“He’s been angry with me for a while. I’m sure he already blames me for her death.” She took a deep breath. “Maybe Ric’s right. Maybe it is all my fault.”
Coyle leaned forward in his chair, his voice calm. “Mrs. Eddings, take my advice. It’s early days yet. Don’t go there with the guilt. It’ll eat you alive, if you let it.”
She managed a wan smile.
“Tell me about that Shack,” he said.
“It used to house the landscape maintenance equipment. My father-in-law built a modern barn a few years ago, and the Shack was left to deteriorate. At some point, we realized people were using it as a sort of illicit party destination, so we had it boarded and padlocked.”
“When was the last time you were out there?”
“Years, probably. You saw how overgrown the woods around it were.”
“Would a lot of your staff have known about the place?”
“I suppose so.”
Coyle doodled something on his notepad. “Tell me about this Beach Bash that was held Saturday night. Who all was there?”
“It’s an annual celebration to kick off the summer season. I think we had over four hundred paid reservations. Guests of the hotel, of course. And members.”
“All those people would have had to pass through the security gates, right?”
“Yes. Although members have QR code decals on their vehicles, so they don’t even have to slow down at the gates. Resort guests are given parking passes that allow them to come and go at will.”
“You said people had to make reservations for this party? Who would have that list?”
Traci’s eyes began to well up again. “Parrish would have had the list. On her work computer, I suppose.” She pulled a tissue from a nearby box and dabbed at her eyes.
Charlie Burroughs knocked lightly on the office door and stepped inside. “Traci, how are you feeling? You still look kinda peaked.”
“I’m… overwhelmed,” she admitted. “Sheriff Coyle was asking about a list of folks who were at the Beach Bash last night.”
“I can help with that,” Charlie said.
Traci turned back to the sheriff. “I’m sorry, but do you think we could continue this later?” She handed him one of her business cards. “I just need some time to process this. Charlie here can help you with whatever else you need.”
“Fine,” Coyle said. “I’ll be in touch.”
CHAPTER 31
The lounge of the staff dorm was uncharacteristically quiet as Sheriff Coyle looked around at the four gathered employees. The only sound was the soft dinging of incoming texts to Garrett’s phone. Felice flashed him a death stare and he reached into his pocket and silenced it.
Coyle stood in front of the flat-screen television, expressionless.
“I know y’all have heard the unfortunate news about your friend Parrish. And I’m sorry for your loss, but we need to get to the bottom of what happened last night, especially since her body was found at the location of that afterparty everyone here attended.”
“Except me,” Felice said loudly. “I wasn’t there. I came back here right after the Beach Bash was over.”
“Understood,” the sheriff said. “But you were at the Beach Bash, correct?”
“I was working, yeah.”
“When was the last time you saw Parrish?”
“I guess it was maybe a little before ten, the last time I saw her. She was helping a mom who had two crying kids on her hands.”
“All right. Noted,” Coyle said. “I’m gonna want to talk to all of y’all individually, but first things first. I couldn’t help but notice how tidy that crime scene was today. I mean, you’d never know a party, with what, maybe forty, fifty people went on in those woods last night.”
