A Kiss Gone Bad by Jeff Abbott

out for Pete and pushed hard on the door. I saw him on the bed,
     right away, and the blood spotting his face.’ She was quiet for a moment, a youngster staring at implacable death and realizing
     she would someday feel its grasp.
    ‘I think I screamed. I think I would. I got off that boat like it was on fire. I screamed running down the docks, and people
     came.’
    ‘See anyone suspicious around the boat? Or around the marina?’ This from Delford.
    ‘No.’ Heather tented her cocoa-daubed hands. Claudia yanked a tissue from a box and offered it to Heather. The girl wiped
     her hands carefully and repeatedly. ‘I was so worried about Pete, how depressed he was, I wouldn’t have noticed anyone.’
    Delford nodded solemnly.
    Claudia thought:
You just don’t strike me as the Girl Scout type, sweetie.
    ‘Do you have your panties on?’ she asked Heather.
    Heather’s mouth twitched. ‘Excuse me?’
    ‘I’d like to know if you have on a pair of panties.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Just answer me, please.’
    ‘Yeah, I got on panties. You think I’m running around without underwear on?’
    ‘Show me, please. I need you to lower your pants enough where I can see you’ve got a pair on. Chief, would you step outside
     for a moment?’ Delford blinked at this turn of questioning.
    ‘He can stay. I don’t care.’ Heather stood and yanked down on her beltless jeans with a gentle tug. Claudia could see a slice
     of panties below the girl’s waist, plain white, grimy.
    ‘Thank you,’ Claudia said.
    Heather rearranged her jeans and sat. ‘Let me guess. You found panties on the boat and wanted to be sure they weren’t mine?’
     She was smarter than she acted. ‘Those panties probably belonged to his lady friend.’
    ‘You knew he had a girlfriend?’ Delford asked.
    ‘He mentioned a lady that lived with him on the boat once. But I got the impression he’d had his fill of her. He said she’d
     made a lot of money off of him, and he was tired of her.’
    ‘We’ll need you to stay in town, Heather, until our investigation is done.’
    Her eyes widened. ‘What, under house arrest?’
    ‘No, but don’t leave town.’
    Heather leaned back in her chair. ‘I think my statement is done, and I want one of them pro bono lawyers like on TV if you’re
     going to ask me any more questions.’
    ‘Two more simple questions,’ Claudia said. ‘Woman camping a lot, you carry a gun?’
    Heather picked at the table with a dirty fingernail. ‘No. I have some pepper spray, and I know how to kick a guy’s balls all
     the way up to his throat.’
    ‘You ever see this young woman around, maybe down at Little Mischief?’ Claudia pulled a flyer from her notebook and pushed
     it toward Heather. Delford watched without expression.
    ‘Marcy Ann Ballew,’ Heather read. She scrutinized the photo, as if looking for some vestige of herself in the printed face.
     ‘Sorry. Don’t know her.’
    ‘Where you staying tonight?’ Delford asked.
    Heather looked discomfited. ‘Back at the park, I guess.’
    ‘If you’re still shook up, spending the night alone out in the dark’s no fun.’ Claudia softened her tone. ‘You can crash here.’
    ‘Oh, great, a jail cell,’ Heather said. ‘Thanks but no.’
    ‘We’d leave the door open. You’re not locked up. It’s clean and warm.’ Claudia ventured a grin. ‘Real cute guy working the
     night shift.’
    The face of Marcy Ann Ballew smiled up at both of them.
    Heather shook her head. ‘I am not staying in any jail cell.’
    ‘Then let me call Social Services. They’ll find a place for you.’
    ‘You just want to keep a tab on me.’
    ‘A tab to be sure you’re okay,’ Claudia said.
    ‘I don’t need a tab.’ Heather stood. ‘We done? I got to go.’ As if she had errands to run, close to midnight.
    Claudia clicked off the tape. ‘I’ll get this typed up and you can sign it.’
    ‘Can I come back tomorrow and sign? I’m beat.’
    ‘Sure,’ Claudia said.
    ‘Thanks for