Page 83 of The Sister's Curse

“I could see that. Do you feel like you can still work this case?” I asked. A decision would be made, far above my head, if Jasper could remain on the case.

“I think so, but that’ll be up to Chief. I’m just going to dive, and report back what I see. You and Chief get to decide what happens from there.”

“What do you think happened to Dana?” I hated picking at old wounds, but I needed to know what he knew.

His gaze darkened. “The Kings of Warsaw Creek were always bad news. They had no limits, and they knew it. Still probably don’t. I think they saw her, and they just…took her for thrills. I think they killed her and threw her away somewhere, somewhere she hasn’t been found yet.”

“I’m sorry, Jasper.”

He exhaled. “I don’t want to prejudice your investigation. I’m here to answer any questions I can, though.”

I frowned. I didn’t like that he hadn’t been forthcoming about his involvement with Dana. It just didn’t sit right with me. “Fred, I have to ask you, because I have to ask you. Where were you the last several nights?”

He didn’t seem to take offense. “I was working overtime on those days, directing traffic for the Flower Festival.”

I nodded. That should be easy enough to corroborate. The Flower Festival was usually a tame event, attended by gardeners, old hippies, and random guys who carried guitars in the woods. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. I know you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.” He smiled at me. “You still want me to suit up and check this out? I can wait for you to run it up the flagpole.”

I nodded. “I’ll do that, just to cover our asses.”

“Sounds good. I’ll just do a check on my equipment while you’re clearing it. If the boss doesn’t clear it, I know three guys from the city dive team are on call this weekend.”

I gave him the thumbs-up. While Jasper busied himself with his gear, I walked down the road, toward Detwiler’s roadblock.

I was a big hypocrite calling Jasper out like that. I called the chief. His secretary said that he was busy, but he’d call me right back.

I paced along the gravel, feeling super weird about this thing. I didn’t really believe Jasper was capable of murder. If he wanted to, he could have killed the Kings of Warsaw Creek years ago. I refused to believe that the twenty-fifth anniversary of Dana’s disappearance would cause him to snap like this. Most grudge killers didn’t wait that long to explode.

My phone rang, and I picked up.

“What’s going on?” Chief asked.

I told him about Jasper. He was quiet, which meant that he was digesting.

“I don’t like that he wasn’t up-front about this,” Chief said, “but he has an alibi. Watch him carefully. If he does anything weird, I’ll ground him.”

“Yes, sir.”

We hung up. I didn’t like Jasper being this close to the investigation. He had too much motive to hold a grudge against the Kings of Warsaw Creek, and people close to them were winding up dead.Fuck.This could be a huge conflict of interest. Or it could be murder. But Chief hadn’t taken him off this investigation, so all I could really do was watch.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Chief knew something I didn’t know. Chief was locked in a power struggle with the sheriff. I didn’t know where Jasper’s loyalties lay, if he was trusted by the chief or maybe drank beers on the sheriff’s boat on weekends. That was the trouble with Jasper: he was amiable to everyone, and I had no real bead on his loyalties.

I walked back down the road. “Chief says to proceed.”

Jasper gave me a cheerful thumbs-up. I watched him don his gear, slowly, methodically.

“Hey,” I said, unwilling to let him have access to the crime scene without supervision. “Is Ramirez’s suit in there? Can I come with you?”

Jasper paused. “Have you had dive training?”

“I dived a bit in college. My certification has lapsed, though.”

Jasper seemed to consider. “Well, I’m a certified instructor. It would be safe if I supervised you closely.”

I nodded. We would watch each other.

I suited up in Ramirez’s gear. I was a little taller than her, and the neoprene felt tight across my shoulders. Jasper helped me put the heavy tank on my back, and I waddled, in my fins, behind him to the shore.