I gave him a sheepish grin.“I don’t know.But if I’m late for work, it was worth it.”
* * *
Bree was already at her desk when I arrived.She had her laptop open and two monitors running.She looked like she’d been at it for a while.
She smiled slyly when I walked in.“You’ve never been late before, boss.Did you have a good night?”
My face warmed, which was insane.I was a thirty-five-year-old man, not some kid who got caught sneaking in after curfew.“Yes.”I didn’t feel compelled to give her any more details.
“Did you have another date with June?”Her tone was insinuating but amused.
I frowned.“How would you know about June?”
She laughed.“Pfft.Are you serious?Gossip is Coral Cove’s favorite pastime.”
I laughed gruffly.“I wouldn’t think my love life was that interesting to the people of this town.”
“Well, you’re dead wrong.”She grinned.“So is that why you’re late?You had a hot date with June last night?”
“Uh, no.”I avoided her gaze.
She wrinkled her brow.“No?”
I cleared my throat.“I’m probably not going to see June again.”
“Oh, really?”She blinked at me in confusion.“I thought you two were perfect for each other.”
“Why?”I laughed.
“Because.”She pursed her lips.“You’re both attractive and about the same age.You’re the Chief of Police, and she works at the courthouse.You two just seemed like you’d be a good match.”
“June is great.”I moved toward her desk to see what she was working on.“But I’m not really looking for anything serious right now.I got the feeling June was looking for commitment.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”She seemed genuinely disappointed, and I wasn’t sure why.Was she friends with June?
“Anything interesting on the video?”I asked, leaning over her desk.
“Oh, right.”She swiveled back to her computer.“Well, as you know, a lot of the footage was grainy and hard to see.I asked the tech guys if they could clean up the bait shop footage like you asked.It’s still not great, but it’s usable now.”
“And?”
“Dale Pruitt shows up on camera at 9:47 p.m.He goes straight to his boat.You can see him working near the stern, bent over with what looks like the hatch open.He’s there for about an hour and forty minutes.Leaves at 11:23 p.m.Doesn’t go anywhere near the main pier or any other boats.Just works on his own boat and leaves.”
I exhaled, feeling frustrated.That matched Dale’s story almost exactly.The timestamps, the duration, the location.That meant Dale was doing exactly what he said he was doing the night Eddie died.Fixing his float switch and going home.
“So Dale’s probably clean,” I said.
“Looks that way.”Bree hesitated.“But there’s something else.Someone I didn’t expect.”
I looked at her.“Who?”
“Craig Barlow.”
That got my attention.“Tess Barlow’s husband?”
“Yeah.He shows up at the harbor around 9:00 p.m.He’s on foot, comes in from the parking lot.He goes to one of the smaller boats tied up on the east side.Not his regular boat, a smaller skiff.He takes it out.”She turned her laptop to show me a grainy but visible image of a large man climbing into a small boat.The timestamp read 9:04 p.m.“He doesn’t come back until 1:07 a.m.”
“No shit?”I raised my brows.
