Page 14 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

“Never been in trouble with the law, as far as I know. Don’t know too much about him. Seems nice enough.” Tommy kept his voice low and gaze locked on Curtis’ profile as he filled two glasses a few feet away. “He’s probably the closest friend Shawn had.”

“Do you think he knows something?”

Tommy faced her and shrugged. “If there’s anyone who can gives us dirt, it’s Curtis. I’m just not sure if that dirt ended up on Curtis’s hands or not.”

God, he hoped not. But the possibility of Curtis hurting Shawn had crossed his mind. When a harmless drunk only socialized with a handful of people, the pool of suspects was pretty small. Someone wouldn’t hunt him down in the middle of a meadow for a good time. Someone was pissed.

Pissed enough to end Shawn’s life. And chances were that pissed off person was someone who knew a hell of a lot about Shawn.

Curtis returned with their drinks then leaned against the bar. “So, what do you want to know?”

“How long has Shawn worked for you?” Sadie asked then bit into the end of a long fry.

Curtis scratched his jaw. “Let’s see. I bought the place about seven years ago. Shawn was here since the beginning.”

“And did you think it was a good idea to give an alcoholic a job at a bar? Was Shawn’s drinking ever a problem?” Sadie pressed.

Tommy took a bite of his burger, an eruption of gooey cheese and salty meat exploding on his tongue. He’d let her take the lead—something she obviously thought was important—and just listen while he ate. At least for the moment.

Curtis narrowed his beady eyes. “He wasn’t always such a mess, okay. We were friends since we were kids. He needed help, and I could lend him a hand by giving him a job. He never caused any problems for anyone.”

Sadie took a sip of her soda before asking another question. “He never had issues with anyone in here? Made anyone mad? Get on anyone’s bad side?”

Curtis shot his hand through his scraggly dirty blond hair. “Not that I can recall.” Dropping his gaze, he rubbed his thumb over a groove in the bar.

Tommy set down his burger and studied Curtis.He’s hiding something. Tommy folded his hands and rested them on the worn wood in front of his plate. “Listen. You two were close, had been for years, anything you know could help us find out who killed him. If you say he didn’t start shit with anyone at the bar, fine. But what about outside of work? Had he talked about getting into trouble recently? Anything off in his demeanor?”

“His demeanor’s been off for years.” Curtis licked his thin lips and darted his gaze around the room. He leaned forward, pressing his too-thin middle against the scarred wooden counter. “But there is one thing. He talked about Clara a lot lately.”

“Clara Parson?”

“Who’s that?” Sadie asked.

Curtis spared her a glance. “We went to school with her. She’s married to one of our best friends from way back. She and Shawn dated when they were teenagers.”

“Did Shawn and Mitch still talk?” Tommy didn’t know much about Mitch Parson except he was a teacher at the local high school and was known to have one hell of a temper. More than one call had been made to the station by neighbors because of his yelling at his wife.

“They hadn’t talked for years. Not that I know of, anyway. Mitch distanced himself when Shawn started his downhill spiral. Didn’t want it to cast any negative attention on him when he was starting his career.”

“Do you think Shawn and Clara were talking? Seeing each other?” If Shawn made a play on another man’s wife—a man with a history of a temper—then they just found another lead. Not to mention how that could piss off the woman he was still married too, estranged or not.

Curtis shrugged. “He never said, but if I had to guess, something was going on. A man doesn’t just start talking about a woman from his past for no reason.”

“We’ll talk to her.” Sadie cast a quick glance at Tommy. “No need to alert her husband to anything his wife may or may not have done before we get her side of the story.”

Tommy nodded. “Agreed.”

“Is there anything else you can think of? No matter how small it seems.” Sadie sliced a knife through the center of her burger, cutting it in two.

“No, but if I think of anything, I swear I’ll tell you. Shawn had his issues, but deep down, he was a good guy. He didn’t deserve this.” The door opened and a middle-aged couple strolled in and took a seat at a booth on the opposite wall. “I’ve got to take their order. Your food’s getting cold anyway. Eat, and I’ll call if anything comes to mind.”

Tommy dipped a few fries in a glob of ketchup and stuffed them in his mouth.

With her elbows propped on the bar, Sadie picked up half her burger. “What do you think? Would this Clara woman cheat on her husband with a guy like Shawn?” She bit into her sandwich and moaned. “Damn, this is good.”

“Maybe. They have a history. I want to talk to my sister. She might have a better idea of the dynamics between the groupfrom high school. Might know why Shawn and Clara broke up, or if the split was bad enough to keep the two away from each other for good.”

“Seems odd she married her ex’s good friend.”

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