“After that they went on to talk about how this friend had been traveling around from state to state for a while. How he almost got caught a few times.”
Cate waited for more, but Tammy went quiet. “Anything else about where this guy could be?”
“I’m thinking.”
“Did Greg know you overheard their conversation?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did he question you today after we left?”
“No. He just went out in the garage and fooled around with his motorcycle for an hour.”
“Did he call anyone?” Cate hadn’t heard back from Isla about any phone calls. “Did he ask to borrow your phone?”
“He didn’t. And I don’t know if he called anyone or not.”
“Where is he now?”
“Not sure. I heard him take off on his bike. He usually doesn’t tell me when he’s leaving. But that’s when I got your card and made up my mind to call.”
“You’ve been a big help, Tammy.”
“I don’t think I told you anything helpful.”
“How long have you been together?” Cate asked as she tried to think of other questions to keep the woman talking.
“Two years.”
“Has Greg ever brought home new-to-you friends? Maybe someone from out of town who stayed overnight a few days? The man we’re looking for is in his midfifties.”
“A single guy?”
“He might have a girlfriend or wife.”
“We had a guy and his girlfriend stay one night last winter. Not sure exactly when, but I know it was after Christmas. I’d say he was around fifty. Greg said they used to work together.”
Bingo.
“Do you remember his name? Or his girlfriend’s name?”
“I don’t remember his, but her name was Leigh.”
Ashlee?
“Was she a lot younger than him?”
“Oh, totally. I wanted to ask her why she was with a guy so much older than her, but I thought that’d be rude. I swear she was barely out of high school.”
“Tammy.” Cate tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. “That sounds like the man we’re looking for. Can you remember anything about where they were going?”
“I’m not sure, but I know Leigh was really excited because they were in the process of moving. She said they were going to have natural lives. I asked what she meant by that, and she said grow their own food, build their own home, and not pollute the planet. Sorta sounded like a bunch of hippie bullshit to me. I don’t think I could live without my TV or internet.”
“Where were they going to find a life like this?” Cate asked.
“Not sure. But Leigh must have said a dozen times how excited she was that they were taking a long ferry ride to get there.”
Cate tried a few more questions but couldn’t pry any more relevant information out of Tammy. Cate thanked her and asked her to call if she thought of anything else.
After ending the connection, she turned to Tessa, who’d been listening with interest to Cate’s side of the conversation.
“I think Tammy just confirmed that Ashlee is with Rich Causey,” said Cate. She gave Tessa a brief rundown of the conversation. “A long ferry ride would definitely put Ashlee and Rich in our area.”
“They could be right here on Widow’s,” said Tessa.