Page 107 of Tide and Seek
“And the cops caught on to her because Luke gave her up as his supplier, right?”I asked.
“Yep.”C.J.nodded, smiling.“You guys know more than I realized.”
“I overheard Luke and Ethan talking the night Royce disappeared.”I grimaced.
“Is it true you held Ethan at gunpoint?”C.J.asked, sounding doubtful.
“Yes.”My cheeks warmed as I met Royce’s brown eyes.“I was a little out of my mind that night.I honestly think I would have killed Ethan if he hadn’t taken me to you, Royce.I was feeling very… desperate.”
Royce swallowed hard.“I’m grateful it didn’t come to that.You’d be in jail right now.”
“It would have been worth it so long as you survived.”
“Not to me,” Royce rumbled.
C.J.glanced between us.“You two are pretty adorable.”
I ignored her comment.“So Stiles most likely killed Margie.Do you know who killed Mrs.Brownstone or who tried to run us off the road?”
“Yes.”C.J.looked very pleased with herself.“I know it all, Grasshopper.”
“Then spill it,” I said, but I smiled.
She laughed.“Bossy, aren’t you?”She straightened.“Okay, so according to Ethan Stiles was the one who tried to run you off the road.He stole a car thinking he’d never be connected to the road rage incident, but someone saw him dropping it off in a grocery store parking lot afterwards.”
“Why’d he risk that?”Royce demanded.“Why pull a stunt like that?It was dangerous for him too.”
“Stiles was losing patience.He couldn’t get his drugs out of Max’s house, and he was desperate to appease his customer.Stiles’s reputation was on the line.”
“Asshole,” Royce growled.
“Indeed.”C.J.nodded.“He’s a thug.”
Royce said, “He’s the one who sent the texts too, right?”
C.J.shook her head.“Nope.That was Luke.”
“Luke?”Both Royce and I said in shocked unison.
C.J.grinned at our reaction.“Yes, it was actually Luke.Can you believe it?He confessed to sending them.He was desperate to get a fix and he knew you and Royce weren’t leaving anytime soon.He bought a burner and sent the texts.Kind of a Hail Mary move to get you to leave, and a lame one at that.”
“It did rattle me though,” I admitted.
“Sure, but not enough to chase you off, like he wanted.”She rolled her eyes.“He thought you two would scare way easier, apparently.”
I wrinkled my brow.“So, who killed Mrs.Brownstone?If you say Luke, I’m going to pass out.”
“No, that was Ethan.”
“God.”Royce shook his head.“That guy made one stupid choice after another.I know desperate people do dumb things, but that guy was just one walking mistake.”
“Why did Ethan kill her?”I asked, bewildered.
C.J.’s expression was serious now.“Okay, so apparently Ethan had been planning to break into your place again the night you arrived, Max.He had no idea you were coming back—nobody did.Ethan needed to get those drugs out of your attic before the big customer of Stiles’s lost his mind.Since he had no idea you were coming back to LA, he thought he had a clear window.”
“But we showed up,” I said.
“But you showed up,” C.J.confirmed.“Which completely derailed his plans.So there he is, lurking around in the dark like some kind of cat burglar, trying to figure out what to do next.”She paused, her expression clouding.“And that’s when he ran into Mrs.Brownstone.”
