“I’ve got a source. I was about to round up a camera crew and confront him. Then he died.”
“How did you put all of this together?”
“It’s what I do. There was talk online for years. Inconsistencies in reports about the crash and the methods used to ID the body. I just kind of got obsessed.”
"Was there ever another person of interest?" I asked.
"When I talked to Frank, he said he never considered anyone else."
"Maybe that was the problem," I said.
"You think they should have looked at other suspects?"
"That would be the reasonable thing to do."
"I talked to almost everyone involved in the case who’s still alive, and nobody has mentioned anything about another suspect,” Chris said. “Jenna Keating picked Ray Corbin out of a lineup."
"That doesn't mean she was correct.”
"You think she's mistaken?"
"I didn't say that. "
"You kind of did."
"There's just a lot of things about this that don’t line up," I said.
"Are you reopening the investigation?"
"I think this warrants a second look."
I told Chris I’d be in touch, then ended the call.
I’d been through the case files numerous times and never found any indication of another person of interest besides Ray Corbin.
Buddy greeted me at the salon door when I returned to theAvventura. Fluffy looked like she couldn’t care less. That’s okay. I knew she loved me.
The boat was quiet. I called for JD and Madelyn, but there was no response.
I jogged up to the sky deck, but they weren’t there. That twinge of dread filled my stomach, but I figured JD had taken her to get some clothing and other necessities.
I called his phone, and it went to voicemail. I left a message.
As soon as I hung up, my phone buzzed with a call from the sheriff. "I need you and that nitwit to get to the Sea Drift Inn, room #109."
"What happened now?” I asked.
"You'll see when you get here," he said.
I spun around, hustled back to the bike, and zipped to the small inn.
33
First responders swarmed the parking lot. Red and blue lights flickered. EMTs and the medical examiner were on the scene. Curious onlookers gathered. Paris Delaney and her news crew had arrived.
It was a circus.
I parked the bike, hopped off, and made my way to the scene.
