Page 35 of Over the Edge

How sad that he hadn’t been able to accept her as she was instead of pushing her to be someone else.

Like her parents had pushedher.

At least she’d survived.

“Morning.” Steeling herself against his charm play, she edged past him and slid onto the seat.

After closing her door, he took his place behind the wheel. “The story I heard at the office was that you misplaced your car last night.”

“No, I didn’t.” She gritted her teeth and sat up straighter. “I know where I parked it.”

“Cars don’t move by themselves.”

Though his manner was conversational, his comment rankled.

“I realize that. But I have an excellent memory. And I don’t imagine things.”

“The kind of experience you went through on Friday can play games with the head.”

She frowned as Dr. Oliver’s comment from their Monday session replayed in her mind.

“Trauma can mess with the brain.”

But that hadn’t happened. She knew where she’d parked her car. Could recall the exact sequence of events that led up to claiming the less-than-desirable spot.

“My head is fine. Someone moved my car.”

“Why?

The $64,000 question.

“I don’t know.”

“Is there anyone in town who might be inclined to play a practical joke on you?”

“No. I haven’t been here long enough to make enemies.”

“Your car was found locked and undamaged except for a partially shattered taillight.”

“That was already there. Someone backed into me in a parking lot. I haven’t gotten around to fixing it yet, since it still works.”

“Was there anything inside worth stealing?” His tone remained mild as he maneuvered around a slower-moving SUV.

“No.” She couldn’t fault his logic. The whole scenario didn’t make sense to her, either. “Look, I realize this sounds crazy, but I know what I know. I can’t explain why someone would move my car. Nor do I have a clue how they did it. I had the key fob with me the entire evening.”

“I can’t answer the why, but I can offer a few thoughts on the how.” He hung a right and accelerated onto the highway. “Does your car have keyless entry and push-button ignition?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the range on the fob?”

“I have no idea, but I’ve opened the car from fifty or sixty feet away.”

“Then your car would be easy to steal.”

“How?”

“With an electronic device anyone can buy on the internet. One person uses it to capture the signal from your fob and transmits it to another person standing by your vehicle. It’s a relay system thieves use to steal locked cars from driveways at night. The first person gets close to the house, picks up the fob signal, and sends it to an accomplice. In your case, someone could have been waiting out of sight in the dark parking lot near the church entrance and picked up the signal as you walked by. In less than a minute, the person by your vehicle could open the door and drive away.”

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