Colt Crawford - Chapter 9 (Thursday)

Kevin, the seeming leader of the two, spoke first. “I know him by reputation only. Never met him.”

“And what is that reputation?” Krissy asked. This was her favorite part of her job. She loved interviewing a suspect and then experiencing that moment when reluctance turns to victory. She waited eagerly for the answer she was about to receive.

“He’s known around here a source of information.”

He was still going to be vague. Krissy could feel the tide turning, but it wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought. “What kind of information?”

“Numbers,” Kevin said.

Frustration was starting to build. “Give it to me straight, Kevin. What is Steven Mathis known for?”

“Let’s just say he can help out with sports-related investments.”

“Gambling?”

Kevin’s head nodded slightly. “You didn’t hear that from me.”

***

“I have to admit that there are some perks to working with a civilian on a case like this one.”  Krissy was trying to hide a thin smile as she walked out of the campus police station. 

“I can’t say I’m surprised that these guys know of Mathis,” Colt replied.  “So we have confirmed he’s into gambling, but we haven’t confirmed who attacked Samantha.”

“Can we link Creighton to Mathis?”  She walked slowly toward the parking a few feet from Colt’s side. 

“We have the witness at the dealership who has seen them together and the repair records,” Colt said.  “But that is not enough to convict anyone of illegal activity.”  Colt paused as he digested the information.  “Has Mathis ever done any time?” 

“He had that tax problem that cost him about nine months.”

“That’s another angle we haven’t explored. Mathis knows Samantha and has reason to be mad at her.”

“He’s the one who skipped out on his taxes. She actually saved him, but I guess he wanted even more,” Krissy said.

They walked the rest of the way to the car in silence, each trying to piece together what they knew.  On the way back to the police station, Colt and Krissy agreed that the next step had to involve scrutinizing the life of Steven Mathis.

“We need to know everything we can about Mathis,” Krissy began. “Who he hangs out with, where he goes after work, what he spends money on. You wanna help me follow him for a while?”

Stakeouts basically consisted of hours of nothing followed by a few minutes of excitement and were a regular part of the job for Colt. Over the last decade he had developed a love-hate relationship with the classic stakeout. “How could I turn that down?”

Colt and Krissy climbed back into Colt’s car to make the drive from the university back to the harbor area. “I’m hungry,” Colt said. “Let’s get something to eat on the way.”

Armed with Chinese take out, chopsticks, and a couple of small drinks, Colt and Krissy pulled into the harbor parking lot. “This is going to be tough, Krissy said. There’s no place to park where we can see the front of his office.”

“Do you see his truck anywhere?”

Krissy scanned the lot. It wasn’t hard to spot Mathis’ silver Ford F-350. It had oversized tires mounted on chrome rims and a hefty lift. The hitch on the back dropped down about ten inches, presumably to tow his boat. Krissy spotted it in a corner of the lot away from other cars. “There it is.”

“Then we know he is here. I guess this is as good a place as any to have some lunch.”


--Results--
As they wait for Mathis, who should they see walk into the Yachtery?
A) Dean Brown, the police chief - 60%
B) Creighton - 0%
C) Krissy’s ex boyfriend who is a criminal defense lawyer - 40%