See Me(17)

Colin said nothing. He had learned to say as little as possible in the presence of the police.

“Put yourself in my shoes,” Margolis finally went on. “The thing is, pretty much everyone scattered as soon as the sirens started closing in. A couple of witnesses stuck around and I talked to them, but I figured I was just wasting my time. It’s a lot easier to go straight to the source, don’t you think?”

Colin hitched his backpack a little higher on his shoulder. “Are we done here?”

“Not quite. I don’t think you understand what’s going on.”

“I understand. But none of this concerns me. I wasn’t there.”

“Can you prove that?”

“Can you prove otherwise?”

Margolis took a sip of his coffee, then fished a fresh toothpick from his pocket. He took his time placing it in his mouth. “That almost sounds like you’re trying to hide something.”

“It was just a question,” Colin said.

“All right, then. Let’s get to the questions. Where were you Saturday night?”

“In Jacksonville.”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “The fight. MMA stuff, right? You told me about that. Did you win?”

Margolis didn’t care and Colin knew it. He watched Margolis take another sip of coffee.

“The point is, we were able to get a couple of descriptions from the witnesses, and it turns out that the guy who did the kicking was in his midtwenties, muscular with tattoos on his arms and short brown hair, almost a buzz cut. And wouldn’t you know it, it turns out that the guy was pretty bruised up even before the fight started. People had seen him inside. And because I knew you’d just been fighting in Jacksonville… well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.”

Colin wondered how much, if any, of Margolis’s story was true. “Do you have any other questions for me?”

Margolis shifted the toothpick again while setting his coffee on the hood. “Were you at the Crazy Horse on Saturday night?”

“No.”

“You didn’t even stop by? For a few minutes?”

“No.”

“And if I have a witness that says he saw you there?”

“Then he’s lying.”

“But you’re not.”

Again, Colin didn’t answer. There was no reason to. And part of him suspected that even Margolis knew it, because after a long moment, he crossed his arms, his muscles flexing almost – but not entirely – involuntarily. If the detective really had something, Colin knew he would have already been arrested.

“All right,” Margolis said. “Then answer this: Where were you between midnight and one a.m. on Sunday?”

Colin sorted through his memory. “I wasn’t watching the clock. But I was either about to leave Trey’s Diner on Highway 17, or driving home, or changing some lady’s tire during the storm. I was home right around one thirty.”

“Trey’s Diner? Why the hell would you eat there?”

“I was hungry.”

“What time did you leave Jacksonville?”

“It was after midnight. Maybe five or ten minutes after, but I don’t know for sure.”

“Witnesses?”

“Dozens.”

“And I assume you ate alone at Trey’s?”

“I was with my landlord.”

Margolis snorted. “Evan? One half of the dynamic duo? That’s convenient.”

Colin flexed his jaw, ignoring the barb. “I’m sure the waitress will remember the two of us.”

“Because you look like you had your face run through a meat grinder?”

“No. Because Evan stood out in a place like that.”

Margolis smirked, but business was business. “So you left the diner.”

“Yes.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. Evan left a few minutes before I did. He drove his own car.”

“So there’s no one who can say where you went afterwards?”

“I already told you what happened after that.”

“Oh, that’s right. You changed a lady’s tire.”

“Yes.”

“In the storm?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know her?”

“No.”

“Then why did you stop?”

“Because I thought she might need my help.”

Margolis considered Colin’s answer, no doubt thinking that Colin had been caught in a mistake. “How could you know she might need help unless you’d already stopped?”

“I saw she needed a hand getting the tire out. I stopped and got out of the car. I offered to help. She said no at first. She asked if she could borrow my phone and call her sister. I let her use my phone and she called her sister. And then she asked for my help in changing her tire. I changed it. Then I got in my car and drove straight home.”

“What time was this?”

“I don’t know. But a call was made from my phone from the woman to her sister. If you’d like, I’ll show you my call log.”

“By all means.”

Colin reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone; a few taps and the call log was on display, confirming his alibi. He showed it to Margolis.