Strange Medicine (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #1)(33)

“You’ve got it.” She walked away looking cheerful.

He leaned forward, resting his palms on the table. “So are you still mad at me?”

“You mean just because you thought I was a cold-blooded homicidal maniac?”

“I didn’t think that. You know I didn’t.”

I shrugged. “I hoped you didn’t think that. I didn’t know for sure.”

“Since you’re not really answering my question, I guess that means you’re still mad.”

“I’m not sure what I feel about you at the moment,” I said softly. “I’m pretty traumatized to be honest.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “But please remember that if I’d actually thought you did it, I’d have arrested you. It wouldn’t have mattered that we had a thing.”

“That’s something.”

He politely took his iced tea from the waitress when she reappeared, and I practically grabbed my beer from her. Then I proceeded to drink fast, enjoying how cold it was. I wiped the foam from my mouth and sighed.

Royce’s lips twitched. “Better?”

“I’ll let you know when my glass is empty.”

“Pace yourself.” He studied me.

“Did you guys move the body?”

“What?” He lifted his brows as if surprised at the change of subject. “When?”

“Immediately after you found it.”

“Yeah.” He winced. “I used the pool skimmer to pull his body over so I could see if he was alive. I was 99 percent sure he was already dead, mind you.” He looked a little queasy. “He was facedown at first, but he rolled.”

I shivered. “Yikes.”

“It was gruesome.” He met my gaze. “We haven’t had a murder here in fifteen years. The only halfway suspicious death we’ve had was a homeless man who OD’d last winter.”

“You guys jumped into action pretty quick.”

“We just did our jobs.” His voice was low, and he flicked his gaze up to me hesitatingly. “Although, I’ll admit I called in a few favors in an effort to expedite certain things.”

“Is that right?”

“Yep.”

I sipped my beer. I could tell he wanted me to forgive him for even thinking I could be guilty for one second. But the fact that he’d thought I was capable of killing someone in cold blood had actually hurt more than I liked to admit. I’d shared with him how losing a patient had sent me into a tailspin, so for him to think for one minute that I could take a life on purpose was jarring.

“Maybe you can make it up to me by figuring out who tried to frame me.” I held his gaze challengingly.

“Already working on it.”

“Good.”

“I’m starting with Ned and following the trail. He seemed stressed lately. I ran into him a few times in town the last week, and he was agitated. He said he was trying to buy a second home.”

“He was?” I frowned.

“That’s what he said. But he wouldn’t tell me what the property was. He was very secretive.”

“Since when is buying real estate something hush-hush?”

“That was my feeling too. He said the property wasn’t on the market, but it was available.” He tapped his finger against his glass. “He was acting odd.”

“Not to speak ill of the dead… but he sold insurance and cleaning products for a living. How would he have afforded two mortgages?” Ned had never struck me as a guy who had money.

“He said he’d inherited money recently.”

“Oh. Well, maybe that’s true.” I felt a little more relaxed now that half my beer was in my belly. “You can probably check that out easily enough.”

“Yeah, I’m looking over his finances right now. He obviously pissed someone off, and I’m hoping the money will lead me to that person.”

“What was that you said—most murders are either because of love or money?”

“That’s what I’ve noticed.” He held my gaze.

“Hard to picture Ned in a love triangle.” I snorted.

“I agree. He wasn’t exactly a ladies’ man. He never married, although he did date a few women over the years.” He rubbed his chin. “The other day I saw him having a heated discussion with the lady who owns the Squeaky Wheel boutique.”

“I don’t know many of the shops in town.”

“It’s an antique shop. Hanna Montgomery owns it.” He laughed. “She’s married though, and I can’t see her cheating with Ned.”

“Maybe he wanted to return something and she wouldn’t let him.”

“He said he was ordering lampshades. I’ve never seen lampshades get anyone that worked up. Then Hanna couldn’t get me out of her shop fast enough.”

I frowned. “That’s weird.”

“It got my cop instincts going. Something was definitely up.”

“Are you going to question this Hanna?”

“Oh, yeah.” He nodded. “I’m going to question everyone who ever had anything to do with him in the last few months.”

The waitress brought our food, and we fell silent as she set the plates down. Then once she’d left, we dug in. I couldn’t help but glance up at Royce now and then. I was glad we were on good terms again, even though my feelings were a tad bruised.