Page 51 of Murder in Calusa Cove
“And who did you report them to?” Dawson asked with a tight jaw.
“I used the radio. Channel 16. I was sent over to another channel to speak with a local. No one followed up, or they didn’t take me seriously.”
“If that was the case, why didn’t you contact me.”
“Last time we met, I wound up in your station house for the night.” Cole snorted. “Besides, I was military police. I know how jurisdiction works, and this isn’t yours.”
“Not the point,” Dawson muttered.
“Maybe, but you made it clear you didn’t want any trouble from me. Anyway, I started tracking on my own, figuring that if I found something solid, I would take it somewhere else. I got obsessed. I’ll own that.” He looked at Hayes. “I get I’m paranoid, and to be honest, I kind of like living out here on the fringe, but I’m aware it’s taking hold of my better judgment. I figured that out when those two and the agent showed up a few days ago.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “The things that I saw on my last two tours, well, they messed me up, but I’m not your guy.”
Hayes folded his arms. “And the photo of Chloe?”
Cole hesitated, jaw working. “I cut it out of a newspaper someone left at the marina. I’d seen her a few times before. I thought…if I could find a pattern, maybe I could give someone smarter than me a clue.”
“That’s still a hell of a stretch,” Fletcher muttered.
“I know how it looks,” Cole said again, softer this time. “But I didn’t kill anyone. Not my ex-wife. Not anyone. I joined the Marines to serve. I came back with ghosts I couldn’t shake. My wife left me because of that, and I didn’t stop her. I let her go because I had nothing left to give her. I was actually happy to hear she’d remarried. I hadn’t learned she’d gone missing until a few years after it happened. I mean, I’ve been living off the grid for so long my daughter doesn’t even know where I am.” His voice cracked. “That’s my punishment.”
The room was quiet for a beat.
Hayes exchanged a glance with Dawson. The man in front of them was weathered, broken—but not violent. Not evasive. There was sincerity in his eyes, and not the panicked kind of someone caught in a lie.
“Dawson?” Hayes asked quietly.
“We take him in,” Dawson said. “We ask questions, rule him out the proper way.”
“I don’t do well in cages,” Cole said, eyes wide, taking a step back. “I came clean. I told you everything. You seriously have to take me in?”
“I’m sorry, but it has to be done.” Dawson nodded.
“I’ll sit with you.” Hayes inched closer, tentatively resting his hand on his shoulder. “Once everything you say checks out, Dawson can let you go, and I’ll drive you back out here myself.”
“You’d do that for me?” Cole asked quietly.
Hayes nodded.
“Can I bring my blanket?” He pointed to the cot. “It’s the only thing I kept from my past life with my family, and it gets cold in those damn holding cells.”
“Of course.” Dawson nodded. “We’ll have to take all your maps, files, and stuff to the station. Okay?”
“Sure. I understand.” Cole turned, putting his hands behind his back.
“We don’t need to do that, man.” Dawson curled his fingers around Cole’s biceps, leading him out the door.
Hayes swallowed, shifting his gaze between Fletcher and Keaton. They’d all been one bad mission away from being Cole. No military man was immune to that kind of pain and torture. Hayes sucked in a deep breath, taking a moment to clear his mind. “There’s no way Dawson’s going on a honeymoon now,” he muttered.
“He cancelled it when the first murder happened.” Keaton ran his fingers through his long hair.
Hayes was surprised Trinity hadn’t made him cut it before the big day.
“Trinity postponed ours, too.” Keaton stepped out onto the porch. “She knows I would’ve been distracted, wondering what was happening back here, especially now.”
Fletcher stepped around Keaton, shading his eyes from the sun. “I don’t know what to make of Cole. This scene has my hackles up, but he doesn’t, and that doesn’t line up.”
“Let’s go so Dawson can question Cole.” Hayes glanced at his watch. “I need to tell Chloe I’ll be spending the night at the station because I doubt Dawson will be able to let him go this evening, and we have a double wedding to deal with.” He wasn’t sure how he’d manage being at the jail and this wedding, but he would make damn sure that Cole didn’t feel like a caged animal.
Because Hayes knew exactly what that felt like.
