Page 45 of Kiss Marry Kill
“Because I have probable cause to arrest you, and you tried to flee the scene.”
“That was cuz I knew what everyone would think.”
I sighed. “That might be true or it might not be. You say Michael argued with Archie, but I have only your word to go on. On the other hand, I have about two hundred witnesses wholiterallyheard you insulting Archie and calling him a con man. It was very obvious you had a problem with him.”
“Yeah, I did. He told several people he was only marrying Janelle for her money. That was all I needed to hear to know he was a piece of shit.”
“Who are these people?”
He dropped his gaze. “Just people.”
“But see, I have to wonder if that’s true, Kobe. If you can’t even tell me who these people are so that I can check out your story, that doesn’t bode well for you.”
“I know he was using her,” he grumbled. “The people who told me that would have no reason to lie.”
“If you tell me their names, I can verify what you’re saying.”
“I’ll think about it. I have enough people mad at me now. Dragging other people into this isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
“You say Archie just wanted Janelle’s money. Is that simply based off of what these… friends of yours told you?”
“That and I think it’s sketchy that he proposed after only dating six months. Doesn’t that seem too fast?”
I grimaced. “Seems fast, yeah. But maybe he was madly in love with her and figured why wait?”
“Trust me, he was using Janelle for her money.” He slumped, leaning on his elbows. “So, are you going to arrest me?”
I studied him, trying to decide what to do with him. If I let him go while I continued investigating, he could potentially be a flight risk. But would he leave Janelle behind? I didn’t think he would.
He gave me a pleading look. “Listen, Sheriff. I didn’t like Archie, but I’m not a killer. I might get into fights with people and say stupid things when I’m drunk. But I didn’t kill that man. I have no idea who did because I was busy skulking around hoping nobody noticed me.”
“I can’t say I’m sure exactly what to do with you, Kobe,” I admitted. “I’m not comfortable letting you go just yet, but I’m not ready to arrest you either.”
“Okay.” He looked resigned, with dark circles beginning to form beneath his eyes.
“I think we’ve talked enough for tonight. We could both use some sleep. I still have a bit of time where I can legally hold you before arresting you and charging you with anything. I think I’ll take that extra time to look into a few more things. I’ll make my decision by tomorrow.”
“I could use some sleep.” He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.
I stood. “I’ll have Deputy Juan take you to a holding cell for the night.”
“Okay. Do you think I could get some more water?” He looked hopeful.
“Sure thing.” I moved to the door, feeling sorry for Kobe.
The circumstantial evidence was stacking up against him, but even so, my gut told me he hadn’t done it. However, it was way too early to come to any conclusions. I had a whole guest list of possible suspects to talk to. Tomorrow, I’d need to interview Janelle. That was going to be an emotionally exhausting interview, and I wasnotlooking forward to it.
Chapter Seven
Maxwell
Royce was still asleep when I got up for work Monday morning. I made sure not to wake him because he hadn’t gotten home until 2:30 a.m. I dreaded facing River today at his clinic. It would’ve been nice to talk to Royce before I headed into work, but I was trying to be considerate. Because of Archie’s murder, Royce would be working long hours the next week, trying to solve the case. I’d do my best to be a selfless boyfriend. Maybe I’d pamper him a little instead of always making him do the work in the relationship.
My uneasiness about facing River intensified as I showered and shaved. Things already hadn’t been smooth between me and River, but after yesterday, things were downright bumpy. The level of spite he’d shown toward me by bringing up Lucinda Pratt’s death had been unsettling. That had been a vindictive move, and it showed me he definitely harbored a lot of resentment beneath his phony cheerful demeanor.
Unfortunately, since I leased a spot in his clinic, I wouldn’t be able to avoid him forever. When I reached River Runs Deep Homeopathy, I drew in a calming breath. If we came face-to-face, I needed to keep my cool with River. I’d obsessed about the situation all night long, and it had become clear to me that I needed to disengage from River. I no longer felt safe being connected in any way with him. Especially in business. While he faked things better than me, yesterday’s vitriol had made it clear that he didn’t like me any more than I liked him. Leasing a room in his clinic or rebuilding on land he owned would make me far too vulnerable. When I looked at things logically, cutting business ties completely was the only real option for me.
As I entered the clinic, I was relieved to see Girdy already at her desk in the reception area. She was on the phone when I first walked in, but she hung up and smiled cheerfully. “Good morning, Dr. Thornton.”
