Shadow's Loss (Shadow Island FBI Mystery Series Book 14) by Mary Stone

Author:Mary Stone [Stone, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mary Stone Publishing
Published: 2024-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

20

Rebecca pulled the cruiser up to the curb outside the Seabreeze Café, killing the engine. It seemed somehow fitting to be back at the start, where just two days ago, she and Meg had planned to meet and celebrate their election wins.

Now Meg was laid up in the hospital, and the man who might have tried to kill her was inside the café, waiting under guard of her two deputies.

Rebecca’s stomach churned with unease. Even, if Billy King wasn’t their murderer—if it was his buddy Ball Cap who’d tried to kill Meg—they still had a long list of questions for him. Billy would be the only one who’d spoken to the man.

Really, he no longer tracked as their prime suspect now that they’d spotted the man from the hospital video who resembled Ball Cap from outside the school. But since he was their only connection to the mystery man, they’d see what he knew. She sighed, stepping onto the curb.

Might as well have a chat with him.

Hoyt followed Rebecca into the café as the dinner crowd thinned out.

Betty bustled over, her face pinched with worry. “Back there. He’s in a booth in the back. Locke and Coffey are keeping an eye on him. Can you keep it quick? We’re trying to close up.”

“We’ll do what we can.”

Rebecca wound her way past customers, aware their gazes tracked her progress. At the very back, Deputies Coffey and Locke stood guard next to a booth. As she approached, Locke shifted aside to reveal a sullen Billy King. He hunched forward, blinking rapidly, panic clear in his shifty, darting eyes.

She slid into the seat opposite him. Hoyt stood next to her. Keeping her voice low, she fixed King with an icy stare. “Where were you yesterday between one and three p.m.?”

His tongue darted out, wetting his lips. “I was, uh, I was at a job interview. Even though I inherited my aunt’s house, I still need an income.” He attempted a weak smile.

Rebecca’s expression remained stony. “And where were you an hour ago?”

Billy seemed to relax slightly. “Here. I heard the food was really good and didn’t feel like cooking. Ask the server. I’ve been here since seven forty-five or so.”

Behind him, Locke grimaced and nodded. “He’s telling the truth. I verified it with Betty when he first told us. She said he came in during the tail end of the dinner crowd, and it took him awhile to get his meal, and he’s been here the whole time.”

Rebecca wasn’t surprised by the revelation. Billy King wasn’t the man from the hospital security footage. He had an alibi. She presented the photo pulled from the school’s security camera and pointed to the person in dress slacks. “Is this you?”

Billy glanced at it and nodded. “That one’s me. On election night, yeah?”

“Yeah. Tell me about him. Tell me about the man you talked to outside the school Tuesday night. The same man who gave you a drink.”

Confusion clouded King’s face. “I don’t know. He was just some dude trying to scare me off from joining some kind of boat club.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.