“Smart.”
“I could’ve come to see you,” I said, leaning my hip against the sturdy table. “You didn’t have to track me down.”
“You weren’t hard to find, and it’s a nice drive.” He turned and looked to the west. “And this is a great view.”
“The best in the world,” I said. “It’s even better from up on the roof.”
After a moment of appreciation for the amazing blue of the ocean and the gorgeous dark green of the redwood trees that lined the crest of the hill to the south of town, I turned back to Eric and tried for a lighthearted approach. “So. I’ll understand if you want to lecture me again. I should’ve called you. It was stupid, but it was also the middle of the night. I wasn’t thinking too clearly.”
“I figured you got my message, so I won’t be giving another lecture.”
“I appreciate it.”
“I thought you would,” he said wryly. “I also felt you should know that since we’ve found evidence of an intruder breaking into Jesse’s house these last few nights, it gives more credence to your notion that someone killed Jesse rather than the coroner’s theory that he died of an accidental overdose.”
“Really?” I said. “You agree with me?”
“I’m starting to,” he hedged.
“That’s close enough.” I patted my heart. “I’m all choked up.”
“I doubt it,” he said, biting back a laugh. “You shouldn’t make too much of it.”
“I’ll try not to, but this is a big moment for me.”
Eric rolled his eyes, but at least he was smiling at me.
We were flirting all of a sudden and it felt good, despite my guilty conscience. When he wasn’t suspecting me of murder or accusing me of contaminating his crime scene, Eric Jensen was awfully cute. No, cute didn’t describe him at all. Rugged. Blond. Tall. Fantastic smile. He was Thor. Superhero. In my mind, of course. Not out loud. I didn’t want to spoil the moment.
And speaking of my guilty conscience, I really had to talk to Jane. We couldn’t keep the necklace a secret. At least, not from Eric. I took another long sip of iced tea.
He brought up the topic of Jesse and his friends exploring the old shipyard down the coast.
“You heard about Jesse finding the live bombs on board?” I asked.
“Yeah. I called the naval station about it.”
“I’m glad.”
“The last thing I need is someone bringing bombs into my jurisdiction. So the navy plans to use bomb-sniffing dogs and some high-tech electronics to sweep the entire shipyard for any possible explosives still there.”
“Good,” I said. “I can only imagine some kids thinking it would be a fun place to start a fire or something.”
“Yeah.” He blew out a breath. “I had that thought, too. If three old codgers could break in there and stumble across actual active ordnance, I’d say they need to tighten their security.”
“You should talk to Jesse’s friends Bob and Ned. They were with him. They could tell you how they got inside.”
“I’ve got their names on my interview list.” He pulled out a small notepad and pen and made a note to call them.
I set my thermos down on the table. “Looks like you’ve got things under control.”
“If only that were true.”
“Of course it’s true. Now you just have to find Jesse’s killer.”
“Let’s not jump the gun,” he warned. “We still haven’t concluded that there was a killing.”
“But you said—”
“I said your notion had some credibility. We still have to study the evidence and determine conclusively what happened.”
“Oh.” I made a grumpy face. “Okay.”
“And despite what you think,” Eric added lightly, “in a case like this, and in a place like Lighthouse Cove, it’s not always an easy task to find a killer.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because there are so many people who knew the victim well.” He shifted to take another look at the spectacular view and spoke as if thinking out loud. “Old jealousies and treacheries abound. You never know who in town has been waiting patiently to mete out revenge even after twenty or thirty years.”
I smiled. “That’s almost poetic.”
He glanced at me. “I’m a complex guy.”
We both laughed but sobered quickly.
“Guess I’d better get going,” he said, pulling car keys out of his pocket.
“Wait.”
He turned. “What is it, Shannon?”
I swallowed nervously, then gave up. I couldn’t tell him about the necklace. Not until I talked to Jane. But now I had to say something. I took a quick sip of iced tea to quench my dry throat. “I—I know you have to study the evidence, but I hope you’ll hurry up and find whoever did it fast.”
He glanced at me sideways. “I hate to be the one to point this out, but the person who has the most to gain from Jesse’s death is your friend Jane.”