Waning Innocence by Tyora Moody

Author:Tyora Moody [Tyora Moody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tyora Moody
Published: 2022-07-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Thursday, May 23, 11:37 a.m.

Joe Miller stood outside the marina’s main office building like a soldier. He was a stout man with a belly that would look great in a Santa suit. He wore one of those skipper hats with the bill pulled down low over his head. It wasn’t until we were up close, I could see his dark eyes.

“Are you Joe Miller?”

The man answered back in a gruff voice. “Who wants to know? I’m not talking to the press. You people need to leave that family in peace.”

“Actually, I’m Serena Manchester, a private investigator, and this is my associate, Amir Wright. We’re trying to track down the whereabouts of a missing young woman who attended a wedding here a few weeks ago.”

Joe’s bushy, silver streaked eyebrow shot up. “Missing woman? Here at the marina. This is the first I heard. What’s going on at this place?”

“Please, can we talk inside? That way, you won’t bring attention from the folks over there.” I pointed towards the reporters, who were eyeing the door and probably wondering how Amir and I could get so close.

“Sure. Come in.”

We followed the burly man inside. I realized the humid air outside had my shirt stuck to my back. The cool air from the building soothed my hot skin. “So, when did this woman go missing?”

“The weekend of Mary Kate Cook and Ashton Barnaby’s wedding.”

The man’s face turned even redder. “Oh, I was here for that one. Quite the affair. Large turnout, too. Took us days to clean up after that one. Do you have a photo or flyers of the young woman? I can hang them around the marina.”

I almost smacked my head. Why didn’t I think to do that?

“I have a photo, but I would be happy to bring back flyers if that’s okay.” I showed the photo on my phone to the manager, the same photo I’d shared with Mark earlier.

Joe looked at the photo. Recognition dawned on his face as he pointed at my phone. “Oh, I remember her.”

Hope blossomed in my chest. Finally, somebody who might be able to provide a lead. “You saw her here at the wedding?”

“Yes, she was one of the bridesmaids. Not to be funny, but she’s hard to miss. She’s a beautiful girl. But that’s not why I remember her.”

I inquired. “No, something else stood out to you?”

“Oh, yeah. I remember I felt bad for the girl. That Tucker boy who was just killed, he was arguing with her.”

I glanced at Amir, my hope transitioning into anxiety. “Could you hear what they were arguing about?”

“No, but I started to go over there. He pushed her and I don’t like that. A man’s not supposed to put his hands on a woman like that. But she was feisty. Shoved him back, and he looked at her. Then he just walked off. She started crying, and I felt bad. I really wanted to tell her, ‘Honey, it’s okay. Forget about that guy. He’s not worth your tears.

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