Wrecked (Josie Gray Mysteries #3)(2)

“We got there about ten. Drank some beer. By midnight things started to get a little crazy. Some of the guys were talking to a group of women across tables. Drunk talk. Yelling back and forth.”

“Friendly yelling?”

“Sure. It was friendly,” he said. “We ended up taking both of the pool tables at the place. Roxanne was waitressing, but she’s joking with us all night long. She’s friends with some of the other women, so she’s passing out free shots.” He paused and gave her a look, like he didn’t really want to go on with the story. “Thing is, she was hitting on me. Big time. It got awkward if you want to know the truth.”

“What did she do?”

“At one point, we’re playing pool. The lady leans over the top of me, her arm over mine holding the cue stick.”

“By lady, you mean Roxanne?”

“Yeah, exactly. She’s basically lying on top of me. So the guys start blowing me,” he paused, “blowing me grief. I’d try to get her to back up. They’d laugh and egg her on some more.”

“Why didn’t you leave?”

“I tried to! I drove me and two other guys. Every time I talked about leaving they’d harass me. Come on, one more beer, that kind of bull.”

She nodded, keeping her expression neutral. The mayor had a reputation in town as a skirt-chaser, but Josie was never sure if the reputation was deserved, or if it was his lecherous personality that got him into trouble. She couldn’t imagine any woman finding him attractive, but she wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to romance.

Josie glanced at the clock on the wall and saw ten minutes had passed. Dillon would just be getting out of the shower and she hoped he wouldn’t come into the living room. The conversation was awkward enough as it was.

The mayor continued his story. “Finally, the bar closed at two and I told the guys I was leaving. They said they’d get a ride home with someone else. I don’t know where they went after Whistler’s, but they didn’t ride home with me. Then, outside in the parking lot the waitress asks if I’ll follow her home. Said she hated driving all the way to Artemis so late at night. Nothing between here and there if she had some kind of trouble. I actually felt sorry for her and followed her home to make sure she made it okay.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

Josie nodded again, though she wondered if he really expected her to believe the story. Roxanne managed the thirty-minute drive home unescorted every other night she worked. What Josie really wanted to ask him was how long he had to wait in the parking lot for her to count her tips and close up the bar.

“So, you drove separately. And you followed her back to her apartment?”

“That’s it. I did what she asked, and now she’s turned on me.”

“Did you get out of your car once you reached her apartment?”

He hesitated just long enough for Josie to know he was spinning damage control in his head. “She said she was scared. I got out to walk her to the door. That’s it.”

Chester wandered over to the mayor and tried to sniff his pants. The mayor leaned back as if the dog might soil his clothes, and Josie waved the dog away.

“Did you enter her apartment?” she asked.

“I swear, nothing happened. She wanted me to help her into her apartment, and she promised I could leave then. She said her place had been broken into. Said she was scared. She wanted me to walk around. Check out the rooms.” He gave Josie an imploring look and dropped his voice. “It sounds ridiculous now. But that’s what happened.”

“And you only followed her home once?”

He shrugged. “A few times. I was worried about her. A woman driving home through the desert that time of the morning? Who knows what might happen. I was trying to be a nice guy. And this is what I get.”

“Does Caroline know about any of this?”

He sat up and then slouched back into her couch, allowing his head to fall back against the cushion, hardly the posture of a person who usually presented himself as the man in charge.

“Are you kidding?” He laughed miserably. “She’d kick my ass all the way to Mexico. Then she’d divorce me. And she wouldn’t care what the facts were.”

“I’m not sure why you’re telling me this,” she said.

He looked at her in surprise. “I’m telling you because I expect your support! If that woman filed a report I want you to do something about it!”

“I can’t control who files a report. That’s her right as a citizen. And, I’m bound by law to investigate it. Honestly, I don’t even know if charges have been filed.”

“My marriage is hanging on by a thread.” He stared at Josie as if he couldn’t believe she wasn’t on his side. “If Caroline finds out about some woman filing charges, my marriage is over. I want this paperwork to go away.”

“I can’t do that.”

He sat forward, leaning toward her on the edge of the couch. “You can do that. You’re the damned chief of police! You can do anything I tell you to do!” The mayor’s face had turned red. He took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. “Look. Roxanne is a gold digger. She’s trying to ruin my marriage and my career.”

“If she’s a gold digger why would she want to ruin your career?”