Chapter Fifteen #2
He turned away and let the deputies walk him to their vehicle, Cass a few steps behind.
Whispers rippled through the crowd when he and Cass slid into the backseat of the cruiser.
The window sat cracked open a few inches.
Cass hugged the door on her side. He tried to tune out the voices but couldn’t help but hear.
Didn’t he find the first body, too?
I don’t know, but he was there at the scene.
He’s a builder. He’s in places no one else can go.
Maybe he likes breaking things more than fixing them.
I think he did it.
No way. It’s Zach.
Then who?
I don’t know, but maybe it’s time to leave.
The tower bells groaned once more, the sound filled with grief. It was a perfect sound to send them away. As the cruiser turned and began its way down the hill, he saw Harmony and Mary off to the side, watching. They both looked composed—maybe a little too composed. What in the hell was happening?
It didn't take long to reach the sheriff's station, which smelled of burnt coffee and damp paper. Zach and Cass were led to different rooms. Zach sat in a hard-backed chair, clothes streaked with dirt. A disposable cup of water sat on the table. He didn’t touch it.
He clasped his hands together and waited.
Every sense was turned too high. The clock ticked too loudly.
The hum of the overhead light vibrated straight into his skull.
His skin itched. The brightness of the room burned his eyes.
The smells made him sick. If he looked out of the corner of his eye, he could almost swear he saw Heidi’s ghost in the room with him.
Sergeant Durante walked in and sat opposite him. “Let’s start over, Zach.”
“I’ve told you all I know,” Zach said, his voice raspy from overuse. He was a private man who didn’t talk much. He’d already used his voice more this morning than he normally did in a full day.
“Tell me again,” Durante said, his tone neutral, but authoritative. “How long were you there before we arrived?”
“Maybe ten minutes.”
“You were in the area for ten minutes?” Durante pushed.
Zach shook his head, trying to clear it. “No. I was up there for maybe an hour. I didn’t notice the body until about ten minutes before you came, maybe less.”
“How could you be there and not notice a body hanging from the tower?” Disbelief roughened his voice.
“It was dark when I arrived, and I was organizing my work tools. It’s not like I expected to see someone hanging from the tower. It takes a sick person to display someone like that.”
“I agree with you there,” Durante said. “She’s impossible to miss, though. I find it hard to believe you could be there an hour without noticing her.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. It’s the truth.”
They stared at each other for several heartbeats.
“Were you alone the entire time?” Durante asked.
“I’m always alone.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. Were you alone this morning?”
“Yes, I was alone.”
“And what were you doing up there?”
“I’ve been doing repairs all month,” he repeated.
“Oh, that’s right.” Durante’s tone suggested he hadn’t forgotten anything. He was trying to trip Zach up. He’d love to have a killer he could wrap this up with, nice and neat, bow and all.
“You want us to believe that you woke up before it was light, rushed to the tower to get to work, played around for nearly an hour, and then finally saw a dead woman hanging for all the world to see?” Durante scoffed.
“I don’t want you to believe it. It’s what happened!” Zach said, slamming his fist on the table as frustration rolled through him. He closed his eyes, then looked up again. “I never in my life thought I’d witness something so awful.”
“And this woman just so happens to be one you had a date with two nights ago?”
“Yes,” Zach said. He didn’t add more. He wasn’t going to pretend he had feelings for her. It was a fun night. That was all. If he’d never seen her again, he would’ve been fine. But he certainly hadn’t wanted harm to come to her.
“What was she doing on the island?” Durante asked.
“She was here with a friend. Vacation. We drank. We talked.”
“Did you do more?”
“It wasn’t anything that was going anywhere. We both knew that,” Zach said.
“So you didn’t go to her room?” Durante pushed.
“No.” Zach sighed. It wouldn’t be difficult to figure out they’d been together.
No, they hadn’t gone to her room, but they had made love less than thirty-six hours before—twice—and he hadn’t used protection, which was beyond foolish.
They’d do an autopsy, and if he wasn’t honest, that would make him look even guiltier.
“We did have sex,” he admitted. “Just not in her room.”
Durante smiled without warmth. “So, you had sex with a woman you don’t know anything about—not even her last name?”
He shook his head as if disgusted.
“Like you’ve never done that,” Zach said.
“I’ve never been found with a woman dead after having sex with her,” Durante replied.
Zach flinched. “I don’t know why she was there. Neither do you. That’s why you’re pinning this on me.”
“We’re not trying to pin this on anyone,” Durante said. “We’re trying to get answers. The more we know from you, the better, since you seem to be the one person on this island who knew her . . . intimately.”
