I groaned. "What is it now?”
"Mendoza lost Earl.”
An exasperated look flashed on my face. “What!?”
Daniels shrugged. "It happens.”
I knew all too well that sometimes a suspect could prove elusive.
"We’ll pick him up,” Daniels assured. “I’ve got a BOLO out on him.”
“Let me know the minute you get eyes on him.”
The sheriff nodded.
I found Denise at her desk and thanked her for the assist.
"Any time," she said with a smile. "That was fun!”
It was always satisfying to close a case, but this was far from over.
JD and I found Madelyn in the conference room. She frantically typed away on the keys, hyper-focused on a project.
"Are you ready to go?" I asked.
With a few more taps of the keys, she finished her thought, closed the lid of the laptop, and smiled. "I sure am. Everything work out okay?"
"Mission accomplished," Jack said.
JD escorted her out of the station and back to the Wild Fury van. I hopped on my bike and followed them back to the marina at Diver Down.
My phone buzzed with a call from Teagan when I climbed off the bike. "Hey, I just saw you pull into the parking lot. Can you come in here? This guy is really creeping me out.”
"What's he doing?”
"Just get in here.”
I told JD we had a situation and to take Madelyn back to the boat. He did, and I stepped into Diver Down and knew right away what the problem was.
37
Earl sat at the bar, drinking a beer and eating a burger.
Teagan nodded to him, but she didn't have to. I already knew he was the source of her concern.
I pulled up next to him and leaned on the counter. "What are you doing here, Earl?"
Earl looked at me and smiled. "Just enjoying a little dinner and a brew.”
"You should finish your meal and go.”
"Why is that? I got a right to be here just like anybody else.”
"You don't have the right to make lewd comments to me and treat me like dirt," Teagan said.
"Oh, honey, I didn't mean to offend you."
"I am not your honey!”
