CHAPTER FIVE
The investigative group had moved from the luxurious conference room at the hotel to a no-frills conference room at the police station. Lacey missed the hotel’s pressed coffee and lemon ice water. The coffeepot here looked like it had last been cleaned in 1970.
The interviews with the hotel guests hadn’t turned up any leads. No one had complained of any noises; no one saw anything suspicious. All the guests had been willing to let the police take a quick look in their suites. But nothing uncommon turned up.
Paul had printed still shots from the front-desk video, but Patty hadn’t appeared in any of them. He’d said he’d watched the entire video, looking for the familiar bartender but hadn’t seen her at any time.
“Rick from The Anchor is here to talk with you, Chief,” Garcia said from the doorway.
“Send him in,” answered Terry. He shuffled the digital images of the body and hot tub into a file. He and Jack had been poring over the shots seeking anything unusual.
When Rick walked in, Lacey recognized the bartender who’d served her a burger earlier that day. A big guy, Rick looked like a young John Goodman. He did a double take when he saw her and Jack, instant recognition crossing his face, and his eyebrows narrowing. “Terry, how’s it going?” He held out his hand to the chief.
“Thanks for coming in, Rick. This is Dr. Lacey Campbell from the medical examiner’s office, and Jack Harper.”
Rick shook their hands. “I remember you two from lunch today.”
“Excellent burgers,” replied Lacey as the man took a seat at the big table.
“How long has Patty been working at The Anchor?” Terry asked, his pencil and notepad ready.
Rick glanced at Lacey and Jack before he answered, clearly uncomfortable that strangers were sitting in on his interview. Jack stretched his feet out under the table and relaxed into his chair, his body language stating that he wasn’t going anywhere, so Rick needed to get over it.
“She’s been there about five years. Started off waiting tables. Asked to move behind the bar. She liked it better. All the customers enjoyed her.”
“She work last night?”
“She worked until nine. It slows down considerably by then.”
“Did she leave right at nine?” Terry questioned.
“I checked the records this morning. She came on at noon and clocked out at nine fourteen. I asked around and no one remembers her hanging around after she was finished, so I think she probably headed right home. She doesn’t usually hang out after work unless some of her girlfriends are in the bar.”
“You have any cameras outside your business?” Jack asked.
Rick gave a sad half smile. “No. Is her car missing?”
“There’s a white Corolla parked at the house she shares with Will. That’s what she drives, right?” Terry asked.
Rick nodded. “Will has a Dodge pickup. He was at the bar yesterday, you know.”
Terry’s chin jerked up. “What? No, I didn’t know that. When?”
“Early afternoon,” Rick said. “He came in and had his usual argument with Patty and then left.”
“Usual argument? What’s that?” Lacey asked, remembering her own ex-husband’s usual arguments. They ran the gambit of accusing her of cheating on him to complaining about her clothing.
There were many reasons he was her ex.
Rick looked at her. “Whatever had set him off that day. He’d come in, looking for a reason to bitch at her, she’d calm him down, and he’d leave.”
“So he was calm when he left yesterday?” Terry leaned forward in his seat, his gaze locked on the man.
“He seemed to be. I didn’t notice anything unusual. Patty seemed fine after he left. There’s been days where he’ll leave her in tears, but she usually lets what he says roll off her back. She’s told me that if she let him get her down, she’d never be able to get out of bed in the morning. She had a good attitude about her situation.”
Terry tapped his pencil on the table, not taking his gaze off the big man. “I don’t understand their living situation. If it was so bad, why were they still living together?”
“I’ve asked her the same question a million times.” Rick slowly shook his head. “But she didn’t want to lose the house. She kept hoping the market would turn around and they could sell it and get some of their money out of it. In the meantime, she couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. I think she spent as much time as possible at friends’ houses, but most of them have families. No room for a single girl to hang out.”
“You know where Will could be?”
“I heard everyone was looking for him. He kill her?” Rick asked bluntly.
“We don’t know. We’d like to talk to him,” Terry answered. “Find out where he was last night. There’s talk he goes to a fishing cabin. You heard of it?”
Rick nodded. “Patty was always happy when he’d vanish for a few days to go fishing with his buddies.”
“Who’d he go with?”
Rick looked at the ceiling. “Stan Robinson. Jerry Calens. I don’t know the other guys. Some live in Astoria, I think.”
Lacey spoke up. “What did Patty do if she was dating someone? How do you bring a date back to the house if your ex-husband is there?” How would her ex have acted if Jack had come home with her? The one time he’d run into them in public, her ex had made a fool of himself.
“Patty didn’t date that I know of,” Rick said.
“Everyone talks about how pretty and sweet she was, and you tell me she didn’t date?” asked Terry. “What about someone who lives out of town?”
Rick shifted in his seat. “I never saw anyone. She never said anything. I didn’t even hear any rumors. If she had a boyfriend somewhere, she hid it good. Maybe you should ask one of her girlfriends.”
After Rick had left, Lacey grabbed Jack’s hand and squeezed it, thankful he was sitting beside her. “I don’t think you would have stuck around, if I’d been living with my ex-husband.”
Jack snorted. “I would have dragged you out of there and knocked some sense into you. House be damned. There are some things not worth hanging on to.” He leaned over and gave her a warm kiss, which she felt to her toes. His silver gaze held hers. “I would have done anything to clear my path to you.”
Lacey was lost in those eyes. “You did. You almost died.”
“And I’d do it again.”
“Jesus Christ. Get a room. Some of us are trying to work here,” Terry muttered.
“Say the word and we’re out of here,” said Jack. “I don’t know if we’re helping or not.”
Terry pulled out his vibrating cell phone and stared at the screen.
“You guys have gotten me early information from the medical examiner, insight into Will Marino’s life, and helped keep my two uniforms from fucking up a murder scene before I got there. I appreciate it.”
He looked up from his phone and grinned at Jack. “Wanna go fishing? Mathews just texted me the address of the cabin.”