Chapter 5

“Here you are, Mr. Murphy. I forgot I’d taken them out when the other man claiming to be you came by—but that’s his fault. He was pushy and in a hurry. Hooked the damned car up to the tow truck before you could say lickety split and was out of here.”

Wynn took the bags gratefully, thanking Paulie as he slung them over his shoulder. He started to leave the garage then paused when Mick put a hand on his arm.

“Paulie,” Mick said, “did you get a chance to look at the car at all?”

“Not really. Why?”

“From what Mr. Murphy told me, the tire blew out on a curve and when he tried to use the brakes, they failed.”

“Can’t speak to the brakes, but I did notice the tire. It was a new one, or so it seemed, so I figured it blew when it hit the tree. Not saying it couldn’t have happened earlier but it seems doubtful, unless someone tampered with it.”

“Which would be possible?” Wynn asked.

“Yeah, I suppose, if you knew what you were doing. Of course it could be you ran over something.”