while I was looking in the mirror I heard a loud noise a bit like a gunshot the accident happened on a Tuesday afternoon as I was driving home the traffic was moving quickly and my own little Ford was running well even though it's 15 years old I was feeling good I just solved a difficult case and I had a check in my handbag for $5,000 that's good money for a female private detective working for herself I was driving in the Middle Lane when I looked in the mirror I saw a young woman in a small
black car coming up behind me in the fast lane a bright green Porsche was right behind her and I guessed she wanted to move into the middle Lane in front of me to let it pass so I reduced my speed coming up on my right was a white Toyota while I was looking in the mirror I heard a loud noise a bit like a gunshot I turned my attention back to the road in front of me suddenly the small black car moved back into the fast lane it seemed to be out of control it hit
the back of the green Porsche ran into the fence in the middle of the freeway and then back again into the road in front of me I pressed the break hard to stop my Ford at that moment a red Mercedes suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hit the side of the girl's car pushing it right off the road behind me all the cars were trying to stop I could hear them crashing into each [Applause] other it was all over in a moment the girl's car had crashed into a road sign post and the broken sign
was now hanging over her car roof I parked my car at the side of the road and ran toward the black car with the man from the white Toyota right behind me the girl's head had gone through the front window she was unconscious and her face was covered in blood I couldn't open the car door but the man from the Toyota forced it open and reached inside don't move her I said let the ambulance people handle it I took off my coat and we used it to stop the bleeding from her worst cuts he was
a man of 24 or 25 with dark hair and dark eyes someone behind me was asking for help and I realized that other people had been hurt in the accident as well the driver from the red Mercedes was already using the telephone at the roadside to call the ambulance and police I guessed the driver of the green Porsche just stood there unable to move from shock I looked back at the young man from the toilet Toyota who was pressing the girl's neck she seems to be alive he said I left him with the girl and
went to help a man with a broken leg by the time the police and ambulance arrived a small crowd of drivers had stopped their cars to watch as if a road accident was some kind of sports event I saw my friend Chester Baldwin a photographer from the local newspaper I watched as the girl was carried into the ambulance then with some of the other drivers I had to tell a policeman what I had seen when I read in the newspaper the next morning that the girl had died I felt so upset that I felt sick
there was a short article about her Sonia Charles was 21 a final year student at the University of California Santa Teresa she was from Venice Italy the photograph showed blonde hair Bright Eyes and a happy smile I could feel the young woman's death like a heavy weight on my chest my office in town was being painted so I worked from home that week on Friday morning there was a knock at the door I opened the door for a moment I thought the dead girl was alive again and standing in front of me but then I
realized this was a woman in her 40s I'm Christina Charles I understand you saw my daughter's accident she said please come in I'm so sorry about what happened she couldn't speak at first then the words came slowly the police examined Sonia's car and found a bullet hole in the window on the passenger side my daughter was shot she began to cry when she calmed down I asked what did the police say about it they're calling it murder now the officer I spoke to thinks it's one of those freeway killings a crazy man shooting at a
passing car for no special reason they've had enough of those in law Angeles I said well I can't accept that why was she on the freeway instead of at work she had a job in the afternoons they tell me she left suddenly without a word to anyone where did she work at a restaurant near the university she'd been working there for a year the manager told me a man had been annoying her perhaps she left to get away from him did he know who the man was not really they had been out together he kept
coming to see her in the restaurant calling her at all hours causing a lot of trouble left net Walter tells me you're a private detective I want you to find out who's responsible for her death Mrs Charles the police here are very good at their job I'm sure they're doing everything possible I'm not so sure but I have to fly back to Venice now my husband is very ill and I need to get home I can't leave until I know someone here is looking into this please I said I would do it after all I
already had a strong interest in the case I'll need a few names I said she gave me the name name of the girl who shared Sonia's room and the restaurant where she had worked usually I try to stay out of cases that the police are working on leant Walter the officer responsible for murder cases is not fond of private detectives so I was surprised that he had sent Mrs Charles to me as soon as she left I drove over to the police station where I paid $5 for a copy of the police report leant Walter
wasn't in so I spoke to Evelyn the secretary who works in the records department I would like a bit of information on the Sonia Charles accident did anybody see where the shot was fired from no they didn't I thought about the man in the green Porsche he'd been in the lane to my left just a few meters ahead of me when the accident happened the man in the Toyota might be a help as well what about the other witnesses there were five or six of us there who's been questioned Evelyn looked angry you know I'm
not allowed to give out information like that come on Evelyn Walter knows I'm doing this he told Mrs Charles about me just give me one name well which one slowly she got out some papers I described the young man in the Toyota thinking she could find him in the list of witness es by his age she looked down the list uh-oh the man in the Toyota gave a false name and address Philip kingswell was the name but I guess he invented that perhaps he's already wanted by the police I heard a voice behind me I
turned to find left Walter standing there his hands in his pockets I smiled Mrs Charles got in touch with me and asked me to find out more about her daughter's death I feel bad about the girl what's the story on the missing witness I'm sure he had a reason for giving a false name did you speak to him yourself said Walter just for a few moments but I would know him if I saw him again do you think he can help us I would really like to hear what he has to say the other Witnesses
didn't know the girl was shot from what I understand he was close enough to have done it himself there must be a way to find him don't you think no one remembers much about the man except the car he drove white Toyota four or 5 years old would you mind if I speak to the other Witnesses I might get more out of them because I was there he looked at me for a moment then gave me the list thanks this is great I'll tell you what I find out I drove to the restaurant where Sonia
