AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I lifted my chin. Guys slept around all the time. Why should I be ashamed? “Yeah, I did. I met him in Buxton at a bar and he took me to a motel in Morehead City for a few days. Marino’s guys showed up and tried to kidnap me. I got away and came home.”
Tom shook his head in disbelief. “You justgot away?”
“Don’t make it sound so inconceivable. I can take care of myself.”
His eyes found mine. “Before I came here, I did some digging about odd occurrences in Morehead City.”
“Did you now?” I asked, crossing my legs and casting a glance toward David. Lord knew what he thought of me now. “You move quickly.”
“People are dying. I’m trying to prevent more deaths.” He cleared his throat. “Guess what I found?”
I rubbed my forehead, “I’m too tired for guessing games.”
“Then I’ll cut to the chase.” He leaned forward. “A man was found dead in the parking lot of the North Carolina Outer Banks Museum the night before your father died.”
“People die all the time. Just because I was in Morehead City doesn’t mean I brought the Grim Reaper with me.”
“This guy was frozen solid, Ellie. And his fingers on one hand were broken off.”
My stomach rolled and I swallowed, looking away.
“I can see you know something about it.”
I jerked my gaze back to him. “Why? Because I had the decency to look upset that some guy’s fingers were broken off?”
“He was known to associate with a man named Joseph Marino.”
My mouth gaped. “You already knew about Marino?” My anger flared. “And you let me think you didn’t?”
“I never insinuated that I did or didn’t know about him. I wanted to find out what you knew. Or at least what you’d share with me. Do you know how Mr. Denton died?”
“You just told me. He was frozen.”
“No, Ellie.” His voice hardened. “You told me Marino’s men tried to abduct you. One of Marino’s men was found dead and frozen. Notice a pattern?”
My stomach clenched. Telling Tom about Marino’s men was supposed to get him off my back about the supernatural occurrences. Instead, it had only made things worse.
“I think you saw Mr. Denton die in that parking lot. The look on your face tells me that maybe you even saw his fingers snapped off.”
I tried to stop my cringe. I failed.
“The coroner said it looked like his fingers were wrapped around something. Maybe your wrist?”
“You thinkIfroze that man? How would I do that?”
For the first time since his interrogation began, Tom’s face softened. “No, Ellie. I don’t think you froze him. But you’re obviously caught up in something bigger than what you’re telling me. Marino and the Ricardo Estate are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.”
“I didn’t kill that man and I don’t know how he died. One of the guys I saw at the back of Darrell’s and his associate tried to take me from the parking lot of the hotel where I was staying. The guy I was with freaked out and took off. I got away from Marino’s men and came home.”
“What’s the name of the guy you picked up in Buxton?”
He made it sound so crass, but then again, that’s how I’d painted it. “Roy.”
“Roy what?”
I shrugged and glanced over to where David was standing in the shadows near the doorway. What would he think of me? It didn’t matter; I had to play this out. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”
Tom sat back in his chair. “You’re telling me you picked up a guy in Buxton, whose last name you didn’t know, drove with him to Morehead City, and hooked up with him for a couple of days in a hotel until Marino’s men showed up.”
