“Are you sure?”I coaxed.“You won’t be in trouble.We can easily amend your statement.Like I said, it happens all the time.”
“I don’t think I made any m… mistakes.”
“Did I mention we have security video of the harbor for the night Eddie died?”She flicked her eyes to me nervously.“If Dale shows up on that video, it’ll make me wonder why you didn’t tell me he’d gone out that night.If you did make a mistake remembering, it would be good to fix your statement now.Even if Dale did go out, that doesn’t mean anything bad.There’s no need to hide something like that.”
She made a little whining sound deep in her throat, and she hung her head.“Okay, yeah, he… he went out.”She looked up quickly.“But not for very long.”
I struggled to keep my relief from showing.“Okay.That’s great, Nicki.I’m glad you were able to remember that for me.We need accurate statements to piece together where everyone was at any given time that night, so thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she mumbled, cheeks pink.
“Do you by any chance remember what time he went out?”I gave her an encouraging smile.“And when he came home?”
“He… he left around nine, maybe nine-thirty.”She tucked a piece of stringy blonde hair behind her ear.“He had trouble with the boat earlier in the day.That’s why he came home early.After dinner, he remembered he had a part in the garage he could use to fix the boat.So he got it and went down to the harbor to work on the float switch.But he was back by midnight.I’m positive about that.”
I nodded.“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because I knew how it would look.”She met my gaze guiltily, and her exhaustion was obvious.She’d probably been lying for Dale about a lot of things for a lot of years.I could see the strain of it etched into her face.“I… I panicked.Not because I think Dale did anything wrong, but because I know the whole damn town already thinks the worst of him.”
“I understand.You were trying to protect him,” I said.“But I need the truth, not what looks good.Not because I want to railroad Dale or anything, but simply so I can piece together the night that Eddie died.I have to know where everyone was, not just Dale.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, looking a little like a sad mouse.
“It’s okay.You told me the truth now, so we’re good.”I smiled at her.“Did Dale say anything when he got home?Was he upset, agitated?”
“No more than usual,” she muttered.“He was grumpy and tired, like he always is.He had a beer and came to bed.”
“Did he mention seeing Eddie’s boat?Seeing anyone at the harbor?”
“No.He didn’t say anything about anything.”She gave a weary smile.“But that’s Dale.He doesn’t talk much.I never know what’s going on inside that head of his.”
I was relieved she’d finally told me the truth.It was an important detail I’d need if I had to build any kind of case against Dale.He no longer had an alibi for the time Eddie had died.That didn’t make him guilty, but it proved he’d had the opportunity.At the moment, Dale was my number one suspect, if Eddie’s death was a homicide.I was dying to hear what he’d have to say when I told him his alibi had been cracked.
I had Bree take Nicki to the waiting room, and I went to see Dale in interview Room C.His energy was completely different from his wife’s.His arms were crossed, jaw working like he was chewing on something.He was already angry when I walked through the door.
“I told you everything I know,” he said before I’d even asked a question.
“You sure about that?”I smiled as I took my seat across from him.
“Absolutely,” he snapped.
I rested my elbows on the tabletop.“We have a little bit of a problem, though, Dale.”
He narrowed his eyes.“What kind of problem?”
I leaned forward.“Your wife says you went out the night Eddie died.You weren’t home all night with her like you said you were.”
The color left his face in a way that was almost satisfying to watch.He hadn’t expected Nicki to give him up.His eyes glittered with confusion as he looked at me, then at the wall, and then back to me again.But then his expression hardened.“So what if I did?It’s a free country.”
“Where did you go?”I asked calmly.
He leaned back in his chair, a muscle working in his jaw.“I went to the harbor to work on my boat.”
I gave him a skeptical look.“You went to work on your boat at night?Why not do that during the day?”
“Because I didn’t remember I had the part I needed in the garage until later that night.I realized I could fix the boat instead of losing another day of fishing.I don’t have the luxury of not fishing,” he grated out.“It didn’t matter what time it was.I needed to fix my damn boat.”
“Okay, fair enough.”I studied him.“While you were at the harbor, did you see Eddie Salcedo or his boat?”
