Against the Tide (12 page)

Scarborough turned to Liv, tugged on the brim of his dark blue VPD ball cap. “Take care, Ms. Chandler.”

“You too, Lieutenant.”

Scarborough returned to his men. Rafe and Liv watched the officers walking the area, looking for any other evidence they might have missed.

“I wonder how much longer they'll be here,” Rafe said.

“They've already searched the area once. I doubt they'll be here much longer. Why?”

“According to Rusty Donovan, Scarborough interviewed the motel guests the morning after the murder. But now that we know this is where it happened, it might not hurt to talk to them again. Press them a little, see if anyone might have remembered something about that night.”

“Most of them have probably checked out and left.” She flicked him a glance. “You're still thinking Chip might not be our guy.”

He shrugged. “I like to be thorough.”

Liv nodded as they headed back to the truck. “We could talk to Ben, find out who's still staying at the motel.”

“I'll call him once the cops are gone, ask him about it. I'll ask him to let me know when the police are finished.”

“I've got to get back to work,” Liv said as she climbed into the truck.

“All right, I'll drop you off. If you want to come with me when I return to the motel, I'll pick you up after I hear from Ben.”

“I want to come,” Liv said.

Rafe flicked her a glance, clamped down on the erotic image that popped into his head. Reaching down, he started the engine and drove back to the Pelican Café.

Chapter Fourteen

“So how was it?” Katie asked as she sailed up to where Liv was working behind the breakfast counter. “We're all living vicariously through you. You have to dish, give us at least some juicy little morsel.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

Katie rolled her big blue eyes. “Pul-eeeze. His SUV was parked out back all night. We know he was up there with you. Come on. Just one little detail.”

Liv inwardly groaned. She hated people knowing her business. She couldn't afford for them to start speculating about her. The bell above the door rang as a patron walked in.
Saved by the bell
, she thought.

“You've got a customer.” Liv tipped her head toward the heavyset older man who slid into a booth.

“I've got it.” Katie whirled away to wait on him, one of the last three customers in the café. This time of afternoon the place was mostly empty, just a few patrons sitting here and there. Katie took the customer's order, then brought him a piece of berry pie and a cup of coffee. A few minutes later, she appeared where Liv was stacking dishes under the counter.

Katie set a dirty plate in one of the plastic bins on its way to the kitchen. “Come on, Liv, dish.”

Olivia shook her head. “I'm not dishing anything. Rafe and I are trying to help the police find the person who killed Scotty. That's it.”

“I thought Chip Reed killed Scott,” Katie said. “It was in the paper this morning and that's what everyone's saying. He and Scotty got into it over Cassie.”

“That's the current theory. But Cassie doesn't think it was him.”

“Yeah, that's what she said. She stopped by a little while ago. She's with Chip now, down at the jail. She thinks he's innocent. She was always too naïve for her own good.”

Liv's stomach twisted. “Cassie's down at the jail?”

Katie nodded. “She should be back any minute. She's working today. Ought to be interesting to hear what Chip has to say.”

“I'm sure it will.” It bothered her to think of sweet little Cassie visiting her ex in the local jail. Olivia didn't like to think the police might have arrested the wrong man.

“Whatever he tells her, it doesn't mean it's going to be true,” Katie said. “He was a big fat lying cheat when he and Cassie were dating.”

“There is that.”

The rattle of a lunch plate sliding under the heat lamp drew Katie's attention. “BLT and a Cobb salad. I gotta go.” Katie picked up the plates and headed for a man and his wife two booths away just as Liv looked up to see Cassie coming into the restaurant.

Though she was wearing makeup, her face still looked pale, and dark crescents smudged the skin beneath her eyes. She looked as if she hadn't slept in days, which she probably hadn't. Liv felt guilty for letting her work, but if it helped her cope with her loss, then that was okay.

Cassie spotted her the minute she entered the dining room and hurried in Liv's direction. “Can we talk?”

“Of course.” Liv glanced around. Everyone had been served, and Katie was a really good waitress. Liv tipped her head toward an empty booth. She walked in that direction, and she and Cassie slid in on opposite sides.

“I heard you went down to the jail,” Liv said. “If I'd known you wanted to see Chip, I would have gone with you.”

“I know you would have. I just . . . it was something I had to do on my own.”

