In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8)(19)

“How do you know that?”

“Her mother called the trucking company where she worked.”

“And it wasn’t like her to miss work?” Tracy asked.

“I’ve only known her a few weeks, so I wouldn’t really know, but from what she’d told me, she needed the money. She said she and her mother didn’t really get along, so Stephanie was paying for everything herself. She took the first job she could find.” That information had also been in Katie Pryor’s report, and was part of the reason Pryor had called Violent Crimes. “I think they’re going to fire her. Sounded that way.”

“Do you know the name of the employee who had the party Wednesday night?” Kins asked.

“No. No idea.”

“What did you do Wednesday night?”

“Me? I was out with friends in the University District.”

Again, Tracy wrote down the specifics—the friends Barnes had been with and their phone numbers. “What time did you get home?”

“Around one in the morning. We took an Uber.”

“Did you call the Uber?”

“Yeah.”

“The receipt for the ride is on your phone?” Kins asked. Barnes said it was, and Kins provided his email at Seattle PD for Barnes to send the receipt. “What did you do when you got home?”

“Wednesday? I went to bed.”

“Had you been drinking?”

“Some.”

“Drugs?”

“No.”

“Any of your friends spend the night?”

“No. We all had class Thursday morning.”

“What time did you get up Thursday?”

“Around nine. I had class at ten.”

Barnes detailed the classes he’d attended that day and the people he’d had lunch with.

“What time did you get home?”

“I worked at Starbucks that afternoon, so not until around six thirty.”

Tracy again took down the details.

“Did you go out last night for Halloween?” Kins asked.

Barnes shook his head. “No.”

“No parties?” Tracy asked.

“The parties at school were Wednesday. It keeps the high school kids away. There’s too much liability for the fraternities.”

“You said Stephanie runs after work?”

“She’s pretty religious about it.”

“Where does she run?”

“Usually here, around Green Lake, or in Woodland Park.” He pointed across the lake to the tops of trees.

“Does she have friends she runs with or goes out with?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Usually she just comes home, runs on her own, then eats a salad, watches television, and goes to bed.”

“What did you do last night?”

“Studied in my apartment.”

“All night?”

“Until about eleven. Then I watched a Jack Ryan episode and went to bed.”

“How did you have the mom’s number to call?”

“It’s the emergency contact on Stephanie’s rental application. I called the apartment manager.”

Kins asked for and Barnes provided the apartment manager’s name and phone number. “Does Stephanie have any issues with mental illness, anything you know of?”

“Not that I know of.”

“You never saw prescription bottles in the bathroom drawers or on the counter?”

He shrugged. “No.”

“Drugs?”

“Not that I know of.”

“She never indicated she wanted to hurt herself?”

He shook his head. “Not to me.”

They told Barnes they wanted to come by the apartment and have a look around Stephanie’s room. He told them he’d be home around five that afternoon.

Tracy and Kins left Barnes to finish his dog walk and headed back to their car. “Did you put in a request on Cole’s car?” Tracy asked.

Kins nodded. “According to her mom, and the California DMV, she drives a 2010 Prius with California plates. I had them send a picture.”

“Shouldn’t be hard to find. Barnes said she ran around Green Lake or Woodland Park every afternoon,” Tracy said. “This parking lot has cameras atop the light poles. I’ll get the video and we can check to see if Cole showed up Wednesday or Thursday afternoon.”

“What do you think of Barnes?” Kins stepped aside for a woman jogger pushing a baby carriage.

“At first I questioned his calling the mother; most guys his age wouldn’t have bothered, but he seems like he’s responsible,” Tracy said. “Goes to school and holds down two jobs.”

“A lot more responsible than my sons,” Kins said.

“Maybe he really was worried about her well-being.”

“Or wants it to appear that way,” Kins said.

“I thought I was supposed to be the skeptical one,” Tracy said.

“It’s rubbed off on me.” Kins pulled open the car door and lowered himself inside.

“Let’s drive over to Woodland Park since we’re close and determine if the parking lot also has any cameras,” Tracy said.

Woodland Park comprised nearly a hundred acres of running trails, picnic spaces, gardens, and open space. The park also was home to the Woodland Park Zoo.