Fred had phoned a number of places in Rollins and Hays, Kansas the previous day but found no information on the disposal of the motor home. No ads were listed in the local papers. He did, however, find a sales ad for a truck camper that was sold about that time. When the ad was pulled from the paper, the seller told the clerk he had just had a cash sale for his asking price. Fred wasn't able to contact the seller. The ad was just a box at the paper and no phone number.
A conversation with the Rollins, Kansas campground gave little help. One worker talked to a man about biking in Colorado. This convinced Fred the man was Byrne but Dean gave the item little merit.
After Fred left the café for home Dean went on to work. Friday was the second day in a row to begin with a phone call from Ethel Rosewater. This time her mood was much improved.
"Guess what came this morning, special messenger?" She did-n't wait for him to guess. "A certified check for 28 thou from my old pal and ex-partner, Arthur. And a note, 'Sorry about the bookkeeping mix-up with the escrow account.' Can you believe it?"
"No, I can't," Dean answered honestly.
"Neither can I but I'm not going to bitch about it!" She sounded downright happy. "I suppose I better call off the hounds. There's no police reason for anyone to be bird-dogging Arthur. If he wants to leave the partnership, good riddance."
"I'll tell Harrigan to stop the investigation but Arthur's actions are pretty strange. Where would he come up with that kind of dough to repay you?"
"No place legal I can think of. I've been looking at his client files and calling some of them. He really let things go the past few months-almost no billable hours. I can make a pile of money working his accounts."
"Aren't the accounts still his?"
"Nothing in writing and he left the files. It's a puppy eat puppy world out there."
"Just keep away from the bad boys. You don't want to get your hands covered with do-do."
"No chance there. Arthur took all his funny cases with him. There were 22 files missing. I could tell-we number them in sequence."
"I hope the jerk isn't doing something stupid. He's playing in the big leagues. Did you read the Philadelphia newspaper this morning? They found two more body parts last night and they don't match up with any of the earlier ones unless some Colombian had three legs." He paused and then added, "I don't suppose there's any return address on Arthur's note?"