Katie showed up just then with a couple of cups of coffee. Cassie gave her a grateful smile as she accepted the cup. Katie smiled back and took off to check on the man who had ordered the berry pie.

“Chip didn't do it, Liv,” Cassie said. “I'm more certain than ever. He says he didn't even see Scotty after he left the card game. Chip doesn't have the money to hire an expensive lawyer. He's terrified, Liv. He actually cried when he saw me walk in. Chip isn't a guy who cries. I know he has his faults, but he isn't a killer. He says he's innocent. He says he doesn't know anything about Scott's murder, and I believe him.”

“You don't still have some kind of a thing for him, do you? Because I thought—”

“Good Lord, no! But I know Chip. We went together for nearly two years. Even after we broke up, he and Scott were never enemies. He made some stupid remarks once in a while, but in a strange way, I think Chip respected Scotty.”

Olivia made no reply. She knew what it was like to be accused of a crime you didn't commit. She knew how terrifying it could be and how hard it was to prove your innocence.

“Chip's telling the truth,” Cassie continued. “I could always tell when he was lying.”

“Even when he lied to you about other women?”

Cassie glanced away. “Embarrassing as it is, yes. I was just so naïve, I thought I could make him love me enough to change.”

Olivia thought of Stephen. He had cheated before they were married but convinced her he would never do it again. “I can tell you from experience that doesn't work.”

“I know that now. Thank God I met Scotty. Being with him showed me how good a man can be.”

Liv took a sip of her coffee just to have a moment to think. She set the mug back down on the table. “So that's it then. You believe someone else killed Scott and the police have arrested the wrong man.”

“That's exactly what I think.” Cassie's eyes welled. “God, I miss him. The house is so empty without him.”

Liv reached across the table and caught Cassie's hand. There was nothing she could say to make her friend feel better. Only time could do that.

She glanced up to see Rafe shove through the door. “Rafe's here to pick me up. We're still working on this, okay?” She slid out of the booth and took off her apron. “If Chip's innocent, we'll find a way to prove it.”

“You and Rafe . . . you're the best friends I've ever had. Thank you.”

Liv managed a smile for Cassie as she headed toward the door. Rafe held it open and she walked past him out onto the front patio. Another week or so, with a few propane heaters, it would be warm enough for customers to sit outside. She liked that idea. A lot.

“You called Ben?” Liv asked.

He nodded. “He doesn't believe Chip killed Scotty. He says he knows it looks bad, but according to Ben, Scott and Chip have been jabbing each other over Cassie ever since she dumped Chip and took up with Scott. Ben says Chip knew it was his own damn fault. Basically he blamed himself, not Scotty. Plus, according to Ben, he just doesn't have it in him to murder someone.”

“Cassie talked to him at the jail. She's completely convinced Chip's innocent.”

Rafe blew out a breath. “Reed's damned lucky to have her on his side. Most women would tell a guy who hurt her the way he did to take a flying leap.”

“Yeah—out of a plane without a parachute.” Liv stepped back as Rafe opened the passenger door and she climbed into the cab. He smiled as he shut the door, then rounded the truck and slid in behind the wheel.

“Ben says he's got three rooms still occupied by guests who were there the night of the murder. The cops talked to everyone in the motel and came up with nothing. Over the last few days, all but the people in those three rooms have checked out and left the area.” He started the engine and put the pickup in gear for the short drive to the Seaside Motel.

“You realize the odds of us getting a lead are slim and none,” Liv said.

“No question.”

“The killer could even be one of the guests who've left Valdez.”

“Could be.”

“But it's worth a try, and I appreciate you taking me with you.” She could still see the grief in Cassie's face. The girl wasn't going to be whole again until Chip's guilt or innocence was proven without a doubt. Until Scott's killer was locked up in jail.

Liv glanced over at Rafe as he pulled up in front of the motel. She needed to do this, and Rafe was her best chance of getting it done, but each time she was with him, her attraction grew. She wanted to spend time with him, get to know him, make love with him. But the more she let down her guard, the more she let him in, the more danger she put herself in. Put both of them in.

It wasn't fair to either one of them.

And yet when the passenger door opened and Rafe reached up and set his hands at her waist, swung her to the ground as if she weighed less than nothing, she gave herself in to his care as she had done before.

Together they walked toward the motel.

