Heavenly Honeymoon (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 15) Read Online Free Page B

Jerrell tended bar and Kai and Rosa served the meal. I didn’t meet the chef, Sebastian, or the captain. If Captain Jack is the man I saw on the beach, as you indicated, the man I saw must have been Chef Sebastian.”
    “Sebastian is Polish. He has fair skin and light hair.”
    “So it wasn’t him. It had to be someone who isn’t on your list.”
    “There was no one aboard who isn’t on this list. I had the entire vessel searched when it docked. I interviewed each person as they disembarked. I asked every person to list the people with whom they came into contact that evening. I can assure you there was no one aboard fitting your description.”
    “There had to be. I saw him.”
    “I’m afraid you are mistaken.”
    I frowned. “Something isn’t right. I know what I saw.”
    “Were you drinking during the cruise?”
    “Yes. Everyone had drinks before dinner and wine with dinner, but I wasn’t drunk. I remember what I saw.”
    “According to everyone other than you, the man you say you gave the knife to doesn’t fit the description of anyone on the yacht. The only conclusion I can come to is that you are the one who used the knife.”
    I put my hands over my face. This was looking bad. Really bad. My only alibi for the time of the murdered man’s death was someone who apparently was a figment of my imagination.
    “Look,” I pleaded, “I know how it looks. I really do. But I didn’t kill Ricardo Jimenez. Yes, I was angry with him, and yes, I threatened to carry out all sorts of heinous crimes against him, but I promise that my threats were simply that: threats.”
    “At this point you’re our only suspect. I don’t see that I have much choice other than to detain you until we can figure things out.”
    “There were seventeen people on board the yacht tonight. Why am I the only suspect?”
    “It seems you were the only one who was absent from the lounge other than Mr. Jimenez.”
    “That’s not true. Jimenez left the lounge before I went for the knife. I don’t know where he went and I didn’t see him between the lounge and the kitchen, but he wasn’t in either place. When I got back to the lounge after trying to retrieve the knife the first time, Park wasn’t there. I’m pretty sure both Charles and Jensen Ewing disappeared for a short time during that period as well. And neither the chef nor the two servers were in either the kitchen or the lounge. By my calculation that makes seven of us who had the opportunity to kill Jimenez. If you include the man I saw in the hall that makes eight.”
    “The man you met in the hall who took the knife from you but apparently doesn’t exist?”
    “He exists. I know what I saw.”
    “Perhaps. But still, at this point you seem the most likely suspect.”
    I closed my eyes against the tears that were threatening to fall. I really didn’t know what more I could say. I was about to try one last time to reason with the man when Toad came in and whispered something in Talin’s ear. Toad handed Talin the phone. He left the room, so I couldn’t hear his end of the conversation, but he’d left the door open so I could watch his face as he spoke.
    He was smiling. Eventually, the smile gave way to laughter. His face had softened quite a lot. I only hoped his change in mood was in some way connected to me. He hung up the phone and returned to the room where I was waiting.
    “I just had a very enlightening conversation with a Sheriff Salinger from your hometown of Ashton Falls.”
    “How did he know I was here?”
    “I imagine your husband called him. He has assured me that this isn’t the first time you’ve been the prime suspect in a murder investigation. It seems you’re a bit of a hothead.”
    “Maybe. But I’m an innocent hothead.”
    “This Sheriff Salinger must really like you. He has personally guaranteed your innocence. Combined with the fistful of hundred-dollar bills your husband offered as bail money, I’m inclined to let you go under three