Jim Walker put in a call to his Roanoke Mercedes-Benz and Volvo dealership on Wednesday evening to check on business.

Jeff Webb, manager of the Hammersley Group, admitted he'd left the dealership and was enjoying a bourbon. With actor Bill Murray. Who happily took the phone from Webb.

"Hey, look," Murray said, according to Walker. "My windshield wipers don't work."

Walker did what any good salesman would do. He tried to sell Murray a car, promising free windshield wipers for life.

Actually, Murray replied, he'd just take the wipers.

Murray's sojourn in the Star City began, according to witnesses, earlier in the afternoon when he threw an apple core out of the window of his black 2000 Mercedes E55 while driving on U.S. 220 and ran onto a curb, messing up his alignment and causing other minor damage to the car.

No one seems to know for sure where Murray was headed. He might have been on his way to Tennessee. Someone heard something about West Virginia. Someone thought he was driving to California for business.

Webb had been in a meeting that afternoon talking about dealership goals when one of his managers came in and whispered, "Bill Murray is here."

Webb ignored him, not recognizing the name. "There's a lot of people here," he thought to himself. "But I'm in a meeting."

Twenty minutes later, Webb was chatting with the chief financial officer when Murray sauntered into the office. Webb immediately recognized him.

"Bill Murray," Webb said, trying not to appear star-struck. "What in the world are you doing here?"

Murray went into a story about all the "invisible curbs" in Roanoke.

Murray was, after all, on somewhat familiar turf. In 1990, the actor filmed "What About Bob?" at Smith Mountain Lake.

Technician Jay Jones didn't lose his cool around the bona fide A-list celebrity. Before moving to Roanoke from Long Island, N.Y., he'd met P. Diddy when he fixed a motor home for the rapper/actor.

Jones didn't find P. Diddy to be nearly as nice as Murray, who took a special interest in the shop's Hunter alignment rack.

When Murray offered to take the workers out for a drink, Jones called home. His wife didn't believe that Jones had fixed Murray's Mercedes.

"Yeah right," she said. "just be home for dinner."

At Four Nineteen West in Roanoke County, Murray asked for a Maker's Mark after Webb ordered one for himself. Murray told the gang he finds driving to be a stress reliever and that he prefers to travel at night and sleep during the day.

Caleb Rossi headed to Four Nineteen West after getting tipped to Murray's whereabouts by a well-connected friend. He asked Murray to sign a bootleg copy of "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" that he'd bought for $4 during a recent trip to New York.

"If you do this, this is in it for you," said Rossi, 25, before unveiling a 2000-01 Botetourt Chamber of Commerce plaque he'd snagged from the trash at Old Dominion Memorial Gardens, where he works as a gravedigger.

"That is pretty nice," Murray said, studying the plaque.

He passed Rossi's gift around the table, saying that each member of the group could keep it for one month before mailing it to the next person. But then Murray changed his mind and told the others he wanted the plaque all for himself. The next time he got pulled over, Murray said, he'd whip out the plaque and say, "I'm a member of the Botetourt Chamber of Commerce."

Never mind that he had no idea how to find Botetourt County on a map - Rossi got his autograph.

Before the actor climbed back into his car, Webb had to ask a question: What had Murray whispered to Scarlett Johansson at the end of "Lost in Translation?"

It's left to the viewer's imagination, Murray explained, saying that whatever Webb had imagined him saying was probably a lot more interesting than what he actually said.

Webb told Murray he sounded like a professor.

"I'm always teaching," Murray said. "You're learning right now."