Page 15 of Off the Hook

“I needed to go,” I said, pushing past him.

“No, you didn’t.” He handed me the bottle of hydraulic fluid from the toolbox in the bed of his truck, scowling. “Youneedto listen to me. Waylan already told me that the detective gave you a hard time at the station. Don’t be stupid. Stay the fuck away from there and let them do their job.”

“Okay, okay,” I threw my hands up in surrender. “I get it.” I trotted behind him down to the dock. “The tilt trim motor is fine, by the way. I made that up.”

“Well we’re going to pretend like we’re topping it off while you think long and hard about what an idiot you were.”

“You don’t have to rub it in,” I said, regretting I’d ever involved him at all. “I really do get it.”

Spence glanced up toward the house, where there was no one watching. He lowered his voice anyway. “I don’t think you do. If you’re right, and Kylie’s death wasn’t an accident, you’ll be a prime suspect.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“I think you’renot thinking,” he said through gritted teeth. “If youdoknow that, you’re even dumber than I thought you were.” The look of disgust on his face hit me harder than his angry tone “If they don’t have any evidence, they’ll use whatever they can to pin it on you. This is serious, Coulter.”

“Waylan wouldn’t let that happen,” I insisted.

“Waylan told me he got kicked out of the interrogation room for trying to defend you! If that train leaves the station, he won’t be able to stop it.”

A chill ran through me. I’d seen enough true crime shows to know he was right. “Fuck.” I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure Faith believes me though. Maybe it was a good thing I was there.”

“Faith? Now you’re on a first-name basis with the detective who might be trying to frame you for Kylie’s death?”

“She’s not trying to frame me!” My heart pounded in my chest.

Spence’s head swiveled and he stared at me a long second before his lips curled in a smile. “What does Faith look like?”

“What? Why?” I asked, feeling my cheeks flush and hating them for it.

His intense stare didn’t stop his smile from spreading. “Is she hot?”

Suddenly I felt like I was in high school all over again. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“She’s hot,” he said, holding my gaze. “If she wasn’t, you would’ve answered the question.”

“Okay, so what if she’s hot? She's trying to solve Kylie’s murder.”

“Murder?” he leered at me like I had two heads. “Will you just shut the fuck up already.” He pretended to twist the wrench on the tilt trim motor. “The best thing you can do is go with the accidental drowning theory and let it rest.”

It was too late for that. “If it wasn't an accident, I want them to find who did this.” And I would do anything I could to help.

“Let it be, little brother. You’re gonna need a lot more than Faith to get you out of this if you keep on.”

CHAPTER 9

FAITH

The whiteboard on the wall wasn’t giving me any answers, no matter how long I stared at it.

Coulter Rodman- ex- fiancéwas at the top of the board, withContacted the victim the day of deathunderneath. I wanted to erase it because my gut told me it was irrelevant, but it was one of the few facts that we had, and couldn’t be denied. The bareness of the rest of the board mocked me. My attempt at arranging an elaborate depiction of the evidence in the case served only to highlight how little I’d been able to collect. We had nothing but circumstantial evidence and thin theories. For some insane reason, I felt personally responsible for not having anything of substance to work with.

Jake- fiancéwas to the right of Coulter’s name, slightly lower. ButIn Minnesotaunderneath pretty much ruled him out. Three thousands miles of distance was a hell of an alibi. Still, he could have had someone do his dirty work for him. But after talking to Kylie’s mom, and reading his sweet text just before Kylie died, and seeing Kylie’s wedding-planning mode at the scene, it was hard to imagine what motive Jake mighthave had to harm her. Still, we owed him a visit when he was back in town, and a deep dive into his finances for unusual activity. I scribbled CHECK BANK ACCOUNTS/ CARDS underneath Jake's name.

Another small constellation on the board signaled where I needed to go next.Lorelei coworkers.Maybe someone there had seen her with an irate customer, or would have some insight into something amiss in Kylie’s final days.

I stared at it for a few more minutes. Nothing on that board supported the strong feeling in my gut that this was not an accidental drowning.

Death before 4pm

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