“Chief Thomas, that’s my bike. Should I follow you to the station?”
“Why don’t you just ride with us? We’ll give you aride back to your bike,” Chief Thomas said lightly, and I stopped to square off with him.
“Listen, this is starting to sound eerily like I am being arrested. I’m psychic, remember? Don’t try to pull shit over on me,” I seethed and then clamped my lips together, looking briefly at the cloudless sky as I counted to five and mentally kicked myself.
I had no idea if Cash had told his family what I did for a living, but the cat was out of the bag on that one now, too. Chalk this up to one of the crappiest mornings ever.
“A psychic, huh?” I heard Dylan say to Cash as Chief Thomas held open the back door of his sheriff’s car for me, confirming my suspicions that Cash hadn’t told his brother what I did for a living. For some reason, this irked me even more and I found myself wanting to kick the back of the seat as Chief Thomas and his deputy got in front.
“Was this really necessary? You know I would have come down to the station,” I pointed out as we drove through town.
“We’ll take you back to your bike,” Chief Thomas said calmly.
“That’s not the point. That was the first time I was meeting one of Cash’s family members. How do you think this is going to look?”
Chief Thomas shot me a brief look of sympathy over his shoulder as we pulled into the parking lot of the station.
“I’m sorry. Sometimes a murder investigation takes precedence over everyday life,” Chief Thomas said, reminding me that sometimes it’s not all about me.
I bit back my response as I followed Chief Thomas into the small station, my head hanging down.
Tequila Key doesn’t have a lot of crime, and the police station reflected that. A small stucco building, it housed a two-person jail cell, a few offices, a front desk and waiting area, and an interrogation area, all painted in a cheerful, blinding turquoise. I have no idea why so many seaside businesses insist on painting the interior of their spaces the same color as the ocean, but there you have it.
I stiffened when I realized I was being led into the interrogation area.
“Now, why does it suddenly feel like I need to call my lawyer?” I asked lightly, standing on one side of a grey metal table while Chief Thomas took a seat across from me.
“Althea, you are not under arrest. This is an informal questioning. We could do this in my office as well; it’s just that there are more chairs here,” Chief Thomas sighed.
“But it’s just me and you,” I pointed out, still refusing to sit.
“Not for long it won’t be,” Chief Thomas grumbled and I looked up as I heard voices outside the door.
“Let him in,” Chief Thomas called, and in a moment, Cash’s strong frame filled the door.
Cash looked directly at me.
“Do you need a lawyer?”
My heart clenched a bit. He didn’t even ask if I’d done anything wrong, he was just immediately ready to ride to my rescue. Oh yeah, I could see myself falling for this one, I thought.
“No, because I haven’t done anything wrong,” I said.
Cash moved around the side of the table and, takingmy hand, pulled me over next to him to sit in one of the two uncomfortable plastic chairs.
“Where’s Dylan?”
“Getting coffee.”
I nodded, biting my lip, unsure of how to proceed, so I allowed the silence to fill the room as Chief Thomas sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“Althea, you know that withholding information on a crime is illegal, right? It’s technically blocking a police investigation.”
Cash shot me a glance, but I just nodded, waiting to see what Chief Thomas had to say.
“We’ve had a report that you were on the beach the other night, along with Ms. Lavelle. Her car was seen leaving the beach.”
Ice shot through my veins as I flashed back to our run from the beach and my forgotten flip-flops.
