Ashley Flowers

But if she didn't have money on her, then we're actually back where we started.

And she went somewhere after the laundromat, maybe even in the Richmond area, to call Darlene sometime between 3.30 and 6 p.m., depending on Darlene's different accounts.

We know it's not home because it's not on her home phone.

That I know for sure.

So wherever she went, did someone intercept her and they drove the car and had money for gas?

According to the case report, no, because Darlene says she got the call from Nikki while she was at work.

Right.

And it's kind of insinuated in the reports that she was working her normal second shift that day, which would have kept her at the prison till later in the evening.

But Tommy was not at work.

He was in Dayton, says he went to church, went to dinner with his wife, like just as he does every Sunday, never venturing to Richmond.

But when they ask his wife about this, she doesn't seem to remember much about July 22nd.

And it's really the next day that things get really shifty.

So the day after Nikki goes missing, this is now July 23rd, 2001, both Tommy Swind and Darlene Williams were scheduled to work, but they call out according to the case report.

Darlene calls out of work at 1245, which is just an hour and 15 minutes before her shift is supposed to start.

And Tommy Swind's work records show that he didn't put in for the day off until the 24th.

So the day after he actually took it, which is like,

I don't know if it's a no-call, no-show, or if he just calls someone and nobody put it down.

I don't know.

Well, in a police interview, Tommy straight up tells police that he took the day off to go to Richmond to help search for Nikki with Darlene, even saying they met up with some of Nikki's family.

Darlene has the same story when she speaks with detectives.