Ivy held out her hands and shrugged. “I’m just repeating what I was told. That woman who showed up, I didn’t recognize her, but she seemed extremely upset. She made it sound as if Jason got into an accident in her car and didn’t tell her about it.”
“And you think that accident involved Sasha.”
“I think there are a lot of coincidences piling up,” she corrected. “I mean ... think about it. Jason gets tickets all the time. Jason found her body. What are the odds he would just stumble across her while doing community service? They can’t be good.
“Then you compound that with an accident he tried to keep secret, the fact that he knew Sasha’s name, which seems out of the ordinary given the circumstances, and how agitated he was because that woman was making a scene … and what do you have? Then, when you add on what Amy said, it appears Sasha was dating a guy named Jason. That’s a lot of coincidences.”
Jack couldn’t really argue the point. “It is,” he conceded. “The thing is, if he knew her, I don’t think we’re looking at an accident. The odds of him accidentally running into her on a highway in the middle of nowhere if he was dating her have to be slimmer than those other odds you were talking about.”
Ivy hadn’t even considered that, but he was right. “Huh. That’s ... weird.”
“It is,” Jack agreed. “If Jason is the boyfriend — and I’m starting to think you’re on to something here — then it’s more likely that he struck her on purpose.”
“Why, though?” Ivy felt mildly sick to her stomach, something the scent of her leftovers wasn’t helping.
“I don’t know. Maybe she wanted to break up with him ... or maybe they got in a fight and he acted out in the heat of the moment.”
“It still could be an accident,” Ivy persisted. She had a hard time seeing Jason as a murderer, despite his bad attitude. “Maybe they got in a fight and Jason decided to leave ... wherever they were. I mean, they’re still young. They could’ve been partying somewhere out by the highway. That wasn’t uncommon when I was a kid.”
Jack smirked. “I thought you didn’t party with the other kids because you were above them.”
“I didn’t party with the other kids because they thought I was weird and didn’t like me,” she corrected. “That doesn’t mean I wasn’t aware of the party spots out there. There were a few of them. Maybe some of them are still active.”
Jack found he was intrigued by the notion and filed it away to consider at a later date. “Continue.”
“Maybe Jason got drunk and they got in a fight and she chased him,” Ivy offered. “Maybe he didn’t realize she was chasing him and pulled away, hitting her in the process.”
“Except the spot where Sasha was found was in the middle of nowhere,” Jack argued. “There were no tire tracks around. To me, that seems to indicate she was crossing the road ... or maybe running from something.”
Ivy’s heart sank. “You mean she was running from him.”
“I think it’s a distinct possibility.” He reached over and brushed her hair away from her face. “I’ve been over the evidence a number of times. It’s possible that Sasha was walking on the highway — although I have no idea why she would’ve thought that was a good idea — and somebody accidentally struck her. Most people would’ve called for help, though. The only ones who wouldn’t have done that are the ones who were breaking the law.”
That made sense, Ivy realized. “So, what are you going to do?”
He hesitated and then pulled out his phone. “First I’m going to check your friend Jason’s driving record. If it’s as bad as you say, he likely doesn’t have a license. That means he shouldn’t have been driving today in the first place.”
“How does that help with the Sasha situation?”
“It allows me to head over there and question him.”
“Okay.” Ivy was restless but remained quiet as she watched Jack work. He made a series of faces as he accessed the information he managed to pull up. “Well?” she asked after what felt like a really long time. She was growing more and more impatient with each passing second.
“His driving record is a disgrace,” Jack confirmed, shaking his head. “He’s got ... so many tickets here. A lot of them are parking tickets. Apparently he likes the handicapped spots at the market and he keeps getting reported for parking there.”
Ivy had no sympathy for anyone who would take a handicapped spot if they didn’t need it. “Good.”
“Parking tickets aren’t going to get you locked up, though,” Jack noted, absently popping his lips as he read the report. “This guy, seriously, who allowed him to get a license in the first place? You wouldn’t believe what they’ve got in here for him.”
“I would believe it if you told me,” Ivy countered, faux sweetness positively dripping from her tongue.
“What?” Jack lifted his eyes and then smiled when he realized she was glaring at him. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”
Ivy was taken aback. “A few times. Why did you think of that right now, though?”
“I’m always thinking of that. Sometimes you make this face — you’re doing it right now — and I just want to kiss you senseless.”
Ivy planted her hand in the middle of his chest. “Spill. We’ll play that game later.”
Because he knew she meant it, he turned back to the task at hand. “The first time he was cited was when he was eleven.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped open. “Eleven? Who allows an eleven-year-old to drive a car?”
“Apparently no one. While his mother was napping one day, he retrieved her keys from her purse and decided to take a joyride. His own aunt was the one who caught him and called the police. She assumed he would get a
