Page 79 of What They'll Say About Us

"He said he'd heard from several people that Paige was in your way and then suddenly she wasn't. And the fact that Liam got texts he didn't answer and you got a call you didn't answer seemed suspicious."

"If he was suspicious, why didn't he bring us in? Why didn't he ask us more questions?" I challenged. "And Liam and I certainly didn't conspire to kill Paige. We were barely speaking to each other."

"I'm just telling you what was in the notes, Tessa."

"Was there anyone else he found suspicious?"

"He also made a note questioning whether Paige's boyfriend, Nate Gardiner, was really in Lake Geneva that weekend, or if he had arrived later than he'd indicated."

"That's something I haven't heard before. Did he check Nate's alibi?"

"No idea. It was just left as an unanswered question. As you know, none of this went into the official report. These were his personal thoughts."

"Why do you think he didn't follow up on any of his questions?" I asked, wondering how he would now rationalize his mentor's lack of investigative pursuit.

Colton gave me an unhappy look. "I don't know, Tessa. I never saw him do an investigation as sloppy as this one. Actually, I don't think it was sloppy. I think it was…surgical."

I raised a brow. "Interesting choice of words."

"Homicides in the northern suburbs are usually turned over to the major crimes investigative unit. In order to avoid them getting involved, Vincent had to make sure Paige's death was quickly labeled an accident and that there was no evidence that would suggest otherwise. He didn't ask questions that he didn't want the answer to."

"To protect Hale?"

"Right now, that's my best guess. It looks like he thought his friend made the best suspect, and even if he was innocent of her death, his career and marriage would have been destroyed by the investigation." Colton paused. "I also believe, and maybe this is wishful thinking, that he really thought what happened was an accident. He didn't believe he was protecting a murderer."

"But he had so many unanswered questions, Colton. He found me and Liam to be suspicious. And he had questions about Nate. I'm afraid that is wishful thinking."

"You might be right," he conceded. "At some point, we'll know the truth."

"Are you going to bring Hale in for questioning?"

"Not yet. I don't want to tip my hand, which means you can't say anything about any of this on your podcast."

"I already told you I wouldn't."

"Now, your turn. What did Liam tell you?"

"Ray MacIntyre came into his bar last night, rambling about Paige's death." I took another swig of beer, then told him everything Liam had told me. I also added in what Morgan had learned about the family. "You need to talk to Ray, Colton. He's very volatile right now. Frankly, when I think about how Detective Cabot was killed, I remember the rage I saw in Ray's eyes when he first learned Alina had asked me to help get the case reopened. He looked crazed with anger. And even last night, Liam said he had to throw him out of his bar when Ray tried to start a fight with another patron." I paused. "Maybe Ray killed his sister because she wouldn't lend him money. If the money was for drugs, he could have been high when he confronted her. It might have been an accident, or a spur-of-the-moment crime of passion that resulted in her going into the lake."

"That's definitely a lead I wasn't expecting you to give me," he said. "Based on the file, I never considered the family to be suspicious in any way."

"But their interviews were very short," I reminded him. "Cabot never got into anything meaty with Ray or his parents."

Colton thought for a moment. "Let's say that Ray killed his sister, possibly by accident. Why would Ray go after Vincent now? When there was nothing in the police file about Ray being a person of interest?"

I considered his question. "Is it possible that Hale and his family weren't the only ones Cabot was worried about ruining? Could Cabot have had some connection to the MacIntyres?"

"Certainly not an obvious one, or he would have had to take himself off the case."

"It might be worth taking another look at his personal connections."

"I agree." Colton paused to read a text on his phone, his expression growing more annoyed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The license plate you gave me comes back to a Ford sedan registered to Margaret Lawrence, a seventy-two-year-old woman living in Lincoln Park."

"That doesn't sound like someone who would have been tracking me and Morgan. Was it stolen?"