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Tom leaned closer. “Yeah. Whoever is doing this is baiting you, Ellie. And I don’t think it’s Marino’s men. Have you seen them since that day of the high-speed chase?”
I shook my head, feeling sick to my stomach. “No. I was hoping that you permanently scared them off.”
“There’s not much likelihood of that. Maybe they figure they don’t need you anymore.”
My back straightened. “Why do you say that?”
He ignored my question. “Tell me about the guy who showed up behind the restaurant the day of the chase. The guy with the red pickup.”
“How do you know about him?” I shook my head and frowned. “It wasn’t him. He would never do this.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I know him. He just wouldn’t.”
Tom grinned like he’d woken up on Christmas morning to a room full of presents. “What’s his name, Ellie?”
I took a deep breath. Damn it. He’d set me up.
Tom leaned his face close to mine, raising his eyebrows. “What’s his name?”
I gritted my teeth. Damn my mouth. “Collin.”
“Collin what?”
“Collin Dailey.”
“And how do you know Collin Dailey?”
What could I tell him? “I met him at the New Moon. We hung out a lot the week the colony reappeared.”
“What a coincidence.”
“Are you basing your entire case on coincidences?”
“It’s all I fucking have at the moment, Ellie.”
I leaned the back of my head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. What a mess.
“Where does Collin Dailey live?”
“Buxton.” That seemed far enough away to draw them away from Collin, and it helped that it was partially true. I presumed he was only temporarily in Wanchese.
“Buxton.” He looked over his shoulder and then back at me. “I’ve seen him here every day until our encounter a few days ago. That’s quite a drive to Manteo each day.”
I scowled.
“What were you doing in Wanchese last week?”
I fidgeted.
“Collin Dailey is in Wanchese, isn’t he? And if I find out you lied to me, I’ll throw your ass in jail for twenty-four hours just to prove I’m done playing around.”
I didn’t answer.
“Does Collin Dailey live in Wanchese?”
Oh, God. Collin had admitted that he had some kind of criminal record. And although he hadn’t told me what it involved, the fact that he carried tools around in his truck to break into places was a good clue. “I don’t know.”
