Page 28 of Tough Justice
He bit back a sigh and leaned forward, forcing the cat to the floor. “Trust me, all I care about is whether she was in her room last night when someone set fire to my mailbox.”
“Oh, my,” she repeated, this time with a little quiver in her voice.
“If she’s not the person who destroyed my property, then I need to look somewhere else,” he pressed. “When I spoke with her earlier, she told me she was here all night. If you can verify that, then I can cross her off the suspect list and aim my attention where it’s needed.”
“Well, I can’t say with a hundred percent certainty, but I’m pretty sure she was in her room all night.”
“How do you know?” he asked. “Do you have video surveillance to verify it?”
“I don’t have any of that fancy equipment here.” She waved her hand through the air as if the idea of outfitting her home with a security system was distasteful. “Never needed it before, don’t see a reason to change that now.”
“Then how can you be sure she was here all night?”
“I was awake when that pretty little thing went up to her room. She was exhausted and wanted to head right to sleep.”
He bit back his irritation. He didn’t doubt Chrissy had been to her room, the question was whether or not she’d stayed there all night. “And how do you know she didn’t wake up at some point and leave?”
Ms. Sally lifted her slender shoulders. “She was parked in. Unless she wandered around town, she couldn’t get far.”
Deflated, he slumped back on the couch.
“You look disappointed.”
“I guess I am. I would have put money on her being responsible for the arson, but the chances are slim she’d make it out to my place on foot. I might have to talk to her again, try to get some more details about her stay.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because she checked out about thirty minutes ago. Poor thing was a tearful mess. I hope she drove safe. She had a long way to go to get home.”
Pressure mounted in his head, and he squeezed the bridge of his nose. His number one suspect had an alibi for the night before and now had ducked out of town. Either she’d taken his message to heart and left before the truth about what she did was uncovered, or she wasn’t the one he needed to find.
Suzy fisheda file Lane needed from the cabinet and tossed it on her desk. Scanning the information, she got the number he he’d asked for and sent him a quick text.
“Whatcha doing?” Heather asked. She sat in an oversized chair by the fireplace with her feet tucked beneath her and a book in her hands.
“Working.” A pang of sympathy nagged at her gut. Heather had come all this way to spend time with her brother only to be left behind, watching Suzy complete her mundane daily duties. She might enjoy her new job, but that didn’t mean it was exciting for someone else to sit and witness. “What are you reading? Anything good?”
“Who knows.” Heather closed the book then tossed it on the little side table. “I can’t focus. It’s a beautiful day and I want to be out exploring this place. Can’t we leave for a little while? I’m sure if we’re together we’ll be safe.”
Heather was only a year or two younger than Suzy, but the slight whine in her voice made her seem so much younger.
But she couldn’t blame her irritation. Heck, she felt confined in these four walls even though sitting at her desk is exactly what she would have been doing anyway. Something about being toldto stay put made sitting inside, waiting for Duke and Lane to make heads or tails of what was happening, maddening.
“Do you ride?”
Heather’s eyes flew wide. “Bulls?”
Suzy couldn’t help but laugh. “Hell no. I never understood why Lane wanted to get on one of those things. I meant horses.”
“Oh, that makes more sense,” Heather said. “I can keep on a trail, if that’s what you mean.”
Grinning, Suzy cleared off her desk. “Wasn’t planning on challenging you to barrel racing, but Lane just bought a few nice mares. We could go out for a little walk with them. I can show you some of the property and we can get some fresh air. What do you think?”
“Do you have extra gloves?” Heather asked. “My coat’s heavy enough but the rest of me might freeze if we’re out there too long.”
“I’ve got you covered. Let’s go.”
