Death and Her Devotion (Rogue Vows #1)(5)

“She set her boyfriend’s apartment on fire?” That was an angry woman.

“It was a small fire. She showed up in Hilton Head last time Chase was on vacation, but security got rid of her.”

“That’s on the other side of the country.”

“She gets around.”

Josh didn’t seem worried, but Stevie thought it was one of the nuttier stories she’d heard. Maybe this woman’s actions were typical when someone was a big star. “Add what you know about her to that list, please.”

“You’re gonna figure out who did this, right?” Josh asked, his eyes pleading with her.

She looked him over. She’d expected a big Hollywood manager to be screaming for her to call in the FBI, CIA, and NSA to figure out who’d murdered a national treasure. Instead he seemed willing to let their small-time police department handle it.

Something wasn’t right.





Toby was a wreck.

Zane had had to find a replacement box of Kleenex after Toby emptied one during the first two minutes of their interview.

“You and Chase were close?”

“He was like my brother. Sometimes I liked him better than Josh. Actually a lot of the time.” More sniffling.

“What did you do for Chase?”

“Whatever he needed. The four of us share a big house in LA. I do most of the cooking because I went to culinary school. I try to make his life easier so he can focus on his job.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be working in a restaurant somewhere?” Zane couldn’t imagine a job where all he did was cook for a few guys.

Wide eyes stared at him. “When I can live in LA and work the easiest job in the world for ten times the pay? Chase takes good care of all of us. There’s no better boss. He lets us do whatever we want, and as long as the food he wants is in the fridge, he’s happy with me.”

“Now what will you do?”

Toby’s mouth turned down. “I don’t know. Look for a job, I guess.”

“You said when you went to bed last night, the other three guys were still up, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t hear anyone moving around during the night?”

Toby pressed his lips together. “I had several beers. I slept pretty hard until Josh woke me this morning.”

“Was everyone drunk?”

“No. Just buzzed. You know. Enough to be relaxed and happy.” He ducked his head, a look of embarrassment on his face.

Zane knew the autopsy report would say how much alcohol was in Chase’s system. The other three men had appeared to function well this morning. If anyone was fighting a hangover, he hadn’t seen it. “Anyone with an alcohol problem? Illegal drug problem?”

Toby emphatically shook his head. “Neither. Chase doesn’t tolerate any illegal drugs at all in his house.”

“Why is that? Did someone get in trouble? Who was that?” Zane leaned forward. “Which one of you had a problem?”

The man squirmed in his seat.

“Speak up, Toby. You three are going to be under the magnifying glass until we get a lead on who killed Chase. Now is the time to air any dirty laundry. And besides, it sounds like this was an old problem, right?”

“Spider did too much coke one night. Chase was furious.”

Now we’re talking.

“So no hard drugs allowed?”

“That’s right. Pot’s okay, but not too much.”

That’s what they all say.

“We stick to beer when Brandon’s around.” His bloodshot green eyes were earnest. “Obviously no one had planned to drive anywhere last night, so it was okay to get buzzed.”

“It’s the unplanned driving that gets people in trouble,” Zane said. “Did Chase have anyone who hated him?”

“Hell no. Chase is the nicest guy in the world.”

Zane tapped his pencil on the table. “You’re talking about a major TV star. Plenty of people hate them and don’t care how nice they are. Did he have any recent fights or arguments with anyone?”

Toby frowned. “I think you’re making a mistake. Someone we know didn’t kill Chase. Someone came across him in the woods and killed him. You should be looking in the woods.”

“We are. I still have an officer out there.”

“Just one?”

“The county has assigned some deputies to help. It’s enough for now.” Zane crossed his fingers. He’d called Carter in on his day off, but the officer was still an hour away from helping Kenny. “What do you think Chase was doing in the woods after everyone went to bed?”

“Taking a leak?”

Zane’s phone buzzed with a text from Kenny. He read it and frowned. “We can’t find a cell phone that belongs to Chase. Do you know where it could be? My officer says it’s not in his tent or the vehicle.”

Lines formed across Toby’s forehead. “It should be in his tent.”

Zane pointed at Toby’s Apple Watch. “Chase have one of those?”

“Yeah, we all have them. Chase bought them for us last Christmas.”

“Chase wasn’t wearing one this morning,” Zane pointed out.

“Yes, he had to be. He always wears it. I saw it when we were sitting around the campfire last night,” Toby argued.