Read Online Debra Burroughs - Paradise Valley 06 - The Harbor of Lies by Debra Burroughs - Free Book Online Page B

answered those questions at the scene, Chief Taylor, so no, no, and heck no. What else do you want to ask?”
    “Well…” He didn’t seem sure what else to say. Clearly he wasn’t used to questioning a murder suspect. “Give me a minute.”
    “How long have you been the Chief of Police here?” she questioned.
    “About a month. Why do you ask?”
    She glanced at Alex for a moment. No, she wouldn’t answer that. It was way too easy. She even felt a bit sorry for the young man, being thrown in the middle of his first murder case with no experience in solving one. “Have your men finished searching my room? I’d like to get some sleep.”
    He nodded. “They’re done. But I’m not done with you.”
    “Listen, Chief Taylor,” Alex said, “Colin and Emily, and their entire wedding party, are staying at the Rock Harbor Inn. I think it’s pretty obvious she’s not your killer, but if you have any more questions, we’re happy to come back and answer them for you.”
    He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock at the door drew his attention. It opened and the receptionist stuck her head in. “Susan Henderson is here to see her sister.” The woman nodded in Emily’s direction.
    “Susan’s your sister?”
    “Yes, why?”
    “Well, why didn’t you say so? She and my wife are thick as thieves. If Susan will vouch for you, I guess I can let you go—for now.”
    They all walked out into the waiting area. Susan rushed to Emily and threw her arms around her. “You poor thing. How awful. I got a call from one of your friends. I came right over and Colin was just telling me what happened.”
    “I’m fine, Sis.” Emily flashed her a little smile and proceeded to introduce her to Alex.
    After the quick introduction, Susan turned to the chief. “Oh, Alvin, my sister is here to get married on Saturday and you really think she could have killed Pastor Ben?”
    “Now, Susan, don’t be like that,” Chief Taylor replied. “She claimed to have found the body, but she was covered in his blood. I couldn’t just let her go ’cause she claimed to be innocent. I had to at least make an attempt to discover if there was more to it.”
    “She just met the man this morning,” Susan explained. “I introduced them.”
    The chief ran a hand over his neck. “Eyah, that’s what she said.”
    “Are we done here, Chief?” Alex asked.
    “For now.”
    “While I was waiting,” Colin said, “I phoned one of my officers back at my station and asked him to run a background check on Ben Kinney. As you can imagine, there were a number of them across the country, so we narrowed it down to northeast Maine.”
    “You did what, now?” Chief Taylor asked, his voice rising. “You had no right to do that. I told you before, don’t go pushing your way into my investigation.”
    “I had to do something while I waited.”
    “Now, Chief,” Emily rested a friendly hand on his arm, “why don’t you let the detective help you?” She knew Colin would be happy to help, and it might keep him occupied while she dealt with all the wedding details.
    “And Emily’s a private eye,” Colin offered. “She and I could—”
    Susan stepped in. “Absolutely not. Emily and I have a wedding to get planned, and now we’ll have to search for someone else to perform the ceremony. Poor Pastor Ben, bless his heart. But Alvin, Colin would be a great asset to you. You’d be crazy not to let him help you.”
    Chief Taylor’s eyes narrowed as he rubbed a hand over his square jaw, pondering Colin’s offer. “What’d you find out?” As quickly as he asked, he waved a hand at him. “Nope. Never mind. I’d better check the man out for myself. You all go on and get outta here.”
    ~*~
    Standing in the parking lot of the police station, Emily thanked her sister for coming, and gave her a quick squeeze before Susan walked to her car.
    “I hope you all won’t regret coming to Rock Harbor for your wedding because of what’s happened