Page 11 of Tangled
Brad nodded before removing Scarlett’s drink. “Only according to police records, it didn’t happen,” he said, handing her the mug and taking a seat beside her.
“What do you mean it didn’t happen?” Ryan pressed.
“It means if you look up the police report of the incident,” Scarlett said, “you’ll find no mention of a murder, despite the fact that Brad”—she stumbled over his name—“and I both saw it. Although I don’t think either of us can identify the killer.”
Ryan’s gaze shifted to him.
“We were in a back hall,” Brad continued. “They—there were three of them—were in an industrial freezer that wasn’t used for food. The killer was standing out of our line of sight, but the man they shot was sitting in a chair we could see through the open door.”
“And you reported this?” Ryan asked.
Both he and Scarlett nodded.
“And no body was found? No blood?”
Brad glanced at Scarlett, his gaze lingering, still not quite believing she was there. She gave him a soft smile, and he reached over and took her free hand in his. They had a lot of things to talk about, but based on the way she touched him, and looked at him, he didn’t think she’d object to holding his hand.
“Nothing,” Brad confirmed. “At least that’s what was in the police report Ava pulled.” He paused, brushing his thumb over Scarlett’s skin. “What I keep getting hung up on when I think about that night, though, is that less than fifteen minutes passed between the time we saw the murder and when the police arrived.”
“Which means the remaining two men were eitherveryefficient in disposing of the body,” Scarlett said.
“Or the police were in on it,” Brad finished.
She nodded, then took a sip of tea before turning to Ryan. “But if you didn’t know any of this, why are you here?”
Ryan’s lips thinned. “Do you know Maria Abel?”
Scarlett nodded. “She works with me. Lovely woman.”
“She filled in for you yesterday when you called in sick. She was killed, likely on her way home. We found her body this morning,” Ryan said.
Scarlett went pale again. Brad reached over and took the hot tea from her hand. He didn’t want her spilling it on herself if she passed out a second time.
“That’s terrible,” she whispered. “Does she have any family? Is there anything I can do?” she asked, echoing the questions he’d asked.
Ryan held her gaze, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “She doesn’t have any family, but I do think there’s something you can do.”
“Anything,” she said.
Ryan tapped his phone screen. “I’m beginning to think Maria might have been a mistake. I think they might have been after you. If that’s the case, I’d like to know why.”
Brad’s stomach pitched at his cousin’s matter-of-fact delivery. Reaching out, he took the phone. On the screen was a picture of a woman, presumably Maria Abel. Although older than Scarlett by a good ten years, the two looked similar enough that in the evening light and if the killer hadn’t looked closely, they could easily be mistaken for each other.
Beside him, Scarlett went still.
“What?” he asked, turning to her.
“I was getting close,” she said to him. To information on her friend’s death, he knew. “But then a contact of mine, a friendfrom where I grew up, told me he’d heard rumblings that the supplier had figured out someone was looking for him. He was looking for me. I didn’t hesitate. I left.”
“You can’t call the police if you’re dead,” he said, recalling her words from that night at Roxy’s. Not exactly the same thing, but close. She wouldn’t be able to bring her friend’s killer to justice if she were dead.
“And you came here?” Ryan asked, his tone bordering on disbelief. “Even though you claim you didn’t know him,” he added with a jerk of his head to Brad.
“Ryan,” Brad said in warning.
Scarlett squeezed his hand. “It’s fine. He’s right. It seems too convenient. The truth is,” she said, facing Ryan head-on, “I wanted to be close to Kara. She’s the closest thing to family that I have. And Mystery Lake always seemed so idyllic when she talked about it. But I didn’t want to bring my trouble to her doorstep. So I came for the comfort of being near her even though she has no idea I’m here. No one does.” She paused. “Or at least I thought no one knew.” She took the phone from his hand, looked at the picture again, then handed it back to Ryan.
Scraping her hair away from her face, she sighed. “I don’t know if they found me. I don’t know if Maria died in my place. I don’t want that to be the case, but…” Her voice trailed off as she gazed at the phone in Ryan’s hand.
