Page 37 of In the Arms of a Hero

He looked up at the deputies and said, “Hercules gets very chilly. Even though he had his sweater on, I didn’t want his paws to get cold. And sand is horrible to get out of fur.”

Aaron hid his surprise but felt like he’d stepped into an alternate reality. He stared at the tiny dog that fit easily in the man’s hands, hardly looking like the Greek god Hercules. But at least that explained why there were no dog prints on the beach.

“The body isn’t far from where the pier steps go down to the beach, yet you didn’t see it right away?”

“I headed to the north.” Jon shrugged. “I was looking down, talking to Hercules. It wasn’t until we walked for about fifteen minutes that I set him down and let him do his business. Then I picked him back up, and we headed back. I was almost to the steps when I glanced over and saw a large object on the shoreline to the south. I hardly expected to find a body when taking a morning walk, detective.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Sam said. “Yet you called the rental owner first instead of 911?”

“I had no idea what the protocol would be out here. It’s hardly a metropolitan area, and I wasn’t sure what I should do. So Hercules and I came into the house, met my wife, who was just coming downstairs. I told her to go ahead and prepare breakfast, that I needed to make a call to Mr. Malroney. He wasn’t happy, as you can imagine. Still, he told me to dial 911 to report what I found.” He shivered visibly, saying, “You can imagine how shocking it all was. I really wasn’t thinking straight.”

“So… you found a dead body and came back into the house, and told your wife to fix breakfast, then called the landlord?”

Jon blinked, his brow lowering. “Yes. What else should I have done? There was nothing she could do to help the man on the beach, so she might as well go ahead and let us have breakfast before we leave.”

“About that, sir. We’ll have to ask you to stay until we’ve completed our initial investigation,” Sam said.

“You can’t be serious? We certainly had nothing to do with it! And now, with the police crawling all over the beach, we can’t even enjoy our view. We booked this place for a month and have only stayed here three nights!”

“You’re here for a month?” Aaron asked.

“We needed a getaway. My wife has a very delicate disposition.”

Aaron held the man’s gaze, then nodded slowly. “Be that as it may, you’re not allowed to leave at this time.” Not giving Jon a chance to continue complaining, he asked, “Did you see or hear anything in the past three days, either in the area or down on the beach?“

“Absolutely not. My wife takes a sleeping pill, and I have always been a sound sleeper.”

“We’d like to speak to your wife. Please ask her to join us,” Aaron continued.

“This has been all very upsetting. She’s resting.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed as he growled, “Did she go down to the beach and see the body?”

“Of course not!”

“Then I fail to see what exactly has been so upsetting that she can’t come to speak to us now.”

Jon looked as though he wanted to argue but turned and walked back up the stairs. The sound of murmuring from above was heard, and he returned with a tall, thin woman whose hair and makeup were meticulously fixed. The dog was now in her arms, and she descended the stairs in a regal manner.

Aaron looked at Sam, then said quietly, “While you talk to her, I want to go to the landing above to see their view.”

Jon’s disdain was evident as Aaron gave him a simple explanation, and he headed up the stairs. Hearing Jon’s wife give unhelpful answers to Sam’s questions, Aaron padded across the thick carpet and looked out the second-story windows toward the beach. From this vantage point, the body would’ve been visible. Of course, he had no idea what time it washed up on shore, but slipping his phone from his pocket, he snapped several pictures out the window. A few kayaks and a row boat were close to the dunes, and he rolled his eyes, remembering their previous dealings with Harry Malroney and his stolen kayaks.

Looking around the loft, he noted the furnishings on the long landing, including several decorative tables and a comfortable chair next to a bookcase. As his gaze slid over the area outside the bedrooms, he noticed a pair of binoculars resting on one of the small tables and a telescope next to the chair.

He scrubbed his hand over his face and descended the staircase. “I’d like to ask both of you if you’ve used the telescope or the binoculars on the landing since you’ve been here?”

She blinked, her eyelashes fluttering. “I certainly haven’t. I take no pleasure in staring out into the distance at ugly cargo carriers in the bay. We take walks, look for shells, and make sure Hercules and Aphrodite get fresh air from the deck.”

At this, it was his turn to blink as he realized the dog she held in her hands was different from the one in Jon’s hand, although they appeared similar.

Sam nodded. “Thank you. We’ll be in contact when you will be able to leave the area. The deputies will finish canvassing the area later today, and you can resume your beach walks.”

“You expect us to walk our dogs out there where a body was?”

“I didn’t think they got their paws in the sand,” Aaron asked.

“They don’t. But they can smell things, can’t they?” Jon huffed.

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