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“I’m going to head out. Andrew’s here, so you don’t have to worry about Everly. You won’t even see him. He sleeps in the room next to Everly when he’s here overnight.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry our night didn’t end the way I planned.”
Exhaustion lined her face but she managed a smile. “Me, too. We still haven’t talked about museum stuff.”
“That can wait.” He stepped to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t know how long it will take me to track down Mason. Make yourself at home, and we’ll sort everything out tomorrow.”
“You don’t mind if I use your shower?”
“Use anything of mine that you want. When I get back, I want to find you in my bed asleep.”
“Yes, sir.” She rested her head on his chest.
He kissed the top of her head, then reluctantly stepped away. “Hopefully, I won’t be long.”
“Tristan?”
He stopped at the door. “Yeah?”
“Thank you. For arranging a shopping trip. That was really a nice thing to do.”
“You’re welcome.” There were a lot of things he’d like to do for her if she’d give him half a chance.
Fuzz followed him to the stairs. “No, buddy, you need to stay here on this one. Keep an eye on our girl.” His dog liked her, and maybe he could be a comfort to her.
The lights were off at Mason’s, but his car was in the driveway. After exiting his SUV, Tristan slipped off his suit coat and left it on the seat. He wanted to think that Mason hadn’t set fire to Skye’s apartment, but he wasn’t ruling it out, so he approached the door with caution. He rang the doorbell, then stepped to the side. A minute passed with no sign of life, so he rang it again. A light came on inside, and moments later, the door opened.
Mason’s brows furrowed. “Chief?”
Seeing that he only wore pajama bottoms, no weapon in sight, Tristan stepped in front of him. “We need to talk.”
“Sure. Come in.”
Inside, Tristan glanced around. The place looked like a bachelor’s pad, chrome and black leather. Mason considered himself a player, but from Tristan’s observations over the years, he struck out more than he scored.
“I’ll get right to the point,” Tristan said. “Where were you tonight?” He knew where Mason had been earlier in the evening, but he’d pretended not to see the former deputy. He was curious if Mason would admit he’d been at the resort.
Mason blinked. “That’s a cop question. Do I need a lawyer?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
The surprise on Mason’s face at the question seemed genuine, but if he had set Skye’s apartment on fire, he would expect after getting fired that the suspicion would fall on him and would be prepared. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re standing in my living room at midnight interrogating me like a suspect. What have I supposedly done?”
“I’ll answer that after you tell me where you were tonight.”
Mason scratched his belly, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I had two beers at the resort bar as you well know since you saw me.”
“Why were you there?”
“Because I wanted a beer. Is that a crime now?”
“Long way to go for a beer.” He didn’t bother asking if Mason had followed them there. He’d deny it, and Tristan wasn’t even sure it had been Mason in the car behind them.
“So what? I felt like taking a ride and that’s where I ended up.”
On the same night Skye was there? It was too much of a coincidence to believe. “Where’d you go after that?”
