Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The wooden chair pressed against Ace’s back as he sat, once again, beside Daisy, who today wore a light blue suit with a pink shirt beneath it.
Her hair was coiled neatly into a bun, without a strand out of place.
Her lawyer look was a far cry from her waitress look, and he found himself wondering if she earned more tips if she looked harried instead of polished.
It was an odd thing to think about while staring down a possible murder charge, but his brain had always wandered when he felt cornered.
The room smelled faintly of stale coffee and old paper. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in a flat glow that made people look harsher than they were. The scarred wooden table separated them from the troopers.
He’d been sitting in a cell for hours waiting for the troopers to get back, and not even Brock could spring him. That had been a new experience. His brother had tried. Ace had seen it in the tight set of Brock’s jaw before they’d shut the bars again.
Troopers Jeb and Paige sat across from him once more, this time even less friendly than before.
“All right, so give us the scoop of exactly what happened last night,” Paige said. Her multiple pens were lined up in front of her. She was writing with a blue one at the moment, her handwriting small and controlled.
Ace exhaled. “I went back to Sam’s Tavern after walking with May to the hospital. Nate and Annie were inside having their baby.”
“What did you do at Sam’s Tavern at that point?” Jeb asked.
Ace could still hear the noise of it, glasses clinking and laughter rising too loud as tourists slapped each other on the back, proud of themselves for catching fish, while the smell of beer and fried food hung thick in the air.
Amka had moved fast behind the bar with her thick hair swinging over her shoulder.
“I sat at the bar and chatted with Amka for a while because it was pretty busy. Then I ended up just getting drinks and clearing tables for her. She needed some help.”
“Where were your brothers?” Paige asked.
“Brock and Ophelia had already left when I went to the hospital. So had Damian. Christian left earlier on some kind of mission for the Alaska Wildlife Troopers.”
“We’re aware of that,” Paige said. “We’ve already been in contact.”
Ace figured they had.
“Then what?” Jeb prompted.
Ace dragged a hand over his jaw, feeling the scrape of stubble. It had been a busy night. “I helped by clearing tables and taking out the trash. I made sure nobody drove off hammered.” His gaze flicked briefly to Daisy. She sat straight with her hands folded on the table, watching the troopers.
“And Ivy?” Paige asked.
There it was.
Ace shifted in the chair, the wood digging into his shoulder blades. “She was there. Like half the town.”
“Did you speak to her?” Jeb asked.
“Yeah.” Ace didn’t bother pretending otherwise. “She was drinking margaritas and having a good time.” He could see it now. Ivy perched on a stool, laughing too loudly at something someone had said.
Paige’s pen scratched faster. “Did you offer her a ride home?”
Ace met her gaze. “Yes.”
The word hung there, heavier than it should have been.
“She wasn’t in any shape to drive,” he added. “I wasn’t drinking.”
The clock ticked again. Somewhere down the hall a door opened and shut. The building carried sound in a way that made everything feel closer than it was.
“Did she accept your offer of a ride?” Jeb asked.
“Yes.” He thought through the night. “At some point, Ivy and Jennifer Walters stumbled up to the bar, laughing and asking Amka if they could stay in the back room for a while.” Their cheeks were flushed, voices too loud for the space.
Ivy had stumbled against the counter, her words running together.
“I offered them a ride home because they obviously couldn’t drive. ”
“That was nice of you,” Jeb said.
“I’m a nice guy,” Ace returned evenly.
Paige didn’t smile. “I see. What time was this?”
Ace dragged a breath through his nose. “I think it was around one.”
“Was it just the two of them?” Jeb asked.
Ace searched his memory. The night blurred at the edges.
He hadn’t been tracking everyone’s movements and had been focused on Amka and keeping things from getting out of hand.
“They were the only two who needed a ride home,” he said.
“They’d been partying and drinking and playing darts with those three guys who always wear flannels. What are their names?”
“The Thompsons,” Daisy supplied quietly.
“Yeah. The Thompsons. And one of them,” Ace continued, “I think Mick’s his name, walked up and said he’d give them a ride. I told him no. I had it. He’d been drinking all night.”
“And you hadn’t?” Paige asked.
Ace’s mouth went dry. He kept his expression steady. “I hadn’t.” He hadn’t touched a drop and had been clear-headed, watching over Amka because his brother had asked. He couldn’t believe Ivy was dead. It felt unreal and wrong at a fundamental level. He glanced at Daisy. “Is May covered right now?”
