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“It’ll be easier on her once the boss stops treating her like a prime suspect,” Mason pointed out. “Anyone with eyes can see that she’s innocent.”
“Sometimes the prettiest face can hide a monster.”
“That’s true,” Mason said, agreeing with Lucas, “but that doesn’t explain how she could pull off a murder job when I pulled her over for drinking and driving last night. I kept her in the holding cells until Sly sprang her this morning. No way she could’ve snuck out, even if I believed she had the strength to throttle her husband. Doc, you looked over the body. What do you think?”
“Whoever did that to Mr. Sullivan had to be very strong indeed.”
Mason jabbed his finger into the air. “Exactly!”
“Maybe it was a good thing you locked her up last night, Mase,” Wilhelmina told him. “Can you imagine what would have happened if she was there?”
Willie’s question had them all thinking about it. Maybe having two outsiders to contend with would have given whoever did this a second to pause. Or maybe Lucas would’ve been working on two dead bodies that morning.
With a rough shake of his head, Mason pushed the gruesome t
hought away. “That’s why it’s so important that I find her someplace solid to sleep tonight. Someplace safe. She’s terrified of the inn now and I don’t blame her. I asked the sheriff if I could put her up at my place. I’ve got the room.”
Lucas didn’t like the way Wilhelmina started to gush, telling Mason what a wonderful idea that was. Was any of Caitlin’s deputies concerned with how bad it would look to have their murder victim’s wife shacking up with a member of the department mere hours after his body was found?
Clearing his throat, catching both of their attentions, he said, “Actually, that’s why I’m here. Me and Caity came up with a better plan. We thought, since she’s an outsider, it would be better if she continued to rent a room instead of becoming someone’s roommate.”
“She doesn’t want to stay at the inn—”
“I’m not talking about the inn,” Lucas cut in. “I thought she might want to stay at Ophelia. Maria’s getting her a room ready right now.”
“Maria’s opening Ophelia back up?” Wilhelmina said. “Good for her.”
Mason slipped his hands in the back pockets of his uniform trousers. He kept his tone light, while his body language said he was anything but happy with this latest development. “And the sheriff okayed this plan?”
“She thinks it’s a great idea.”
“Okay. Maria’s place. Sure. I know where that is. I can take Tess there in my cruiser.”
Lucas expected him to offer. Didn’t mean he was going to let Walsh get away with it. “That’s good of you to offer, Deputy, but I don’t mind driving Mrs. Sullivan over. Maria’s expecting me anyway. I’m gonna take her. Caity knows.”
There was no way for Mason to argue without looking like a spoiled child. He was back on duty—he purposely put himself back on early—and Caitlin needed all hands on deck. She couldn’t spare him, no matter how much she tried to persuade Lucas otherwise. She had lost that argument back at his office. Lucas wasn’t going to let Walsh win one here.
Though his frown made his displeasure obvious, he didn’t fight Lucas.
Smart man.
Tessa didn’t even question it when Sheriff De Angelis brought her back inside and Mason announced that she would be staying at something called Ophelia. The doctor was going to drive her there and get her settled? Sure. Mason was going to stop at the Hamlet Inn and bring her her luggage now that the crime scene was processed? Why not?
It wasn’t dark out yet. Despite spending countless hours trapped inside on the sheriff’s orders, the sun was still shining but it wouldn’t be for much longer. As she stared, she could see that it was already starting its nightly descent, disappearing between the trees that lined the main road outside of the station house.
The sky was splashed in purples and pinks. It was pretty, she noted absently. And cold. It was getting chilly out. She glanced down and, for the first time, noticed the bare skin of her arms. Where was her coat?
Rubbing her arms, she glanced around the parking lot. Except for a trio of police cruisers parked together and a red car separate from the pack, the lot was empty. Where was her car? The deputy hadn’t left it abandoned on the side of the road outside of Thirsty’s, had he?
How the hell was she going to get home?
Tess turned to the doctor. “You don’t happen to know where my car is, do you?” At his blank look, she shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll worry about that later.”
Maybe it was a good thing Lucas was offering to drive. She didn’t think she trusted herself behind the wheel just yet anyway.
Lucas led her to the red car parked at the far end of the lot. It was a flashy car, sleek and shiny. Mustang, she realized, a candy apple red one. Wow. Using the remote in his pocket, he disengaged the locks and opened the door for her. Murmuring her thanks, Tess sank against the leather seat.
It felt weird to be sitting in a car that wasn’t a police cruiser. Last night, Mason helped her into the back of one. That morning, Deputy Collins insisted she sit up front when he brought her back to the Hamlet Inn. Mason did the same when he brought her back to the station. And now the doctor was giving her a ride in his fancy sports car.
