Last Seen Alive

Chapter Seventeen

This one's for @bookish21! Thanks for playing >3

Kelsey looked through Amanda's credit card records as she and Michael drove to The LastPass, the place where Amanda's credit card was last used. It was a fairly busy convenience store along the highway out of Pinehive with a service station and a take away joint adjacent to it. Travellers normally stopped there for last-minute shopping, a quick meal before their journey, or a restroom break.

"There's something weird about these records," she said, flipping through the three pages Nathan had sent.

"Other than the obvious?"

"Yeah. She only made big purchases with her credit card over the past year and the amounts are almost similar."

"So?"

"So it's like she was buying the same thing every couple of months," she explained. "But these are furniture and appliance shops. Why would she buy two refrigerators in the space of a month?"

Michael considered this. "Maybe she needed new stuff for wherever she'd move to while she was on the run."

"Hmm, maybe," Kelsey mumbled, but she wasn't convinced.

When they got to The LastPass, Michael led the way into the store. The young man seated at the checkout area lowered the magazine he was reading and gave them a cursory glance when the bell above the door rang upon their entrance.

"Minimum purchase to use the restroom is $3.00," he said in a monotonous voice, lifting the magazine back up.

They walked up to the counter and Michael cleared his throat to get his attention. A strong, earthy smell hit him as he leaned against the counter, making him cough again involuntarily.

"You can buy a bottled drink for $3.00 but it's gonna have to be two of them if you both want to use the restroom," the store attendant droned on behind his magazine. "You can't leave with the bottles so you'll have to drink them here."

"That doesn't seem right," Kelsey commented, waving her hands in front of her face. Apparently, whatever smell was affecting Michael was hitting her too.

"Store policy, ma'am."

"Let me get this straight, Keith," she said, reading his name off a mustard yellow name tag pinned to his t-shirt. "To use the restroom, I need to buy juice, which is a liquid, and will make me want to pee again. And then you'll charge us again to use the restroom with the same thing making us want to pee. It's a vicious cycle!"

"You can buy other things over $3.00. Duh."

Michael intervened before a full-blown argument broke out and plucked the magazine out of Keith's hands.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

"And now you're done," Michael said, holding his badge up to Keith's face.  "We just need information and it would be better for everyone if you cooperate."

Keith gulped and nodded. "How can I help you, Officer?"

"You can start by apologising to the lady for being rude."

"And it's 'Chief' to you," Kelsey added, much to Michael's amusement. 

Keith's gaze flickered over to Kelsey and he mumbled an apology.

"Not a very good apology but it'll have to do for now. We need all records and security camera footage from the 26th of March for an ongoing investigation. Would you be so kind as to release those to us. We're kind of in a hurry."

"I think you'll need to speak to my manager about that," Keith said slowly, "But he's out of town at the moment."

"We can't wait that long. It's perfectly legal for you to show us the footage. If we need to take it with us, then we'll involve your manager."