“Ummm, okay. Jason, I’m not sure any amount of surfing would make me feel better right now. I’m not some ignorant little kid. I can tell you guys think my Aunt Mel had something to do with Mrs. Stevenson’s death, but I’m telling you the honest to goodness truth – she had nothing to do with it.” He wasn’t sure what he thought his declaration would accomplish, but couldn’t help himself.
Jason responded sincerely, “Logan, I don’t personally believe your aunt had anything to do with it. Just following the evidence as any good cop would do. Please trust me, no one in the department is railroading your aunt. I’m sorry for the disruption of your lives while we investigate but there’s not a lot I can do to alleviate that at the moment.”
“That’s not true,” the boy said defiantly. “You could at least tell her what’s going on. Everyone in town is talking about her. Mr. Stevenson is out there blasting her on the news saying all sorts of lies. And to top it off you guys won’t even tell her what happened even though it was her bakery where it all happened. You guys are telling her squat!” He hadn’t meant to blurt all that out, but the whole situation was enough to make him pull his hair out. The last couple days were starting to take a toll on him.
Jason calmly put down the surf board. Sitting down on the sun-bleached wooded picnic table he motioned for Logan to join him. “Please, have a seat,” he said. He then proceeded to explain to the teenage boy that no one was trying to implicate his aunt. Perhaps his partner had seemed a bit anxious to close the case but that the investigation was nowhere close to being over. He expressed his sorrow that Logan’s aunt’s name was being dragged through the mud but there was always going to be talk and even the cops couldn’t stop people from talking. The officer tried his best to placate the boy’s concerns but he could tell Logan was not to be easily swayed so he offered to meet with his aunt to discuss the case, unofficially of course, if he thought that would make her feel better.
Logan considered the detective’s offer and decided that he couldn’t possibly hurt things at this point. He pulled his phone out of his shorts and speed dialed his aunt. After explaining Jason’s offer to her, they agreed that she should meet with him. Since she had been on her way to the precinct to start asking questions there, Melissa altered her route and swung by The Surf Shack.
Chapter 10
As the sun rose higher in the sky and the temperature rose in unison, Melissa walked up to The Surf Shack where Logan and Jason were quenching their thirst with bottles of orange soda. The boy gave her a Cheshire grin as she approached, knowing he was not allowed soda. It was his aunt’s one pet peeve. He was hoping she would overlook the transgression just this once.
While they awaited Melissa’s arrival, the two gentlemen had lapsed into a more casual, friendly conversation about surfing and fishing, and even video gaming. Logan was surprised how much the old dude - okay he was only 49 years old but still old in the teenager’s eyes – knew about these subjects. He figured the cop was only interested in catching bad guys and donuts. When she found the two together they were laughing as they watched an obvious tourist tween with pasty pale skin trying to boogie board for the first time.
As Melissa walked up to the picnic table, Jason stood up and offered her a seat. Logan noticed a slight glint in the man’s eyes and that his aunt blushed ever so softly. “Adults?!” he thought with exasperation.
After exchanging pleasantries, Melissa decided to get to the gist of the matter. She informed Jason that she was keenly aware of the trouble it appeared she was in but she swears she had nothing to do with what happened to Linda. She expressed her sorrow for Linda’s death, but she was frustrated with having to stand by while Mr. Stevenson and others
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