Page 50 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

He snorted. “That key is a pain in my ass, but I did get some answers about the tires. I got ahold of the only shop in town, as well as one town over. Both have tons of records of sales for that specific brand of tire. The managers were helpful, and agreed to dig a little deeper and find out if any tires were placed on a full-sized truck in the last twelve months.”

“Hopefully they can provide some more names to look into. With Mitch in jail, Curtis is our best suspect.”

Tommy cast her a quick glance before swinging his gaze back to the road. “Maybe we’ll crack through whatever bullshit he keeps throwing at us and lock this thing down today.”

Hope beat back the fear still clinging to her psyche. She held onto it as Tommy slowed to the snail-pace speed limit and parked on the street in front of the bar.

“Shouldn’t be much of a crowd,” Tommy said as he shut off the car and slid the key from the ignition.

“At this point, I don’t care if we have to interrogate the bastard on a stage in front of the whole damn town. I just want this over with.” She stepped onto the sidewalk and waited for Tommy to round the hood before heading for the entrance to Town Tavern.

Tommy opened the door for her to enter then followed. A few customers sat at the bar, huddled over their beers or snacking on peanuts. Highlights from last night’s big game dominated the big screen that hung above the wide selection of spirits.

“I don’t see Curtis.” Sadie scanned the room. Patrons occupied a couple of tables, but the place was mostly deserted. But even though people didn’t fill the tables, empty glasses and plates littered the unused seating. “This place is a mess. Is that normal?”

“Not at all.”

A pretty, young waitress hustled through the swinging door from the kitchen with a plate in each hand. Her face was screwed in a knot, irritation coming off her in waves.

Tommy raised his arm. “Ashley. We need to speak with you for a minute.”

“One second.” She didn’t even stop to spare them a glance as she slid the plates in front of two older men at the bar then refilled their beers from the tap.

“Let’s take a seat.” Tommy dipped his head toward the closest table.

“Good idea.” Her whole body ached as if she’d run a marathon. Another side effect of being thrust into a living nightmare and barely making it out alive.Stop it. Put what happened out of your mind. Focus.

Straightening her shoulders, she perched on the edge of a wooden chair and studied the bustling server. “Does she usually work alone? The lunch shift ended a little while ago, but it looks like no one’s been here to help.”

“Curtis is usually always here. Unless he’s in the kitchen, which I doubt, looks like Ashley dealt with the earlier crowd by herself.”

The skin on the back of her neck puckered. If Curtis hadn’t been here most of the day, it would leave him without an alibi when someone locked her in the file room.

Ashley rushed over. Her cheeks were flushed, and she used the back of her hand to brush red bangs from her eyes. “You want to order? Sorry. Today’s been a bit nuts.”

“Where’s Curtis? Isn’t he working the bar?” Tommy asked.

She clenched her jaw. “Nope. Boss hasn’t been around today.”

A rush of adrenaline invaded Sadie’s veins. “When’s the last time you saw him?”

Ashley shrugged. “This morning. Came in to work the breakfast shift, saw him leave, then took a break before lunch. He wasn’t here when I got back.”

“Did you ask the cook?” Sadie wondered.

“He heard Curtis clomping upstairs to his apartment before he stepped out for a minute. He went up and knocked on the door, but no one answered. Assumed Curtis left and hasn’t been back, the ass.” Ashley covered her mouth. “Sorry. It’s been a rough afternoon.”

“Totally understandable.” Sadie forced a smile then focused on Tommy. “Maybe we should go knock. Maybe he didn’t hear or was under the weather.”

“Good idea. Is it okay if we head upstairs for a second?”

“I don’t see why not. You can go through the office so you don’t have to use the outside entrance.”

“Thanks, Ashley,” Tommy said and stood.

“No problem.” She turned and rushed back toward the kitchen.

Sadie followed Tommy to the back of the bar to Curtis’ office. Papers were scattered all over the card table-turned-desk and a computer hummed in the corner. The desire to linger and casually flit through the mess slowed her gait, but she couldn’t do anything stupid. She didn’t have a warrant to search the office—at least not yet.

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