Page 117 of Death of a Grill Master

Hayley didn’t move. “Otherwise what?”

Baird’s smile returned—but now it was reptilian.

“Otherwise, I’ll have to silence you. Just like I did her.”

Chapter 37

For one long, frozen second, Hayley couldn’t move. Peter Baird stood between her and the exit, a diving knife now in his hand—long, serrated, wickedly sharp. His face went still, the kind of stillness that comes right before something strikes.

“I could say I’m sorry,” he said. “but I’m really not.”

“What if I say I’ll take you up on your offer? Walk away. Forget what I know?”

“I’d say I don’t believe you.”

Hayley glanced past him to the window. Outside, just beyond the admin building, Mona and Earl were still locked in a circular conversation with Chief Maddox, who appeared to be delivering a full-throated monologue, complete with finger-pointing and theatrical gestures. Mona tried to check her phone. Maddox cut her off. Earl looked visibly agitated, but neither of them turned toward the lab.

They didn’t see her.

Didn’t see the danger.

Didn’t see Baird shifting the knife in his grip, like a chef testing its weight.

“I wasn’t even going to kill her, you know,” he said, tone conversational now, like he was delivering a lecture. “Tina. Not at first.”

Hayley’s eyes snapped back to him.

“She wasn’t part of the plan,” Baird said, almost reflective. “But after that night, I knew she’d seen me. She avoided me on campus. Wouldn’t meet my eyes. Skipped our department meeting. I thought maybe—just maybe—she’d keep it to herself. Try to forget. People do that when they’re scared.”

Hayley clenched her jaw. “But she didn’t.”

“No,” he said. “She emailed her sister. Said something had shaken her. That she saw someone coming out of the water that night. She was vague, but not vague enough.”

Hayley blinked. “How would you even know that?”

“I had access to her office. To her computer,” Baird said, tone clipped. “She never logged out of her email. After I saw her acting strange, I checked. I needed to know how much she’d seen … and who she told.” He looked almost irritated by the memory. “She hadn’t named me. But it was clear she was thinking about going to the police.”

“And that’s when you decided she had to die,” Hayley said.

“I still hoped I could change her mind,” he said. “I showed up at her door, but she pretended not to be home. I cornered her after class one day. Tried to reason with her. But I could see it in her eyes. She’d made her decision.”

His voice hardened. “She was going to do the right thing.”

He met Hayley’s gaze.

“And that’s when I knew. I had to do the same.” His voice dropped lower, more intimate. “She was heading to Thunder Hole to monitor the algae bloom. Early, before sunrise. Alone. She always logged her plans. Very responsible, very scientific.”

He smiled again, admiring the memory.

“So I got there first. In full gear. Waited offshore, just below the surface. When I saw her enter the water, I shadowed her. Let her think she was alone.”

Hayley swallowed hard. “You pulled her mask?”

“I punctured her oxygen supply first,” he said coolly. “Then pulled her mask. She panicked. Tried to surface. I let her get close. Then I grabbed her ankle.”

His fingers curled around the air, miming it.

“She kicked, struggled, even clawed at me. But there’s a moment, Hayley, when the body realizes it’s not going to make it. That final gasp.” He met her eyes. “It’s quiet. Peaceful, even.”