the time, you have no idea. It’s amazing how many people think I’m there just to chat with.” She shook her head at the people who had the gall to bother her.
“And you didn’t recognize anyone?”
“Oh, well, not really. I mean, like I said, I was working.” Sharleen had been leaning toward him. Now she sat back in her chair, her hands in her lap.
“Mm-hmm. Does the marina have a security camera?”
“Oh, yes, but I imagine it was destroyed. It hung on the corner of the office.”
Mat made a note for Devon to double-check. It was unlikely the camera had survived, but weirder things had happened.
“Just to be clear, you didn’t see or hear anyone before you smelled the smoke? There was no one, as far as you know, working on their boat? No one who’d just stopped by? We haven’t been able to get in touch with Duane—he wasn’t there? Just relax and let yourself think back.”
Sharleen pinched her lips together, pulling her robe around herself again as if she was cold. “I decided to come down after lunch with my friend. There was no one outside when I arrived, but there were a few cars parked.” She bit her lips, trying to remember. “Everything is just so jumbled, I can’t remember. I was working, you know, and all the noises kind of turn into a rhythm and it helps me to concentrate on the numbers.” She met Mat’s look. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could remember more.”
“But you’re certain Duane’s truck wasn’t there?”
“No. I don’t think so. But if he’d been there in the morning, I wouldn’t have seen him.”
“Any thoughts on where Duane might have gone, or where he might be now?”
She shook her head. “Maybe to his other boat? The one he uses for his Marine Safari business. He moors it at a private dock in Hidden Harbor. Maybe he had business off the island; sometimes he does odd jobs for that ex-wife of his.”
“You don’t think it’s odd we can’t locate Duane and that he’s not answering his phone?”
Sharleen shook her head, her distress obvious. “Duane is a good friend. I hope nothing had happened to him. I would’ve thought he’d try to contact me.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Mat couldn’t put his finger on what, but something was bothering him. He needed to get back to the station and write all his notes and impressions down. It was an old habit from working in San Francisco, and it often helped him see unexpected patterns.
He made another note to check and see if Duane’s other boat was still there. His bad feeling about Duane was getting worse. The marina fire would be very convenient for him if he was somehow diverting money from Piedras County. Mat didn’t want to think that someone he’d known most of his life was responsible for this fire, but so far the evidence was, if not pointing in Duane’s direction, at least hinting strongly at it.
What they needed was to actually interview the man himself instead of speculating about a bunch of maybes.
That morning, he’d talked to the district attorney again about Duane’s bank records, and he’d added East Bay Marina to the list as an afterthought. Cathy DeWitt, a young and very promising attorney in the prosecutor’s office, had agreed to put a rush on the request.
“I’ll see what I can do, Sheriff Dempsey. Sometimes the wheels of justice need a little encouragement.”
Didn’t he know it.
Arson was often about money, but not always. Best to rule the money angle out so he could focus on finding whoever had done this. If money wasn’t the motive, next in line was drugs.
“I just don’t know what I’m going to do.” Sharleen swiped at a tear that dared to escape down her cheek.
“I’m sure the doctor told you to rest. If I have any further questions, I’ll let you know.”
He left Sharleen sitting in her chair, staring out the window. As he maneuvered his cruiser up the driveway to the main road, it occurred to him he should’ve asked if she had copies of the information and documents stored at the marina office. He almost turned around but instead decided to have Birdy check in on Sharleen tomorrow morning and ask her then.
Back at the station, Mat pulled a battered spiral notebook out of his desk. He opened it and flipped through to a blank page, then began jotting down his thoughts. First he created a timeline with the suspicious fires