off duty, he’d pick up the call on his scanner. He’d know his wife had been with Michelle Girard tonight.
The officer in charge peeled away from the surge of cops and barreled toward Colin. “What happened?”
“Mrs. Stewart dropped off Ms. Girard and somebody attacked Mrs. Stewart before she got into her car.”
Michelle hovered behind Colin, hooking a finger in his belt loop. She didn’t seem to be able to stand on her own without wobbling, but Colin didn’t mind being her rock.
The cop smacked a hand to his forward. “Stewart? Amanda Stewart, Sarge’s wife?”
“That’s right, Clark. It happened in front of me, but I couldn’t see a thing.” Michelle had stepped forward, pulling back her shoulders, still clutching Colin’s arm for support.
Another pair of headlights plowed through the fog, and tires screeched on the damp asphalt. A man’s voice, frantic and hollow, echoed in the night. Sergeant Stewart stumbled into the crime scene, now illuminated with spotlights and casting an eerie yellow light on all the grim faces. He dropped onto his knees next to his wife’s body and groaned.
Michelle broke away from Colin, her stride strong and purposeful. Two uniformed officers prevented her from approaching Stewart, but she called to him.
From his doubled over position, Stewart raised his head. He staggered to his feet and tripped toward Michelle. She held out her arms and Ryan crushed her body to his, burying his face in her shoulder.
His muffled voice repeated, “What happened? What happened?”
“Officer—” Colin peered at the cop’s badge “—Trammell? Maybe you should question Ms. Girard inside and get Sergeant Stewart away from the crime scene.”
Trammell nodded. “It’s Lieutenant Trammell. You’re that FBI agent, Roarke, in town to investigate Tiffany Gunderson’s death, right?”
“I am.”
Trammell swiped a hand across his brow. “Looks like death is following you around, Agent Roarke.”
Colin clenched his teeth. You have no idea, Lieutenant.
Trammell yelled to one of the gawking officers. “Get County on the line now. Tell them we need a homicide detective and a CSI team.” Trammell tapped Michelle on the back while he clapped his hand on Sergeant Stewart’s shoulder. “Go inside, Sarge.”
With her arm clasped around Stewart’s waist, Michelle led him through the gate and up the brick walkway to her house.
She’d been falling apart just a few minutes ago. Now she was supporting her friend’s husband with the strength of an Amazon woman. Michelle settled Stewart on the sofa and retrieved a box of tissues from the bathroom.
“Do you want some water, Ryan? Something stronger?” She shoved the tissues toward him.
“No. Nothing. What happened, Michelle?”
Stewart asked the question, but Trammell pulled out his notebook.
While Stewart alternately sobbed and cursed, Michelle recounted how Amanda had driven her home and walked to the front door to get her sweater. She grabbed one of the tissues and dabbed her nose. “She disappeared into the fog and I kept waiting for her car to start but I didn’t hear it. I heard some noises and when I went out to investigate…I found her on the ground.”
“Where’d you go tonight, Michelle?” Lieutenant Trammell looked up from scribbling in his notebook.
She glanced at Colin and then shifted her gaze back to Trammell. “We went to Burgers and Brews for an early dinner.”
“Why there? Why tonight?” Stewart practically barked his questions, and Trammell’s jaw tightened.
The tension in the air stretched as tight as a new string on a guitar. Jealous husband? Colin would’ve gone in for the kill with Stewart on edge. Trammell hadn’t even asked Sergeant Stewart for an alibi, but local cops handled their own differently. The homicide detective on his way from County would take care of business.
Trammell cleared his throat. “What were you doing outside, Agent Roarke?”
“My parents have a house down the street from Ms. Girard’s on the other side of Columbella. I walked there after dinner in town and was chucking rocks on the beach when I heard Ms. Girard scream.”
“Did anyone else come out of their house? The Vincents? Did you see anything?”
“There was nobody on the street. I saw the parked car and the two women. I didn’t want to leave Ms. Girard alone to do a search of the area. Can’t see two feet in front of you in this fog, anyway.”
“The Vincents are out of town.” Michelle shot Colin a grateful look from beneath her dark lashes.
Taking care of Sergeant Stewart had put the soft color back into her cheeks. Being needed had given her purpose and direction. Stewart knew he could lean on her, since he’d been clutching her hand ever since they’d sat down.
Just as Michelle had leaned on him after the murder. And he’d liked someone counting on him for the first time since…
As Trammell continued his questioning of Michelle and took a sample of the blood from her hands, Colin kept his lips sealed. He had his own notions about Amanda’s death, but he had more digging to do before trampling all over the local P.D.’s investigation. He’d need a closer look at the crime scene before jumping to any conclusions, and if he found the telltale sign that this murder was connected to Tiffany’s and Belinda’s, he could make a case to his supervisors to take over the investigation.
Because even though he’d led the CCPD to believe he was here on official business, he was actually on vacation. They didn’t need to know that just yet.
Tucking his notepad back into his shirt pocket, Trammell pushed up from the sofa. “Are you going to be okay, Michelle? The team’s probably going to be in front of your house for most the night, so this is the safest place to be right now.”
“I’ll be fine, but what about Ryan?” She squeezed the sergeant’s knee and tears flooded his eyes again.
Colin tracked every detail of the sergeant’s demeanor. The man had skipped right past shock into grief. How had he gotten to Michelle’s house so quickly when he was off duty? He’d asked earlier why Michelle and his wife had gone to Burgers and Brews. That implied they weren’t living together or Mrs. Stewart hadn’t bothered to tell her husband where she was going.
Trammell studied the toes of his shiny black shoes. “Sergeant Stewart is coming to the station for some questions.”
Another fat tear rolled down Stewart’s cheek. Either he didn’t catch the significance of Trammell’s statement or he didn’t care because he had nothing to hide.
A Detective Marsh from the county appeared and assured Trammell that his CSI guys were gathering evidence while the Coral Cove cops were canvassing the neighborhood.
Before taking off with Trammell to question Sergeant Stewart, Detective Marsh had a few more questions for Colin and Michelle.
