Oh, yes, that’s a fair point. Unfounded assumption on my part, there.
So interesting! Both of these possibilities seem compelling and probable. Towing to intentionally transport the car or its potentially illegal contents, maybe using a towyard to hide it for a while or to get it to another party. Or just coming across something concerning inside post-tow. As you say, recognizing the purpose of it or maybe devising a plan to take advantage of that knowledge.
I can’t recall how this was worded, but at the presser there was mention I think of an irregularity after the tow, registered owner (the family) ought to have been contacted but was not by the tower. An oversight or regular practice, maybe?
Perhaps if this was all his own bad luck, he was approached by the new owner, offered cash for release, thought nothing of it. The car flies under the radar for a month until it’s needed for an intentionally timed abduction and murder (and possible theft of whatever Katherine might have had with her or could lead them to in that part of the state, or a failed ransom in between). If it were premeditated, and the new owner did recognize the comparative rarity of this model, year, and color Acura, perhaps the reasoning was that no kickback in March would keep the towtruck driver quiet when its involvement hit the news, provided he wasn’t already deeply embedded in whatever enterprise is pulling these strings. Better to get him sooner than later. Terrorize other unknown witnesses in the bargain.
But if the tow was an unforced error that created risk if it were to be used again, why did it need to be reclaimed at all? If something were inside, track it down and take it. If the car itself could be used as evidence in an earlier crime, take it and burn/sink it. We know they understand how to burn out a car.
Could the unregistered buyer and this criminal enterprise be two unrelated parties and this is all a coincidence? Like everyone else, I’d love to know what made this model so desirable when there are thousands of more nondescript cars with even less 21st century tracking tech and software built in, and easier to hotwire off the street the night before you plan to murder someone rather than spend that night assassinating the man you apparently (with his consent?) got it from.
The unnecessary complications and viciousness involved are striking. I wonder if that speaks of a compulsion towards creativity/complexity or a cascading series of poor, unexamined choices by people working in tandem but without the means to directly speak to each other. Or something else, besides.