Killer Summer by Lynda Curnyn (e book reading free .txt) 📗

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Sage never speaks to me again,” I said. “She was pretty pissed off. Accused me of wrecking her relationship with Vince and then stormed out of The Inn as if the place was on fire.”

“Well, if Vince is guilty, it sounds like you might have done her a favor.”

I looked at him. “That’s the worst of it. As soon as Sage left, I ran back down to the dock to see Chad. He practically threw the dock registration papers at me when I saw him.” I gave Myles a halfhearted smile. “I think he was afraid of me since I threatened him earlier today. But when I checked the records for both the private slips and the public slips, I realized Vince’s name wasn’t on either one.”

“That doesn’t mean Vince wasn’t here that night. He could have taken the ferry.”

“Donnie could have, too, for that matter. But I can’t prove it.” I dropped my gaze. “Now I’m back just where I started. With nothing.”

Myles grabbed my chin, lifting my face to look up at him once more. “Not with nothing. You found enough to figure out that Maggie didn’t go to the market that night. That she possibly went to see someone. I mean, you’ve managed to convince me that something was up. I’m starting to wonder, too, if what happened that night was really an accident.”

I studied his eyes, feeling warmed by the idea that someone at least was starting to trust my instincts. And Myles, of all people. But the feeling was only momentary. I sighed. “Still, all the evidence is starting to seem like just what it is—a whole lot of nothing. Nothing but some stupid nagging feeling about that night that won’t go away.”

Myles smiled at me, his eyes soft with understanding. “You know what you need?”

“A Valium?” I asked, not even able to crack a smile at my own humorless joke.

He shook his head. “You need to return to the scene of the crime.

“I don’t know what we’re doing here,” I said, once we stepped onto the cool sand and I saw the ocean rolling out in foamy waves before us.

“Like I said, returning to the scene of the crime,” Myles replied, grabbing my hand and leading me down the beach.

“I don’t see the point,” I said, pulling back on his hand until he released his grip.

He stopped, turning to look at me. “The point is to try and reassemble what happened that night. It’s an investigation technique. My dad used to do it all the time.”

Despite the glimmer of hopefulness I saw in his eyes, I couldn’t seem to rouse myself. “Aren’t your housemates going to wonder where you went?” I asked. “I mean, surely Haley will wonder.”

He shrugged, his gaze moving to the ocean. “She went out. They all went out. To do the bar scene over in Ocean Beach.”

I studied his face. “Why didn’t you go?”

He turned to look at me again. “You know me, Zoe. I’m not into that whole bar scene.”

I smiled in the darkness. Yes, I did know him. He was just like me. A homebody.

So why weren’t we home together?

You’re together now. Be happy for a change, an inner voice chided. But it occurred to me that I didn’t know the first thing about being happy. Probably because I was too busy thinking about what made people unhappy. Homelessness. Stolen dogs. Premature death.

Still, I walked beside him until we reached that lonely stretch of beach where this whole nightmare began. Turning to the horizon, I saw the moon hovering high above the crashing waves, felt the breeze upon my face, and found that, for the first time all summer, I wasn’t thinking of Maggie at all.

“Pretty romantic,” I said, then wished I could take back the words. I didn’t want Myles to think I was pining for him or anything.

But even if he wondered where my mind had gone, he kept his own on the matter at hand. “Now you’re on the right track. I bet the night Maggie died wasn’t so different from tonight. Perfect for a stroll on the beach with someone she cared about. It was pretty hot that night, if I’m remembering it right.“

I nodded. “It was.”

“So put yourself in Maggie’s place.”

I shivered, watching the tide move up the shore where her body once lay. “I don’t think I want to do that.”

Myles smiled. “I mean before she died. Tell me what you think happened that night.”

I looked at him. “Well, I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but I think she went to see her lover. Whoever that was.”

“Okay, what did she do? Go to his house first? Meet him at the beach?”

“Well, she made a phone call to Donnie Havens at close to seven-thirty, but she could have called him from anywhere.”

“Assume for a minute that she was still home at that point, maybe getting ready to meet her lover—whoever he was. She’s all excited to see him. Puts on a nice dress. Spends like an hour on her hair, her makeup.”

I smiled. “This is the beach, Myles. No one spends that much time on their hair and makeup at the beach. In fact, I never do.”

“Okay, so she pulls it all together in a half hour. Then what does she do?”

“Well, she certainly didn’t finish her sauce. It was still half-made on the stove by the time Tom got home.” I frowned. “That’s another thing—why did she run out like that?”

“Maybe he came to her and they left quickly, afraid that Tom might come home.”

I turned to look at Maggie’s Dream, easily spotting the lights twinkling at the far end of the beach. “All right, so he comes to see her and they go for a walk on the beach. That would probably be about sunset. Maybe after.”

“Let’s assume it was after. Now what happened?”

I smiled. “Well, they probably kissed a little bit. I’m guessing the mood was playful. Or something. Why else would they have