Miss Chase just told us. We have a fine detective who was found dead as he was investigating that death. We know Detective McSwain wasnât
accidentally
struck by a vehicle. And we have your business card in his coat pocket, Miss Chase. How do you think all those things go together?â
I started to speak. Miguel put his hand on mine.
âMiss Chase isnât a police officer. She doesnât have any idea how those things go together.â
âOkay.â Detective Marsh tried a new approach. âWhy was your business card the
only
one Detective McSwain took from all the food truck drivers that were here in Charlotte?â
I started to speak again. Again Miguel said I shouldnât answer.
âYou did your part,â he argued. âLet them do their jobs.â
â â â â â â â
An hour later, Miguel and I were walking out of the police station. The police had asked a lot of the same questions over and over. I only had the same answers. Eventually I guess they got tired of my answers, but there was nothing they could charge me with so they let me go.
âSo you think itâs okay to go to Columbia now?â I asked him.
âYes. I think you were very clear on what you had to say.â He squeezed my hand. âGood job, Zoe.â
âThanks. I hope they didnât think I had anything to do with it. Reggie was obnoxious, but I wouldnât have killed himâalthough Ollie said he would have.â
âIâm glad you
didnât
say that.â Miguel smiled as he opened the car door for me. âThe police didnât suspect you of anything. They were just trying to get an idea on what occurred here. You happened to be part of that.â
I had ten calls from Uncle Saul on my phone. He kept asking where we were and how close we were to Columbia. I suppose we wouldâve already been there without the police detour.
After I talked to him, I turned to Miguel. He was intently staring at the interstate highway again.
âDo you think Detective McSwain was killed because he was investigating what I told him?â
âI think we should leave it alone, Zoe. We donât want to be involved in this any further.â
âI kind of feel responsible, if thatâs what happened.â
âThe police will take care of it. It might not be safe for you to walk around asking questions, in case Alex is involved with what happened. You donât want to end up like Reggie.â
I looked out of the side window, watching the landscape change from big city to rolling hills and small communities. Charlotte was a nice place, although my memory of it might be colored by the two deaths that had just occurred there.
I had a lot of questions that Miguel didnât want me to ask. I was a little afraid to ask them, too.
Not only because someone might kill me, but with Alex involved, I could be kicked out of the race.
I was happy to see the signs for Columbia. I hadnât exactly been up for initiating another conversation like the one weâd had before as we were leaving Charlotte. I was worried about Reggie and Alex, and Detective McSwain. The food truck race had suddenly become even more stressful.
Columbia was a clean city, smaller than Charlotte. It was also warmer and more humid. I had the GPS coordinates in my phone for the hotel we were staying at. Miguelâs Mercedes was a little too old to have GPS built in, even though it was in immaculate condition.
âPull off on this exit,â I told him. âIt looks like the hotel is close to downtown this time.â In Charlotte, the hotel had been outside the city.
âWhat are you doing about Crème Brûlée tonight?â he asked.
He was asking because Iâd had to sneak my cat into the hotel last night. The hotel wasnât pet friendly. Iâd already looked up the hotel in Columbia. It wasnât pet friendly, either.
I had to leave the
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