“I won’t be long, thanks.” I remained standing and pulled the notebook out of my pocket.
“Where were you yesterday evening around six o’clock?”
He frowned. “I’m a suspect for something?”
“You might be.”
“Pretty sure I haven’t broken any laws, unless indecency counts.” There was that smile again, tugging all the needs in me like unknotted strings.
Okay, maybe he hadn’t changed all that much from the high school boy I had fallen for.
Spud bombed back over, a stuffed moose in his mouth. He stopped at my feet, dropped it, and sat, tail wagging.
I patted his head again and that seemed to be the signal he’d been waiting for. He bolted back to his toy box.
“It’s not against the law to be naked on your own property,” I said. “As long as your neighbors don’t complain you’re in the clear. So where were you last night?”
“Around six? Jump Off’s. Had dinner. Burger: double cheese, double onion, and a couple beers.”
“No fries?”
He shrugged.
“Do you have something against fries?”
“Does this crime involve fries?” He was still smiling. I was trying not to.
“Answer the question, Mr. Bailey.”
“I wouldn’t accuse them of murder, but it’s rather suspicious how many heart attacks they leave in their wake.” He raised one eyebrow.
I nodded slightly. Well played.
“Were you with a date?”
“As in fruit?”
“As in person.”
Spud was back. Dropped a stuffed fish this time. I petted his head, and he was off.
“Steve—a guy who wants me to convert a space in Tillamook—sat with me for a bit.”
“How long did Steve stay?”
“He left around eight, I think.”
“And how long did you stay?”
“One o’clock or so.”
“Pretty late on a Sunday night.”
“I didn’t have anywhere to be in the morning. What’s this about, Laney? What happened?”
Spud arrived at a trot and dropped a cow at my feet. I knew the routine. I scratched behind his ears and Spud dashed off again.
“Did you see Dan Perkin there?”
