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“Unhung Doug. The guy who kept sneaking in to harass Beth? He whipped it out during a private dance and didn’t have much to show…hence the nickname.”
“I don’t know anything about a private dance, but that is the only fucker who was able to sneak in.” Dexter taps a beat on his Coke can.
“There has to be another guy, we should go back through the footage and—” I remember something Cash said the day we ran into Leo. I didn’t register it at the time, but…“Wait, didn’t you tell Leo the footage got lost?” I turn to Cash, who’s twiddling a toothpick between his teeth.
“I wasn’t going to hand over the man that’s framing me as a serial killer to the police for them to fuck up. If he’s our man, I’m gonna be there when he meets his maker.”
“You withheld evidence?” It sounds stupid the moment it leaves my mouths.Of course, Cash Foxwould withhold evidence. That’s practically his job description.Doesn’t make me any less irate. “Even though you couldn’t identify him? You’ve wasted fucking weeks sitting on this during which the police could have been searching for him too.”
“A chuisl—”
“Don’t uh-khush-leh me, you selfish bastard.” His eyes harden in that detached way they do right before he lashes out with violence, so I speak before he can. “I want to talk with Dexter alone. Please,” I add bitterly.
“I’ll wait right over here.”
Once he’s seated a few tables away from the bar, I turn back to Dexter. “Okay, help me understand. Why would Beth make up some story about a tiny-dick asshole?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, babe.” He shrugs with a sinking lilt to his voice, like he’s disappointed he can’t be more helpful.And god, do I know the feeling.
“Well, if this guy wasn’t harassing Beth for anything sexual, what did he want and how did he get back in? You guys have tight security.”
“I don’t know what he wanted, but I never saw him touch her for what it’s worth. We didn’t know how he kept getting in, but never looked into it until after she…you know.” Seeing this big bear of a man choke on his words hurts. “He seemed harmless at the time—annoying, but harmless. After that, Finn ran some sort of tech-genius workup on our system and realized he’d hacked into our alarm system and would disengage it for just a few seconds so he could slip in, but the system would never be down long enough to alert us that it was down…does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does.”And it’s incredibly smart.If he had access to the alarm system, who knows what else he had access to? But I still don’t understand why it was worth all this to justspeakwith Beth. “And you have no idea who he is?”
“None.”Shit.
“What about his hand? Do you remember seeing a tattoo on his hand?”
He takes a sip while his brows crease like he’s trying hard to remember. “Ya know, now that you mention it, he had a birthmark on his hand. Pretty big one too. I remember because at first I thought it was blood, but after a second glance it was obvious it wasn’t.”
“Well, thanks for always looking out for our girl. We’re gonna find this piece of shit.” Though I don’t feel confident in that at all right now. The words sound cliché and trite. I clap him on the shoulder and hop off my stool.
Cash is sitting relaxed in a chair, typing something on his phone. I want to snatch Dexter’s soda and throw it in his face. The cocky asshole.
We wordlessly get into Cash’s car. I stew in silence, still pissed that he lied to the cops. I don’t expect him and Leo to be braiding each other’s hair, but if he couldn’t identify Doug, then why hold on to it?Men and their egos.
Cash speaks first, his eyes trained on the road and his fist tight on the gear stick. “You realize that if I wasn’t able to figure out his identity, there’s absolutely no chance your pigboyfriendcould.” His jaw ticks, and I am flabbergasted he’s making this about Leo and my nonexistent relationship.
“Did you forget that minor incident when Leo held you at gunpoint and Istillchose you?” I snap. “And did you forget that you shoved your hand down my pants in the elevator and threw a hissy fit after?”
God, this man.It’s like everything he said this morning was nothing but flimsy words and empty promises.
I expect him to punch the steering wheel and lash out, but instead he just laughs, hearty and low. “Can’t say I didn’t love seeing the look on his face when you told him to beat it. He’s always coming in second.”
That reminds me of what else Cash said,mistakes happen, but I’m sure you know all about that.“You guys have history outside of this case, don’t you?”
“It’s nothing that serious. He’s just a sore loser. He’s been trying to pin something on me since his gang unit days. I can’t imagine how excited he must have been when he thought you could identify me as the killer.”
“He was actually pretty pissed. He knew your alibi was solid. But speaking of your tattoo…Dex said Doug had a birthmark on his hand, that could be what we saw in the picture. Maybe he used your tattoo design as a way to cover his equally identifiable mark.”
He flashes me a glance and sets a hand on my thigh. “Now you’re thinking.” He gives my leg a squeeze and tries to slide his palm higher, but I pick it off.
“For the record, I’m still mad about you withholding the security tapes. I have no interest in the pissing match you have with Leo. I care about finding Beth’s killer, and it was stupid and selfish to keep it after you hit a dead end.”
“If you’re trying to strong-arm me into eating that fine-ass pussy until you can’t feel your legs again, you can just ask.” He chuckles and tries to creep his hand back.
I swat it away. “God, I hate you.” I bite my tongue so I don’t laugh too.
