Page 93 of Lethal Danger

He swallowed, his throat suddenly tight. “I was skeptical at first. I know how strong the desire is for people to make sense of their loved one’s death. But there is the fact that Sam was so afraid of water he’d refuse to even take baths.”

“Oh.” Her eyebrows rose as she stopped on the sidewalk outside the fairgrounds, turning to face him. “That does make it unlikely he’d be on that ride.”

“Autopsy showed he was intoxicated, so that might’ve overcome his fears. That was the detectives’ theory at the time.”

“But you don’t buy it.” She was starting to read him well. Or maybe it was that intelligence he’d admired in her from the beginning.

“Well, the ride operator that was on that night showed me her closing routine. She does a thorough inspection of the entire interior of the ride. I don’t think she’d have missed Sam’s body lying there.”

Jazz glanced down at Flash who sat next to her leg, looking a little weary from his long shift. “So that would back up the theory he was killed elsewhere, then moved after the ride was closed.”

“Exactly.”

“Who could do that? Are you saying someone with staff access would’ve had to do it? Someone who works at the fair?” The way Jazz’s features contorted showed how horrifying she found the idea. Of course, she would. The fair was like her home.

“Could be. But I think it’s just as possible that someone else could’ve found a way to hide and wait for the ride operator to leave before putting Sam in there.”

“But how could someone else get in?”

Hawthorne lifted his shoulders. “Picked the lock? I don’t think the police had reason to check for that. Or tried different rides until they found one that had been left unlocked by accident. If Sam was killed, it doesn’t seem like a very well-planned crime. More like an unplanned murder that made the killer have to punt the best he or she could.”

“So you think any visitor could’ve done it.” She pressed her lips together. “Or a vendor.”

Hawthorne nodded. “I was sorry to hear about Freddie, too. He’s a nice guy. Or at least he seems to be.”

“Yeah. He’s new this year, so I suppose I shouldn’t feel so disloyal for suspecting him. I think it’s because Molly’s taken such a liking to him. And he reminds me a lot of his cousin Jim who used to come with the food stand. He was a great guy. Always nice to me and Nevaeh.” She glanced toward the parking lot. “I guess I’d better get going, or Nev will wonder what happened to me.”

“The two of you share your apartment?”

“No.” She turned away from him with the hasty reply. “I’m staying at her house just for…fun.” Jazz stepped off the sidewalk onto the blacktop.

“I’ll walk you to your car.” He fell in step beside her, Flash on her other side.

Jazz shot him a glance, her eyebrow quirked.

“Though I know you absolutely do not need my protection.”

She smiled at him and moved a bit closer, letting her arm brush against his. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want it.”

His pulse picked up speed as heat flared in his belly. A natural reaction of any red-blooded male. Didn’t mean he was losing control of his emotions. Or that he had to act on any of the attraction he had to admit he felt for this woman. Like when she’d surprised him by putting her arm around his waist and taking his hand at the commune.

He should’ve pulled away instantly. But he’d had to keep their cover, which he knew was the only reason she’d initiated the touches anyway. Trouble was, the longer he’d kept the connection with her, the more he had started to like it. Way too much.

Kind of like now. It felt pretty good—almost natural—to walk her to her car.

Good grief. He could throttle himself for the romantic sentiments. He didn’t even like to include romance in his novels, let alone his personal life. It was after midnight, and he was clearly feeling the effects of fatigue. He needed to wrap this up.

“Do you think Freddie was up to something, being by the Logboat ride?” Jazz was apparently doing a better job focusing on something other than their proximity.

Hawthorne cleared the thickness out of his throat. “I don’t really know. It is strange. From what I’ve seen, the vendors usually close as quickly as they can at eleven and head straight out.”

“But his excuse could’ve been legit.” Hopefulness laced her tone.

“True. And, honestly, I’m not sure what he could’ve been doing related to Sam at the Logboat Adventure. It’s two years too late to tamper with any evidence. But sabotage? That’s a real possibility.”

“Phoenix seemed to think it could be related to Sam’s death.” Jazz turned into the row where her SUV must be parked. “Though I’m not sure how. She just told me it was where Sam was found. Like it was important.” Jazz cast him a glance. “She never really explains any of her riddles.”

“Not too surprising. She seems very…” Hawthorne should be able to find the perfect word to describe Phoenix Gray, given he used words for his profession. But Jazz’s boss somehow evaded his search for the perfect descriptor. “Enigmatic.” Best he could do for someone he couldn’t figure out, let alone describe. At least not from a first meeting.

---