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earliest ferry to St. Ignace leaves at nine tomorrow morning, and I’ve already booked our tickets."
    Still flabbergasted over Tate letting her take an active part in the investigation, Byrony could only nod like a bobble-head.
    "Good, I’ll meet you at the pier at 8:45." Tate finished off his last piece of pizza, wiped his hands, then eyed her half-eaten slice. "You gonna finish that?"

    ***

    The next morning, Tate pulled his Cubs hat more firmly over his eyes and hunched his shoulders against the drizzly rain. He’d already spoken to the detectives in Mac City to ask about a few details of the case, like time of death and the tox report. If Byrony was truthful about her sister not taking drugs, how had she wound up with all those sedatives in her system? And how could witnesses have seen Jessica walking around downtown when she’d had enough drugs in her to knock out a horse?    
    Detective Shaffer had grudgingly agreed to look into the inconsistencies and get back to him, so Tate had to let such slipshod police work ride for the moment, even if it irritated him.
    He squinted at the people with umbrellas dodging each other up and down the sidewalk until he spotted Byrony . Even though she was half-concealed by her black umbrella, he recognized her walk, and waved to get her attention. They both ducked under the protective alcove that was the entrance to the ferry pier.
    "I’d have pegged you as a Sox fan," she said as she closed her umbrella.
    "Not in this lifetime. Want a cup of coffee?"
    A little grin flickered across her pretty face. "Sure. I take cream but no sugar."
    They were the last two people on the ferry, but had no problem finding seats inside. In the half-hour it took to reach the town of St. Ignace on the upper peninsula , the rain had stopped, which was fortunate because they had to stand in the ferry parking lot to flag down a taxi.
    "This is more like it," Byrony declared as she slid into the back seat of the car.
    "Two horsepower not your speed, Sunshine?" Tate teased as he climbed in next to her.
    "Not like you, Cowboy." She smelled of rain and coffee, and the heat of their thighs pressing together in the crowded back seat gave Tate’s hormones a distracting jump start.
    By the time they reached the main street of St. Ignace , the windows of the cab were covered in steamy fog and they couldn’t see anything.
    "This the right place?" the cabbie asked.
    Tate got out and stared at the papered windows of the empty storefront. "Looks like it." He paid the driver and offered Byrony a hand.
    Frowning, she followed his gaze. "Why are we meeting Cody Henry here?"
    "His father is a plumbing contractor, and Cody is helping him redo this soon-to-be deli," Tate explained, as he rapped on the glass paned front door. He was just about to knock again when the door swung open and a dark-haired kid in a ripped T-shirt stood there. Tate extended his hand. "Cody Henry? I’m Tate Madison and this is Miss Byrony Long."
    The kid blinked as if confused before he gave Tate’s hand a half-hearted shake. "Hi, um… come in. Sorry, we don’t have any place to sit."
    "That’s okay, this won’t take long." Tate ushered Byrony in ahead of him, and got right into it. "According to the police, you were the one who found Jessica Long. What time was that?"
    Cody scratched his head as he answered, "A little after six. I was on my way to work."
    "And you recognized Jessica?"
    A wave of sorrow crossed the kid’s face as he nodded.
    "Did you recognize her dress or what?" Tate persisted.
    Dropping his gaze, Cody shook his head. "I never saw the dress before, but as soon as I saw the red hair I knew it was her."
    "Yeah, she had pretty red hair, didn’t she?"
    Still looking at his dirty sneakers, Cody nodded again.
    "She was a very pretty girl," Tate continued as the kid squirmed in discomfort. "And close to your age, too. Did you ever ask her out?"
    The kid’s eyes jerked up and a flush flooded his neck and cheeks. "Yeah, but