Page 46 of Married to Murder
As soon as I realized my feelings, the fear he wouldn’t reciprocate attacked. He was attracted to me, I knew that. But did he love me? Sometimes I thought maybe he did. Sometimes what we had together was so perfect and effortless, it seemed obvious he must love me too.
The door opened and Detective Pole came in holding a folder. He smiled and shook my hand, tossing the folder onto the table. He pulled back the chair and sat, slipping out of his blazer. He looked perkier than last night, his eyes bright and inquisitive.
“How are you recovering from the tragedy yesterday, Tanner?” He folded his hand on the metal table.
“Dealing as best I can.”
He rubbed his stubbly jaw. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you and your father weren’t terribly close.”
My face warmed. “What makes you say that?”
He shrugged. “I’ve seen a lot of murder scenes and grieving family members. You aren’t as broken up as most.”
“My father was a difficult man to be close to.” I held his gaze. “You’re right, we weren’t even remotely close.”
“That’s what I thought.” He opened the folder and lifted a sheet of paper. “Did you know your father had a gambling problem?”
I sat up straighter. “I know he used to have a gambling problem.”
He bit his lower lip. “We recovered your father’s phone at the scene. He had a lot of text messages from a man named Crater. Do you know who that person is?”
I frowned. “Crater? No.”
“No idea at all?”
I shook my head, feeling confused. “Who is he?”
“I’m not sure exactly.” He twisted his lips. “I’m bringing him in for a chat as soon as we track him down.”
“Do you think he’s involved in my dad’s death?”
“Oh, it’s way too early to jump to conclusions.” He smiled politely.
“You mentioned this Crater guy in conjunction with my dad’s gambling. Why?”
“Well, it seems your dad owed this Crater fella a lot of dough.” He studied me as he spoke; I got the feeling he was trying to see if I’d known any of this. Detective Pole probably wasn’t a guy who let you know stuff for no reason. He was fishing for information. “I suspect your dad had gambling debts.”
“That’s not possible. My dad didn’t gamble anymore.”
He raised his brows. “I think maybe you’re mistaken.”
My stomach sank. “But he promised to quit.” After almost losing our home, he’d sworn up and down he’d quit.
“It seems he fell off the wagon.”
I stared at him in shock. “But…”
“I’m sorry you have to find out like this.” He shuffled a few more papers. “Judging from the text messages this Crater guy left, he wasn’t happy with your dad.”
“Did he threaten him?”
Smiling slyly, Detective Pole said, “I’ve probably said too much already.”
It seemed too much to think some loan shark had murdered my dad. I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around that.
“Of course, if Crater killed your dad, I find it odd he didn’t take the watch and wallet. Seeing as your dad owed him money and all.” His gaze was pinpointed on me.
I simply stared at him, at a loss for words.
