Scene of the Crime: Return to Bachelor Moon by Carla Cassidy Page A

didn’t want him as the new sheriff, and I let him know how I felt about it every time we ran into each other.”
    Ryan’s brown eyes narrowed, and the snarl returned to his upper lip. “I heard he and his family are missing, and I’m sure you’re here talking to me because I’m an ex-con and must be guilty of something, right? Ex-cons are always guilty of something.”
    “Where were you on Thursday night?” Gabriel asked, refusing to let the man’s attitude get under his skin.
    “I was here working.”
    “According to Glen, you got off work at seven.”
    Ryan’s scowl deepened as a sheen of sweat glistened on his bald head. “I left here and went to my girlfriend’s place. I spent the night there. And now if you’re finished harassing me, I’ve got work to do.”
    “Your girlfriend? What’s her name?” Gabriel asked.
    Ryan released an irritated snort through flared nostrils. “Tammy Payne. She lives in the Bachelor Moon apartment complex. I got my own place there, too, but most nights we’re together. She’ll tell you I was with her all night and had nothing to do with whatever happened to the Connellys.” Without waiting for a reply, Ryan stalked off back to the garage.
    “What do you want to bet that Tammy tells us whatever Ryan tells her to?” Jackson asked as they headed back to their car.
    “No question. But I would bet that Tammy Payne is either a prostitute or a stripper, because I get the feeling that’s the kind of woman who’d take on a loser like Ryan. At least that’s been my experience with hot-headed ex-cons, although I know there are exceptions.”
    Within minutes they were back in the car, the air conditioner blowing welcomed cool air as they headed to the Bachelor Moon Apartments.
    “It’s frustrating that Ryan Sherman is our first real person of interest in this case,” Andrew said.
    “Unless you count the lovely Marlena,” Jackson added.
    “I don’t think she had anything to do with this,” Gabriel said.
    “Is that your professional opinion or a personal one?” Jackson asked with a raise of a dark eyebrow.
    Gabriel hesitated before replying, wanting to make sure his crazy physical attraction to her had no part in his reply. “It’s both,” he finally said.
    He hadn’t mentioned Marlena’s dip in the pond the night before, but he did so now, explaining to the two men how he had dragged her out of the pond.
    “Do you really think somebody pushed her?” Jackson asked.
    “I don’t know what to believe, but she certainly believes it. What I can’t figure out is if the incident is somehow tied to the disappearance of the Connellys or not. I have to ask myself if somebody wants the people associated with the bed-and-breakfast out of the way,” Gabriel said.
    “Out of the way of what?” Andrew asked.
    Gabriel flashed him a tight smile in the rearview mirror. “I have questions, but nobody said I have any answers.”
    “Who is the beneficiary of the place if anything happens to Sam and Daniella?” Jackson asked.
    “We need to check that out. I would assume that initially it would have gone to Macy, with an executor or representative in place until she reaches of age. But with her missing as well, I’m not sure what would happen. I don’t even know if they have a will in place.” Gabriel made a mental note to check for that particular information.
    By that time they had arrived at the Bachelor Moon Apartments, and they all exited the car to check out Ryan Sherman’s alibi with his girlfriend.
    Tammy Payne looked like she’d been ridden hard and put away wet. Lanky blond hair fell into her face as she opened the door to allow them inside. She gestured them toward the threadbare sofa and then curled her painfully thin frame into a chair facing them, but that didn’t mean she sat still.
    “Ryan called a little while ago to tell me to expect you,” she said, first pulling on the ends of her hair and then picking at a scab on her chin. She dropped her hand to