Page 13 of Tide and Seek

“You’re not wrong.”James smirked.“Maybe I should give up being a surgeon and go into the puka shell jewelry business.”

I laughed.

Royce leaned against the bar.“Do you know if the police talked to Lucas or C.J.about what they might have seen the night of the break-in?”

James shrugged.“I have no idea.They didn’t talk to me, that’s all I know.”

I frowned.“Really?Why wouldn’t they have wanted to talk to you?”

“I’m not saying they didn’twantto talk to me.I was out of town, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.”I nodded.

Royce frowned.“They should have circled back to interview you.Even if you weren’t home that night, sometimes people see things that they didn’t realize are important.You could have noticed a strange car parked nearby before your trip.Or maybe you noticed someone on the beach who didn’t belong there.”

“I didn’t notice any of those things.”James finished off his drink and set the glass down.“But you’re right, they should have at least asked.”

“So much for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department being on top of things,” I muttered.

Royce met my gaze.“Deputy Gonzalez may not be aware they haven’t talked to James yet.Or, for all we know, he plans on talking to him as soon as tomorrow.We could always just talk to C.J.and Luke on our own to see if they saw anything.”

James laughed.“You should probably leave that sort of thing to the cops.”

“He is a cop,” I said, smiling at Royce.“A very good one, actually.”

“You’re a cop?”James blinked at Royce, looking flustered.“Seriously?”

“Yes.”Royce nodded.“I’m the sheriff back in Rainy Dale.”

“You’re thesheriff?”James sputtered.

Royce laughed gruffly.“Yes.Is that a problem?”

“No, of course not.I… I just didn’t realize.”James ran a hand over the back of his neck.

I wasn’t sure why James was so freaked out to learn that Royce was in law enforcement.Did he have outstanding parking tickets?Had he knocked over a bank?Then I remembered James occasionally used amphetamine-based stimulants to stay sharp during long surgeries or grueling night shifts.I’d never touched drugs, but plenty of my colleagues had.Medicine could be brutally competitive, and people did all kinds of crazy things to stay ahead of the pack.

“Royce isn’t here in his capacity as a cop,” I said, hoping to reassure James.“He’s here as emotional support for me.”

“Exactly.”Royce nodded.“I’m happy to talk to your neighbors to see if they know anything, but I’m not here to do the sheriff’s department’s job for them.”

“No, of course not.”James seemed to gather himself.“I wish I’d been home the night of your burglary, Maxwell.Maybe then I’d be more help.”

I grimaced.“It’s not your job to police Ocean Whisper Estates.That’s Harris’s job.Wonder what he was up to that night when my house was being broken into.”

James sighed.“He was probably down on the beach having a smoke, if I know Harris.He’s a nice guy, but lazy.”

“Who’s Harris?”Royce asked, frowning.

“He’s the security officer for this beach community,” I said.

Royce nodded in understanding.

James laughed wryly.“Too bad Mrs.Brownstone wasn’t running security.That old bag used to see everything.Didn’t matter what time of day.She was a true busybody.”

“She really was.”

James glanced at the gold Rolex watch on his wrist.“Oh, it’s later than I realized.I should probably go.”