The Girl Beneath the Sea (Underwater Investigation Unit #1)(26)

George frickin’ Solar.





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

SANDBAR

In my family, George Solar falls somewhere between Adolf Hitler and Charles Manson. He’s the crooked cop who took my uncle down while managing to avoid going to prison for his own misdeeds.

And what exactly were those misdeeds? I ask myself as I stare at the open window and the man inside.

Rumors. Lots of rumors. There were stories that he’d taken kickbacks but avoided jail time by ratting out his fellow officers. Some said that rival drug dealers gave Solar tips on their competition, and he looked the other way in exchange.

Of course, stories and rumors are far more abundant than the truth around here. Like the new one about the niece of a convicted drug dealer in the middle of a big narco conspiracy faking an attack on herself . . .

“Are you here to murder me?” I ask casually.

“That wasn’t on my calendar.”

“Well, if you’re hoping to find out where all that drug money is, I don’t know.”

“Of course you don’t,” he replies.

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because you wouldn’t be anywhere near here right now. You’d be off on your little dinghy or whatever, sailing into the sunset.”

“Huh. What if I knew something but not how to get to it?”

“You wouldn’t call the police when someone else came looking for it.”

“All right. So why the hell are you here? You know I really don’t have any idea where the money is.”

“If I was after money, I would have done a lot of things differently in life. For better or worse, I chose my own path.”

“Right.”

He nods. “So you’ve heard the rumors about me.”

“A few. I also remember sitting in court watching you give testimony that sent my uncle away.”

“And do you remember me saying anything you knew not to be true?”

“I was a kid. I don’t know what I knew.”

“But your uncle told you I was crooked.”

“Are you?”

“I’d like to say I have a clean conscience, but that wouldn’t be true. I maybe came down hard on some people that I didn’t need to be so hard on.”

“Like my uncle.”

Solar laughs. “Definitely not your uncle. Do you know how much coke he got past us before we stumbled onto his routine?”

“How much?”

Solar hesitates—he didn’t expect me to take him up on his rhetorical question. “Um, I don’t have the exact number . . . but a lot. A whole hell of a lot. We were kicking ourselves that we only got to convict him for a fraction.”

I suspected as much, but Solar’s not winning any points with me. Yeah, I get it, my uncle’s a scumbag, but that doesn’t lessen the pain, including that of associating with you now.

“Is there something you need?” I ask.

“Me? I’m here about you.” He nods to the police station. “How’d that go? What did they think of your story?”

My alarm bells start to ring. “What do you know?”

What could he? The incident only happened a little more than an hour ago.

“I talk to people. They tell me things. That was quite a mess back in the marina. Is that where you’re headed now?”

There’s no way they’ll let me back on the boat, not that I should stay there if I want to stay alive. I was hoping to get some clothes from the storage closet in the marina office and decide what to do next then.

I’d go stay with Mom or Dad, but that would put them in danger. The other problem is what to do about Jackie. I still have to figure out how to keep her safe. It’s beyond frustrating to accept that being in the same place as her is no way to protect my baby.

I’m going to have to fill Run in on the details and see to it that he has someone keeping an eye on her.

And for how long?

How long will my life be turned upside down like this?

“How about we go get a cup of coffee and compare notes?” offers Solar.

“What’s your part in all this?” I ask.

“Just an interested observer.” His green eyes seem calm and sincere.

“That doesn’t sound suspicious at all.” I glance down at my dead phone. “My friend is on his way to pick me up. Maybe another time.”

I say that with all the insincerity I can muster.

“Right,” says Solar. “Just one more question before I go. You armed? Or did they take your gun away from you for evidence?”

This makes my gut twist. I glance around to remind myself we’re still in front of a police station.

Solar opens his glove box.

I think about diving back to the doors of the station, but I’m frozen.

Solar pulls out a pistol and sticks it out the window, butt first.

I stare at the Glock for a moment, trying to understand what just took place.

“Hold on to this until you get yours back.”

I take the gun from him robotically. Is this a trick? Was this a murder weapon in some other crime, and I’m being framed? What the hell is Solar’s game?

He sees my hesitation. “You have to make up your own mind about me. In the meantime, I don’t want to see you get killed. I know not all McPhersons are crooks.”