 

 

Rooms two, five, and twelve all had guests who had checked in before the murder and hadn't yet checked out. Ben's apartment was behind the office, where Chip's truck had been parked. Beneath an overhanging roof that ran the length of the corridor, all the rooms faced the parking lot. Room number two was closest to the office. Rafe knocked on the door but no one was there.

Moving along the corridor, he knocked on room five, and a feeble-looking gray-haired woman came to the door. Seeing her, Rafe eased Liv a little in front of him, not wanting to intimidate the older lady.

Liv immediately understood. She smiled. “Hello. My name is Olivia Chandler and this is Rafe Brodie. We're friends of the man who was killed here a few nights ago. You were a guest here at that time, right?”

“That's right. My daughter Gwen and I.”

“We were wondering if you might have remembered something about that night that would be helpful.”

“Already talked to the police. So did my daughter. We're here visiting my sister. She's in a nursing home.”

“So you didn't hear anything unusual that night?” Rafe asked.

“Heard men talking, people going in and out of their rooms. Told the police that.”

“Do you remember which rooms?”

“We were inside with the TV playing. Just heard some footsteps, doors opening and closing, that kind of thing. But it was earlier, before midnight. I hear midnight's around when it happened.”

“That's right,” Liv said. “And your daughter? Do you think she might remember something that would help?”

The woman shook her head. “She's a real sound sleeper, is Gwen.”

“Well, thank you, ma'am.” Rafe set a hand at Liv's waist. “We appreciate your help.” The door closed and he urged her down the corridor.

“Not worth much,” Liv said.

“Not much.”

They climbed the outside stairs and spoke to the man in room twelve, which was above the office. A traveling salesman, bald and overweight, he said he'd heard laughter downstairs, undoubtedly the card game, but by midnight he was asleep and hadn't heard anything else.

The afternoon was waning. They were heading back to the truck when a dark-blue Jeep Cherokee pulled into the parking lot, took a space in front of room two.

Two men got out. One was Asian. Rafe recognized him immediately as Lee Wong, the man who'd been aboard yesterday's charter. The other man's name was Michael Nevin. Former college roommates touring the area.

“Come on,” he said to Liv, his hand at her waist. “I know these two.” He guided her toward the Jeep.

Wong recognized him as they approached, gave him a casual smile. “Captain Brodie. Nice to see you.”

Rafe returned the smile. “How did you enjoy the fishing trip?”

“It was great. We'd never tried ocean fishing before we came up here. We had a lot to learn, but we had fun.”

Nevin was looking at Liv and there was something in those onyx eyes Rafe didn't like. He didn't introduce her.

“We went sightseeing today,” Nevin said. “We took a lot of pictures. This is a beautiful area.”

“Yes, it is. I hate to bother you. I know you spoke to the police about this, but a friend of mine was killed here in the parking lot a couple of days ago. I was hoping you might remember something about the night it happened.”

“The newspaper said a man was arrested for the murder,” Nevin said.

“That's true. We just want to make sure the police have enough evidence to convict him. Valdez is a very small town. We've been doing some digging, seeing if we could come up with something that might help them. Were you here the night it happened?”

“We were here, yes. We told that to the police.”

“Scott was killed around midnight, maybe a little later. You're close to the office. It happened right out front.” He turned, pointed. “Your room would have been the closest to the murder scene. Maybe you heard some sort of scuffle, something like that?”

Wong shook his head. “We had a couple of drinks earlier. Crashed pretty hard, you know?”

“I barely remember getting home,” Nevin added.

“But you were here. You were in your room by midnight?”

The Asian's jaw subtly tightened. “We were here. Like I said, we crashed pretty hard. I wish we could be more help, but—” He shrugged.

“Well, thanks anyway. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.” He started to walk away, then turned back. “How much longer did you say you'd be staying?”

“We will be leaving the end of the week,” Nevin said.

Rafe summoned a smile. “Maybe you'll decide to go fishing again.”

The Asian smiled back. “Maybe.”

“Thanks for your time,” Liv said.

“No problem,” Wong said.

Rafe waved and started walking, helped Liv into the truck, then got in and fired up the engine, pulled out of the lot and drove off toward the café.

“What are you thinking?” Liv asked.

“I don't know. Nothing, I guess. Those two guys . . . there's just something off about them. I noticed it when they were aboard
Scorpion
the other day.”