Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(15)

Detective Lee looked uneasy. He pulled over the notebook he’d been jotting notes in and flipped a page.

“We’ve interviewed all the people Ms. Stewart told us she thought could be involved. Jamie Redmon, Shawn’s boss at the Coca-Cola bottling plant; Eddie Evans, Shawn’s neighbor; Kelly Gregory, the woman Shawn was seeing before Carly; Wes Schell, Shawn’s landlord; Luke and his girlfriend, Rebecca Nelson; and Shawn’s three best friends, Beau Langford, Gideon Sparks, and Jeremiah Barrowman. There’s no evidence that any of them were working with Shawn.”

Carly shivered at hearing the list of names. Each and every one of them were tight with Shawn, except Kelly, and she wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of the others had conspired with her ex to hurt her.

“How many own boats?” Jag asked.

“Three. Jamie, Eddie, and Beau.”

“And did you check the marinas where their boats are kept?”

“Yes.”

Jag kept firing questions at the detective, and to the man’s credit, he didn’t shy away from answering.

This meeting hadn’t gone at all like Carly had thought it might. She’d been hoping to get concrete evidence that Luke had been working with his father and reassurance that it was only a matter of time before he’d be charged and behind bars. But that obviously wasn’t going to happen. In fact, it seemed as if the man she’d thought was the biggest danger to her might not be the person she should be afraid of after all.

It seemed the investigation had stalled. The detective hadn’t found any information that would lead him to believe anyone was working with Shawn.

“You know as well as we do that Shawn had an accomplice,” Jag said. He hadn’t moved from where he was standing next to her while he’d asked his questions. Carly still had her hand on his leg, she was actually gripping his pants leg now, feeling numb after everything she’d heard.

“From what Kenna Madigan said, Shawn was out of his mind that night,” Detective Lee shared. “It’s entirely possible he thought someone was coming to pick him up, but no one actually was. The storm that night was the worst the area’s seen in years. It would’ve been next to impossible for someone to actually navigate in the wind, rain, and near-zero visibility.”

“So, what, that’s it?” Jag bit out. “The investigation is over? Closed?”

“I didn’t say that,” the detective hedged. He turned to look at Carly. “Is there anyone else you can think of who might’ve been working with your ex?”

“No,” Jag said, once more speaking up before Carly could answer.

She glanced up in confusion. He wasn’t looking at her though, he was shooting daggers out of his eyes at Detective Lee. “It isn’t Carly’s responsibility to give you suspects. It’s your duty as a detective to do your job and figure it out yourself.”

“It’s okay,” she said softly, unconsciously petting Jag’s leg.

“It’s not,” he said with a shake of his head.

“We’ve looked into the people Shawn worked with, talked to most of them either in person or on the phone,” Detective Lee said. “Their alibis check out. Most were home with their families and extended families. We’ve spent hundreds of hours interviewing, and almost every single person was shocked at what happened. Some didn’t even know Carly, hadn’t ever met her, and had no motive to help Shawn.

“We haven’t closed the case, but we literally have no proof anyone was on the water that night, waiting to ferry Shawn and his hostage out of the area. We’ve scoured the videos from the marinas near Waikiki and haven’t found anything out of the ordinary. Unless Carly can think of someone else who might’ve assisted Shawn, or until more evidence comes to light, there’s not much else we can do right now.”

Carly swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure how to feel. Should she be relieved that all the people she’d told the detective to look into had essentially been cleared? Should she feel even more paranoid?

Without a word, Jag reached down and caught Carly’s hand in his. He pulled her to her feet and immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close. It was a good thing…because Carly had a feeling if she wasn’t leaning on him, she would’ve fallen flat on her face.

“You’ll be in touch if you find out any more information, yeah?” Jag asked.

“Of course,” Detective Lee said. “I’m very sorry I didn’t have better news for you today. If it helps, because it’s been so long since the incident, I think you’re safe. Mr. Keyes was obviously the mastermind of his plot and if someone was working with him, his death has clearly made them back off.”

Jag didn’t respond, but Carly, not wanting to be rude, said, “Thank you.”

She walked through the station hand-in-hand with Jag and when people saw him coming, they quickly got out of his way. He wasn’t a very tall man—except compared to her—but he was obviously throwing off enough angry vibes that no one dared mess with him.

They walked out into the warm afternoon air and he didn’t slow down as he headed for the parking garage. As usual, the moment Carly stepped outside, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She couldn’t help but feel as if she was being watched. It was part of the reason she’d hidden away for so long.