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Avery: Great! See you then!
“Okay, so now I have lunch plans. What else is on the agenda?” Taking a sip of her coffee, Ashlynn swiped over to her calendar app and saw that her day was wide open. She and Billie were meeting with their general contractor tomorrow, and Reid was working two doubles so she wasn’t going to see him for a few days. Suddenly, lunch with Avery didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
An hour later, her coffee was finished, and she had scrolled through everything she wanted to see, so she went and took a shower. It was still a little early to get fully ready for lunch, so she didn’t bother getting fully dressed when she came out. Slipping on a pair of yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt, she was towel-drying her hair when she heard someone knocking on her door.
It was a school day, so it couldn’t be Chloe. Billie was at work. And her mother was just here yesterday. Frowning, she walked over to the door and peered through the peephole.
“Who is it?” she asked because she didn’t recognize the man standing there.
“Ms. Donovan? I’m Inspector Dennis Rowe. I’d like to ask you some questions.”
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
Ashlynn knew she had nothing to hide, and yet right now you’d think just the opposite considering how hard and fast her heart was beating.
With no choice, she opened the door and forced herself to smile. “Do you have some ID?” she asked and was surprised when he smiled and nodded.
“Here you go,” he said, handing her not only his badge, but his driver’s license and business card. “It’s a good idea to check credentials.” When Ashlynn handed everything back to him and invited him in, he didn’t move. “Chief Banks is here with me, but he got a call on our way up the stairs. I’ll wait for him.”
Great.
“Um…”
“Sorry!” Bob called out as he came to the door. “Ashlynn.”
“Chief Banks,” she said with a curt nod. “Won’t you both come in?”
“Thanks,” Inspector Rowe said as he stepped inside, followed by the chief. Ashlynn shut the door and let out a long, low breath before following them. She had no idea if she should offer them something to drink or maybe a light to shine in her face while they question her. Honestly, she’d never been in this position before and had no idea what she was supposed to do.
They both sat down on the sofa so she took a seat in the matching chair and then waited.
“Ms. Donovan,” the inspector began. “We’re sure you’re aware of the fire at your former place of business, Lavish Locks, correct?”
She nodded. “Correct.”
“Can you tell us where you were at the time of the fire?” he asked.
Gently clearing her throat, she replied, “I was having lunch with my boyfriend, Reid Baylor, and then we went up to the ski resort. We actually saw the fire trucks heading to the fire.”
He nodded and made some notes on his tablet. “And before that?”
“I was working a shift at Books & Beans that morning, and then I stopped by the bank on my way home. I spoke to Mrs. Tillack about the status of my business loan.” Her heart was hammering so hard in her chest that she almost felt sick.
“When was the last time you were at the salon?”
“About a week before,” she told him. “Becky had asked me to come in to get my last paycheck and to give me a box of stuff she claimed I left behind. But when I got there and went through it, I noticed that most of it wasn’t mine—and some of it was just straight-out trash—and handed it back to her.”
“What kind of items?”
“Um…some boxes of hair color, a couple of bottles of shampoo and conditioner. There were a couple of outdated catalogs and magazines. Nothing major.”
“We understand that you were fired from your position at the salon. Is that correct?” the chief asked, and Ashlynn had to mentally remind herself to stay calm.
“That is correct. I was fired after arguing with Becky in front of clients,” she explained. “I messed up Hazel Channing’s hair and she freaked out.”
“Hazel or Becky?” Bob asked with a hint of amusement.
