Page 16

FAITH

I drummed my fingers on my desk, staring at the computer screen, willing it to beep with incoming news.

The DNA results from Kylie’s body were taking forever, and the waiting was driving me nuts.

I pulled a fresh Bic pen from my drawer and gnawed on the top.

When the familiar ping of an incoming email finally broke the silence, I threw the pen onto the desk beside another mangled one. The email was from the lab.

“Fingerprints!” I cheered as I clicked on the report with nervous anticipation. This had to give us some clues. But as I scanned through the results, my heart sank.

Oscar had received the same report. And from the cocky smirk on his face as he strode over to my desk, he’d already seen it. “What do you think about Coulter Rodman’s prints in her mother’s house?”

I studied the report again. “I think they’re in strange places. On the leg of the table behind the sofa, and on the mermaid statue on that same table. Nowhere else. ”

“Puts him at the scene,” Oscar shrugged.

“But there were no strange prints on the drawers that were emptied out, or the lamp that was overturned, or anywhere else,” I said, squinting to scan the report.

“Maybe he wiped the place clean but missed a few,” Oscar suggested.

I blinked a couple of times, trying to formulate an answer that wouldn’t be inflammatory. “But the homeowners’ prints were intact, all over the place. Those would have been disturbed if anyone wiped the place clean. Besides, Coulter said they’re like family. Maybe there’s an explanation.”

“You really don’t want him to be guilty, do you?”

Refusing to let my partner put me on the defensive, I kept a calm tone. “I really don’t want to jump to conclusions over inconclusive evidence.”

Oscar brushed off the insinuation that he was being less than objective. “It’s time we talk to the only non-Rodman at that dinner on Christmas Eve.”

“His brother’s girlfriend?” I asked, nodding that I agreed to the suggestion I’d already made.

“Corinne Kincaid. I had Louis track her down. She’s a marine biologist at Reef Base, and she’s in the office right now.” Oscar grabbed my keys off the corner of my desk and tossed them to me. “Let’s go pay her a visit.”

“Good idea,” I nodded, hiding my smirk. “It can’t hurt.”

“Corinne heads up the Aquarius project,” Oscar said as he swung open the passenger door of my Charger.

“It’s an underwater lab where they do reef research,” he shook his head as his seatbelt buckle snapped into place.

“Can you imagine?” He shook his head. “Trapped down there in that lab? I feel cooped up in the station. No thank you.”

“Sounds fascinating to me.” I’d read about that lab–the only one of its kind in the world. It was so cool that it was right here in my new hometown.

“You must not be claustrophobic,” Ramirez chuckled.

“Not really,” I shrugged. “Lucky for us, Ms. Kincaid is not down at the lab today. Good job tracking her down.” The compliment was sincere, if a tad bit exaggerated to emphasize the value of positive reinforcement.

“Coulter said himself, the Rodman family is close-knit. Hopefully the outsider will give us some more objective insight.”

“Hopefully,” I said as we passed by the fire station at Founder’s Park.

“Don’t go getting all googly-eyed, admiring her for her work. Remember what we’re here for,” Oscar said as we approached the Reef base office.

His quip sparked the anger I kept buried, the ire at his constant condescension. I wanted to remind him that we were here to gather facts, not to try to fabricate stories that implicated our top suspect. Instead I smiled and offered a curt, “Of course.”

I turned into the gravel lot just north of Snake Creek Bridge. The small office was unassuming for such an important scientific resource.

The receptionist peered at us over horn-rimmed glasses and smiled. “Can I help you? ”

Oscar pulled back his jacket to flash the badge on his belt. “Detectives Ramirez and Pierce with the Monroe County Sheriff's Department. We’d like to speak with Miss Kincaid.”

Her smile faded. “Just a moment.” She picked up the phone and dialed. “Corinne, a couple of detectives are here to see you.”

The office door adjacent to the lobby opened, and an attractive young woman peered around it, her blue eyes wide with worry. She stepped out cautiously, brushing her blonde curls over her shoulder. “How can I help you?”

I hurried to answer before Oscar could. “We just need to ask you a few questions. Is there a place we can talk in private?”

“Sure, my office,” she held out her hand to invite us in. “I’ll just grab another chair from the lobby.”

I fumed silently that Oscar stood watching while she muscled the chair through the door. He wasn’t raised right. “Let me help you with that,” I said, too late.

“It’s okay, it’s not heavy.” She shot Oscar a look that made me like her.

We settled into our chairs while Corinne took her seat behind her desk. “I assume this is about Kylie.”

