Chapter 16 #2
“As you may suspect, I haven’t lived a conventional life.
And neither did my mother. ‘Family tradition’ was the most she ever said about it.
The con was in our blood. Until this week—and it’s only fucking Wednesday—I had no idea that my mother actually grew up around here.
She was incredibly secretive.” He indicated the photo of the dead person.
“Is it odd that she showed up around the same time I learned this? Yes, it is. But the timing is such that I don’t know how she could have been aware of Heidi’s Westfort connection, unless I’m the last one to learn.
” He wrinkled his nose and added, “Which is a distinct possibility.”
There is no such thing as coincidence, Chance.
“Keep talking.”
“Honestly, I just don’t get it. Why show up with bogus evidence claiming I’m her father?
What would anyone have to gain from that?
” He shook his head. It didn’t track. “All my mother left me was a now burned-out sailboat and a weird-ass chair. Have I told you this has been a wacky week? Started with a fight with hedge and has only gotten stranger.”
Gabe shifted in his chair, meeting Eagan’s gaze straight on.
“Moving right along, there are many people I’ve made angry.
” Gabe leaned toward the deputy now. “The people who feel I may have wronged them aren’t the type to go after someone else to get to me.
If they knew where I was, they would come straight here, no stopping at Go. ”
“Do these mysterious people know where you are?”
“Possibly. But the ones most invested in getting even are behind bars now.” Something Gabe was infinitely grateful for.
“Are you currently involved in something that might have led to this person’s murder?”
Gabe sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Dirty Socks Randy came to mind, but he dismissed him. The retrieval gig had been on his radar for a while, and he just didn’t see a connection between Dirty Socks and the baby grifter.
“I don’t think I am. I just can’t see how it’s possible that her death is connected to me, but I could be wrong.
I’m dealing with my late mother’s estate.
Did my mother operate on the grayer side of the law?
” He waggled his head side to side, acknowledging the whiff of probability.
“But she’s dead now, and I doubt even Heidi Karne could reach from beyond the grave to kill a girl she never met in her life.
I can’t speak for the people that Heidi may have wronged, but I seriously doubt they waited this long and then killed someone she had nothing to do with. ”
“Someone killed this young woman.” Eagan pointed at the photo. “And, unfortunately for you, the only name we have is yours.”
“There was nothing else on her? She had a pretty big leather shoulder bag with her when she appeared on my doorstep.”
“Not that we found. Can you describe it?”
Gabe glanced up at the ceiling, doing his best to recall what the bag looked like. “It was roomy, big enough for a small dog if you’re into that sort of thing. Leather, I think, and possibly navy blue or black? It was a shoulder bag, not a backpack, if that helps.”
Eagan jotted the information down in the small notebook she always seemed to carry with her.
“She drove an older dark blue Ford Focus. Pretty dinged up, Washington plates.”
Eagan’s pen scratched across the notepad again.
“What have you found? Anything you can tell me about?” Gabe leaned toward the deputy again. “I just assumed you got my name from the paperwork she tried to pass off as legitimate.” Not from some random piece of paper inside her coat.
“Nothing else. We were lucky that her jacket was waterproof. Otherwise the piece of paper would have been destroyed.”
“Who found her?” he asked.
Eagan considered his question before replying. “A dog walker discovered the body. We haven’t confirmed yet if the head injury happened before she went into the water. I’m hoping the pathologist can answer that soon.”
“But you suspect she was bashed before.”
“I do.”
Egan’s eyes bored into his like she was trying to read his mind. Good luck there. Gabe stared back, but he wasn’t thinking about Juliet Carter, he was thinking about Heidi Karne. The tendrils of a shadow of a hunch were starting to form in his mind, and he needed space to tease them out.
“Do you know anything about Jack Thorne?” Gabe asked. “Someone gave me his name. He’s a private investigator in Westfort.”
Eagan scowled. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him. Why?”
“Clearly, I have some private investigating I need done.” He emphasized the word private. He’d rather not air the specifics of Heidi’s probable dirty laundry if he didn’t have to.
“As far as I’ve heard, Thorne is good at what he does.
” Eagan closed her notebook and pushed back her chair.
“Karne, at this point we’re not officially bringing you in.
I, for one, would like to think I know you a bit now, and this does not feel like your type of crime. Please don’t ruin my faith in you.”
“As backhanded as it is, I’m going to take that as a compliment. I’m free to go, correct?”
Did he have a type of crime? He supposed he did.
The deputy rose to her feet. “Yes, you are. If we have more questions for you, we’ll call. In light of that, please leave your cell phone number with the front desk.”
“Absolutely.”
“One last question.” Eagan reached down and started the recording again. “Mr. Karne, where were you on Monday night?”
Gabe shrugged. “Home alone, with my cat.”
“Casey Lundin can’t corroborate?”
“Nope. Definitely wish he could. I guess this just means we have to get our shit together and find a place big enough for the both of us.” Before the next body shows up. “Am I still free to go?”
The deputy nodded, and together they left the interview room and returned to the lobby.
“Thank you for your cooperation,” Eagan said, and turned back the way they’d come.
Stopping at her desk, Gabe made sure Althea had his cell phone number. She dutifully jotted it down in an official-looking TCSO notebook and turned back to her monitor and keyboard. He wondered what duties she had aside from basically keeping the station in order.
“How’s Hero doing? Is she happy to have the locket back?”
Gabe lingered, his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets.
Althea was still a bit of a mystery to him.
According to Elton, she and he had been “stepping out occasionally” since the beginning of the year, but Elton hadn’t shared much else with Gabe and Casey, which seemed odd.
She’d been with the TCSO for a couple of decades and had a good fried chicken recipe.
Gabe had a sneaking suspicion that last one was the main reason the stepping-out was still happening.
He knew Elton’d do just about anything for decent fried chicken.
Pausing mid-type, Althea looked up at Gabe. “We’re both glad to have the necklace back.”
“We should do dinner one of these nights, you and Elton, Casey and me. I’d love to hear some stories about Elton and the island back in the day.”
She nodded, the corners of her eyes creased in what could have been the start of a smile, but she also made a noise that conveyed I have work to do and don’t have time to talk.
“Okay, then. See ya around.”
Althea gave him a nod in return and went back to her typing.
“Huh,” Gabe grunted as he got behind the wheel.
He refused to have his feelings hurt because his eighty-year-old friend’s girlfriend didn’t seem to care for him as much as she had.
Maybe she was busy? God, he hoped her attitude wasn’t because she was okay with gay as a concept but gay in real life was not a thing.
Not everyone is going to like you, Chance. That’s a fact of life.
Gabe reversed out of the parking spot and pointed the Honda toward home. Not everyone liking him was indeed a fact of life, and those who didn’t appreciate his style didn’t know what fabulousness they were missing out on. Or, like the Colavitos, had personal reasons.