Page 21 of Tide and Seek (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #8)

“If it isn’t important, then why not just tell Hartley it was James who told you?”

“He already seemed so fixated on James,” I said plaintively. “I didn’t want to give him any more of a reason to focus on him. What does it matter who told us?”

“You’re not supposed to decide what’s important to the investigation. You’re supposed to tell the truth and let the detectives build their case.”

I grimaced. “Right, but we both know not all detectives are great at their jobs. For all we know, Hartley just wants to close this case quickly and will hang the murder charge on whoever seems easiest.”

“He doesn’t strike me as that kind of detective.”

“Okay, but we don’t really know him.” I sighed. “But I do know James, and he’s no murderer.”

“You have no way of knowing that.” His voice was riddled with frustration. “Anyone is capable of murder if the circumstances are right.”

I let out an impatient breath. “Why would James murder Mrs. Brownstone?”

“How would I know?” He sounded exasperated. “That’s not the point. It’s not your job to keep things from the police just to protect your ex-boyfriend.”

“He was never my official boyfriend.”

“That’s not the point, Max. You should have been upfront with Detective Hartley. His investigation is going to go where it goes. You can’t be out in front of the investigation trying to protect James. That’s insane.”

“But it wasn’t that big of a lie.”

“The fact you’d lie at all is shocking,” he rasped. “You could end up getting yourself arrested pulling crap like that.”

“I’m sorry, Royce,” I mumbled. “I was caught off guard, and he already seemed so focused on James. I didn’t think it was a big deal to keep his name out of it. You don’t actually think James murdered her, do you?”

“I have no idea.” He scowled. “I don’t know James.”

“Okay, I get that. But I do know him. James is many things, but he’s not a cold-blooded killer.” I sighed. “It’s not like I saw him bash her over the head and pretended I didn’t. It was a small detail that probably means nothing.”

He let out a shaky breath. “We don’t know if it means nothing.”

“I don’t see how it could.”

“Max,” he said in a strained voice. “For all you know, James came to your house that night so you could give him an alibi. For all you know, he’d already run into Mrs. Brownstone out on the beach and they’d argued.

You don’t know what’s going on in his life.

You don’t know what he’s capable of. You think you do, but you don’t, not really.

The bottom line is you don’t withhold information from the police because you don’t know the whole picture. ”

I winced, because of course he was right. I felt like I knew James, but in truth, I didn’t. Not anymore. “I… I just can’t see him flying into a murderous rage and attacking a little old lady.”

Royce’s cheek twitched. “People commit murder for all sorts of reasons. From the little I know about this case, it doesn’t seem like the murder was planned.

I think it was more of a spur-of-the-moment killing.

Someone panicked and knocked Mrs. Brownstone over the head.

They may not have even intended to kill her. ”

“Okay. I understand. I apologize for lying.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “And, if I’m completely honest, it really bothers me that you put me in such an awkward position. Because you lied, and I didn’t want to call you out for it in front of Detective Hartley, I ended up lying by omission.”

I met his wounded gaze and my heart sank. “I’m sorry, Royce. That was never my intention. I didn’t really mean to lie. I just wanted to keep James out of trouble.”

“If James is innocent, you don’t need to protect him. The evidence won’t lead to him.”

Royce looked so disappointed in me, I felt awful. “How can I fix this? Should I call Detective Hartley and tell him I remembered who told me Mrs. Brownstone was still visiting our beach?”

Royce shook his head. “No. Leave it for now. I don’t want to make matters worse, or draw attention to you. Hartley’s not an idiot. He’d probably know you lied. You can always call Hartley later with that info if it appears it’s relevant to the investigation.”

I touched his arm, anxiety eating at me. “I really am sorry. I never meant to put you in a compromising position. I just wasn’t thinking clearly. Please don’t be mad.”

He sighed and put his arms around me. “I ain’t mad at you, Max. I am a little worried that you’d be that reckless just to protect James.”

I sighed, pressing my cheek against the soft cotton of his shirt.

“I’m probably giving you the wrong impression.

I… I don’t have lingering feelings for James or anything like that.

That’s not why I did it.” I lifted my head and met his uncertain gaze.

“The honest truth is, I feel guilty about James.”

He wrinkled his brow. “Guilty?”

I grimaced. “Yes. I was cold and careless with his heart. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that I know what it feels like to love someone, I regret how callously I ended things with him.”

“Oh.” His eyes flickered.

“I always knew he wanted more than I could give him, but I thought we had an understanding. Now I see that the entire time he was hoping I’d change my mind.” I smiled weakly. “Then, to make matters worse, instead of changing my mind about him, I fell in love with someone else.”

“And so you feel guilty.”

“Yes.” I winced. “I’m not sure I could stomach him being arrested for murder just because I accidentally pointed the cops in his direction.”

Royce’s eyes gentled. “You can’t interfere in a police investigation just because you’re guilty that you broke James’s heart.”

“I know, and I won’t do anything like that again. I promise.”

“Okay.” He touched my face, his calloused fingers stroking along my jaw.

“How about we put this behind us? Let’s let Detective Hartley handle the murder investigation and we’ll focus on the break-in at your house.

I’ll call Deputy Gonzalez and let him know we’re coming in to watch the security footage in a bit. ”

“Yes. That sounds like a wonderful plan.” Relieved that Royce seemed like his old self, I smiled and pulled the keys to the Hummer out of my pocket. “Please tell me you’ll drive to the police station.”

“Happily.” His lips twitched. “Last thing we need is you steering us into oncoming traffic out of sheer embarrassment.”

“That monstrosity of a vehicle would probably survive without a scratch.”

“Uh, yeah.” Royce lifted his brows and snatched the keys from me. “Let’s not test that theory.”