Page 50 of Grave Stone

“I don’t know. Twelve-thirty? Twelve-forty-five?”

“What did you do after he left?”

“I went to Inhalation Elevation.”

“How long were you there?”

“Not long. I ran into Johnny and he said he was headed to the crematory. I thought it would be fun to surprise Sawyer, so I hitched a ride with him.”

“The crematory?”

“Yes, Sawyer works at Grave Cremations.”

“And how long were you there?”

“Thirty minutes? I don’t know. I wasn’t keeping track of the time, but it wasn’t long. I didn’t feel well and wanted to go home.”

“So you left Grave Cremations and went home?”

“Yes. I ordered an INeedARide to pick me up because I didn’t feel like driving.”

“What did you do when you went home?”

“I got into bed and went to sleep.”

“Did you stay at home for the rest of the day?”

“No. My roommate and I had plans to spend the weekend at Lake Montgomery. We left when she got home from work.”

“You went out of town for the holiday weekend, came back, and were out of town again when I spoke to you on Wednesday?”

“No. When I spoke to you on Wednesday, I told you I wasn’t going to be home until Thursday. I was in Montgomery Ridge from Friday night through Sunday. I spent Monday at Jolly Beach, and I’ve been at Sawyer’s place since then.”

He closed his notepad and tapped his pen on it three times. “Well, Ms. Carlson, that’s all I have for now. Thank you for your time.”

“Glad to help,” I said tightly and walked him to the door.

He stepped onto the porch and turned back to face me. “Don’t leave town. As of now, you’re the last person who saw him or spoke to him before he disappeared, and you happen to be his disgruntled ex-girlfriend. That makes you the top suspect in my book.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, wondering if it would be worth seeing his reaction if I told him he needed a court order to tell me to stay in town. Instead, I robbed him of his intended outcome by giving him a traditional Southern reaction.

“I look forward to hearing from you, Detective Yates,” I said with a sweet smile. “Good luck with your case.”

I watched him until he got into his car and drove away before I closed the door. Turning around, I closed my eyes and sagged against it. “I’m so glad that’s over.”

21

STONE

“What the fuck was that?” I asked, trying not to yell.

Her eyes popped open as she straightened. “What the fuck was what?”

“Were you supposed to put yourself within spitting distance of Glenn’s body for every second of Friday afternoon? You even told him you were at the crematory!”

“My phone was on the entire time. I called Stevie when I left Barry’s Bistro, ordered a ride near Grave Cremations, and then I called Stevie and Hadley on the way home. I had to account for the cell phone tower pings,” she said. “We talked about this yesterday during the meeting with Sin.”

“The one I wasn’t at,” I reminded her.