Sunsets, Smoke and Suspicion by Bell Cindy

Author:Bell, Cindy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

“Did you find anything?” Paul walked up to Suzie and Mary as they reached the end of the dock.

“No, nothing.” Suzie shook her head.

“I didn’t have any luck on my boat, either.” Paul tipped his head in that direction. “The good news is that it looks like it won’t take too much to repair it, but I’ll be waiting awhile to get the inspection done.”

“We’re going to head over to the bar.” Suzie started back toward Dune House.

“Going for a drink this early?” Paul caught up with her and matched her pace.

“No, going for information.” Suzie smiled. “We’re hoping to confirm whether James was actually there as he claimed.”

“Wouldn’t Claude know if James was lying? He was at the bar with him,” Paul said. “I’m sure Jason has questioned Claude.”

“Yes, but James could have slipped away.” Mary shook her head.

“I guess that’s possible,” Paul agreed. As they reached the parking lot, he stopped. “I’d offer to come with you, but Jason asked me to come in to discuss the fire. I guess he has some new information.”

“Oh, Paul, that’s fantastic.” Suzie smiled. “I’ll come with you.”

“It’s okay. Any news is good news, right? But it’s more important to find out who killed Patrick. I’ll update you with whatever Jason tells me.” Paul shot a quick smile at Mary. “Look out for each other, all right?”

“Will do.” Mary winked at him. As he walked away, she looked over at Suzie. “He seems to be in a better mood.”

“He does. I hope Jason has some actual answers for him, which should help put his mind at ease.” Suzie opened the door to her car. “Let’s go see if we can find some of our own.”

On the drive over to the bar, Mary searched for information about Claude on her phone.

“If I dig deep enough, I can find some articles about his party days. He definitely still enjoys drinking. And I think he’s telling the truth about being close with Patrick. Look.” Mary waited until Suzie had parked in front of the bar, then showed her the pictures on her phone. “In just about all of the recent pictures of him, Patrick is right there with him, looking a little drunk.”

“That must be where the press got all those pictures of Patrick.” Suzie frowned. “The two of them certainly knew how to party.”

“That’s a good thing. Maybe it means that Claude is a memorable person. And if they remember Claude, they might remember James. He isn’t exactly hard to miss. Hopefully, we’ll get some good information.” Mary stepped out of the car.

Suzie stepped out as well and strode right up to the door of the bar. She pulled it open and continued into the building. The door swung shut behind her, blocking out the sunlight that had spilled into the dim environment.

“Suzie, Mary!” Max, the bartender, waved to them. “I’m surprised to see you in here.”

“Hi, Max.” Suzie led Mary over to the bar. She was relieved that it was Max behind the bar, not the owner, Larry.

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