He crossed the porch toward her.“Did he hurt you?”
Morimer clicked his tongue.“How uncouth, Sheriff.A guest sits on my porch, drinks my lemonade, and eats my food, yet you assume brutality.”
Connor kept his eyes on Marlene.“Did anyone hurt you?”
“No.”Her voice trembled.“They scared me half to death when they found me, but no.Nobody hurt me.”
“Where did they find you?”
Morimer picked up his glass.“An old shed near the Brackett property.Technically, she was trespassing.”
“I was hiding,” Marlene said.“I didn’t know where I was.”
“You knew enough to run,” Connor said.
Her face twisted.“I panicked.”
“You hit Selena with a lamp.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her, Connor.I was so scared.She had a gun and I panicked!I thought she was going to kill me!”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
Marlene looked down at the porch boards.“Is she okay?”
“She’ll live.”
Tears filled Marlene’s eyes, but Connor could not tell if they came from guilt, fear, or relief.Maybe all three.He had known her for years.School fundraisers.Church suppers.Victor making jokes while she rolled her eyes.The ordinary life of a woman who should have been planning a funeral, not sitting on a crime lord’s porch with a fork in her hand.
Morimer indicated the empty chair beside Connor.“Sit.”
Connor remained standing.“There’s a manhunt across the county for her.”
“So, I gathered.”
“I need to take her in.”
“In time.”
“Now.”
Morimer smiled faintly.“Your urgency is understandable.It is also impolite.The county may be yours, but this house is mine.”
Connor leaned both hands on the table.“You called me.”
“I did, as a favor since we now have an understanding.”
“There’s no understanding, Morimer.”
The guard by the door shifted.Morimer lifted two fingers, and the man went still.
Marlene sat again, her plate trembling in her lap.
Connor softened his voice without taking his attention off Morimer.“Marlene, I need you to tell me the truth.”
“I...I will.”
“Did you kill Victor?”
