"I figure it like this. If Byrne was out to set up an identity he'd apply for credit cards, a driver's license, a library card and stuff like that. So I called all around. I even checked out some of the banks, figuring credit cards would be most important."
"So?"
"So, I haven't hit yet but I'm still trying. Some of those people can get really snotty on the phone."
"You didn't tell them you were from the police, did you?" Dean asked.
"Would I do that?" Fred answered innocently and then changed the subject. "I haven't heard from the Burgess fellow yet on the picture of Byrne's you sent him. I called Mrs. Glass again, just to see if she remembered anything else." Dean started to protest but Fred continued. "She remembers a motor home parked on Bascomb Place! What do you think of that?"
"I think you ought to stick to reading mysteries instead of inventing them. Who says the motor home belonged to Cleary?"
"Well, it stands to reason, doesn't it? It was there while this guy Cleary was renting the place. There wasn't anyone else there but him and Burgess and it didn't belong to Burgess." Fred stood up suddenly, much to Mrs. Lincoln's disgust. "You can't see the woods for the forest."
"Fred, it could belong to anyone on that street, or someone visiting." Fred rolled his eyes at Dean's perceived stubbornness. "I don't suppose Mrs. Glass got a license number?"
"No, but she said it was paper-you know, a temporary plate! See? He bought it with his haul so's he could make his getaway!"
Dean smiled. "So you called all the local dealers to find out if anyone named Cleary or Byrne or Corbin bought a new motor home?"
"Yeah," Fred answered glumly. "They didn't." Then he added, "but it's a fact there was a motor home there. Stands to reason..."
"Don't go confusing 'it's a fact' with 'stands to reason.' You're making some broad jumps just because Jeffrey Byrne visited in the Scranton area."
"You're dancing to different music. The band's playing a foxtrot while you're waltzing around the floor," Fred grumbled.
They sat is silence through one whole Count Basie take before Dean finally spoke. "I settled one item for you today."
"What's that?"
"The tire repair kit. It looks like it was Byrne's. He had just fixed a flat on his bike. His son was riding it this afternoon." He sat back smugly.
Fred looked up. "So what was the patch kit doing in the trunk of his company car?"
"It fell out of his jacket or something. He probably had his suitcase and stuff in the trunk. It makes sense. He was traveling around all day and didn't want to get his things ripped off if he left them on the back seat."