Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
kole
“I thought you were sick.” I watched as Dani entered the kitchen.
“And I thought you’d still be sleeping, but here we both are,” she tossed back.
I raised an eyebrow at her newfound attitude. She’d been home the last two days with a cold, but she apparently decided to stop avoiding me. Something had changed, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
She was wearing jeans and an oversized black sweater along with a pair of black boots.
It was pretty much her everyday outfit, and even though she was completely covered up, I couldn’t get her bare ass out of my head ever since she flashed me.
I rubbed my hand over my face, trying to concentrate on anything other than her.
I buttered my toast as she grabbed her purse off the counter. Even her demeanor had changed. Her confidence was shining bright, which I enjoyed watching, but I couldn’t stop questioning it. What happened in the last couple days?
“Why are you up?” she asked. “Didn’t you close the bar last night?”
“Yes,” I answered slowly. “I was hungry. Are you done avoiding me?”
She laughed lightly. “You’ve been doing the same. But yes, I’m done.”
“Still don’t trust me?”
Her eyes darted to mine. “No. But I know you won’t hurt me.”
A quiet danger lurked in her voice, and I set down the butter knife to study her. Her eyes were crystal clear, and there was absolutely no emotion in them. She gave me a small smile before heading out the door.
Two minutes later, the house phone rang, and I climbed the stairs to answer it. Taking a seat in the office chair, I picked up the receiver.
“Kole, you need to come down to the station.”
I frowned, wondering what happened for Harry to sound so serious. Maybe they had a suspect for whoever broke into the butcher shop.
“Why?” I questioned.
“You’ll see when you get here.”
He hung up on me, and I stared at the phone for a moment before setting it down.
What the hell was that about? In all the years I’d been here, I’d never been summoned to the police station.
After grabbing my jacket from my bedroom, I went downstairs and snagged my piece of toast before leaving the house.
I sat in the office that was the makeshift interrogation room. My chair was pushed in the corner with Harry sitting across from me and the only exit was behind him. I leaned back, crossing my arms.
“What’s this about?” I asked.
“You’re not in trouble—”
“I know that,” I cut in, irritation in my voice. “I haven’t done anything wrong. So why am I in this room?”
“Someone’s dead,” Harry said bluntly.
I straightened up, resting my elbows on the table. “Who?”
Before he could answer the door opened again, and Dani quietly stepped in and took the seat next to Harry. I raised my eyebrows, my eyes darting between them. It took me a second to realize why she was in here, and when it clicked, I let out a chuckle.
“Studying criminal behavior, Dani?” My gaze went back to Harry. “What the hell is going on?”
“Calm down, Kole.” Harry waved his hand. “You’re not a suspect. Natalie thought it would be good training for the intern.”
Dani’s face held nothing as she met my eyes. Even if this was training for her, she was in work mode. I could tell she was studying every move I made. If I was a suspect, I wondered how well she’d do at inspecting my behavior.
“Lucas was found at the bottom of the mountain side,” Harry informed me, fidgeting with his fingers since he couldn’t smoke in here. “Right off the trail behind town.”
Leaning back in my chair, I took in that information. “An accident?”
Harry shrugged. “We don’t know yet. No stab wounds though.”
Which meant if someone did kill him, then this might not have anything to do with the theft of the butcher knives. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.
“When did it happen?”
Dani frowned at my question, her brows furrowing even more when Harry answered me.
In any other town, the sheriff would not be discussing an open case with the bar owner.
But this was Winterlake, and I’d been here for years.
Harry trusted me, and since he half assed his job, he wanted someone to lean on.
Usually I hated it, but this was different. Especially if Lucas was murdered.
“The doctor thinks it was two nights ago.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “What do you want to do about this, Harry? Rumors are going to spread.”
“Keep them at bay,” he snapped. “When they talk at the bar, make sure they all think it was an accident.”
“And if it wasn’t?” I asked.
“We’ll figure it out. But right now, we don’t need the panic this could cause.” He sighed. “Have you heard anything at the bar? Anyone mad at Lucas?”
“I haven’t heard anything other than when you told me that he was bothering his ex at the café, and someone stepped in.”
Dani didn’t react to my words even though I was talking about her. Harry let out a scoff, shooting her an amused look.
“I’ve talked to her and Hallie already, and other than that small interaction at the café last week, Dani hadn’t seen him since.” Harry stood up. “Hallie didn’t seem all that torn up to learn Lucas passed.”
“He was an asshole to her,” I snapped. “Why should she feel bad?”
