“Yes, it’s too bad. Do you have a place you recycle these?” I waved the can again.
“Umm.” His eyes grew, and he pointed at the kitchen. “There’s probably a bag in there.”
Reed did a quick jog to grab it. He held the bag open next to me and I dropped the can into it. “Did you like Lisa?”
“Yeah,” he answered quickly. “She cut my rent two hundred dollars last year when they reduced my hours at work.”
Wow, that was nice of Lisa. I grabbed another can and dropped it in Reed’s bag. “What about Selene?”
Bud crinkled his nose for a fraction of a second, but long enough I caught it. He shrugged. “She’s okay.”
Another can tossed into the bag. “Just okay?”
“She can be a little snotty,” he said and watched me toss away another one of his cans without bothering to help.
“Did Selene ever have issues with Casey or Lisa?” I asked, stopping to watch his reaction with a beer can in my hand.
He flinched. “You could say that. These walls are thin and sometimes you hear things.”
I glanced at Reed with horror. The walls were thin? Hopefully, not so thin that people heard what happened between us earlier. My core throbbed at the memories, and I bit my bottom lip. Reed raised his eyebrow at my expression.
“What happened?” I asked, turning back to Bud while trying to forget the muscular SEAL next to me.
“I don’t eavesdrop, but sometimes a fella can’t help but hear. And this one got loud.”
18
I leaned forward, snatched a beer can from the coffee table, and dropped it in the bag. Bud continued to just watch from his spot on the couch. “How loud? Did the police get involved?”
If Casey and Selene had a domestic dispute, and there was police evidence of it, that would give us more clues. I made a mental note to get a copy of any reports and include it for Delaney. She’d love me even more.
“Selene and Casey fought about little things here and there like any couple, but last month was a blowup of grand proportions. It sounded like they even broke a glass or two. I kept my nose out of it.” He sounded proud of his decision to mind his own business, but I really wished he’d been nosy.
I discarded another beer can. “You don’t know what they fought about?”
He shook his head. “No idea. Selene spent a few days with her sister, and they eventually made up.”
Hmm, a big fight and then a month later, Casey ends up dead. It had suspicious written all over it. We had to find out what they argued about that day. But how? It’s not like we could just ask.
What would a good reporter do?
I yawned as I paced in our living room later still thinking of our options. The case details were circling my head, but the lack of sleep and inexperience This nein solving murders muddied the waters. The pacing seemed to help Reed, but the longer I walked, the less it helped me sort out the details.
“If I Google how to make a death look like an embolism, am I going to end up on a watch list?” I asked, before making a turn to restart my circle.
“Probably, yes.” Reed lifted his head from his phone from where he sat on our couch. “Why don’t you come sit down?”
I shook my head after he patted the couch cushion beside him. “No, I can’t. Parts of you distract me.”
He made a quick snort sound. “What?”
“Your chest. It’s all…” I waved my hand at him to encompass the area in question in case he forgot where his chest was located. “Muscular.”
His T-shirt moved. Was he flexing at my comment?
“See!” I said, pointing at it. He knew what he did. I widened my pacing circle. The alternative path put me into the front room where I had to make the step over the uneven floors without falling. It took more concentration than I wanted to admit.
Reed laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
