Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“I got back about an hour ago.” Daisy set a fancy briefcase on the table with a quiet, deliberate thump. “Swung by the bar to say hi to Amka and…well, here I am. Apparently you need a lawyer.”
Ace shifted in his chair. The bar had seemed odd all week without Daisy there. She worked part-time as a waitress, moving easily between tables, and the other part-time had claimed a corner at the far end where she practiced law. As soon as he and Amka finished the top two floors of the building next door, one of those rooms was probably going to be her office. “Hopefully, I don’t need a lawyer.”
“You always need a lawyer.” Daisy took the seat next to him. “Why are we here?”
As usual, Jeb appeared growly. If the two ever played at good cop, bad cop, he’d easily be the bad one. Although, Ace had to admit the older guy was decent. In his late sixties, probably, he had cold brown eyes and a rugged jaw. “We’re here because your client got into an altercation over a woman who was later murdered.”
“Oh, my.” Daisy’s brows lifted. “I heard about that.” She turned toward Ace. “Would you like to discuss this privately first?”
“No. I’d tell you the exact truth I’ll tell them right now.” Ace rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I was at Sam’s Tavern and had a couple drinks around lunchtime, and I saw this guy Tyler arguing with a cute blonde named Laura. They were both young, and I didn’t like the way he was talking to her.”
Daisy pulled a legal pad out of her briefcase to plunk on the table before scrounging around for a pencil. “What were they arguing about?”
“He was saying she was stupid. I didn’t like it. I told him to leave her alone, and she said thank you.”
“Was this Tyler threatening?” Paige asked.
Ace wouldn’t have stepped in if he’d considered the kid to be safe. “I’d say so, or I wouldn’t have bugged them.” He settled back and his jaw ached at the memory. “Tyler pushed me, and I smacked him. He hit back, giving me this, and I tossed him out. Then May bandaged me up.” He prodded the bandage over his eyebrow. “Later last night, I went back for a drink, the kid came at me again, and I threw him out of the bar.”
“Huh.” Jeb cocked his head, no notebook in front of him. “You wanted the cute blonde?”
Ace’s teeth ground together. “God, no. She was a kid.”
Paige tilted her head. “So what happened after you threw him out the second time?”
Ace exhaled. “I drank for a while longer and played two games of darts with Laura. She was harmlessly flirting with me, and kind of flirting with three guys in flannels. Then I decided to take off.”
“Did you ask Laura to leave with you?” Jeb’s gaze looked hard.
“No.” Ace shook his head. “I did offer to drive her back to camp if she wanted. She declined, saying she wanted to stay at the bar. Several of her friends were still there milling around, so I figured she was safe. I left.”
Paige took notes in a neat row. “Where did you go?”
“You know where I went,” Ace said. “I gave my statement to Dutch earlier.” He should’ve made sure that kid had gotten safely to her camping site. Being interrogated was annoying, and he looked around the room to calm the churning in his head. There was no comfort to be found in this room. Oak paneling covered the walls, and Ophelia had made an effort to decorate with a plant in the corner and a painting of the Alaska mountains on the side wall. A window was behind Ace. The overhead light buzzed faintly, steady and annoying.
Paige smiled, though the expression carried no warmth. Under the harsh light, her eyes looked even brighter, focused and assessing. “That’s okay. Why don’t you give a statement to us, too? We do like to compare those things.”
Ace barely held onto his temper. He wanted a drink. “I went to see Dr. May Smirnov.”
Jeb crossed his muscled arms. His square jaw hadn’t softened with age, and the lines around his mouth deepened as he spoke. “Really? At ten o’clock at night?”
“Yeah.” Ace met his stare evenly.
“Were you injured in the fight?” Paige asked.
Wouldn’t that be convenient? “Not really.” Ace figured a split lip didn’t count.
“Okay. So why did you go see the doctor?” Jeb asked.
“I had a question for her. It’s personal. I’m not going to tell you what it’s about. Doctor-patient privilege and all of that,” Ace retorted.
“You weren’t at her clinic,” Paige said. “You were at her house.”
Ace lifted one shoulder. “A doctor’s a doctor. A patient’s a patient.” Of course he hadn’t gone to see her because of doctor-patient privilege. The memory of that soft kiss still burned in his bloodstream, unwanted and distracting at the moment. The doctor had sweet lips.