Page 76 of Tempt Me

“You’re not helping your case here, Carl,” Caden says through gritted teeth.

“Marion was a wonderful woman,” I agree. “And we would love to leave you in peace to enjoy the rest of your day. So if you could just let us talk to your wife…maybe she’s at work?”

Caden finally seems to pick up on Carl’s squeamishness. “Yeah,” he says. “Let us talk to your wife, confirm your alibi, and we’ll leave you alone.”

“Oh, well, the thing is, she…”

Caden takes a step forward and cracks his knuckles menacingly. This time, the threat seems to have its intended effect.

“I wasn’t with her, but I didn’t do it, okay?” Carl whines. “I haven’t been back to Magnolia Bay since your dad fired me. I swear on my life.”

“You’re going to need to swear on something more meaningful,” Caden snarls.

I take the lead again, my pulse racing. This is something the police can use! If Carl’s alibi was false, this means he really could be the suspect.

It occurs to me I might be talking to a murderer. My spine stiffens.

“If you weren’t with your wife…” I say.

“Ex-wife,” Carl says grudgingly. Ah. So that’s why he’s being truthful now. She might not stand up for him anymore.

“Ex-wife,” I amend. “Where were you?”

There’s a long pause. The chihuahua starts dancing around Carl’s legs and he picks her up. “I was at Paddy’s Tavern in Farmingdale that night,” he grumbles. “I was there until closing. Four am.” His cheeks turn blotchy. “There was no way I could have made it to Magnolia Bay in the shape I was in.”

“Why didn’t you just tell that to the police the first time?” Caden demands.

Carl holds the chihuahua tighter. “I was embarrassed.” Suddenly, he frowns. “Wait, why aren’t the police with you?”

Crap. “Oh, um, they’re really busy today,” I say, then cringe. Great excuse, Isla.

“I don’t have to talk to you,” Carl says. “I don’t have to say anything. You need to get out of my house. Now!”

He seems to have found his courage and as much as I can tell Caden would like to muscle him for more information, I think we’ve got enough to go on for now. We can always come back with Noah.

I put down the glass of water and Caden and I hurry out of the house.

“And don’t come back,” Carl shouts, slamming the door behind us.

Caden and I stand in the driveway of Carl’s house, staring at each other.

“He lied,” Caden says, dazed.

“He lied,” I agree, excited. “Call Noah.”

Caden nods and puts him on speaker. We tell him what Carl told us.

“He lied about his alibi?” Noah says. “Guys, this is…I’m going to get on this right away. I’ll have someone talk to his ex-wife while I head to Farmingdale.”

“We can go to Farmingdale,” Caden says.

“No, it’s better if I go,” Noah says. “I can look into the credit card receipts from that night too, to see if this new story holds water. You’ve done enough, Cade. You’ve done really well. If he’s lying about this too…”

He hangs up and we stare at each other. I wonder if Caden’s heart is beating as fast as mine.

“This could be it,” he says. He glances back up at Carl’s house. I imagine police descending on it, hauling Carl out in handcuffs.

“What do we do now?” I ask.

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