Charles had worked I introduced myself to the manager and told him I was looking into Sonia's death oh yes that was terrible I spoke to her mother she told me you said something about a man who was annoying Sonia what else can you tell me that's all I know no I never saw the man myself she was working nights for the last two months she just went back to working days to try to get away from him did she ever tell you his name Nathan I think she really thought he was crazy then why did
she go out with him she said he seemed really nice at first but then he got very jealous he used to follow her around all the time in a blue Honda car in the end I guess he was completely crazy he probably came to find her at the restaurant on Tuesday after noon and that's why she left I thanked him and drove over to the university houses where Sonia had lived the girl who had shared her room was busy packing things in boxes her name was Natalie Chambers she was 22 a science student whose family
lived in the town when I asked why she didn't live at home she said that she had a difficult relationship with her mother how long did you know Sonia about a year I didn't know her well I looked at the boxes so you're moving out I'm going back to my parents house it's near the end of the school year now and my parents are away for a month in India my brother's coming to help me move did Sonia have a boyfriend she went out with lots of boys but no one special she shook her head
not looking at me I tried again Sonia told her mother about a man who annoyed her at work they'd been going out together they just finished a relationship I expect she told you about him no she didn't she and I were not close she went her way and I went mine Natalie people get murdered for a reason there was something going on can't you help help me you don't know it was murder the policeman I spoke to said perhaps it was a crazy man in a passing car her mother doesn't agree well I can't help
I've told you everything I know I spent the next two days talking to Sonia's teachers and friends she seemed to be a sweet girl well liked by every everyone but I didn't get any useful information I went back to the list of witnesses to the accident talking to each in turn I was still interested in the man with the Toyota what reason could he have for giving a false name I didn't seem to be making any progress then an idea came to me as I was looking at the newspaper picture of the crashed car I
suddenly remembered Chester Baldwin at the scene of the crash taking pictures perhaps he had one of the men in the Toyota 30 minutes later I was in Baldwin's office at the Santa Teresa news looking at the photographs no good no clear pictures of him Chester said what about his car Chester pulled out another photo of Sonia's car with the Toyota some distance behind can you make it bigger are you looking for anything special the number plate I said when we made the photograph bigger we could read the seven numbers and letters on the California number
plate I knew I should inform lieutenant at Walter but I wanted to work on this myself so I called a friend of mine at the Department of Motor Vehicles the number belonged to a 1974 Toyota White and the owner was Barry Turner with an address on Howard Street my heart was beating loudly as I rang the bell of the house when the door was finally opened I just stood there with my mouth open wrong man this man was tall and fat with brown eyes and blue hair yes he said I'm looking for Barry Turner I'm
Barry Turner you are you're the owner of a white Toyota I read out the number of the car he gave me a strange look yes is something wrong well I don't know has someone else been driving your car not for the last 8 months see for yourself he led me around the side of the house there sat a white Toyota without wheels and without an engine what's this about he asked this car was at the scene of a recent accident where a girl was killed not this one this has been right here in this condition
for 8 months he said he looked at it again in sudden surprise what's this he pointed to the number plate and I saw that it had completely different numbers after a moment I realized what had happened somebody stole your plates and put these in their place why would they do that perhaps they stole a Toyota like this and wanted new number plates for it so the police wouldn't catch them you could see Turner's car from the road I noticed I called leant Walter and told him what I'd found he checked the list of stolen cars
and found that the number which was now on Turner's car belonged to a vehicle reported stolen 2 weeks before but leant Walter thought that even if we found the man he might not be connected with the shooting I didn't believe him I had to find that young man with the dark hair and the dark eyes I looked through the list of witnesses and called everybody on the list most tried to be helpful but there was nothing new to add I drove back to the university area to look for Natalie Chambers she must know something more
the apartment was locked and looking through the window I saw that all the furniture was gone I spoke to the manager of the apartments and got the address of her parents house in Colgate the area to the west of town it was a pleasant house in a nice Street I rang the bell and waited I rang the bell [Music] again it appeared that no one was at home as I was returning to my car I noticed the three car garage at the side of the house in the detective business sometimes you get a Feeling a
little voice inside you telling you there's something wrong I looked through the garage window inside I saw a car with all the paint taken off it the side door of the garage was unlocked and I went in yes the car was a Toyota and its number plates were missing this must be the same car and the driver must be someone in the chamber chamber's family but why hadn't he driven it away somewhere and left it perhaps he thought it was too dangerous I did a quick search of the inside of the car under the front
seat I saw a handgun I left it where it was and ran back to my car I had to find a telephone and call the police as I was getting into my my car I saw a dark blue Ford coming towards the chamber's entrance the driver was the man I'd seen at the accident Natalie's brother he looked rather like her of course she hadn't wanted to talk about him suddenly he noticed me and I saw the terror in his face as he recognized me the Ford sped past me and I chased after it he turned
onto the freeway heading south and soon I was right behind him he was watching me in his driving mirror perhaps that's why he didn't see the Workman and their heavy vehicle right in front of him not until it was too late he ran straight into the vehicle with a [Applause] crash that that made my blood turn cold as I stopped my car it was like the first accident all over again with police and ambulance men everywhere now I realized where I was the workmen in their orange Coats were putting up a new green freeway sign
in place of the one that Sonia's car had broken Nathan Chambers died at the exact spot where he had killed her but why did he do it I guess the restaurant manager was right and jealousy had made him crazy not too crazy though to carry out that careful plan with the stolen car and number plates and now he was dead