“You assume correctly.” Oscar slapped a manilla folder down on the desk before sitting.

Corinne startled for a moment before mustering a small, nervous smile. “Anything I can do to help clear this up.”

“Excellent,” I said, cutting Oscar off before he could start in on her. As I pulled back the chair beside him, we exchanged a glance and I could tell he read the warning in my eyes. I wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. Or me. “Do you mind if we ask you some questions about Christmas Eve?”

“The last good day,” Corinne sighed.

“It wasn’t a good day for Kylie.” Oscar snapped.

I reached across the table, ignoring my partner. “Tell us what was good about Christmas Eve.”

“Trevor and I surprised the whole family with a big announcement– I’m pregnant. And then Trevor surprised me with a proposal.”

“Must be the season to get engaged,” Oscar said with an undertone of sarcasm.

Corinne stared at him quizzically. “I guess the holidays do inspire love.”

“Congratulations,” I said, feeling sorry that the events that followed had shaken the family so, and cast a dark shadow on her happy news.

Oscar wasn’t feeling empathetic, though. “And how did Coulter react to you sharing your big news?” he quipped. I was curious, too, but would have asked a little more gently than he had.

“He was happy…” Corinne’s mouth drew to the side in a grin as she recalled. “He patted Trevor on the back and told him he knew he’d find ‘the one’ someday.”

Trying to keep my tone gentle and not spook her, I asked, “What time did you arrive that evening?

“We got there before everyone else, on purpose. We wanted to tell his dad first. We hoped the news of a grandchild on the way would brighten his mood. It was his first Christmas without his wife.”

“And when did the other siblings arrive?” Oscar pressed.

She sighed, eyes looking up at the ceiling as she tried to think back.

“Mmmmmh, I think all the brothers were there by six. Maybe earlier. Coulter was one of the last to show up, but he wasn’t late.

Ava was actually the very last one– she had a late flight.

But she was there a little before seven, I think. I’m not exactly sure.”

Oscar leaned forward. “How did Coulter look when he arrived? Did anything seem off about him?”

Corinne shook her head firmly. “No, he seemed fine. He was laughing and joking with Trevor, wrestling with Kai and Reef’s dogs.”

“How did he look specifically?” I asked. “Were his clothes torn or dirty? Any smudges? Did he seem nervous, or sweaty? Like he was in a rush?”

“No, nothing like that. For once he didn’t have engine grease or fish scales anywhere. It was a holiday, so everyone was dressed nicely. He had on a pair of nice board shorts, and a short sleeve button down. I think it had little mahi embroidered on it.”

“Did he have buttons missing or undone?” Oscar pressed. “Hair wet? Anything out of the ordinary?”

Corinne shifted in her chair, obviously annoyed. “No. He looked and acted totally normal.”

Oscar wasn’t convinced. “So, Coulter was with you the entire evening after he arrived? ”

“Yes. We all celebrated until late. I think Spence dropped him at home around one in the morning. We waited until midnight to open a single gift–their family tradition. He left with Spence as Trevor and I were leaving to go to Trevor’s houseboat.”

Oscar carried on, pointlessly in my opinion. But he was fired up. “You’re saying you had eyes on Coulter all night? He never slipped away, not even for a moment? To the bathroom, or the kitchen?”

“I’m sure he went to the bathroom at some point. We all did. But it’s about ten feet from the living room. We were all together, all evening.”

“Had you ever heard Coulter talk about Kylie?” I asked, trying to redirect to something actually relevant to the case.

Corinne shook her head. “I’d never even heard of Kylie until she died. But I’m fairly new to the family. Trevor and I only met a few months ago,” she said, her face flushing.

Oscar raised a brow. “That was fast.”

I shifted in my seat, angry that he’d made such an unnecessary and judgmental comment. “That’s not really relevant,” I shot him a glare before turning back to Corinne. “So you don’t know Coulter very well?”

“I wouldn’t say that. I’ve spent a lot of time with him over the past few months. He and Trevor work together. And, as I mentioned earlier, Trevor lives on a houseboat at the marina, so I saw Coulter several days a week.”

“And he never mentioned the love of his life, not once?” Oscar shot back .

Corinne looked at him with surprise, and a hint of contempt. “Trevor mentioned that Coulter was engaged very briefly, years ago, and that his fiance had broken it off. It was sort of a sore subject so, no, we didn’t talk about it.”

Oscar raised a brow. “But Trevor said it was a sore subject?”