Page 24 of Off the Hook

“Corinne Kincaid. I had Louis track her down. She’s a marine biologist at Reef Base, and she’s in the office right now.” Oscar grabbed my keys off the corner of my desk and tossed them to me. “Let’s go pay her a visit.”

“Good idea,” I nodded, hiding my smirk. “It can’t hurt.”

“Corinne heads up the Aquarius project,” Oscar said as he swung open the passenger door of my Charger. “It’s an underwater lab where they do reef research,” he shook his head as his seatbelt buckle snapped into place. “Can youimagine?” He shook his head. “Trapped down there in that lab? I feel cooped up in the station. No thank you.”

“Sounds fascinating to me.” I’d read about that lab–the only one of its kind in the world. It was so cool that it was right here in my new hometown.

“You must not be claustrophobic,” Ramirez chuckled.

“Not really,” I shrugged. “Lucky for us, Ms. Kincaid is not down at the lab today. Good job tracking her down.” The compliment was sincere, if a tad bit exaggerated to emphasize the value of positive reinforcement.

“Coulter said himself, the Rodman family is close-knit. Hopefully the outsider will give us some more objective insight.”

“Hopefully,” I said as we passed by the fire station at Founder’s Park.

“Don’t go getting all googly-eyed, admiring her for her work. Remember what we’re here for,” Oscar said as we approached the Reef base office.

His quip sparked the anger I kept buried, the ire at his constant condescension. I wanted to remindhimthat we were here to gather facts, not to try to fabricate stories that implicated our top suspect. Instead I smiled and offered a curt, “Of course.”

I turned into the gravel lot just north of Snake Creek Bridge. The small office was unassuming for such an important scientific resource.

The receptionist peered at us over horn-rimmed glasses and smiled. “Can I help you?”

Oscar pulled back his jacket to flash the badge on his belt. “Detectives Ramirez and Pierce with the Monroe County Sheriff's Department. We’d like to speak with Miss Kincaid.”

Her smile faded. “Just a moment.” She picked up the phone and dialed. “Corinne, a couple of detectives are here to see you.”

The office door adjacent to the lobby opened, and an attractive young woman peered around it, her blue eyes wide with worry. She stepped out cautiously, brushing her blonde curls over her shoulder. “How can I help you?”

I hurried to answer before Oscar could. “We just need to ask you a few questions. Is there a place we can talk in private?”

“Sure, my office,” she held out her hand to invite us in. “I’ll just grab another chair from the lobby.”

I fumed silently that Oscar stood watching while she muscled the chair through the door. He wasn’t raised right. “Let me help you with that,” I said, too late.

“It’s okay, it’s not heavy.” She shot Oscar a look that made me like her.

We settled into our chairs while Corinne took her seat behind her desk. “I assume this is about Kylie.”

“You assume correctly.” Oscar slapped a manilla folder down on the desk before sitting.

Corinne startled for a moment before mustering a small, nervous smile. “Anything I can do to help clear this up.”

“Excellent,” I said, cutting Oscar off before he could start in on her. As I pulled back the chair beside him, we exchanged a glance and I could tell he read the warning in my eyes. Iwasn’t going to let him intimidate her. Or me. “Do you mind if we ask you some questions about Christmas Eve?”

“The last good day,” Corinne sighed.

“It wasn’t a good day for Kylie.” Oscar snapped.

I reached across the table, ignoring my partner. “Tell us what was good about Christmas Eve.”

“Trevor and I surprised the whole family with a big announcement– I’m pregnant. And then Trevor surprisedmewith a proposal.”

“Must be the season to get engaged,” Oscar said with an undertone of sarcasm.

Corinne stared at him quizzically. “I guess the holidays do inspire love.”

“Congratulations,” I said, feeling sorry that the events that followed had shaken the family so, and cast a dark shadow on her happy news.

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