TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The suspect in the killing of a 24-year-old hiker called his former boss from a Huddle House in north Georgia just hours before authorities arrived at the building.

John Tabor, who owns a siding company, said Gary Michael Hilton used the restaurant's phone to call him on January 3rd, shortly before authorities asked employees and customers at the restaurant whether Hilton had been there.

Tabor would not discuss the conversation, saying that authorities have asked him not to comment on the discussion. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation would not comment.

Hilton is charged with kidnapping and killing Meredith Emerson, who was bludgeoned to death three days after she disappeared during a New Year's Day hike. Florida authorities also say he is a prime suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found last month in a national forest there.

Waitress Amanda Peacock told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that a "fidgety" Hilton kept asking to use the phone while he was in the restaurant. When he was told the restaurant had no pay phone, he was allowed to use the restaurant's phone.

Before he left the restaurant around 5 p.m., he thanked her for the use of the phone on his way out. She said he told her: "I just got my job back" and ""That phone call helped me out a lot."'

Tabor said Hilton has worked "on and off" for 10 years, to help the suburban Atlanta siding company market its services. He said Hilton was not working for the company at the time of his arrest.

Authorities in Leon County announced Wednesday that Hilton is the primary focus of the investigation into the death of Cheryl Dunlap, 46.

Dunlap disappeared Dec. 1 near Tallahassee, Fla. Her body was found two and a half weeks later in the Applachicola National Forest.

“We've had a multitude of citizens come forward that actually saw Gary Michael Hilton in the national forest,” said Maj. Mike Wood of the Leon County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities said someone was caught on surveillance video using Dunlap’s ATM card.

Leon County sheriff’s officials said there are similarities between Emerson’s murder and Dunlap’s killing.

“With Emerson, there was an abduction, a homicide and ATM usage. With Cheryl Dunlap, there was an abduction, a homicide and ATM usage,” Wood said.

Authorities said Hilton was also stopped by a U.S. Forestry officer in mid-November. The officer checked the tag on Hilton’s white van, but found nothing suspicious, authorities said.

Wood said Leon County authorities are exchanging information with Georgia investigators and plan to travel to Georgia soon.

Acquaintances: Hilton Showed An Unsettling Side

There were two sides to Gary Michael Hilton, the man accused of kidnapping and killing a 24-year-old hiker in the north Georgia woods.

To some hikers and joggers who he met in parks, he was talkative, lively and even rather engaging, if strange. To others, he was a loner who seemed to have a dangerous dark side.

His former boss, John Tabor, says "It just depended on what day it was."

Little is known about the wiry 61-year-old charged with the murder of Meredith Emerson, who was bludgeoned to death three days after she disappeared during a New Year's Day hike. Florida authorities also say he is a prime suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found last month in a national forest there.

Hilton had no neighbors and no fixed address, living most recently in a white van that roamed north Georgia. A few details about the man are emerging from court hearings, government records and parkgoers who saw him regularly.

Hilton has said little at the court hearings. He was heard telling court appointed defense attorney Neil A. Smith he finished two years of college. Public records shed more light on his life.

According to state records, Hilton was married -- and divorced -- twice between 1977 and 1979. Court documents also show he has a criminal record that includes drug and theft charges in metro Atlanta.

Tabor says that around 1997, Hilton answered a help wanted ad for Insulated Wall Systems. Tabor, the company's owner, says that for the next 10 years Hilton worked "on and off" to help the suburban Atlanta siding company market its services.

His last listed address was a midtown Atlanta apartment building in 1999. Since then, he appears to have drifted from place to place, moving frequently.