“You’re not going anywhere,” Paige said, and it sounded as though she was laughing through the words without humor. “Continue your story.” She stressed the last word enough to stir his temper, but he forced it back down. They had a job to do. If he lost it now, he’d only make things worse.
Ace exhaled. “What else do you want to know?”
“Let’s back up. What time did you take the women home?” Paige asked.
“I already told you it was a little after one,” Ace said, aware they were circling, testing for cracks. He wasn’t giving them one.
“Who sat in the back seat of your truck?” Jeb asked.
“Jennifer did. Ivy hopped in the front.”
Paige switched to the red pen. “Oh. Ivy sat next to you.”
“She was in the front seat,” he said evenly, refusing the bait.
“Then what?” Jeb asked.
This was getting tedious, and Ace hated repeating himself, but he understood their method. “Then I drove down Main Street, took a left, and headed up Wildberry Road toward the newer apartments in Lanscombe Landing. I dropped Jennifer off.”
“Just Jennifer?” Jeb asked.
Ace forced his shoulders to stay loose. “Yes. Just Jennifer. I waited until she got inside her place, and then I drove Ivy home. I went the opposite direction, up Smith Bluff and over into the Cedar Ridge subdivision to drop her off.”
“You knew where she lived?” Paige asked.
“Yeah, I knew where she lived. I know everyone who lives in that subdivision. I helped plow it this past winter,” Ace returned.
Paige scribbled more notes. “Describe her place to me.”
Ace replayed the night in his head. “Ivy lived in a little white house three doors down from Dolores Jerky’s home.” Delores lived in the small subdivision, although she owned three of the rentals in the cove.
“Tell me about her house when you drove up,” Jeb said.
Ace rubbed the back of his neck. “It was after one in the morning, but it was light outside, same as usual this time of year. The house looked quiet with no lights on inside.”
“What happened next?” Paige asked.
Ace needed to get to May. “She jumped out and thanked me for the ride, then mentioned it’d be fun to go on a double date sometime. She stumbled a little but made it to her front door.”
“Was it locked?” Jeb asked.
Ace made himself slow down and remember it exactly. “Yes. It was locked. She took keys from her back pocket, unlocked the door, turned and waved to me before she went inside.”
As the image solidified, his stomach rolled, tight and sudden, as if a fist had closed around it. He could see her hand lifting in a lazy wave. Could hear the truck idling. Could remember thinking she’d sleep it off and feel miserable in the morning.
Once she’d gone safely inside, he’d driven away.
And now she was dead.
“Then what?” Jeb asked.
Enough of this crap. “Then I returned to Sam’s Tavern and hung out with Amka, helping her close.”
“Just that?” Paige asked.
Was she insinuating an affair between Ace and Amka? Come on. “As you already know, I drove Amka to Christian’s cabin after we closed down the bar. Tika was waiting.”
“Tika?” Paige asked.
