Page 97 of The Murder Club

“Brew . . .” Eric struggled to come up with the name. At last he shrugged. “Brew something or other. It was just off University Avenue.”

Dom narrowed his eyes, a sudden tension humming around him. “Did you actually see him pawn the ring?”

“Yep. I snuck inside while Logan was bartering with the owner. I couldn’t get too close, but I heard how much he got for the ring.” The thin face hardened. “Then I came back to Pike and waited for Logan to give me my cut.”

“Let me guess. He lied about how much he got,” Dom said in dry tones.

Eric nodded in sharp agreement.

“No honor among thieves. Shocking.” Bailey rolled her eyes. Both men disgusted her.

Dom sent her a rueful glance, easily sensing her raw need to strike out at Eric.

“I assume you asked for your fair share?” he asked the younger man.

“Of course. I told him that I wanted the money and he promised to get it to me. Finally I had to threaten to go to the cops.” Eric glared at Dom. “He was supposed to bring the money to me the day you interrupted us.”

Bailey and Dom exchanged a glance. His instinct was right. The two men were meeting.

“Why did Logan need money?” Bailey asked the question that had been nagging at her since Eric confessed his unholy alliance with Donaldson. “I’m sure his mother gives him a generous salary and he still lives at home, so it’s not like he has any bills to pay.”

“His online girlfriend,” Eric revealed without hesitation.

Bailey arched a brow. “Seriously?”

“Yup. Last year he asked me for a way to set him up on a dating site without his mom finding out what he was doing. I guess he met someone he liked and they’ve been chatting.”

“Why would he need money for that?”

“He didn’t say. The only thing I know was that he maxed out his credit cards keeping her happy. Including the one that was only supposed to be used for stuff at the nursing home.”

“A reason to commit murder?” Bailey muttered. Logan was a weak man who depended on his mother for his basic survival. If that was put at risk, he absolutely would strike out in fear.

“I’m telling you, I don’t know anything about that. I swear.” Eric glanced toward the window, his finger nervously tugging at the hem of his T-shirt. “My mom’s going to be back soon. You need to go.”

Accepting that they’d discovered all they could for the moment, Bailey turned to head for the door. Dom, however, paused to deliver a final warning.

“Don’t make any plans to leave town.”

Eric didn’t respond to the threat and together Dom and Bailey stepped out of the house and headed across the lawn. Once they were in the Land Rover, Bailey heaved a frustrated sigh.

“I don’t think he knows anything about the murders.” Dom put the vehicle into Drive and pulled away from the curb. “He could be acting.”

Bailey agreed with his warning. Eric was proving to possess a genuine skill in pretending to be innocent even when he was lying to her face. She wasn’t going to believe anything that came out of his mouth. But there was one reason she doubted Eric wasn’t involved in the deaths.

“Yeah, but if the killer murdered Kevin because he thought his drug addiction made him a weak link, they most certainly would have gotten rid of Eric. He would spill every secret he knew if Zac showed up at his front door.”

Dom turned at the corner, heading in the opposite direction of the way they’d come to the house.

“We have one way to check to see if he’s telling us the truth,”

“How?”

“We can go to the pawnshop to find the emerald ring.”

She studied his profile, recalling his response to Eric’s confession that Logan had taken the ring to a pawnbroker.

“You know where it is?”