Page 29 of Ranger Belief
“Right now, everything is important.”
His leg jittered underneath the table. “Oh, okay.”
Laney let the silence drift. A tactic that usually got people talking. Eddie, however, didn’t rush to fill the quiet. His attention was locked on a leaf resting on the table, and his legnever stopped moving. Laney switched directions. “I remember the Spring Jamboree was a rough time for you. Your dad had recently passed, and you were going through a divorce.”
Eddie nodded, but didn’t add any additional details.
“Why didn’t you tell me that your ex-wife took out a restraining order against you?”
He jolted, his gaze shooting straight to her. Something akin to panic crept across his face, deepening the lines around his mouth. “It’s not what you think, ma’am.” The words came fast, nearing running together in his rush to get them out.
Laney gave him a reassuring look. “Okay. Tell me then.”
Eddie licked his lips. “Our divorce was contentious. My ex-wife has a temper, and she didn’t like that I got to stay in our family home. The house had been a gift from my dad. It was mine outright, and not part of the marital property. She…” He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “She would drive over to the house and break things. A planter hanging from the porch, the front window. Then she started leaving nasty stuff on my doorstep. It was…it was bad.”
His fingers began tapping against the table. “I should have let it go, but I was grieving and not in the best headspace. I drove to her house and confronted her. We got into a heated argument, and as I turned to leave, she grabbed my arm. I tried to free myself and accidentally smacked her in the face.” He stilled, his jaw tightening. “The next day, she filed a restraining order against me. I realized what a foolish idiot I’d been. I stayed clear of her after that.”
His eyes lifted to hers, his expression nearly pleading. “I should have told you. I know. But I didn’t want to lose my job. I love it here…” He drew in a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.”
Laney let that sit for a moment. His apology and his explanation seemed sincere, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that he also seemed nervous. Eddie didn’t have a solid alibi for Avaand Tyler’s murder. He claimed to have gone home and watched a game. She waited a beat and asked, “I assume you’ve heard about the murders in Cabin 3.”
He nodded, his gaze once again skittering away from hers.
“Did you know Nolan Carlson or Lisa Valdez?”
“No.”
That could be true. She’d checked the boat rentals, and neither Nolan nor Lisa had come up. “Where were you on Wednesday night between the hours of seven and midnight?”
“Uhhh, Wednesday?” He seemed to search for the answer in the leaf on the table. “I’m sure I was at home. I'm there most nights.”
“Can anyone vouch for that? Did you make a phone call? Or see anyone?”
His jaw tightened, and he shook his head. He still wouldn’t look at her. And his leg was jittering again. Laney considered pressing, but she didn’t see the point. It would be better to hear from other volunteers who had worked with Ava and Eddie first. Then she might have something more concrete to challenge him on. “Okay, Eddie. Thanks for talking with us. You can go back to work now.”
His head jerked up. “You…you aren’t going to fire me?”
“No. We’ll need to deal with your lack of transparency about the restraining order, but I want to think about it and consult with Andy before any final decisions are made.”
If Eddie’s story turned out to be true, she didn’t want to penalize him for a mistake. Romantic relationships could be messy, and she could understand that Eddie might’ve been embarrassed and upset about the restringing order. He still should have told them, but that error in judgement didn’t erase his years of park service.
Eddie popped up. “Thank you, ma’am.” With a nod in Jonah’s direction, he headed for the boathouse. His stride was rapid, as if he couldn’t get away fast enough.
Jonah sighed before joining Laney at the picnic table. He sat shoulder to shoulder with her in silence for a while, and the warmth of his arm pressed against hers was distracting. She was all too aware of his breathing, the subtle scent of peppermint from his frequent use of breath mints, the way his hand rested just inches from hers on the weathered table. Finally he said, “You know he’s lying, don’t you?”
“About which part?”
“The details about the argument with his wife. Definitely about where he was on Wednesday night.”
Disappointment settled inside her like a stone. “I know.”
Eddie was hiding something. That was very clear.
But was it murder?
Her cell phone beeped with an incoming text message. Laney pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the screen, a smile tugging at her lips. “It’s Breanna. She’s inviting us to have dinner with her. Pizza.” The phone beeped again, and this time Laney laughed. “She’s also asking us to bring the pizza.”
“Tell her yes.”
