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that than Sheriff Murray will doing one of his half-assed investigations.”
    I appreciated the vote of confidence, but it was my civic duty to turn him in. I wavered. I hated to see an innocent man go to jail. It was unlikely they’d continue to look for the killer if they had Adrian in custody. “I’ll ask a few questions.”
    “Yesss.” He lifted two fists in victory. I hated him.
    “But you need to leave. I don’t want to be guilty of harboring a fugitive.”
    “Always with the rules. That’s why I know I can trust you. You’re honest.”
    I bit my lip to hold back a plethora of rude retorts. Instead, I nodded. When my head cleared slightly, I put down my purse. “Where were you last night?”
    “Home. Alone.”
    Of course. “You should get dressed.”
    “Do you have a shirt I can wear?”
    “If you fit into my clothes, I’ll kill myself.”
    “Right. You look amazing, by the way.”
    He’d seen me in my underpants. My mind raced to remember if they were my nice ones. “You need to go.”
    “I’ll be back.”
    “Lucky me.” I followed him to my bedroom, where a breeze blew in the darkness.
    He straddled the windowsill and swung his legs over the edge. “You need to get a lock on this. Anyone with a little motivation can get in.”
    He jumped to the porch roof below and then to the ground with a muffled thump . Then I locked the window and checked it twice. Adrian disappeared into the darkness.
    I took a cold shower.
    Adrian Davis might not be a murderer, but he was a menace. As soon as he got the murder charges dropped, I’d consider filing a complaint for breaking and entering.
    I tossed under my sheet all night. The warm temperatures didn’t comfort me. Every creak and groan of the old house freaked me out. Adrian’s words haunted me. Anyone could get in and I’d never know. I vowed to never leave my pepper spray out of reach again.
    He’d looked me in the eye and pleaded. As much as I wanted to be indifferent, I couldn’t. While I refused to waste my time saving the big jerk, he had piqued my curiosity. When the sun finally peeked over the horizon, I resolved to visit the sheriff. Just to see if Adrian was right. Had the sheriff’s office pointed the finger at him and stopped searching for other suspects? What could it hurt to find that out?
    An eerie orange glow coated my apartment. The screen door thumped. I ran for my purse and then to check out what had caused the noise. This time Adrian would learn not to break in to people’s apartments. Pulling back a finger full of curtain, I held my breath, but all I heard was the faint mewing of a cat. No boogey man. No Adrian. Outside my door, a tiny gray fuzzball rubbed his sides against the screen, one after the other. Huh. I went to my kitchen for an empty mug and filled it with water.
    “Here you go.” I set the mug of water on the little porch outside my door and shook a handful of chips onto the wood plank flooring. “I haven’t been to the grocery store.”
    Back inside I got dressed. No time like the present, as they said. Especially when I had to do something awkward like question the sheriff about things that were none of my business. I flipped through the few things I’d unpacked and settled on jeans and a silk tank top. After yesterday, I opted for Chucks instead of the sandals I’d worn on the mainland.
    The little cat sat cleaning its paws. He hadn’t touched the chips. “I’m off to be nosey.”
    * * *
    The police station had white stucco walls and a pink tile roof. Nothing new there. Sheriff Murray’s cruiser sat at the curb. Typical. The deputy’s SUV was wedged behind the station. Good thing I brought three of Mrs. Tucker’s cappuccinos. Nothing was worse than the stale black coffee in a police station. I’d had my share in high school. It sucked every time.
    I slid through a mass of people inside the reception area. Sheriff Murray barked behind closed doors, drawing attention that way. His tenor rattled the