Page 40 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

Now fatigue made his movements slow and the pain in his head intensified with every step. With his gaze down, he made a beeline for his desk. Small talk was the last thing he wanted to participate in.

He reached his chair, but before he could sit his dad poked his head out of his office and yelled, “Wells, Pennel. In my office. Now.”

Tommy groaned. Scratch that. Mindless chitchat wasn’t the last thing he wanted. Sitting in a small office with Sadie was. He’d have to talk with her eventually, but he’d at least hoped for a giant cup of coffee first.

Hurrying across the congested space, he side stepped deputies, and entered the sheriff’s office. He nodded a greeting at his dad, who’d taken a seat behind the messy desk, then plopped into one of two chairs in front of him.

Sadie entered. “Good morning, sir. Deputy Wells.” Her voice was stiff, her words hard.

He didn’t bother looking at her. She’d have the same pissy look on her face he’d witnessed for months. The one he’d finally erased when they were alone. “Morning.”

“Shut the door before you sit, please.”

Sadie did as asked then sank onto the seat beside him.

“Nice work last night. Both of you.” Mike made sure to connect his cool, grey gaze with each of them before continuing. “Things could have ended a lot differently. I’m glad they didn’t.”

“Me too,” Tommy mumbled.

“I’ve kept up with your reports the last few days. How does what happened last night with Mitch Parson affect your investigation?”

Tommy scratched the top of his head then rested his elbow on the arm of the chair. “We wanted to question Mitch today. He was on our list of suspects, given what we’d learned about Clara and Shawn’s relationship.”

“Do you still think Mitch is a suspect?” Mike hooked up one eyebrow.

“We weren’t sure of his involvement since we didn’t know if he was aware of the situation with his wife and Mr. Downs,”Sadie said. “After last night, I think Deputy Wells and I can agree that Mitch learned of his wife’s infidelity yesterday. If he’d known before, he would’ve taken his anger out on Clara a lot sooner.”

Mike nodded. “I agree. He’ll sit in county lockup until his hearing. You can question him as much as you want, but it might be a waste of time. I wouldn’t put it past Mitch Parson to kill Shawn for sleeping with his wife, but it would have played out a lot differently.”

“Agreed.” Tommy wiped his hands on his pants. “Was there anything else?”

“I hate to micromanage, but I’ve got a lot of pressure coming down on me in regard to the Downs case. Where do things stand?”

Tommy shot a glance at Sadie. A lot went down between them last night, but discussing where their thoughts laid with the case wasn’t one of them.

Sadie kept her back rigid, her focus forward. “We have an interview scheduled with Curtis McLane, the bar owner, soon. I also spoke with Shawn’s roommate from college this morning. I’d like to find a girl he dated while in college, before he started dating Judge Downs. The roommate mentioned he spent most his time with her, and she might have more information. Besides that, the roommate didn’t have much to say.”

Tommy straightened. “You didn’t tell me you spoke to the roommate.”

She turned a stony glare on him. “I hadn’t gotten a chance yet.”

Heated words sat on the tip of his tongue, but he held them back. Arguing in front of his dad wouldn’t be good for either of them.

Sadie faced forward again. “Deputy Wells and I also plan to look into Melissa Downs’ habits and financials, if possible.”

Mike frowned. “Why?”

Tommy bit back a groan, not wanting to get into the details with his dad right now. “Shawn had a large sum of money from a trust his mother established. With his death, the money goes to next of kin. It’s standard to make sure there’s nothing amiss with the person inheriting the money.”

“Melissa Downs is well-to-do on her own merit. Digging around her personal life is bound to be messy and end in trouble the department can’t afford.”

Tommy clenched his jaw. “We also can’t afford to gloss over any part of this investigation.”

Mike sighed. “You’re right. But tread lightly. Now go on. We’ve all got work to do.”

Tommy rose and followed Sadie out the door.

“Curtis will be here in ten minutes. I have some things I need to put together before he arrives.” She tossed the words over her shoulder as she marched toward her desk.

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