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“You made an accusation that involved a high-speed car chase. Don’t think I won’t lock you up to prove my point.”
If Tom locked me up, I’d be safe from Marino’s men, but I’d be totally at the mercy of the spirits without the protections on my door and the salt around my windows. I sighed. “Will you meet me at the inn or not?”
“Yes. Fine.” He released a heavy breath and glanced out at the parking lot. “I’ll meet you there in an hour.”
On the short drive to the bed and breakfast, I sorted through the story I planned to tell Tom. I’d been mulling it over for the last hour of my shift, but I still hadn’t worked out all the details. I couldn’t tell him everything, of course, and I needed to decide whether to include Collin. Instinct told me to keep him out of it, if nothing else than because of his criminal record. But I wasn’t sure how my story would make sense without him.
When he arrived, we sat down in the living room of the residential house. I hoped the researchers didn’t come back early. The last thing I needed was for them to see me delivering a statement to a uniformed policeman. And I sure didn’t want to worry Myra. “Tom, whatever I tell you, you can’t tell Myra. She’s upset enough over Daddy. There’s no need to involve her.”
“I can’t guarantee anything,” he said with a nod. “But I’ll do my best.”
It was all I could ask. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Why don’t you start by telling me how you ended up in Buxton.”
“I’d heard about a loan shark there. We were behind on the mortgage, so I sold him a pair of silver candlesticks.”
“How did you hear about the loan shark? Why not somewhere closer? There’s a couple of pawnshops in Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk.”
I shrugged. “A customer at the New Moon told me about him.”
“And who was this customer?”
“I don’t know,” I said in exasperation. “Just some guy. I heard him tell his friend about hocking something to a guy in Buxton. He said he bought stuff for top dollar. So I got the guy’s information and took the candlesticks to him.”
“Can Myra corroborate this?”
My eyebrows rose. “Am I under suspicion for anything?”
His face hardened. “I just want to make sure I have all the facts.”
My gaze shifted to the doorway. I resisted the urge to cringe when I noticed that David was standing in the foyer. Our eyes locked and his eyebrows rose slightly. I gave him a slight nod. I wanted him to hear this. “She knows I sold the candlesticks to get money, but she has no idea who I sold them to, and I don’t want her to know.”
Tom shifted in his seat. “Who did you take them to?”
“A guy named Marino. He works in the back of a nasty thrift store.”
“Why are his men after you?”
“I told you, Marino thought I was part of something he called the Ricardo deal.”
Tom’s eyes lit up. “Are you?”
I shuddered in surprise. Tom obviously had some idea what it was. Now I was even more curious. “No. The first time I heard of the Ricardo deal was when I showed up at his warehouse. I got away, but his men have been asking around about me ever since. He knew I’d pawned stuff in Kill Devil Hills, which is how he tracked me here.”
“What were you doing in Morehead City?”
Damn it. Why had I told him that part? I paused, trying to come up with a story, knowing I was starting to look more suspicious with each second. “I was there with a guy.”
“Why the hesitation?”
“Because I’m worried this is all going to get back to Myra. I had just broken up with Dwight and…” I sighed and clasped my hands together. “Myra already thinks I date too many guys, but I don’t usually run off and shack up with one the day after I met him.”
He tilted his head. “Is that what you did? Shack up with a guy the day after you met?”
My eyes were drawn to David’s expressionless face. He was standing several feet outside the doorway and to the side.
Too late now.
