Page 33 of Liar's Point

***

Nicole put down the margarita glass and picked up her phone.

“I have to take this,” she told Kate, and slid out of the booth.

“Is it David?” she asked.

“It’s Brady.”

Kate rolled her eyes as Nicole connected the call. “Lawson.”

“They finished the car,” the chief said without preamble. “I just got word.”

“Okay.”

“I need you to head up there first thing in the morning and see what they got.”

Nicole wove through the noisy crowd of people. She pushed through the front door, and a gust of wind hit her full force. “All right. Is the whole team going or—”

“I’ve got Emmet doing something else, so it’s you and McDeere. See what all they came up with—prints, blood evidence, whatever they have—and then we’ll circle back for a meeting at oh ten hundred. You got that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“See you tomorrow.”

He clicked off, and Nicole stared down at her phone. Sometimes she wondered what it might be like to work for a large urban department where the police chief didn’t have her programmed into his phone. Maybe she’d actually have a personal life.

A text from Kate appeared on the screen.

We’re getting another round. Want one?

Nicole hesitated. She felt tempted. But she had to drive up to the county crime lab again first thing in the morning.

And, again, she’d probably bump into David.

The door behind her opened, and a trio of girls stumbled out. Nicole didn’t recognize them, so they were probably tourists. She watched them as they made their way on wobbly high heels to the parking lot and got into a waiting Uber.

Not ready to go back inside yet, Nicole walked around to the side deck overlooking the beach. When the weather warmed up, people would gather around TVs out here to drink and watch games. Tonight, though, the deck was cold and empty. Nicole leaned against the wooden railing and gazed up at the moon, thinking about what Cynthia had said.

Must be the full moon. People actin’ crazy.

Nicole looked out at the surf. The waves were up again, same as they had been yesterday, when Aubrey’s body was found. More than twenty-four hours had elapsed, and they still had no real suspects. Not only that, they were bound to have missed key evidence by releasing the crime scene too early.

Because they hadn’t known it was a crime scene.

Nicole gazed down the beach at the distant lighthouse. The lantern room at the top glowed brightly. The light was for decoration—something the chamber of commerce had decided would appeal to tourists. It hadn’t been a working lighthouse in decades, but it attracted visitors, and Lighthouse Point was the most photographed spot on the island.

“Hey.”

She whirled around as Emmet stepped through the door. He looked her over with a frown.

“What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”

“Nothing.” She turned back toward the beach. “Just taking a phone call.”

“Brady?” He came up to stand beside her and set his beer glass on the railing.

“Yep. He called you, too?”

---