The gas station was not a refuge; it was a calculated trap. The mechanical failure was not the cause of the stop, as much as it was the alibi staged on-site to cover the tracks.
Susan went to that station on purpose. She wasn't stranded; she was lured. The calls from "Dale" were a farce, a worm on a hook. Think of the context—"Dale" as in Chippendales. It was a persona used to get her to that location.
When she arrived, the trap was sprung. Susan left her purse and glasses in her locked car because she expected to return to it. She likely took her glasses off to avoid the stigma of wearing them while meeting a "cool" guy, and she left her purse because she only intended to sit in his vehicle for a moment. She never got that chance.
The loosened petcock was the alibi. The suspect loosened it at the station after she was entrapped. They needed physical evidence to back up the story that she had car trouble. They wanted that leak to be discovered because it verified the lie.
The attendant is controlling the narrative but is not the mastermind. They definitely knew the victim and the suspect. I believe the attendant is a female—possibly a peer who envied Susan, or a family member/victim of the suspect—who is reluctant to help. They are not a gearhead and were likely told exactly what to say. This explains why the story changed so often and became historically contradictory; the attendant was trying to fill in the blanks of a script they were handed. The lies about the car were just cover for the suspect; a red herring.
I am looking for anyone who can help piece together the connections between the station personnel and a dominant male figure from that time who fits this profile. We need to find the link between the attendant and this violent, confident, smoking, mechanically inclined man.
kstp.com
