Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,17
his girlfriend.
That was not his favorite part of the weekend – they hadn’t really discussed it. Or had they? He agreed to give her a second chance, but he didn’t realize that it meant they’d jump right back in. At the same time, it sort of made sense?
He wasn’t sure. His plan was to see where it went; there was no harm in trying. And it wasn’t like he had any luck dating on the island. He wasn’t as charming as Luke – he wasn’t charming at all, actually. And so far, all he’d managed to do was scare the daylights out of the only girl he had feelings for – Jade. That was the second time she’d turned him down – he needed to take the hint.
On Monday morning, he went into work to talk to Chief about Jade’s case.
“I think I’d like to question at least a few people to make sure they weren’t responsible. Just to see how they respond.”
Chief nodded. “Alright. Who were you thinking?”
“Well, her ex-husband for starters. Someone named Barb – she made a vague threat towards Jade.”
“Barb? Barb McFarland?” He made a face as though he were thinking. “Yeah – I could see it. Maybe.”
“And it might be a bit of a stretch, but Brock or Andrea? They could be trying to get back at Morgan.”
“Yeah…it’s possible. But let’s hold off on that for now and check the others first.”
Matthew nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
He set out for Anacortes right away. As far as he knew, Brandon still worked at the grocery store in town. He got there just around noon and asked an employee about him.
“Is he in trouble?” the woman asked, eyes wide.
Matthew smiled. “I don’t think so – unless you know something that I don’t?”
Brandon appeared a few moments later.
“Hey man,” he said, putting his hands up. “I don’t want any trouble.”
Matthew crossed his arms and leaned back. “Nor do I. How have you been, Brandon?”
“Fine. Okay. Why?”
“When’s the last time that you went to San Juan Island?”
“I don’t go anywhere near that island,” said Brandon. “I don’t even take DJ jobs there. I told you, I don’t want any trouble.”
“That seems pretty drastic if you’re not doing anything wrong.”
Brandon shrugged. “You can check the ferry logs, or whatever it is that you do. I haven’t been over there. Not at all.”
Matthew nodded. Unlike the movies, there wasn’t some high-tech system where he could see everyone who traveled on the ferry the last few months. It would be great technology to have, but it didn’t exist. However, Brandon didn’t seem to know that.
“I already checked.”
“Then you know that I haven’t been over there!”
“It’s not the only way to get to the island.” Matthew took a step forward. “So maybe you could tell me where you were on Wednesday.”
“I was here!” Brandon said. “I worked from noon until close. You can ask anyone.”
“Thanks, I will.”
“What’s this about?”
Matthew studied him for a moment. If his alibi were true, there was no way that he could have been the one to break into Jade’s house. Though he still could’ve sent one of his friends. “It’s about your ex-wife.”
“Okay?”
“Someone broke into her house.”
Brandon’s mouth dropped open. “I swear I didn’t have anything to do with that!”
“That’s good.”
He crossed his arms. “Is she okay?”
Matthew stared at him. He didn’t look particularly threatening – especially in his forest green apron. “She is, thankfully. But if you know anything about it, I’d appreciate it if you came to me.”
“I don’t know anything, but yeah – I would. Tell you, I mean.”
Matthew nodded. This conversation was going nowhere. “Thanks Brandon. You take care – I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
Brandon frowned. “Thanks.”
Matthew spoke to a manager to confirm Brandon’s whereabouts and his story checked out. He wasn’t completely convinced that Brandon was innocent, but he didn’t have any alarm bells going off either. The guy seemed clueless – hapless even. Jade also didn’t think that he was involved – and she should know what he was capable of, right?
When Matthew got back to the island, he attempted to interview Barb as well, but she was nowhere to be found. First he went to her restaurant, but none of her employees knew where she was. He then went to her house, but there was no answer. He’d have to track her down another time.
The rest of his shift was uneventful, and on Tuesday he got pulled into patrol and wasn’t able to work on Jade’s case