Whisper of Bones (Widow's Island #3)(14)

“How often do you see your sons?”

Heather smiled. “I go to Seattle one weekend every month. I would move there if I could afford it, but housing costs are outrageous. My oldest offered to let me live with him, but that’s not right. His apartment is very small, and he deserves to have his own life.”

“You didn’t see Jason again after lunchtime yesterday?” Tessa asked.

“No.” Heather hesitated. “If you’re looking for an alibi, I worked until eight.”

“You didn’t leave the restaurant during your break or at any other time during your shift?”

“No.” She paused. “I did take a break after the lunch rush, probably around two. I walked down to the water and back. I needed the fresh air.”

“How long were you outside?” Tessa asked.

“Only about ten or fifteen minutes.”

“Can anyone verify that?”

Heather nodded. “My brother.”

“What did you do after work?”

“After an eight-hour waitressing shift?” Heather snorted. “I went home, had one glass of wine, and went to bed.”

Tessa closed her notepad. “Thank you, Mrs. McCoy. You’ve been very helpful. I’ll likely have more questions as the investigation proceeds.”

“Of course.” Heather gave Tessa her cell phone number. “I had nothing to gain by killing Jason.”

But maybe Heather was tired of waiting on him every week.

Tessa entered the number into her phone. “One last question. Can you drive a boat?”

“Sure. I grew up on boats.”

So did many islanders.

“I’ll be in touch.” Tessa left the small room and stopped at the bar, where Logan sat on a stool, talking to Victor. “Victor, can you confirm that Heather was in the bar between noon and eight p.m. on Monday?”

Victor picked up a rag and wiped down the bar. “Yes.”

Tessa pressed her palms on the bar. “Did she leave the bar at any time during her shift?”

Victor tossed the rag onto the counter. “She took her fifteen-minute break after lunch, around two o’clock.”

Tessa leaned closer. “What time did you leave for the night?”

Victor paled. Her question had surprised him.

“Around nine,” he stammered. “You can’t think . . .”

“We’re just covering all the bases,” Tessa said. “Can I have copies of the bar receipts and order tickets during Heather’s shift?”

Victor nodded. “Sure. Be right back.” He came out from behind the bar and disappeared into a back room. A few minutes later, he returned and handed Tessa a computer printout.

“Thank you.” Tessa pushed away from the bar.

Logan slid off a barstool, shook Victor’s hand, and joined Tessa. They left the Taproom and walked down the front steps of the hotel. Tessa waited until they were in the SUV before summing up her interview with Heather.

“Victor had no love for Jason either,” Logan said. “He said Jason only came into the bar when Heather was working and that he never left a tip. They only have one waitress in the afternoons, so she had no choice but to serve him.”

“Was Jason not over his first wife, or did he just enjoy tormenting her?”

“Both Sarah and Heather were angry with Jason, and Sarah has financial motivation as well. Given reports of Jason’s personality, it wouldn’t surprise me if we discovered additional suspects.”

Tessa’s phone vibrated. She read the screen. “It’s Henry.” She answered the call. “You’re on speaker, and Logan is with me.”

“I just spoke to the medical examiner,” Henry began. “He confirmed that Jason McCoy did not drown. In a typical wet drowning, the lungs are hyperexpanded, and there’s froth in the trachea and bronchial tubes. Water might be present in the stomach as well. He found none of that in this body. We were also correct about lividity. The body lay on its belly on a hard surface for at least six hours after death. The preliminary cause of death is blunt-force trauma to the head.”

“What about time of death?” Tessa asked. “Could the ME narrow the window?”

“Maybe. Jason McCoy ate a meal of steak and potatoes shortly before he died. The ME estimates he died within two hours of consuming the meal.”

“He finished lunch at one thirty, so he died by three thirty.” Excitement filled Tessa. “Thank you, Henry!”

“You’re very welcome.” Henry disconnected the call.

Tessa glanced at Logan. “Heather took a break around two o’clock.”

“She couldn’t have driven to Jason’s house and back in fifteen minutes.”

“Maybe she was gone longer. Her brother is her alibi. What if he’s covering for her?” Tessa suggested. “Or what if he helped her? Jason’s body lay on the kitchen floor for at least six hours. Maybe she was so angry at him continuing to rub their divorce in her face that she snapped. She drove out to his house on her break and confronted him. They argued, and she bashed him over the head. Then she returned to the bar to finish her shift.”

“She and her brother could have returned to the house after dark, cleaned up the scene, and dumped him at sea.”