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The distinctive tone of Jim’s low voice carried across the room, and Scarlett rushed to the front desk.
Jim and Deputy Collins, deep in conversation, came down the hallway. Jim jerked his head up, his eyes widening briefly.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to pick you up. I spoke to Wade Lewiston earlier this evening. He said you told him to have me pick you up.”
“I was going to call you. Didn’t want you hanging around here.”
“And I didn’t want you hanging around here any longer than you had to.” Her gaze shifted to Collins and she pursed her lips. “Everything straightened out?”
Jim massaged the back of his neck. “Almost everything. I’d still like to know who stole Slick’s knife—a knife that conveniently had my fingerprints on it.”
“We want to know the same thing.” Deputy Collins shook Jim’s hand. “We’ll keep you updated. Sorry about the mix-up.”
“You were just doing your job.”
“Your stuff.” Stevens pushed out of his chair and grabbed a box from a credenza. He held out the box to Jim and shook it. “We unloaded your weapon, but your license and permit checked out. You’re free to take it.”
Jim placed the box on a desk and pocketed his wallet and keys. He shoved the gun into his jacket pocket and dumped the bullets into his palm. “Someone’s going to come out tomorrow to dust the garage for prints?”
“Yeah, we’ll call first.”
Jim held the door open for her and when she stepped outside, the cool air stung her hot cheeks. She rounded on Jim. “How could you be so polite? They arrested you. They handcuffed you and dragged you into the station like some dirtbag criminal.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “They had a murder weapon with my prints on it. What do you want them to do, ignore the evidence?”
His words sounded reasonable, but his hands felt unsteady. He dropped them quickly.
“You’re a better person than I am. I would’ve been livid. You were with me when I stumbled across the body. I wouldn’t have noticed if you’d had blood all over you? The cops showed up almost immediately after. They wouldn’t have noticed any other blood besides what you had on your hands?”
“It’s over, Scarlett, at least this part.”
“What does that mean and why is everyone talking in riddles tonight?”
“I wanna know if someone tried to set me up for Rusty’s murder.”
“Why would someone do that?”
He nudged her back. “Let’s get in the car.”
As she grabbed the driver’s-side handle, he asked, “Are you okay after drinking that wine?”
“Are you kidding? I barely got started on that bottle before we were rudely interrupted.” She yanked open the car door. “I plan to finish it off now.”
On the way back to her place, Jim told her about the interview and how the deputies had tracked down his alibis.
“I was lucky I hadn’t been sitting at home alone the night of Rusty’s murder.”
“Maybe something drew you to my place last night for a reason.”
“Whatever it was, it saved me a lot of trouble.”
Turning down the road that led to her place and his, she slid a glance his way. “Do you want me to drop you off at your cabin or do you want to come back to mine and finish dinner?”
“I thought we finished dinner.”
“I bought a cheesecake for dessert.”
“I lost my appetite, but I have to pick up my bike.”
The car bumped and jostled as she drove up the access road to her cabin. She backed into the spot she’d had cleared for her car when she first bought the place and killed the engine. “Are you sure you don’t want to come in? I have the card you gave me inside and your wallet.”
“If you’re sure. It’s late.”
“I’m still wired.” She shoved open the car door. “And I still have a bottle of wine to polish off.”
He followed her down the path through the trees, both of them leading with the lights on their phones.
“You should install some lights along this pathway, too. It’s like the blind leading the blind out here.”