“You know she is,” Daisy said, giving his hand a brief pat. “You have Brock at the hospital.”
Ace itched to get out of that room. “Yeah, but Brock has a job to do.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Jeb said roughly. “He’s completely off this case because of his connection to you.”
Damn it. Ace wanted Brock on this case. Ivy deserved justice.
He trusted his brother’s instincts but appreciated Brock keeping an eye on May.
Poor Ivy was the second blonde with blue eyes who’d died in their town.
The pattern made his stomach twist. “Are you sure Senator Mercer was out of town all last night?” Ace asked.
“Yep. He’s alibied for the entire night fishing and didn’t fly back until at least six this morning,” Paige said.
Ace leaned back, the chair groaning faintly under his weight. “Then who killed Ivy and the college kid?”
Jeb folded his hands on the table. His tone stayed calm, almost measured. “You’re looking real good for it, Ace.”
Ace didn’t flinch. He’d been in fights before and knew when someone was trying to get a rise out of him. He kept his breathing even and his shoulders relaxed. “I gave Ivy and Jennifer a ride home. That’s it.”
Paige watched him carefully. “Walk us through the entire scenario.”
“I walked them both out to my truck and told Amka I’d return shortly and help her clean up. There were still tons of people at the bar, even at one in the morning, so I knew Amka was safe.”
“Was Ivy upset?” Paige asked.
Ace considered the question. “No.”
“Angry? Scared?” Jeb interjected.
“No.” Ace said.
Paige made another notation. “Did either Ivy or Jennifer argue with anyone before you left?”
Ace replayed it again. The music. The chatter. Ivy dancing to the music coming out through the speakers. “No,” he said firmly. “Nothing out of the ordinary. What did Jennifer say?”
Paige shrugged. “Not much. She’s pretty upset about her friend being murdered.”
So was Ace.
Jeb crossed his arms. “Did Ivy say she was meeting anyone at home?”
Ace shook his head. “No.”
“Did anyone follow you?” Jeb asked.
Of course not. “No,” Ace said. A headache was roaring in through the base of his skull.
Jeb stared at him beneath heavy lids. “Help me understand something, Ace. You’re the last known person to see Ivy Carter alive. You had the opportunity. You had privacy. And now she’s dead.”
Ace felt heat crawl up his neck, but he didn’t let it show. “I didn’t touch her.”
Paige’s voice softened. “Nobody can confirm what happened between the tavern and her front door.”
“That’s correct.” Ace looked down at his hands resting on the metal table. They were steady. He forced himself to look back up. “I didn’t kill Laura and I didn’t kill Ivy,” he said through gritted teeth, May and her safety flashing through his mind. “How much longer are we going to be here?”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Paige said, and it sounded as though she was laughing through the words without humor. “Continue your story.” She stressed the last word enough to stir his temper, but he forced it back down. They had a job to do. If he lost it now, he’d only make things worse.
Ace exhaled. “What else do you want to know?”
“Let’s back up. What time did you take the women home?” Paige asked.
“I already told you it was a little after one,” Ace said, aware they were circling, testing for cracks. He wasn’t giving them one.
“Who sat in the back seat of your truck?” Jeb asked.
“Jennifer did. Ivy hopped in the front.”
Paige switched to the red pen. “Oh. Ivy sat next to you.”
“She was in the front seat,” he said evenly, refusing the bait.
“Then what?” Jeb asked.
This was getting tedious, and Ace hated repeating himself, but he understood their method. “Then I drove down Main Street, took a left, and headed up Wildberry Road toward the newer apartments in Lanscombe Landing. I dropped Jennifer off.”
“Just Jennifer?” Jeb asked.
Ace forced his shoulders to stay loose. “Yes. Just Jennifer. I waited until she got inside her place, and then I drove Ivy home. I went the opposite direction, up Smith Bluff and over into the Cedar Ridge subdivision to drop her off.”
“You knew where she lived?” Paige asked.
“Yeah, I knew where she lived. I know everyone who lives in that subdivision. I helped plow it this past winter,” Ace returned.
Paige scribbled more notes. “Describe her place to me.”
Ace replayed the night in his head. “Ivy lived in a little white house three doors down from Dolores Jerky’s home.” Delores lived in the small subdivision, although she owned three of the rentals in the cove.
“Tell me about her house when you drove up,” Jeb said.
Ace rubbed the back of his neck. “It was after one in the morning, but it was light outside, same as usual this time of year. The house looked quiet with no lights on inside.”
“What happened next?” Paige asked.