After leaving the library, I sat in my car and called Megan White, asking if Joseph Custer had called her in advance.
“Joseph?” she asked, sounding a bit confused. “No, Joseph didn’t call me. Who are you again?”
I tried explaining that I wanted to talk with her about the car thief last fall and that Joseph was going to introduce us.
“I don’t want to be introduced to no stranger,” she said and promptly hung up.
That could have gone better, I thought. Even though I had provided my name, I guess she was not as connected to the local gossip wire as most other folks. Otherwise my name should have prompted some recollection of the incident that Enid had made so popular. That brought to mind that I still had not seen Enid lurking nearby. I didn’t crave his company, but ever since I pushed him about the bounty hunters, he had let me be. Maybe he could be intimidated after all.
I next tried Roland Barnes. He turned out to be a bit deaf. I guess that was not surprising since he would probably be in his eighties if he fought in the Korean War as the newspaper article reported.
“Who’s this?” he said for the third time.
I tried explaining that I wanted to talk with him about the car thief last fall and that Joseph was going to introduce us.
“Joseph? You mean Joseph Custer? You don’t sound like Joseph.” Then he hung up.
I had imagined getting more out of those calls than dial tones after two hang-ups. I would just have to wait for the real Joseph Custer to return if I was going to meet and talk with these folks. If he ever did return.