in his pickup’s glove compartment.”
    Billy shook his head again. “I found the man’s wallet on the floor of that boat in a puddle of dirty water. That’s how I confirmed whose boat it was.”
    “What happened to the wallet?”
    “I gave it to the local boys.”
    “Do they still have it?”
    “Couldn’t say,” Billy shrugged.
    I made a note to check about the wallet.
    “And was the lake dragged?”
    “Parts of it. Even scuba divers went down but nothing was found.”
    “Just parts? Why not the entire lake? After all, a man was missing.”
    “The entire shoreline was searched but lady, this lake is nineteen miles in length with an average depth of sixty-five feet with the maximum depth being two hundred and eighty feet. The total shore length itself is two hundred and six miles long. We did all we could, considering.”
    “I see. What happens when someone drowns and you can’t find them?”
    “Don’t mean to be indelicate, but they usually pop up sooner or later.”
    “Billy, need your help out here!” yelled the bosomy woman.
    “Coming,” rejoined Billy, rising from his desk. “Ma’am, we’re awful busy.”
    “Just a few more questions, please. You seem like an observant man. What did you observe?”
    Mr. Klotter thought for a moment.
    “Billy!!!!”
    “Hold your horses, woman! Coming.” Mr. Klotter turned toward me.
    “I thought it odd that the man’s wallet was lying loose in the boat. Most fishermen are afraid of losing their wallets, so