| |
“It doesn’t add up quite right,” I told Cord when she stopped over the following day.
“What’s the problem?” she asked. “I do my best to avoid an ex who hid me away from their friends and family. It sucks to be seen as a secret your partner needs to be ashamed of. Trust me.”
Cord had been through that more than once. Even before we’d dated all those years ago. She would look at things from that vantage point. “You would never let that affect how you did your job, would you?”
“Of course not,” she said fiercely. There wasn’t a lot Cord took seriously, but her job as a paramedic was one of them. “The way I do my job can mean the difference between someone reaching the hospital in time and them dying. I wouldn’t let my personal feelings get in the way.”
“I know.” I hadn’t meant to cut that rough edge on her. “But, he did. From everything else I’ve learned, and what he said, it doesn’t seem like that’s something he’d do.”
“So what?” Cord asked. “You think he’s lying? About innocently talking to her one time. He might not have wanted to make a scene.”
She could be right, but it felt off. “He’s lying about something. I just don’t know if that’s the one thing.”
“What all did he say about Mayra?”
“Not a lot. He said he had wanted nothing to do with her after the break-up. He avoided her the one time she was at the restaurant.”
“You don’t believe him?”
“Something about his story didn’t make sense. I can understand avoiding her. I’ve had exes I don’t want to breathe same air as, but... I don’t know. I mean, wouldn’t he have liked to rub in her face he’d become such a success despite what she thought of him?”
“I might have, but maybe he’s not as vindictive.”
“I’m not sure what else to think,” I said. “Sure, she seemed to be a piece of work, but why would someone want to kill her?”
“What about Shea?” Cord asked.
“What about him? He didn’t actually know her, did he? Is that why he got close to Deke? If so—”
“Slow down.” Cord held up a hand. “I don’t know if he knew her, but Officer Young and Eager said something about an email. We should talk to him about that.”
She had to stop coming up with new names for the cops. “You know where he lives?”
“I do have the internet. It’s not difficult to find people these days. He lives twenty minutes away in Salisdale. Maybe we can get answers from him.”
We were halfway to Salisdale when I started having second thoughts. “What if he won’t talk to us? Deke broke up with him. He won’t want anything to do with this.”
“Even to keep Deke out of jail?”
“Why should he care? Deke walked away from him.”
Cord arched an eyebrow. “You think he’s just given up? That doesn’t explain why he kept calling Deke.”
“How do you know that? I’m sure you don’t have access to his phone records.”
“Nope, but I talk to our friends. Deke complained about it to Quin the other day. Shea wouldn’t stop calling and texting, even though Deke ignored him.”
“He didn’t block the number, though?”
Cord cast me a sidelong glance as she pulled up to a small house painted a soft yellow, and with white shutters around the windows. There were flower beds out front. Everything about the place said the owner took care of their things. Yet, he’d still hurt Deke.
“Deke said he cuts off anyone who doesn’t respect the way he is, but something’s been different with this one from the start. As much as he says he’s done, I don’t think he wants Shea out of his life quite yet.”
“Why doesn’t he answer the phone then?”
“I don’t know,” Cord said. “I’m not his therapist. Now, come on. Let’s see how Deke’s boy got himself involved in this mess.”
We stepped out of the car, and a curtain twitched at a window. A moment later, the door opened before we’d reached the porch. Shea stepped outside and closed the door. I’d only seen him a couple times during his and Deke’s brief relationship, or whatever they called it, but he looked different. His light blond hair was disheveled, his green eyes red-rimmed and heavy lidded. Either he hadn’t been sleeping, or he was hungover.
Possibly both.
“What’s the matter, Shea?” Cord asked. “You don’t want us to see who you have in your bed?”
He snorted. “Good luck on that guessing game. My bed’s been empty for over a week. And you know it. Doesn’t mean I need two people likely to be hostile to me inside my house. My cousins would kill me if I brought that on myself.”
“Why would you think that?” Cord asked. “Just because you were the reason Deke was nearly arrested.”
Shea held his hands up. “I didn’t do anything. All I did was tell that officer about the email I’d received, and my response.” He glanced away. “My only excuse for replying was that I was upset at the time. Maybe Deke, and you, don’t think I have the right to be, but his reaction sucker-punched me.”
“What did you expect?” I asked him. “He told you how he is. You disregarded that.”
“I thought having a key to my place would be easier. It was a stupid way to go about it. I get that. He didn’t even let me explain. Saturday I got that email from that woman asking why I hadn’t been with him at the reunion. I don’t even know how she got my email. I said something petty because I was hurting. She suggested we meet to discuss the way Deke uses people who care about him. At that point, I was done. I’ve never thought that about Deke. He might have hurt me, but that wasn’t his intent. I screwed up. If I knew how to make up for it, I would.”
“He lied to the cops for you,” I told Shea. His face paled even more. I hadn’t been sure that was possible.
“Why would he do that?”
“He thought they were trying to pin the murder on you. He told the cops you were with him the whole time.”
“I’d already told them I hadn’t seen Deke since the week before.”
I nodded. “They took him in for questioning, and he was already high on their suspect list.”
Shea staggered over to his porch swing. “How could anybody... there’s no way Deke would ever hurt somebody like that. He just wouldn’t.”
“We know that,” I told him. “The cops don’t believe it, though. What else did you tell them?”
“Nothing. I swear. I told them about the email and that I never went to meet this woman. I wouldn’t have known what she looked like. Why would I have killed her? She sounded like a witch, particularly in that second email. I dealt with a vindictive, manipulative personality in my last relationship. I didn’t kill him, so why would I have done it to her?” He glanced between Cord and me. “You said he was questioned and nearly arrested. Where is he?”
“Home,” Cord told him. “I’d suggest not going there right now. Also, stop the incessant calls and texts. That will not get him back.”
“Then what will? Please tell me.”
“Time,” I told him. “And showing you can respect his identity. It sucks to have someone make it seem they think they know more about who you are than you do. If you can’t accept him for who he is, you should walk away now.”
“I don’t think I can do that,” Shea said. “The walking away thing, I mean. I respect him and accept him. I thought he understood that.”
“Obviously not,” Cord said, “so you should find a better way to show him. We should get going, though.”
Cord started to the car, but I studied Shea for a moment. “You know,” I said, “he cares about you, too.” Then, I followed Cord down the sidewalk.