Page 11 of The Perfect Betrayal

“I knew you were getting out of class, so I wanted to see if you wanted company for a mid-morning coffee run?”

“I’m actually running a little late so I’ll skip the coffee,” she told him, “but you can walk me halfway to my next class if you want.”

“Sure,” he replied and joined her on the path that cut across the quad.

They were quiet for a few seconds, but Hannah could tell he was itching to say something. She wasn't sure why, but there was something about the tension he carried in his posture as he moved that suggested he was holding something back. He finally let it out halfway across the quad.

“Who was that?” he asked.

“Who was who?” she countered, playing dumb to see how he reacted.

“That guy you were talking to on the steps,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice even. “I didn’t recognize him.”

“Some guy from my Brain Dysfunction and Repair class,” she answered noncommittally.

“He seemed friendly,” Finn noted, pushing his blond her out of his gray eyes, which looked uncharacteristically stormy.

“I guess,” she said. She owed him nothing.

“You’re not going to tell me his name?”

“It’s not really your business, is it Finn?” she replied spikily. “You almost sound jealous. But that can’t be the case, because we agreed that we’re just friends.”

“I’m not jealous,” he said way too defensively. “I just hope you haven’t forgotten the lesson about taking strange guys at face value.”

“You mean when that guy tried to trap me in a study room to assault me and I had to teachhima lesson?" she mused. "No, I haven't forgotten. But are you forgetting that every new male I meet is a strange guy at first. This one is. Even you were."

“You knew all about me the first time you approached me, remember,” he shot back, “because you thought I was terrorizing Lizzie.”

“Apparently I didn’t knoweverythingabout you,” she needled without specifically referencing his slavish protection of his fraternity. It looked like he was about to take the bait and defend himself, but she was too annoyed to let him go there. “Anyway, don’t you think I can handle myself? Do you really still consider me some damsel in distress who just can’t help myself from falling for this guy?”

He stopped walking.

“I have news for you, Hannah. I never considered you a damsel in distress.”

“Thanks,” she said irritably. “And for the record, this non-damsel can make it the rest of the way to class on her own.”

She spun on her heel and strode off, leaving him there to stew in the mess he’d created.

CHAPTER FIVE

Setting aside the fact that a murder had been committed on it, Jessie thought this was a really nice boat. Make that motorsailer.

As she boarded, she noted that it wasn't just some basic weekend warrior vessel. She was no expert on boats, but she estimated that the thing was at least 45 feet long, with dark wood paneling and extensive carved flourishes that seemed designed for show more than utility. The boat's name was Her Majesty, which, like the vessel itself, seemed a bit much. She and Riddell had been wandering around the thing for several minutes separately before reconvening near the stairs leading to the cabin, which Stanton told her was called the companionway.

“Initial thoughts?” she asked the detective, hoping that by deferring to his opinion first, he might prove more collaborative than he’d been so far.

“Well, for one thing, our killer didn’t seem all that concerned with cleaning up,” Riddell noted, pointing at the giant pool of blood on the deck behind them. “My initial take is that Peterson brought some girl out here and got aggressive with her. She panicked, grabbed a knife, and did him in. Then she bailed. Maybe she tried to swim for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she drowned halfway back.”

There was a lot of supposition in his theory, only a little of which she thought had much merit. But she tried to be diplomatic in her response.

“I definitely agree with some of that,” she replied.

“Which part?” he pressed, borderline defensive.

“That our killer did him in with a knife.”

“That leaves a lot that you didn’t agree with,” he noted. “You don’t even think it was a woman?”

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