Page 164 of Secrets Along the Shore
“Right. And I’ll tell you something else. She owed me money.”
“How does that help you, exactly?”
“I don’t know how it is where you’re from, but down here, corpses don’t pay back debts.”
“Can anybody confirm Kamden owed you money?”
He snorts. “Shoot. Sure. I got people.”
“Some people might argue that maybe you got tired of waiting for your money. Maybe you decided to teach her a lesson. Set an example.”
“Nah. Besides, she was about to pay up.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because she told me. Said she was comin’ into some money, and I’d have mine soon enough.”
That’s the same thing Serenity said.“Coming into money how?”
“How should I know? I didn’t care, long as I was gonna get it. ’Course it turned out she went missin’ after that, and I got nothin’.”
I have no reason to put any stock in what Haynes is saying, but it makes sense. Assuming Kamden did owe him money, why would he kill her? He’s right, it’s impossible to collect from a dead person. Andwhy, if he wanted to send a message, would he hide her body and make people think she had skipped town on her own? Unpaid debt isn’t looking like a good motive.
“I need your help with something,” I say, and shoot a photo to Haynes at the number on my display. “I just texted you a photo. Do you recognize where it was taken?”
“Oh,youneed a favor, huh?”
“Please, Mr. Haynes. You tell me that, and I think we’re done here, at least for now. You helping me with this only puts more distance between you and suspicion, and might get everybody off your back.”
“Hmm,” he grumbles. “Okay, give me a minute.” Several seconds pass. “Are you jokin’?”
“What? No.”
“Thismyclub. I own a percentage. That’s where Kamden and I’d do business. Met her there the last time I saw her. I was pressin’ her to pay what she owed, and she stopped in to tell me she’d have it soon. Like, real soon.Hours. And for your information, I was at the club all night. A room full of people’ll swear to it, so don’t start lookin’ at me for this.”
“What’s it called, your club? And where is it?”
“The Backroom. North of Pinson, off Highway 75.”
That’s only twenty-five or thirty minutes from where Kamden lived and worked—on the way to Mitchell County, if one drives up the back way instead of I-65.
My teeth vibrate the way they sometimes do when I’m on the edge of something big. “Could the night you’re talking about be the same night this photo was taken?”
“Could be. I mean, I ain’t no Vogue. I don’t remember what she was wearin’.”
“Was anybody with her?”
“Nah. She came in alone.”
“Do you have CCTV in the parking lot?”
He hesitates. “Why?”
“As far as we know, that’s the last photo of Kamden before she disappeared. I need to find out who took it.”
Haynes draws a prolonged breath. “We don’t have cameras insidethe club. People wouldn’t like that, but outside…yeah. We like to keep an eye on what’s happening. In case somethin’s headed our way.”
“I need that footage. It’d be from last May.” I rattle off the relevant time period. “You have it going back that far?”
