“Yeah, but Darcy will help her through it.”
“So will Faith.”
Ed nodded. He didn’t know Faith well. One week she was Lara’s pony club instructor, and practically the next week, she was Darcy’s fiancée. Darcy looked happier than he had in a while though, so Ed figured she was good for him. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me your story from the moment you met Tess.”
He frowned. “Why from there? Isn’t the guy with the gun the important part?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t argue with me.”
He was just about to, when he noticed the dark rings under her eyes, and the weary slump of her shoulders. Dealing with Stonefish had to be difficult for her as well. “All right.” He explained that Sheridan had almost run over Tess and he’d later seen her looking distressed at the hire car counter.
“She didn’t ask for a lift?”
“No, she was hesitant to accept, and wouldn’t say where she wanted to go.”
“You didn’t think that odd?”
“She seemed a little nervous, but if a strange man asked Georgie where she was headed, I hope she wouldn’t tell him.” He grinned. “Even if he was as handsome as me.”
Dot chuckled. “You saw no one suspicious at the airport? No one who could have been watching you?”
“Dot, the airport was packed full of pissed off people. Even if someone had been watching me, I wouldn’t have noticed. My focus was getting a hire car before they ran out and getting home.” But her questions mirrored those Georgie had asked. “You think Tess is a plant?”
She pressed her lips together. “It’s a possibility I’m not willing to rule out yet.”
“She was terrified, Dot.”
“But was it because she’d witnessed a murder, or because Stonefish were forcing her to do something she didn’t want to do?”
Crap. She had a point. Stonefish had forced others to do their bidding. “What about the dead body?”
“It hasn’t been found, and there are no missing person reports which match Tess’s description.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Right. I’ll be careful about what I say around her.” He didn’t believe Tess was lying, but he’d be stupid not to be cautious.
“Now, tell me about the attack last night.”
Ed gave as much detail as he could. Dot pulled out a photograph. “This him?”
“Yeah, where did you get that?”
“Looked up his driver’s licence.” She showed him a second, hand-drawn picture of an older woman. “Do you recognise her?”
He shook his head. “Did you draw it?”
She nodded.
“That’s amazing, Dot. You’re even better than I remember.” Once when she visited Brandon she had brought out a sketch pad and Ed had sat next to her as she’d drawn the view from the sand dunes near the house. He’d been so excited to hear his dad praise her skills, and it had given him hope he wouldn’t have to be a farmer if he could find something else he was good at.
Dot rolled her eyes. “It’s adequate.”
“Is she the woman who Tess saw killed?”
“Yeah.” She stood. “Now you can give me the gun. I’ve dusted the door handle for fingerprints. Did he touch anywhere else?”
Ed considered the question. “No, but I’ve got his car keys too.”
