Page 7 of Bait and Switch
Casey replayed his return in his mind’s eye.
“I’d dropped Elton off back at his house and picked up my car. Karne was watching Bowie for me, and I came back here to pick him up. Bowie, not Karne,” he clarified.
“How did your dog seem? Jumpy? Out of sorts?”
“Irritated that his ball had dropped into the bay.”
Eagan’s cheek hitched up, exposing a dimple that appeared and disappeared again when she pressed her lips together.
“And the victim, Peter Vale, was unresponsive when you arrived?”
“Definitely unresponsive,” Casey agreed.
“Do you have any thoughts on who might have done something like this? Or how Mr. Vale might have gotten onto the dock?”
Casey had done his fair share of speculating while waiting to be questioned. Thewhohad to do with Karne, but the how? Casey had theories but no hard facts.
“Whoever it was must have come by boat,” he offered.
Casey had already emailed a copy of his security camera’s video to the Sheriff’s Office from his phone. And he’d played the feed for the officers after they’d arrived. After he’d left to pick up Elton, all there was to see was Karne and Bowie leaving and then returning about an hour or so later. No one had come through the gate. No one but Charming Fucker and Casey had parked in the lot.
“The camera is set on the gate and parking lot, not the dock. Might have to add one that has an eye on the boats.”Might. Hescoffed at himself. He’d be adding another camera as soon as he could get online to order one.
“Thank you. If we need anything else, we know where to find you.” Eagan tucked the waterproof notebook and pen back into her uniform coat pocket. “We’ll be in touch, but if you think of anything else, please reach out.”
The ambulance drivers had wheeled the body down the pier and were now loading the shell of what had once been Peter Vale onto the bus. The thump of the doors shutting had a disturbing finality to it. Casey had only met Vale once while he’d been alive, and their exchange had been less than five minutes. Less than three minutes, really. And yet, Casey felt the tug of responsibility toward him. He watched as the coroner, who’d followed the drivers, gave some instructions and then got into his car and drove off.
“The fuckI will come down to the station right now. Am I under arrest?”
Casey and Deputy Eagan turned toward where the sheriff and Karne were standing. Rizzi looked rough. Not that the man ever modeled sartorial elegance, but he currently had a coffee stain down the front of his uniform and hadn’t bothered to tuck his shirt in all the way. It was a decoy, Casey knew. The man was sharp and liked to fool people into thinking he was a hick.
Karne’s statement, incredibly, hadn’t been said with heat. It had been just that, a statement and a question. Eagan blew out a puff of air, shook her head, and moved toward the two men.
“If you need to talk to me further, give me a time and I’ll come down to the station. In my own vehicle. I’m not going anywhere, especially not onThe Golden Ticket. There’s literally nothing to indicate I had anything to do with this tragic event except that I knew him back in the city. I’m freezing and so is everyone else. And I’m hungry. Coffee is also a thing I need.”
Rizzi looked like he was considering arguing, but as Karne had pointed out, he wasn’t going anywhere. And they had no reason to arrest him—not yet.
“Coffee sounds like a plan,” Elton agreed. “I could use some too.” He rubbed his hands together and shoved them back into the pockets of his oversized parka. “How about it, Eli? Gabriel will be available when you want to talk to him further. Heck, I bet he’d be willing to come down later after a nice hot cuppa.”
It was easy to forget that Elton knew everyone on Heartstone. Eli Rizzi had moved to the island years ago as a wet-behind-the-ears deputy and worked his way up to the position of sheriff, but Elton had his own influence that was difficult for the sheriff to ignore. The old man had a way about him that made it seem like he was asking a thing when in truth he was telling Rizzi how things would go down. Casey hid his smirk.
The sheriff frowned and appeared to be considering the suggestion. He focused his attention on Karne again. “Expect a call from Chief Deputy Spurring before long.”
Karne nodded. “Noted.”
“Stay away from the boat. Don’t touch it, don’t even breathe on it.” The sailboat in question had been cordoned off with crime scene tape. Rizzi gave Karne another hard stare. “If we find out anything that you didn’t tell us, even if it’s that you’re a Raiders fan when you said you rooted for the Hawks, we’ll be talking to you even sooner.” It was as if Rizzi couldn’t resist giving an order.
Who was Casey kidding? Of course the man couldn’t. Beside Karne, Deputy Eagan shifted her weight from foot to foot. He figured she found Charming Fucker irritating, but just as likely it was Rizzi.
Karne’s head moved up and down robotically, and his lips were pressed firmly together. Knowing what he did about him, Casey figured it was to keep words likefuckandyoufromspilling out. As much as Casey also disliked and did not trust the sheriff, Charming telling him to fuck off would not relieve any of the current tension.
Without acknowledging Karne, Rizzi gave Eagan a jerk of his head and turned away, striding down the pier toward the gate. The crime scene tape flapped in the wind and would probably be mostly torn off by morning. Eagan didn’t roll her eyes at her superior, but Casey suspected she wanted to.
“We’ll see you soon,” she said, and turned to follow Rizzi.
By unspoken mutual agreement, Elton, Gabe, and Casey moved to the middle of the dock and watched the TCSO vehicles depart.
“My place?” asked Elton. “I was serious about a warm-up.”
