Chapter 23
Hayley finally forced herself to watch as another cruiser arrived on the scene and Sergio ordered Officers Donnie and Earl to haul Rusty Wyatt down to the station and book him on suspicion of drunk driving.
Okay, it was a horse and buggy.
But it was still driving under the influence.
Hayley was about to intervene and explain the facts of what really happened, but she stopped herself.
Even though she knew for a fact that Rusty was stone-cold sober, the threat of jail time and a heavy fine might get him talking to Sergio.
Perhaps he even might offer the information Hayley wanted to get out of him in order to secure his release and make sure he was home in time for Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Besides, she would rather not be the one to highlight her own role in the fender bender that was going to cost the department some serious cash to repair the front grill of the police chief’s cruiser.
Officer Donnie put a hand on top of Rusty’s curly blond head, his elf hat blown clear across town by now, and guided him into the backseat of the car. Officer Earl was already in the driver’s seat starting the engine while Sergio talked on his cell phone, presumably to someone with a tow truck.
Hayley limped back to the village green, her right knee throbbing.
She saw in the distance the lights on the giant pine tree flick on to wild applause.
The town band started up again, playing “O Christmas Tree,” as the red and green lights blinked on and off, almost in time with the music.
When Hayley arrived at the park, she made a beeline for Mr. Streinz and quickly paid for the plastic tumblers of Feuerzangenbowle; then she carried them over to the now-thinning crowd, where Aaron waited patiently for her.
She handed him a tumbler.
“That didn’t take long at all,” Aaron said with a smirk.
“I suppose I should explain—”
“That’s all right. You don’t have to.”
“No, I really should.”
“It’s fine. I know what’s really going on here.”
“You do? What?”
She really wanted to know.
“You have an elf fetish.”
Hayley nearly spit out her Feuerzangenbowle.
“Aaron—”
“No, I get it. You’ve got this thing for guys with pointy ears who like to wear tights. You go wild when one’s around, and you lose yourself, and you get so excited you wind up chasing him around, trying to play with him, like an overexcited kitty with catnip.”
He was a vet, so he could be forgiven the metaphor.
“No, really—”
“Seriously, Hayley, let me believe you have an elf fetish. Otherwise, I’m going to have to know the truth of why you just did what you did, and, frankly, I’m not sure I’m emotionally ready to handle that.”
“Okay.”
“You want to grab some dinner? The tree lighting is pretty much over. FYI. You missed it.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Dinner sounds great.”
They walked down Main Street to Geddy’s, one of the few local establishments open during the winter months, passing a tow truck driver using a dolly to slot the damaged cruiser’s two front tires in order to drive it up onto the trailer hitch of the truck.
Aaron shot Hayley a look.
He instinctively knew she had something to do with this.
Hayley kept her eyes straight ahead, feigning innocence.
A couple of beers, a plate of nachos, and some fried shrimp later, Hayley and Aaron were laughing over some silly joke, holding hands across the table, both remembering what had attracted them to each other in the first place.
It was so easy with Aaron.
And those eyes.
And that smile.
Hayley took a deep breath. She had to control herself. They were in a public place.
Her cell phone in her back pants pocket buzzed. She chose to ignore it.
Their date was finally back on track and she was not going to jeopardize it again by becoming distracted. The buzzing finally stopped.
Hayley flagged down the waitress and asked her for a dessert menu. She knew Aaron had an insatiable sweet tooth.
Plus she wanted to prolong their date—she was having such a nice time and didn’t want it to end.
Her butt began buzzing again.
She shifted in her seat.
No. She was not going to answer it.
More buzzing.
This time it was coming from across the table.
Aaron reached into his own pants pocket, pulled out his phone, and checked the screen. “I have to take this. It’s Mrs. Delaney calling me. I have to break the news that her collie has parvo. It’s always a tougher call when it’s this time of year. I’ll be right back. Order whatever you want.”
Aaron grabbed his coat and headed out the door to talk to his patient’s owner. Hayley immediately reached into her own back pocket and retrieved her cell.
It was Sergio. She hurriedly answered.
“Sergio? Did you question Rusty Wyatt? What did he say?”
“Good evening to you too.”
“I only have a few minutes to talk, so make it fast.”
“You know when I talk fast, I slip into Portuguese.”
“I’m on a date, Sergio!”
“I cut a deal with Rusty. I told him if he paid for the damage to my cruiser and came clean about why he lied for Ken Massey, I would drop all charges. So he sang like a caterpillar.”
Canary.
Not caterpillar.
Canary, Sergio.
But they were short on time, so she was not going to bother correcting him.
“It turns out the grieving widow, Tiffany Rawlings, was not only cheating on her husband, Garth, with Ken Massey, she was also sleeping on the side with Rusty Wyatt.”
Hayley gasped. “Are you kidding me? My God, the woman gets around!”
“Rusty admitted he was with Tiffany at her house at the time of Garth’s death. He went so far as to tell me they were in her bed, cuddling, when he got the call that there was a body at the warehouse and they needed a paramedic at the scene.”
“Why did he agree to lie for Ken?”
“Because Ken came to him in a panic. He didn’t have an alibi on the night of the murder and he knew suspicion would fall on him, given his rocky past with Garth. Also, if it came out that he was having an affair with the victim’s wife, the public would bury him. But he didn’t tell Rusty that part. He didn’t want anyone to know. He just convinced his good buddy to help him out so he wouldn’t be arrested for a crime he didn’t commit.”
“So Rusty must have found out the truth about Tiffany and Ken, became enraged with jealousy, and threatened to go to the cops with the truth if he didn’t end his affair with Tiffany. That’s what they were arguing about on the phone when I approached him at the village green.”
“So, if Rusty is telling the truth and he was with Tiffany the whole time, then Ken is the only one left standing without an alibi.”
“Which means he could more than likely be the killer,” Hayley said as she spotted Aaron coming in from outside and pocketing his phone. “Got to go, Sergio. Talk to you later.”
Hayley hid her phone underneath a napkin as Aaron returned and took his seat across from her. “Sorry about that. I know it’s rude.”
“You’re forgiven this time,” Hayley said, winking.
Ken Massey.
She was sure it was Ken Massey.
But unless he was a master magician, Bar Harbor’s very own David Blaine, how did he get in and out of a locked warehouse without a key?