“Yes ma’am,” Miguel gave Drew a significant look that Bethany couldn’t interpret. “Ms. Searson, you’ll need to go to the station with us for a simple background check and statement. You were here during one of our operations and we need to clear you.”
“Is that really necessary?” Bethany frowned. She looked at her watch. It was two hours until her first class. “How long will that take?”
“It’s mandatory,” Miguel assured her. “Perhaps Detective Colborne can assist you with your statement.”
Drew gave Miguel a significant look in return. He wasn’t pleased with Miguel’s suggestion. The last thing he needed was to encourage this lady. “Sure thing.”
Bethany looked at Drew in consternation as she realized something. “I left my purse on the boat.”
She was deathly afraid of boats and water. Drew sighed. “I’ll get it.”
Drew acknowledged that he was going to get teased by the guys for this. He was already going to be taking a ribbing from carrying Bethany around like a damsel in distress. His radio buzzed as she walked back toward the boat. “Colborne, who is that with the crew?”
“A civilian,” Drew spoke into his radio. Great. Now the boss was fully aware of Bethany Searson.
“Why is she in my crime scene area?” Green demanded.
“Monroe didn’t keep her out of it,” Drew responded tersely. It wasn’t his fault, nor his responsibility to keep civilians out of the area. He was in enough hot water for yesterday’s performance. Drew didn’t need any more issues with his supervisor.
“Bring her in. Make sure she doesn’t have any ties to this gang then cut her loose.”
“Yes sir,” Drew hopped onto the boat and looked for Bethany’s purse. He found it easily and snooped through it.
Her identification matched her name. She was only a couple years younger than him. Bethany had a good quality health insurance plan card. She also had a swipe card for entry into the city auditorium. There was a couple hundred dollars’ worth of cash in her wallet. Her purse contained the usual assortment of mints, lip gloss, tissues and other items any woman would carry around.
Drew found her day planner and had a quick look. Not that he thought he’d find today’s entry readingcrash police sting operation, but he might see something useful.
Bethany had regular appointments with someone named Dr. Urshman. That didn’t surprise Drew. He knew a crazy lady when he saw one and he suspected this was the shrink. She also had class times written down,he wondered what she was studying, practice and performance times, scheduled Sunday dinners with her parents, and the most interesting entry of all simply said ‘pool’.
For a woman who was afraid of water and boats, she had gone to the pool.
Drew wondered exactly what Bethany Searson’s game was.
Her cellphone was locked. He didn’t have the code, nor a warrant, so he dumped her stuff back in her purse. Gucci. It didn’t look like a knock off. It was frayed on the strap but otherwise in great condition. Bethany’s clothes had all looked smart and expensive.
Rich and crazy. Drew took the bag and left the boat. It didn’t take him long to reconnect with the group who gave him no grief about the purse. They were probably all trying to be polite in front of the lady which each were slightly flirting with. Except Miguel who raised an expectant eyebrow when Drew returned. Drew appreciated the fact that he never had to call out Miguel on any inappropriate comments or behavior regarding women considering the man was married to Drew’s sister Jana. Then again, Jana was more than capable of keeping Miguel in line. She’d kept Drew and his brother Molson in line for years, practically raising them singlehanded because their mother was a flake.
“Ms. Searson, if you’re ready to go?” Drew asked her. It wasn’t really a request. He handed her back the purse.
Dman snickered. Drew gave him a sharp look, but all five guys were trying to look innocent.
Great. He wondered what they’d been up to.
“Yes,” Bethany answered him. “It was nice to meet you all.”
“Pleasure,” Colby nodded with a wide smile. Drew scowled at him. Drew knew that many women had the habit of falling under Colby’s charm. He didn’t need Bethany to do that. He needed her to fill out a report and be on her way out of his life forever.
The rest of the men murmured that it was nice to meet her in return and Drew gently took Bethany by the elbow, steering her away from the group.
“They seemed very nice,” Bethany tried to smooth over the awkwardness. She was picking up on some odd vibes from Drew. He seemed very abrupt. Bethany had obviously interrupted his day and he’d been somewhat annoyed with her ever since. He might look like Max Ramesly, but he had none of his charm.
“Why were you on the boat, Bethany?” Drew asked as they came to the parking lot.
“I told you,” Bethany frowned. “I’m trying to recover a memory.”
“You said you were afraid of water,” he stated as he unlocked his truck. Drew had brought the truck so that he could carpool with Miguel and some of the guys to the marina. Now they were going to have to find their own rides back to the station. He held the door open for her. Drew expected a woman like Bethany would never open a door for herself. She was that class of lady.
“Yes. I am terrified of water,” Bethany gave him an odd look as she got into the vehicle. “I’ve already told you this.”
