The sergeant closed his notebook and Olivia’s chest tightened. Jake’s attitude was starting to annoy him. “Had you been drinking that day, Mr. Goodwin?”
Jake’s head snapped up. “A little. Why?”
Cripky stepped forward, and Olivia could feel the energy in the room shift. “No need to be defensive, Mr. Goodwin. We’re just trying to get a picture of that day. How long would you say you’ve been boating on Candlewood Lake? You grew up on the lake, right?”
“I got my CPWO when I was thirteen.” He looked at the sergeant. “Certificate of Personal Watercraft Operation. We’ve had boats in my family since I can remember.”
“And you’re how old now?”
“Thirty-two.”
“So, let’s see. That would mean you’ve been boating for…” Cripky smiled indulgently over his shoulder at Olivia. “Hang on. I was never top of my class in math.”
“Nineteen,” Olivia replied.
All three men turned around.
“Jake’s had nineteen years of boating experience.” Olivia looked at Cripky when she said it. “He’s a very safe driver.” But even as she found herself defending Jake, a flicker of warning lit within her. If what he had told her about the accident was true, why was he getting so angry with the officers’ line of questioning?
“So, nineteen years. That’s a lot. In those nineteen years, have you ever lost control over a boat before?”
Jake considered the question. “Never.”
“Can you account for reasons why someone would lose control over a boat and achieve sudden acceleration, as you did the other day?” Cripky was pushing. Olivia suddenly decided she hated the guy.
Jake looked flummoxed. “I don’t know, a few reasons maybe.”
“Such as?”
“Such as another boat cuts you off. Or you run into something underwater you can’t see. Or snag something in the propeller.”
Cripky leaned back on his heels. “Did anything like that happen to you before the accident that you’re aware of?”
Jake shook his head. “No.”
“Are there any other reasons you can think of that boat operators suddenly lose control?”
“If they were drunk.”
“How much did you drink that day, Mr. Goodwin?”
Jake locked eyes with Olivia.
“Answer my question. How many did you have?”
“I don’t remember.” Jake shook his head. “A few. I really don’t remember.”
“In how short a time?”
“Maybe an hour or so. I don’t know. It was a party. It lasted all afternoon.”
Olivia’s eyes watered. Itwasa party. For the two of them. And even though Jake had never been a big drinker since they’d met, he’d admitted to having been a bit of a party boy in his past.
She shifted in her seat and Cripky looked her way. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” But it wasn’t. This was on her, too. She’d let Luci go out on the boat without her.
Cripky resumed his questions. “Unfortunately, Mr. Goodwin, we can’t be sure of how much you had to drink that day. Because you were brought in with serious injuries and went straight to the OR. By the time they ran a toxicology report on you, it was several hours after the accident. All we have to go on is… you.”
