“Maybe she thought she was in the app car.” Sam sawed into his omelet and stabbed at the piece of egg with his fork. “She called for a car, she was drunk and didn’t realize she was getting into some random car. It’s happened before.”
“You mean someone was waiting for her. Knew she’d called for a car and took advantage of her inebriated state.” She took a sip of coffee. “We need to talk to Eddie, the bartender. Maybe he saw someone hanging around her.”
“We still need a motive. Tucker has a motive. He had her purse. He also had opportunity and the means.”
“Do you really think that scrawny guy could’ve overpowered Melody?” She plunged her fork into the omelet and raised it to her mouth, a string of cheese hanging off the end.
“She was drunk, Jolene. Wasted, according to Eddie—and he should know. Maybe she did hit her head on the edge of that table while she was struggling with Tucker. She pulled away from him and fell. Tucker wouldn’t have had to do anything.”
“Why are you trying to convict Tucker? I thought you were going with the fake driver story.” She dragged a paper towel across her mouth, but the cheese clung to her chin.
Sam reached over and dislodged the cheese with a dab of his finger against her face. “I’m playing devil’s advocate. Tucker’s motive was robbery. The fake driver’s motive could’ve been knowledge.”
“You mean Melody knew too much. Maybe part of what she knew was that El Gringo Viejo was involved in the casino project...and maybe some deaths connected to the project.”
“Could be, but why didn’t she go to the police? She could’ve laid out everything she knew for them and gotten some protection. A woman one of our agents is dating knows too much about El Gringo Viejo and she’s under protection.”
Her eyes widened. “Rob Valdez’s girlfriend? That woman who showed up in Paradiso with amnesia?”
“That’s the one, Libby James.” He put his fork to his lips. “But you’re not supposed to know that. It’s life and death for her. Do you understand?”
“Of course. Didn’t my cousin just get killed for the same reason?” She crunched into her toast and a shower of crumbs rained down on her plate.
“You came to that conclusion quickly. We were still discussing Tucker’s guilt.”
“I just don’t believe it. I know you law enforcement types have to go with the evidence instead of feelings, but the cops don’t know what we know about Melody and the casino project.” She dusted her fingers together. “Should we tell them?”
“Not yet.” Sam shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t want to tell them until I have a chance to search that construction site. You talk about feelings over evidence? I’ve had a hunch about the connection between the missing people here and the bodies we found east of San Diego for over a month now, but I can’t get a search warrant for that property based on my hunches. Doesn’t work that way.”
“So, you’re going rogue. I like it.”
“And the food? Do you like the food?” He aimed his fork at her half-eaten omelet.
“It’s hard to talk and eat at the same time. It’s great. Even Chip wants some.” She nudged Chip with her foot. “You got dressed without taking a shower. Do you want to shower here? I have to get over to Gran’s.”
“I’ll clean up at the motel. I need to go into the station, and that means I need my uniform. Besides...” he ran a thumb across her bottom lip “... I still have the scent of you on my skin.”
“If you need to get to the station, and I definitely need to go to Gran’s house, you’d better stop saying things like that.” She pressed her lips together. “I’ll clean up since you cooked.”
“I’ll let Chip out again. Should I leave the dog door open?” He strode to the sliding doors that led to the back, whistling for Chip.
Jolene picked up his cell phone. “Your phone’s ringing. It’s the station.”
Sam slid open the door to set Chip free, and then turned to grab his phone from Jolene. “Cross here.”
“It’s Clay.”
“Hey, Clay. What can I do for you? I was planning to come in this morning.”
“This is really just a courtesy call, Sam. You know that transient who was arrested for having Melody’s purse? The guy you held for the police?”
Sam’s mouth got dry, and his pulse drummed in his ears.”
“Yeah? What about him?”
“He’s dead.”
Chapter Twelve
Jolene furrowed her brow as she watched Sam clutching the phone with white knuckles, his chest heaving.
She whispered, “What about who?”
Same held up a finger at her. “How the hell did that happen, Clay?”
He paused, but whatever Clay was telling him was winding him up even more, as two red spots formed on his cheeks and lights flared in his blue eyes. “That’s negligent. That’s criminal. What did he say during questioning?”
Jolene twisted her fingers in front of her. Were they discussing Tucker? Had he confessed?
“This is unbelievable. They’re gonna have to do a full investigation and heads should roll.” His jaw tightened and Jolene could almost hear the teeth grinding from the kitchen. “Yeah, yeah.”
He ended the call and held the phone in his hand, staring at it.
“What is it? What happened?”
Shoving the phone in his back pocket, he joined her in the kitchen. He put his hand on her arm and now her heart was galloping.
“Tucker Bishop killed himself in his jail cell this morning.”
Her knees weakened and she grabbed the edge of the counter. “How?”
“He hung himself with the bedsheets.” Sam tossed the leftover coffee from his cup into the sink and brown liquid marred the spotless porcelain. “How the hell did the deputies allow that to happen?”
“D-did he confess to murdering Melody before he