The silence stretched. The fluorescent light flickered, then steadied. Outside the room, someone laughed—wildly out of place.
Durante’s gaze dropped to Zach’s hands. “You have a lot of scratches.”
“I work with wood, wire, and tools daily. I always have scratches,” Zach said, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes.
He nearly pointed out that the people with no scratches or bruises probably sat on their asses all day, eating donuts and feeling superior. He didn’t think that would go too well.
They stared at each other again. Zach knew innocent people went to jail, maybe less often than before, but it still happened. Was he going to get framed for this? And what in the hell could he do about it?
Nothing.
“You’ve been at both scenes, Zach. Do you see the problem here? First, Lisa, with no solid leads. Now this tourist shows up dead, and you just so happen to be her last contact.”
“I know it doesn’t look good,” Zach said. “But it’s a small island. I’m also working all over it. I’m in a lot of places.”
“Or maybe you’re there because something is wrong.”
Zach didn’t know how many times he needed to say he was innocent.
There was a commotion outside the door, followed by a knock. Durante looked irritated. The door opened, and Deputy Ciscel stood there, shifting uncomfortably. His eyes, though, told a different story. They were bright. Interested.
Cass stood beside him, flustered but determined. Behind them were Harmony and Mary. He glanced at Harmony and saw irritation. What was she thinking? Why irritation instead of horror? He wasn’t sure.
“This has gone on long enough,” Mary said, determination in her eyes. “Did you offer him an attorney?”
Durante glared. “You a lawyer now, Mary?”
“I’m someone who knows Zach, and his character,” she shot back, “and someone who knows how inefficient the law is here on the island.”
Durante flinched. The scandal of the loss of Mary’s daughter still hung heavy over Avalon and always would.
“Character doesn’t seem to mean much lately around here,” Durante said.
“Zach was with us last night at Coyote Joe’s, so he couldn’t have done this,” Harmony said.
“Was he with you until dawn?” Durante countered.
“He was with us for long enough,” Harmony said.
“And then I bet all of you were all alone in the early hours of the morning?” Durante said coldly.
“As most single people are,” Harmony replied, looking at him with disgust.
Mary stepped closer, her voice low and deadly. “You should be very careful about who you accuse of things, Sergeant. In this place, the devil looks more like a friend to many of you.”
Behind her, one of the LA County detectives appeared in the doorway, watching Zach the way people watch a puzzle they’re not sure how to solve yet. He didn’t interrupt. Not yet. But he was listening.
Durante had nothing he could hold Zach—or any of them—on. Not yet. It wasn’t over, though, not by a long shot.
“I think we have enough for now,” he said at last. He paused, looking at each of them in turn. “Don’t any of you plan on leaving the island. This investigation is just beginning. County’s fully involved now.”
“Wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” Cass muttered. “It’s paradise here.”
Zach stood, his knees a bit shaky. The sound of the chair scraping against the cement floor made everyone flinch. He was wrecked. Cass stepped forward and touched his arm.
“Let’s get out of here.” There was still a trace of fear in her eyes, but she was fighting it.
Harmony came to his other side and slid her arm through his. “It will be okay,” she said, no fear in her expression.
Zach looked at her gratefully and nodded.
They made their way out of the station in silence. Outside, the air was thick with eucalyptus and sea spray. The sky had gone gray, which felt right. It was the sort of sky that promised a storm. The island needed one. It needed to be washed clean again.
Zach stopped and leaned against a rail, fighting the urge to throw up again.
“You two had that romantic date the other night, didn’t you?” Cass asked.
“Yes,” Zach admitted.
“It seems someone wanted you to find her,” Harmony said.
“Why do you think that?” he asked.
“Because they had to know you’d be working there in the morning,” Harmony said.
“And the killer obviously likes to play games,” Mary added.
“I don’t see why they’d want me to find her, or frame me,” Zach said.
“Because we don’t know who the killer is,” Mary said. “When we find that out, then we’ll know a lot more.”
“If we find the killer,” Harmony said. “They seem to be outsmarting all of us.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Zach admitted.
“Well, we know the Chimes Tower couldn’t have been random,” Cass said. “You’ve been working there for a month.”
Mary’s expression was unreadable. “Whoever did this wants the people on the island scared. They want to break us.”
Zach rubbed his face as he shook his head. “Then they’re getting what they want.”
From up high on the hill, the echo of the bells stirred again just once, hollow and heavy, like a warning. The women all turned and looked toward the tower. Heidi was no longer hanging there.
Zach didn’t look. He didn’t think he ever would again.
Someone listened to the bell fade and smiled at how well it gathered people. A perfect place to teach the island fear.
Who was it?
What was still to come?