Page 23 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

“And he never mentioned what those demons were? Who he needed to make amends to?” Tommy asked.

“I wish he had.”

Tommy thanked her for her time then followed Sadie to the car. The delicate situation had just turned downright hazardous. He needed to find out how much Mitch knew without clueing him into his wife’s extramarital activities. Clara’s safety depended on it.

Sadie climbedbehind the wheel of her cruiser. She pinched the bridge of her nose and fought against the growing panic for the woman she’d just met. “We have to talk to her husband. No way we can assume he didn’t know about Clara and Shawn. And if he has a temper like his wife described, it’s not hard to picture him taking his anger out on Shawn.”

Tommy stared out the window, gaze locked on the pretty picture window with frilly curtains framing the inside. The delicate loops of lace visible from the car. “You’re right. But I don’t see him not taking it out on her. He’d make her pay.”

A shudder ripped down Sadie’s spine. “If Mitch did kill Shawn because he found out about the affair, then he took away a future with a man she once loved—could have loved again—but that won’t be enough. Not for a man like Mitch.”

“Let’s take a look at his file when we get back to the station. I want to see if there’s ever been more than complaints of disorderly conduct by the neighbors.”

“Good idea. The more we know about Mitch Parson before we talk to him, the better.” Sucking in a breath, she tore away her gaze from the pretty blue house and pulled onto the road. So many memories coming back to attack her—memories of all the scary houses and even scarier men who held control over her mother and her. She wanted better for Clara and her children.

“I also want to see the papers you discovered at Shawn’s, and we need to figure out what that key is for.” She’d wanted to see them last night but had high-tailed it out of his apartment. When she’d realized she’d forgotten to ask for them, she’d been too big of a chicken to head back upstairs.

“Shit. I forgot the evidence bag at my place. Can you swing by so I can grab it? Sorry. I felt like I’d been hit by a bus when I crawled out of bed. My focus was on getting dressed and out the door on time. The evidence bag with the papers was the last thing on my mind. It’ll only take a second.”

She cast him a quick glance. The color of the bruise on his cheekbone had deepened to a nasty purple with tinges of green sprouting from the middle, highlighting the scar she’d always wondered about. Bags hung heavy under his eyes. The rest of his injuries couldn’t be seen, but she’d noticed how slowly he’d moved all morning. “How do you feel? Any better?”

“Not really. Everything still hurts, but it is what it is.”

She understood that mantra. Life went on, time kept moving, no matter what twists and turns came along. Driving through town, she spied a parking spot outside the pizza shop Tommy lived above and slid in along the deserted sidewalk.

Tommy’s phone buzzed, and he shifted to pull it out and look at the screen. “Great. Things keep getting better and better.”

His exasperation made her give him a hard look. “What’s wrong?”

He leaned his head back against the head rest and turned to face her. “Text from my buddy at the autobody shop. My cruiser’s totaled.”

She grimaced. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”

He ran a hand over his face. “I need to stop at my dad’s. He’s got a spare truck I can use until I get assigned a new cruiser. Do you mind if I run up and grab the stuff then you take me to his place? He lives just outside of town.”

“Sure.”

Tommy hurried out of the car and disappeared into the brick building beside her.

Huffing out a sigh, Sadie closed her eyes. A million thoughts swam in her brain, each one bringing only more questions and no answers. She made a mental list of everything they needed to accomplish today. Create a plan for interviewing Mitch Parson, dig deeper into the reason Shawn was paying his friend and employer on a monthly basis, and she still had more questions for Melissa Downs and the weird dynamic between her and Shawn. As the list grew longer, the sheer volume of work and shit to wade through weighed down her limbs.

A sharp pounding on her window made her jump. Her eyes flew open. She faced the driver’s window and found herself staring into the angry eyes of a man she’d never met. His strong jaw was clenched tight, a vein bulging against his temple.

She rolled down the window. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, you can help me. You can tell me what you were doing talking to my wife earlier.”

Her heart raced, but she couldn’t let it show. “And you are?”

He rested one arm on top of the car and leaned forward, pressing his face into the interior. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know who I am. You were just at my house with that asshole, Wells. How dare you show up when I’m not there, harassing my family.”

It took every ounce of will power she possessed not to react to his anger—or his invasion of her personal space. She couldn’t show her hand. Not when tipping Mitch off to the real reason they were at his house could be detrimental to Clara’s safety. “Sir, Deputy Wells and I are investigating the murder of Shawn Downs. It’s important we interview anyone who knew him. Whether recently or in the past.”

He slammed the palm of his meaty hand against the car. “Bullshit. My wife hasn’t had contact with that piece of shit since high school.”

“Sir, aren’t you a school teacher? Why aren’t you at work?” Her only hope was to distract him, steering him away from the topic of his wife.

He snorted. “Thank God for nosey ass neighbors. I got a call a sheriff’s deputy was at my house. The principal sat in on my class so I could see what happened. Imagine my surprise to see you pulling out of my driveway.”

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