“So you both received anonymous calls, right?” she said. “And they had to do with . . . let me take a wild guess . . . with drugs?”
Riley stared at her. “How’d you know that?”
Sheriff Burney just grunted.
“Because you were set up,” Theodosia said. “Tricked.” She turned to Sheriff Burney. “You both were.”
“I’m not quite following your line of thought,” Sheriff Burney said.
“Detective Riley got an anonymous call concerning a drug deal he’s working on,” Theodosia said. “It sent him rushing out here where he was supposed to find Eddie Fox’s dead body and assume that Eddie was shot because he was a loose end in the drug deal that killed Nadine. His death might even suggest that his coconspirator had grabbed the drugs from Eddie and blew out of town. Which would mean the case is now pretty much a dead end. Sheriff Burney, you got the exact same call because the killer hoped you’d find Eddie Fox and make the assumption that he was the one who shot Nadine. And that Fox’s partner was long gone.”
Sheriff Burney scratched his nose with his thumb. He looked like he wasn’t quite buying what she was selling.
“Drayton and I, on the other hand, came here on a fairly innocent errand. And we ended up discovering Eddie Fox’s body on our own.” Theodosia stared at Riley, hoping to dispel some of his anger. “I’m not sure that was part of the plan. Maybe it was, but my guess is we simply blundered in.”
“A mistake,” Sheriff Burney said. “And a setup.” He gave a curt nod. “Damn.”
Theodosia sighed. “And now the gang’s all here.”
“What happens now?” Drayton asked.
“We work it like we’d work any other case,” Riley said. “We call in a Crime Scene team and check the body and surrounding area for possible forensic evidence.”
“Oh,” Theodosia said. “Forensics. There’s something I should tell you.”
“Yes?” Riley said, drawing out the word.
So Theodosia told Riley and Sheriff Burney about the two figures she’d encountered last night. And how, in defending her, Earl Grey had lunged after one of them and grabbed him by the leg.
“You think one of your so-called shadowy figures might have been Eddie Fox?” Riley asked.
“I don’t know,” Theodosia said. “Like I said, it was dark and they were both dressed in black. But if you look at Fox’s leg, there could be marks. That would be positive confirmation, right?”
“You shouldn’t have been out running,” Sheriff Burney said in an almost scolding tone.
Theodosia shrugged. “It’s what I do to stay in shape.”
“Seems to me you spend more time tangled up in police business,” Sheriff Burney said.
“You see?” Riley chided. “I’m not the only one who feels that way.”
Drayton interceded gently. “What else can be done here? I mean in the way of collecting evidence?”
That helped divert some of Riley’s anger. “We could start looking around for shell casings, fibers, tire marks in the driveway,” he said.
One of the officers shined his flashlight beam at the ground. “Got some tire marks right here, Detective.”
“There you go,” Drayton said.
The same officer aimed his flashlight at the tires on Theodosia’s Jeep. “Different from these,” he said. “Wider.”
They all shuffled across the grass and looked at the tire tracks. Careful not to step in them.
“Wide tires, like some kind of sports car,” Riley said.
Theodosia and Drayton exchanged glances. They’d be at the Concours d’Carolina tomorrow. Lots of sports cars there.
Theodosia was about to mention it to Riley, then didn’t. He’d lecture her even more aggressively and warn her to stay away. Just when things were getting interesting.
* * *
* * *
Some thirty minutes later the Crime Scene van showed up. Once the techs were suited up in their jumpsuits, Riley sent them in to photograph and begin processing Fox’s body.
“We’re specifically looking for bite marks on his legs. Dog bites,” he said, casting a glance at Theodosia.
They didn’t hear anything for a few minutes, then one of the techs called out, “No bites that we can see.”
“No bites,” Riley said as he approached Theodosia and Drayton. “He’s clean.”
“Clean but dead,” Drayton said.
Riley put his hands on his hips. “Now I’d appreciate it if you both went home.”
Theodosia made a face. “We’d like to stick around . . .”
“Not happening,” Riley said.
“Come on,” Drayton said to Theodosia. “It’s late. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, and these folks have a long night ahead of them.”
“Okay,” Theodosia finally said. “Okay.”
Drayton walked to the Jeep and climbed in. Theodosia lingered and let Riley walk over with her. As she was about to open the driver’s side door, he put both arms around her and pulled her close.
“I worry about you,” he said.
“Thanks, but you really don’t have to.”
“If I’d known you were driving out here tonight . . .”
“I know, you’d have handcuffed me and thrown away the key.”
“No, I would have handcuffed you and dragged you to my place.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Taken advantage.”
“You can do that anytime,” she said.
“Just not tonight,” Riley said. “I meant what I said. Go home. Drive carefully. Don’t do anything crazy.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
* * *
* * *
Theodosia and Drayton were both quiet as they retraced their route. Drove down Turnbull, turned back onto Katy Hill Road, and then onto the Maybank Highway.
Finally, Drayton said, “Talk about Mr. Toad’s wild ride.”
“A definite shocker,” Theodosia said.
“Why didn’t you tell me what happened last night? That you were accosted by two strangers.”
“After that awful e-mail warning, I didn’t want to cause any more worry.”
“But you do. Constantly.”