Page 50 of Killer Honeymoon
Evan flinched like the man had slugged him again. He looked more affronted by the verbal punch than the physical one. “Do you really think I’m capable of murdering someone? I’m not a monster.”
“I think you’re capable of anything,” Clint replied.
Evan threw his hands up in the air. “Fine. I’m out of here. Tell the chief whatever you want. My dad has an attorney on speed dial.” The angry man disappeared down a hallway and returned a few moments later with a duffel bag. “You guys can find your own way home from Port Clinton.”
Sawyer and Royce stepped aside in time for Evan to barrel out the front door and stride across the yard to the sidewalk.
Regret washed over Chrissy’s face, and she looked to her friends. “Were we too harsh?”
Sawyer and Royce exchanged a look.Too harsh?
Clint must’ve sensed their disbelief because he turned to them and said, “You’re not seeing the Evan we all loved. This is the guy whose entire life has been upended by his parents’ scandalous and extremely bitter divorce.”
“Lots of kids have divorced parents,” Royce replied. “And they don’t engage in heinous schemes to verbally torture elderly people.”
The trio looked properly chastised, but Clint held his ground, saying, “Most kids don’t have their dirty laundry aired in public either. Ev’s parents are like the Kardashians of Cleveland, and everything they do is fodder for gossip.
“If the Kardashians were crooks,” Jen countered.
“True,” Clint said. “We’re talking affairs, drug use, and potential fraud charges. Evan seeks comfort in booze.”
“And making other people as miserable as he is,” Chrissy added softly. “I know we needed to stand up for ourselves, but I’m not comfortable making Evan feel like he has no one left in the world.”
“He has Juno,” Jen suggested, then cringed when Chrissy scowled at her.
“I broke up with him, so I don’t have a right to be mad.” Chrissy took a deep breath, then rubbed a spot over her heart. “But damn, it hurts.”
Sawyer was sympathetic to the trio’s struggle, but the urge to get Frank’s alibi took precedence. He just didn’t know how to graciously remove themselves from the situation with their young neighbors.
“You guys let us know if you need any help,” Royce said, proving he had no such struggle. “Doesn’t matter how big or small the favor.”
The trio looked relieved and thanked them for their help.
“Open up your steal trap and toss Juno in there,” Sawyer said once they walked toward town.
“Do I have to toss the whole person in or maybe just her name?”
“Smartass,” Sawyer said. “On the bright side, there shouldn’t be too many ladies on the island named Juno.”
Royce bumped his shoulder into Sawyer’s, then reached for his hand. “True.”
Though their destination was the harbor, the journey took them past Gary’s office. Sawyer was surprised to see a closed sign in the window and zero activity inside.
“I guess his job allows him to work from home,” Royce said. “We’ve got his business card and can give him a call in a bit.”
“Face to face would be better,” Sawyer countered. “Add finding Gary’s home address to our list of things to do.”
The docks were bustling with people assessing storm damage to their boats, and they focused their energy on talking to the people nearest to the slip where Lester’s ship had been moored. Sawyer had worried the boaters would’ve been too worried about their vessels to answer questions, but he should’ve known better. It was human nature to be drawn toward salacious scandals. The neighboring boaters were too eager to tell them everything they’d heard or seen and even called over some friends to share their theories.
By the time they finished making the rounds, Sawyer and Royce had heard no less than ten different versions of the same story. Unfortunately for Frank, he was the villain at the heart of each one.
“Well, that’s disheartening,” Sawyer said when they headed back toward the center of town.
Royce squeezed his fingers. “We’ve been doing this too long to expect anything different.”
“True,” Sawyer said. “Do you want to check out Hooligans next or chat with Loretta?”
Royce pursed his lips as he considered it. Sawyer thought it was so damned adorable that he stopped and tugged his husband into an embrace for a quick kiss.