Page 2 of Undone
I cleared my throat indignantly, crushing my hands into fists. “Are you saying that I would destroy my own stuff just to get back at Daly?” Keeping my teeth from clenching took more willpower than I knew I had.
“I’m saying it’s a theory,” Sands said as his eyes wandered across my face. He’d probably noticed how tense I’d gotten. “Theories can be right, they can be wrong, and they can be disproven. Right now, I have a couple of them.”
“If they all end with me paying someone to trash my own room, then I have trouble seeing—”
“Cari.” Jasper’s voice cut me off like a razor, and his tone was like a bucket of cold water on my irritation. I stopped talking, opened my mouth to continue, and then closed it for good.
“The second theory,” Sands said, “was that it was Daly who trashed your room, and you came across him. For whatever reason—maybe you have history with this fellow, maybe you were just hot-to-trot to give him an ass-kicking for breaking into your room—you attacked him in a fit of rage. This doesn’t work if you weren’t there, though it’s still possible you might have had someone else on your payroll.”
Again, I opened my mouth, but this time I held my tongue. Sands paused for a moment, waiting for me to say something, maybe letting the silence linger so I’d feel compelled to out myself. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Sands finished off his whiskey and set it on the desk, the glass connecting with the wood with a resounding thud. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Which brings us to our third and final theory: that it was Daly who trashed your room, and you came across him. Being a little lady like yourself, there’s no way you could have given him the ass-kicking he got. Which suggests that you were with someone—maybe some kind of protector. But if your attack dog was with you, that doesn’t work, either.”
Settling back in his chair, he eyed me with suspicion. I could tell he didn’t like the fact that Jasper and I had both been out of town, but I wasn’t sure if he still thought I had something to do with it—if I had someone on my payroll.
“Jasper had nothing to do with this,” I said. “And neither did I. I’d like to remind you that we have alibis. We’ve already told you where we were last night, and we have witnesses. And those recordings.” I had no doubt that Jasper had verified the presence of cameras before we’d ever set foot in the hotel.
“No need to get hot under the collar, miss,” Sands said. “I’m a man of the law. I take no sides, hold no biases. It’s my job to look at a situation like this from every angle.” He leaned forward and stared into my eyes. “Ask me on a personal level? I don’t think you or your boy had anything to do with these happenings.” He leaned back again. “The lawman in me don’t give two squirts about what the man in me thinks, though. The lawman don’t care about opinions. The lawman knows that things aren’t always how they first appear.”
“Fine. I get it.” I nodded slowly. Casting a quick sidelong glance at Jasper, I felt myself flush with embarrassment. “But we have a witness, on top of the recordings. Jackson. Ask Jackson, and he’ll back us up.”
“Jackson,” the sheriff said. He pulled the bottle out and filled the whiskey glass again. “Who is that?”
“He’s…” My words faded, and I cast a helpless glance at Jasper.
“He’s a colleague.” Jasper’s voice was calm. “He was in the hotel room in Atlanta with us last night.”
“The three of you in the room together,” Sands said. “What were you all doing?”
Jasper simply raised an eyebrow as his lips curved into the barest hint of a smirk. I grimaced. Sands coughed on his whiskey.
Sands produced a bandana from his back pocket and wiped his mouth. “Well, then. Look, Miss Dunn, rest assured the investigation is ongoing. Why don’t you and your friend just go back to the motel, clean up a bit, and try to relax? If I come up with anything, I’ll give you a call. If you have any more problems, you let me know.” Sands pulled a business card from the top drawer of his desk and handed it to me. “Day or night.”
I accepted the card and tucked it into my pocket. “Thanks,” I said. “Hopefully there won’t be any more problems.”
“Hopefully,” he said. “Have a nice day.”
I stood up. Without a word, Jasper led me to the front door and closed it behind us.