“I’m not blaming her for anything,” he retorted. “Right now, we’re saying his death was an accident. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
He exited the room, closing the door behind him. Dani remained seated, and I gave her a small grin as I crossed my arms.
“Why is the crime always kept secret here?” she murmured. “First the butcher shop, and now this.” She shook her head when my gaze raised to the camera above the door. “It’s not on. It’s broken. Apparently, interrogations don’t happen often here.”
“Never,” I corrected her. “They never happen because there isn’t ever any large crime.”
“It’s happening now.”
“Then maybe you should start lining up the interns to question since all this happened in the last three weeks when newbies arrived.”
“You don’t think his death was an accident?”
“I don’t know. But we know someone stole those knives.”
“And you think it was one of the interns?” Her voice was soft and inviting. It matched the warmth in her eyes that I never witnessed before. “Why?”
I let out a gruff laugh. “You’re good.”
“Good at what?”
I tilted my head. “Is this what you did before you came here? Sat in interrogations and tried to figure out the person sitting across from you?”
“I’m not trying to do anything,” she replied, drumming her fingers lightly on the table. “Harry just wanted to tell you what was going on. I was just curious if you knew why this place is so secretive when it comes to crime.”
I stared at the woman in front of me, wondering where the hell she came from. Gone was the closed-off, untrusting person I lived with, and in its place was a friendly, smiling stranger who looked like she’d take all my secrets to the grave.
I shook my head, blowing out a chuckle. “It’s too bad I can see right through the show you’re putting on since you’ve never spoken this nicely to me before. But I’m sure whoever is in this room next will open up and give you all the answers you want.”
“Since Harry thinks Lucas’s death was an accident, I shouldn’t have to question anyone.” Her lips tipped up in a grin. “And maybe this isn’t a show. Maybe I’m just reacting to the company at home. You’re not exactly nice to me, are you?”
“Oh, Dani,” I murmured, letting my eyes trail down her body as she stood up. “I already told you how I felt. You want me to be nice? Then I’ll be crossing the line as a roommate. All you need to do is say yes.”
The slight pink appearing on her cheeks made me wish I could read her mind. I never knew what she was thinking, and the fact I’d admitted that I wanted her without knowing if she felt the same was fucking driving me crazy.
The door opened again, and Natalie stuck her head inside, making Dani jump slightly in surprise. I nodded in greeting when she looked at me, and she muttered a hello before turning her attention to Dani.
“Until we get the official cause of death, it’s back to normal business,” she said briskly. “We have stacks of files that need to be uploaded.”
This small town was years behind the rest of the world when it came to technology, and this was the first year the sheriff’s office decided to move all paper files to digital. I was sure it was tedious work.
“Of course,” Dani muttered. “I did one this morning and I’m halfway done with another. I’ll get it done before I leave today.”
She followed Natalie out of the room. After a moment, I got up and made my way to the front of the police station. Before I got to the door, I caught sight of Tristin sitting at the desk. He was staring at the wall, a frown on his face.
“Sorry about your friend,” I said, making him look at me.
“I don’t need your fucking pity,” he ground out. “You didn’t like Lucas.”
“It doesn’t mean I’m glad he’s dead.”
“Someone killed him,” Tristin exploded, his hands curling into fists. “I told Harry, and he just brushed me off.”
I strode closer to the desk. “Why do you think that?”
“Because Lucas isn’t stupid enough to fall off a damn cliff.” He scoffed. “And the guy was terrified of heights. He would never get close enough to the edge to fall.”
“Maybe he was drunk. You know how he liked his tequila—”
“No,” he interrupted me sharply. “I’m telling you he didn’t fall.”
“Okay, calm down.” I rested my palms on the tall desk, leaning over to talk to him. “We won’t know the truth until the investigation is over. And I’m sure Harry already told you not to run your mouth about it. Keep this to yourself.”
He glared at me. “Why? I can say what I fucking want. And when I find out who killed him, I’ll make sure that person pays for it.”
“Careful, Tristin,” I warned him in a low voice. “You might work here but that can quickly change if you don’t follow the rules. Keep this to your fucking self or consider yourself banned from my bar.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked, but he didn’t respond. I might not work at the police station, but I had sway in this town. Even though Harry did the bare minimum, he wanted to keep this quiet. If Tristin didn’t listen, there would be problems.
I pushed off the desk and went outside. The frigid air hit my face, and I shoved my hands in my pockets as I walked down the sidewalk. It was early, and the town was still sleeping. Not that it was busy during the day either.
I blew out a breath, wondering how this was going to play out. If it was determined that Lucas was killed, the next few days were going to be a shit show.