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“Miscommunication and money.”
“Seriously?”
Kevlin turned his monitor and sat back. “Ms. Houston agreed to pay Mr. Sarto ten thousand dollars to stop you from testifying in her custody battle with her ex-husband, Tobias Peters. Mr. Sarto did the job, but not to her satisfaction. He told her he’d never agree to murder for less than thirty grand. Ten thousand took you out of commission and made you miss your court date. However, Ms. Houston disagreed with his interpretation of the contract and withheld fifty percent of the payment. Mr. Sarto didn’t appreciate that and took out his displeasure on her car. For which we arrested him.
“It didn’t take long to uncover the connection between them. The Bus is no stranger to SPD, and this isn’t the first time he’s gone to prison for accepting a contract to injure or intimidate someone. Ms. Houston claimed she didn’t know him and that his vandalism was unprovoked. We didn’t believe that for a moment. Once we confronted Mr. Sarto with our evidence, he requested a plea bargain and agreed to testify against her.”
Aithan rubbed his jaw. “I’m alive and Maeve is going to jail because she wascheap?”
Lieutenant Kevlin nodded. “That’s one way to look at it.”
Aithan started laughing. He couldn’t help it, and it was probably rude, but he didn’t know how else to react. “I’m sorry,” he gasped, “it’s just so ironic!”
Kevlin smiled and even chuckled a little. “Why ironic?”
Aithan finally got a grip and reeled in his amusement. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “She complained non-stop about Tobias being cheap.” All his humor fled. “She thought nothing of dropping three hundred bucks at a spa but complained when he bought new clothes for his daughter because sheoutgrewher old things!” He slammed his fist on the desk. A pen jumped. A cup rattled. Aithan exhaled slowly and folded his hands in his lap. “Sorry.”
Kevlin shook his head. “No need. I’d be worried if youweren’tangry, Mr. Mazur.”
Aithan nodded. “What’s next?”
“SPD arrested Ms. Houston this morning and she’ll go before a judge for a bail hearing this afternoon. I’m recommending she be held without bail. I think she poses a flight risk.” He stood, and so did Aithan. The lieutenant offered his hand. “At any rate, I’m happy to have this one solved. And happier to see you’re recovering.”
Aithan clasped the man’s hand. “Thanks for all the hard work, Lieutenant.”
“I’ll let you know what the judge decides about bail. Meanwhile, spend time with your family.”
When Aithan reached his SUV, he climbed in and sat staring at nothing. His brain buzzed and he gripped the steering wheel to stop his hands from shaking. “Holy fuck,” he muttered and didn’t even apologize to Babcia; he thought she’d understand.
He needed to talk to Tobias. And Zel. And Drew. And Juan.
Aithan grunted. “Juan first.” He called Blue Water. Beth was manning the front desk, but Juan was with a client.
“Tell him I won’t be back today.”
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. The police made a couple arrests, and I need to talk to a few people. I want them to hear about it from me.”
“Oh, wow. That’s great news, Aith. And no worries about BWF. We’ve got this. I’m teaching the last class, so I’ll help lock up.”
“Thanks, Beth. I appreciate the help. You know that, right?”
“I do, boss. See you tomorrow?”
“Yep. Got a seven a.m.”
After he hung up, he headed to Scumwater. Tobias was always there all day on Thursdays. Sure enough, his car was in the parking lot. Aithan stopped at the host stand and was directed to the beer garden, where he found Tobias chatting up a group of tourists and locals.
Tobias spied him and frowned. This wasn’t a normal time for Aithan to visit. He nodded and excused himself from the group, then wended past the communal tables to reach Aithan. “What’s up, man? Everything okay?”
“Let’s talk in your office.”
When they reached the small office, Tobias closed the door and said, “Spill it, man.”
“I just came from a meeting with Lieutenant Kevlin. SPD made two arrests in my case. One of them was Maeve.”
Tobias stared at him. “Maeve? When?Why?”
