Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(53)

Brock turned his attention on the cop. “Detective Norton, I hope you keep your personal opinions to yourself and work this case with an open mind.”

Detective Norton lifted an eyebrow. “My mind is wide open. Now, where were you yesterday afternoon between noon and three, Mayor?”

Zara stiffened next to Ryker. He kept his gaze on the cop, but his mind ran through the day before. Exactly when had Zara visited Julie at the motel? Had Zara just missed the murderer? Time slowed down, and his system went on full alert. God, what if she had been there? His muscles involuntarily bunched like an attack dog’s. He forced himself not to look at her and to keep the concern off his face.

She dug a notepad out of her pocket and began taking notes, her hand visibly shaking, as she leaned against the wall. Her teeth bit into her lower lip.

As soon as he got her alone, he had to question her about her timeline. Had she left any evidence? Or had anybody seen her? The murder took on a personal hue. Panic coated his throat. For a second he felt powerless, and then his mind took over. In the worst-case scenario, he could get her out of town and to a safe place to live, but what about her grandmother, who was still on vacation?

Vans screeched to a stop outside.

Pentley craned his neck to look out the window next to the door. “The press is here.”

Ryker took a step back and out of the line of sight from the door. The absolute last thing he needed was to be caught in a photo or on video.

The detective cleared his throat. “Mayor? My question?”

Pentley placed both manicured hands on his sweats. “Yesterday during that time I was working in my office.” He jerked his head toward Brock. “In fact, I was on the phone with my attorney several times, because we were working on answering discovery requests for the divorce. I made several copies of insurance policies, land deeds, and vehicle titles to fax to Brock.”

The detective looked from Pentley to Brock and back. “Can anybody besides your attorney corroborate your alibi?”

Jay glanced at Ryker. “Not right now, but I’m sure my new private investigator will be able to round somebody up. Right, buddy?”

The detective narrowed his gaze and looked from the mayor to Ryker. “Do you two know each other?”

“No,” Ryker said easily, “but I’m about to know everything about the mayor.”

Jay’s lips tightened.

Ryker rolled his shoulders. What time had he smacked Jay around? Obviously Jay thought explaining the situation would end up working against him, for now. It had to have been around one in the afternoon. Jay could’ve still had time to drive to the motel and kill Julie before three in the afternoon, although he would’ve been sore from the fight. “How certain are you about time of death?” Ryker asked.

“Preliminary report sets TOD between noon and three, but after the autopsy, we’ll have a better idea, hopefully.” The detective scratched in his notepad. “So nobody was at City Hall with you, Mayor.”

“I was the only person working in City Hall yesterday.” Jay kept his voice level, but his eyes flashed. “Not many public employees work weekends, Detective. I will keep thinking about the day and if I saw anybody. Right now nothing is coming to mind, but I’m a little bit in shock. While Julie and I were having problems, I just can’t believe she’s dead.”

Ryker studied the mayor. He wasn’t mentioning the blonde, and that made sense, because cheating spouses always looked bad to the law and juries—especially during a divorce. Or was Pentley actually protecting the woman? It was doubtful, but Ryker needed to calm the hell down, look at all angles, and stop just reacting out of fear for Zara.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Detective Norton said. “Who filed for divorce?”

“She did,” Jay said. “But I’m fairly certain she was seeing somebody else.”

Look who was talking. Ryker made a mental note to find out who the blonde on Jay’s lap had been.

“She was not cheating,” Zara burst out, her face turning red.

Detective Norton’s head snapped up. “Who was she seeing?”

“Dunno,” Jay said, scraping both hands down his face. “It was just a feeling I got last time I talked to her. She said something about knowing what a real man was like.”

“But no names or other clues?” the detective asked, his focus zeroing in.

“No,” Jay said, his shoulders slumping.

“I’ll need copies of all correspondence between you.” The detective wrote something down.

Jay nodded wearily. “We’ll get everything to you.”

“When was the last time you saw your wife?” the detective asked, his voice a low rumble.

Jay’s gaze strayed to Zara. “I saw her last week at a motel on the north side of town. She asked me to drop off some of her clothing, so I did.”

Zara drew in air next to Ryker. Was that when Jay had hit Zara?

Ryker stood straighter in place, a ball of lead in his gut. The entire situation sucked, and his fingers curled into a fist as he felt the desire to punch Jay again. “Have you spoken with her since?”

“No. She was upset about the competency hearing, and she became abusive. Kicked me and hit me, so I had to leave.” Jay shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t her fault. She truly wasn’t herself.” He sighed heavily. “Is there any chance this was a drug deal gone bad? I mean, I know she was using again.”