Page 19 of Mine to Hold
“That’s an interesting story.” He stopped at the red light in the center of town and flipped on his blinker, heading toward the bridge.
“I’m all ears.”
“Rumor, the girl you hired to work the party, the one you were all hot to fix me up with, well, she was renting the Crawly house.”
“Fuck. That man is going to end up in jail now. How many times is he going to pull this shit? That house is seconds from being condemned,” his mom said. “But what does that have to do with this murder?”
“She witnessed an argument in the parking lot with the victim and a man. But whoever called this in, specifically said the victim was in a screaming match with a woman. There is a slight time difference in this when I put it all together.”
“What do you mean?”
“Rumor came home from your party and saw a man with the victim approximately thirty minutes before the anonymous call came in. Our victim could have had two different fights.”
“That’s certainly possible,” his mother said. “Did she get a good look at this man?”
“Not really, but tomorrow I’ll get a sketch artist to come out and talk with Rumor. I’ve already put a call into the county for that.”
“Okay. Good. But that still doesn’t explain why you left a rookie at the scene to deal with CSI.”
He punched the gas when the arrow turned green. Thankfully, the bridge was down. He drove over the Intracoastal Waterway and made a right turn. His neighborhood was only five minutes away. It was right near the inlet and he had agreat view of the boats coming and going to the ocean. “Well, I couldn’t let her stay at Crawly’s. I’ll deal with him as well tomorrow. But for now, Rumor will be renting my pool house.”
“Jesus, Emmerson. She’s a fucking witness now. Are you crazy?”
“I had already offered it to her anyway.”
“So? You could have found something else for her, especially considering she’s now involved in this case.”
Emmerson rolled his eyes. “She saw two people having a disagreement. I’ll get her settled, and then I’m headed back to the motel. I’ll see you there shortly.”
“You haven’t even done a proper background check on this girl.”
He laughed. “Ma, I love you. I’m on it and I’ll talk to you soon.” He tapped the red button and pulled into his driveway, opening the garage. He stepped from the vehicle. “You can park under the carport.” He motioned to the side of the garage.
Rumor nodded and eased her car around the side of the house, popping her trunk.
He pulled out the two suitcases. “Follow me.”
“I’m not sure what I expected, but this is beautiful. How long have you lived here?”
“Two years,” Emmerson said as he strolled around the side of the house. As soon as he passed the main bushes, the lights flicked on. He pushed open the gate to the pool. “All my brothers were either married with kids or getting married and buying places on the water. I guess I got a little jealous and decided to join them. Jameson lives five houses down the street. Nathan and Seth across the water. Rhett lives up the river. By boat it’s about thirty minutes. By car, maybe ten minutes. Emmett and his wife live up the Intracoastal about ten minutes away. Miles is the only one not living on the water. But he’s got the bug.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out the pool house keys. “I’msorry I can’t show you around, but I do have to get back to the motel.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He pushed open the door. “When I bought this place, the pool house was nothing but a storage room. I finished renovating it a couple of weeks ago.” He turned on the main light. “It’s not much, but like I said, you can use the pool anytime you want. Tomorrow, I’ll help you download the app for the hot tub. I also have a couple of kayaks and paddleboards. Feel free to use those as well.”
“Seriously?”
“There are four of them, and I only need one. However, sometimes Miles comes over and we go out together. And I will warn you that occasionally my brothers and their kids come over.”
“It’s your house.”
He pushed the suitcases to the side. “The television is loaded with all the streaming services.” He pointed to the remote on the coffee table in front of the small white leather sofa that his mom had given him when she’d replaced her sitting room furniture. “The stove is brand new. So is the fridge and microwave.”
“This place is amazing,” she said softly, running her fingers over the side of the couch. “I honestly don’t think I can afford it.”
“Don’t worry about that.” He closed the gap between them but resisted the urge to wrap his arms around Rumor and pull her close. Trust didn’t come easily to Emmerson. Not when it came to women, and Rumor had secrets. He could see that when he looked deep into her eyes. He believed everything she had told him about what she’d seen earlier tonight. He had no doubt about that.
But it triggered something that had caused her to recoil. He sensed a distance that wasn’t there before. While she’d been reserved at his mother’s house, only giving him surface levelinformation, he could understand why. They were just getting to know one another and she was a wanderer. A person who didn’t make lasting connections.
