Death and Her Devotion (Rogue Vows #1)(11)

“I didn’t see him leave either,” said Marnie. “One minute he was here, and the next he was gone.” Her eyes grew wet. “I can’t believe he’s actually dead. I’ve had the biggest crush on him forever.”

Jake picked at his fingernails.

“What about your cameras?” Zane asked. “Your security system covers the front door, right?”

Jake winced. “It’s been down for three weeks. I’ve got a guy coming to look at it soon.”

“Do you remember any of the regulars who were in the bar at closing?” Stevie asked Jake. “Maybe they noticed Chase leave with someone.”

“Now, Stevie,” Jake began. “I can’t betray the trust of my customers like that. They need to know they can come here and not have their every move reported. Just because the police—”

“Jake.” Zane’s voice was fast and low. “You’re not running a private gentlemen’s club here. It’s a f*cking bar and someone has been murdered. Only an * would deny us help.”

Jake muttered two names, and Stevie scribbled them down as Zane’s phone rang. He stepped away to answer, and Stevie gave Jake a wide smile, showing all her teeth. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Zane returned immediately. “That was Sheila. All hell is breaking loose back in town.”





Zane asked Stevie to call Josh Black as they drove back to Solitude. He felt as if a storm was brewing around this case.

“Looks like none of Chase Ryan’s friends were straight with us this morning. I want some answers from his manager,” he grouched as she found the phone number. “Pisses me off. What are they trying to hide?”

“Could be anything. Maybe they’re simply trying to hide that Chase was out propositioning women in a bar. His public image is pretty squeaky clean. It can’t be that they’re hiding the fact he was drunk. They had to know the autopsy would tell us he had alcohol in his system.”

“Yeah?” Josh’s voice came through the speakers of the vehicle.

Is that how people answer the phone these days? “Josh, it’s Chief Duncan, and Officer Taylor is listening in. How come no one told us that Chase was at a bar around midnight last night?”

“He must have left after we all turned in.”

“You didn’t hear his vehicle leave?”

“I think we all had a little too much to drink.”

Josh’s answers were feeling a little too perfect for Zane. “You know the word has gotten out, right? It’s all over the media.”

“My phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I’m about to throw it in the river.”

“Who’s calling?”

“Who isn’t? His agent, his publicist, every single person who works on the TV show, every news outlet from tiny papers to CNN. I’d like to know how they got my phone number.”

And I worried the town would have it bad.

“Hey,” Josh said. “Two local news crews have shown up here at the campground, and people are starting to get too close. I don’t want Brandon being freaked out by this. He’s been through enough.”

“I don’t want you guys leaving town yet. Not until we get some more answers.”

“Well, we need to get out of the campground. Any ideas where we could hole up for a few nights? I called the only motel in Solitude, and he says he was swamped with bookings this morning.”

Probably media. Zane looked to Stevie for suggestions.

“There’s a B and B in town—”

“Yeah, I called there too,” said Josh. “Since word of Chase’s death hit the media there are no rooms available for fifty miles.”

“What about the real estate office?” Stevie suggested. “It’s been empty for six months, but it has a full bathroom and a little kitchen facility. It even has a small garage out back where they can hide their vehicle. We can find some cots . . . it only has a few small windows, so it should be private.”

“We’ll take anything at this point,” said Josh. “We’ll start packing.”

Zane ended the call. “I’d really like to know who leaked it to the media.”

“Could have been someone from the county crime scene team or Ralph or a person at the campground who paid close attention. It doesn’t matter now. It’s out there and we have to deal with it.”

Zane pulled onto the main street and caught his breath. Four news trucks were parked across the street from the police department. People milled on the sidewalks and streets. Large cameras were balanced on the shoulders of men, aimed at talking reporters. Two cameras swung his way as he drove closer. “Holy crap,” he muttered. “How’d they get here so fast?” He fought the urge to wave at each person he passed in his vehicle.

Small Town Rule #1: You wave when you pass someone on the street, whether you know them or not.

I won’t wave at all these reporters.

“The station names on the vehicles indicate they’re all out of Medford, which isn’t that far away. The Portland stations will probably be here next, and then the nationals.”

Zane parked in front of the police station and glanced in his rearview mirror. Nell’s little grocery store had a line out the door. At least one good thing would come out of the media circus: people spent money to eat. He hoped the local restaurants were up to the job.