“That shouldn’t matter,” I countered. “He wasn’t on duty.”
Jill stared at me. “If he was drinking, then protocol would dictate that he forward any security issues to the station.”
“I had one glass of wine.” Charlie sighed. “But you’re right. I should’ve done what I was trained to do: ask for credentials and call it into the station, especially since the call was to my personal phone. It was really stupid of me.”
“One glass of wine?” I scoffed. “One drink did not interfere with your judgment.”
All three of us knew that was true, but the lingering question between us was why Charlie hadn’t followed directives. Had it been intentional? I couldn’t believe that, so what else might’ve distracted him?
My eyes darted between Jill and Charlie, her in uniform and him in plain clothes.
“This doesn’t look good,” she told him. “You forced your way into his room, and yourfingerprints are all over the crime scene.”
“And he was staring down at me when I found the body,” I added, feeling more and more defeated with every breath. I tried to regain my logical footing. “Even so, that makes Charlie a witness, not a suspect.” The deputy didn’t seem to agree with me, so I tried another direction. “There have to be security cameras; they’ll show you that Charlie had nothing to do with any of this.”
“There are no cameras,” Jill said, more familiar with the ins and outs of this estate’s security than me. “Savilla said that she hasn’t had them installed indoors for privacy reasons, although she may change her mind after this.”
I should’ve already known that. I was sure Savilla had sent it in one of her many updates about the goings-on at our family home, but I’d been so focused on finishing up my last semester and applying for that fellowship.
“You should be using your energy to figure out who called Charlie, not questioning him like he’s some kind of criminal,” I protested, turning to him as if I could show an example of the kind of work the deputy should be doing. “What did the security person sound like? What did they say?”
“It was a light voice. Soft. And they spoke quickly.”
“A woman’s voice?”
“I think so. It was hard to hear in the restaurant, and by the time I made my way outside, they’d hung up.”
Charlie held up his phone for me to see his call log.
The time stamp matched with his account, and the caller was listed as Athena Alarms. I took out my phone and kept my eyes on Charlie’s screen as I searched for the name of the company. Athena Alarms was indeed real and appeared to serve wealthy homes and profitable businesses “across the greater Richmond area.” But then I noticed the phone number at the bottom under “Contact Us.”
“It’s one number different,” I said. “See, there’s a seven at the end of the actual phone number and a four at the end of the number that called you.” I clicked on the “About Us” page andscanned the contents as well. “And it’s AthenaAlarumson the real company’s website. I guess they wanted to sound old-timey.”
“Someone found a real alarm company and pretended to be them… just to get me out to The Rose? But why?”
“Maybe they knew someone was after Todd? And they were hoping you could help?” I suggested before reconsidering. “Or maybe they were the killer and it gave them some kind of thrill to be so close to getting caught?”
“Are we done here, Matlock?” Jill asked, her tone wry.
I glanced at Charlie, and though I couldn’t read his mind, I did have a strong suspicion based on his raised eyebrows that he was thinking along the same lines.
“Look, it gives me no pleasure to do this,” Jill said.
I didn’t believe her.
Charlie dropped into a nearby chair and rubbed his hands over his face. I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was in his button-down and khakis. When he’d met me at the rehearsal three hours ago, he’d smelled like citrus and cedar and he’d been so relaxed in that off-duty way of his. Now, his expression was tense and his hair a mess from nervously combing his fingers through it one too many times.
He caught my eye and he must’ve seen the worry in my face because he took my hand. “It’ll be all right, Dakota. Jill is just doing her job.”
He might have thought it would be all right, but I didn’t have the same confidence. I didn’t just need him to help get me through this weekend. I needed him—not Jill Wright—to help solve this case.
“Once Jill can determine that I didn’t leave the dinner to come here and kill someone—and once the tech guy can confirm the caller—that should help.” Charlie tried for a half-smile. “Besides, they can only keep me in temporary custody for up to forty-eight hours. I know the law.”
“I’ll say it again,” Jill cut in. “I don’t like doing any of this.” She looked to the ground for a couple beats and pushed her shouldersback as if gathering her courage. “Will you let me question you without being arrested?” Jill looked hopefully at him, and I could imagine how hard this must be for both of them.
Charlie let out a long breath and nodded. Then, he stood, motioning for Jill to lead the way back outside to the waiting cop car. He knew what had to happen, so no handcuffs were necessary.
“Wait.” I trailed behind them, my mind spinning fruitlessly with ways to keep him here with me.
