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We called it a night soon afterward, and as Nate and Louise left, I made an excuse about needing to go to the bathroom. After I finished in the restroom, I headed straight for the bar and sat on a stool in front of James Malcolm.
He glanced at me with a smirk. “You ready to order that Jack and Coke now?”
Little did he know how badly I wanted it, but this wasn’t the time. “No. I want you to run an errand with me.”
He laughed, but it quickly faded. “You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack.” I leaned closer. “Here’s the deal. Your boy Eddie is looking really good as a suspect right now. You believe he’s innocent, and you don’t want me talking to him, but trust me, the Jackson Creek PD will be talking to him tomorrow, and he has a better shot at proving his innocence with me than with them.”
There was a reason for my madness. I had a strong suspicion that Eddie was working for Malcolm. If Malcolm was with me, I could watch their interactions and get a better handle on the situation.
He rested the palm of his hand on the counter and leaned toward me. “I thought a court of law was supposed to prove his guilt, not the other way around.”
“Come now, Mr. Malcolm,” I said, syrupy sweet. “You of all people know you’re guilty until proven innocent. Why else would the police be harassing you?”
His eyebrow quirked. “You mean like they’re harassing you?”
I shrugged. I could concede he had a point.
“I’m not gonna go with you to watch you interrogate an innocent man,” he spat out, fire burning in his eyes.
“No, you’re gonna come along so I can prove to you that I’m not going to try to hang this on him if he didn’t do it.”
He shook his head in disgust. “You’ve got no authority to do anything to him.”
“No, but I might be able to convince the authorities that he’s not guilty.”
“How are you gonna convince them of anything when you can’t even convince them that you’re not a threat?”
He had another good point, but I hoped he’d come with me anyway.
His jaw worked, and he looked furious, but he ground out through his clenched jaw, “I still don’t get why you want me along.”
I really hoped this plan didn’t backfire. There were whispers that Malcolm had killed people before and gotten away with it. I hadn’t brought my gun, so he would have every chance to kill me and hide my body somewhere no one could find it. But I believed he really did want to work with me. And Louise, Nate, and Drew had all seen me at Scooter’s tonight. Malcolm would be taking a real risk if he hurt me.
Then again, maybe all the alcohol I’d consumed over the past few months had killed a lot of brain cells.
“Look,” I said, trying to sound perfectly reasonable. “This afternoon, you said you wanted to work with me on this, so here’s your chance. You sit with Eddie while I ask him some questions, and I can prove I’m not trying to railroad him. I only want answers. He might have another lead for me to pursue. Ava’s best friend says Eddie had a special bond with Ava. He might be able to tell us something no one else can.”
When he cursed under his breath, I knew I had him, but it still took him nearly another minute to agree.
“We need to meet with him tonight,” I said.
He shot me a gaze that suggested I’d lost my mind. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m working.”
“Yeah, and so am I, only my job seems a bit more important than helping people get drunk.”
Anger burned in his eyes. “You didn’t seem to mind when I was serving you.”
I held his gaze, trying to keep my temper in check.
“You realize it’s after ten o’clock,” he said dryly.
I shot him a look of disbelief. “You about to turn into a pumpkin?”
“No, but the kid has work tomorrow. He might be in bed.”
Why was he stalling so hard? It only made me more suspicious. “He’s in his fucking twenties. Why would he be in bed?”
